LDD Sermon 6: Going Viral
When something goes viral, it means that people start to pass it along to their friends, and they to their friends, until ultimately everyone's talking about it.
- Alex Shifrin
"Nonviolent actions are almost completely useless when deprived of media exposure."
- Antonio Negri
So I've laid out the plans and shown you all how Discordianism could become even more decentralized and effective. I've talked at some length about how subversion is our ultimate tool and should inform any strategy the activists among us intend on. What I haven't done is told you how to get to this stage.
Quite simply, Discordianism needs to go viral. It needs to be springing up like weeds, everywhere with no sign of how it appeared, with self-starting Cabals becoming more and more common. Of course, this process is already underway, thats how Discordianism works. Someone reads the book, passes it onto their friends and the next thing you know they're a cabal. What I propose is a refinement of the process, to speed it up.
The first thing is that there need to be numerous sources on it. As things stand, there are about 5/6 professionally done Discordian sites and the rest are largely personal pages. Now, this isn't too bad, except that most of the dissenting and differing opinions are on a few big sites and nowhere else. To lay the foundation for what I suggest, everyone should probably create their own site (look up Geocities and other free hosting places) and put a few of their own interpretations on there, as well as a links page to the rest of the sites and the larger forums.
Thats the base. The next stage is where it gets tricky. The next stage would be to gain media coverage, to draw attention to Discordianism. Unfortunately, the most effective example in going viral in recent history is Al-Qaeda. Once a unified terrorist organization, in the space of 5 years it has become a bona fide movement, with self starting cells being set up in over 60 countries. Say what you like about their aims, but from a marketing point of view, thats a huge success.
Of course, I don't suggest something as retarded as blowing up a building. Thats just stupid. What I am thinking of, however, would be some sort of massive jake. Something that would embarrass the powers that be, that is distinctive, but most importantly something that can then be linked to Discordianism. I'm sure if we thought about it, we could think of something. A video of whatever it is would be good too, maybe a follow-up one as well, a sort of mock statement from so-and-so of the Something or Other of the Discordian Society.
Step three would then be to make sure that the media coverage was backed up with our own spreading of the event, via things like MySpace and YouTube. People see what happens, get interested and check it out via the web. And what do you know, there are all these sites all over the place....I would suggest it happened in the USA, however. The USA has the largest concentration of cable channels and media outlets in the world and so is the obvious place to stage anything.
From there on in, it is most likely out of our hands. We will have created some runaway monster of some description. This should be no problem for us. We should be naturals at this. Look how Banksy's stock went up after one trick. Hell, look at Fathers4Justice, they took one gimmick of dressing up as superheroes and mounting protests and ran with it for as far as they could go and still got national coverage up to the bitter end. We really should've done stuff like this a long time ago.
In regards to this, I need lyrics.
I have beats, I have music, but I have no flow.
Consider this a formal request for Discordian lyrics*.
From there, the songs can be handed off to a video artist & then it can be posted on YouTube.
PM me.
*Please, no "LOL23Pineal555LULZ" lyrics. I am not interested in making "joke" music.
Thats one avenue of attack, definitely. Have you considered KLF-esque tactics to get your stuff noticed?
And I'll see what I can do. I don't normally write anything but prose, but I'll give it a go.
What exactly are the objectives here? I'm not trying to come the cunt I just think you would benefit from some kind of mission statement sort of outline and clarify the goal.
Worldwide jailbreak.
More people interested in Discordianism. Straight up marketing for Discordianism. I like to give people options, especially ones they may not otherwise know exist, for I am a kind and giving person.
Edit: And what LMNO said.
Quote from: Cain on November 01, 2006, 04:20:42 PM
I don't suggest something as retarded as blowing up a building.  Thats just stupid.  What I am thinking of, however, would be some sort of massive jake.  Something that would embarrass the powers that be, that is distinctive, but most importantly something that can then be linked to Discordianism.  I'm sure if we thought about it, we could think of something.  A video of whatever it is would be good too, maybe a follow-up one as well, a sort of mock statement from so-and-so of the Something or Other of the Discordian Society.
I think i was slightly hinting at something when i was talking about Plantard
in that everyone likes conspiracies
what about one, made from a joke, but treated as real
it would be tricky, take time, but i dont think its entirely impossible
Thats one way (and part of a longer term project I started this summer, coincidentally) but unfortunately isn't...high profile enough. Even the Priory of Sion is at the fringes, hell Neurocam, its modern day successor (in terms of marketing) still doesn't have that same impact. It may be a stance to take, a pose to continue interest, but I don't think its enough of a hook on its own.
Quote from: Cain on November 01, 2006, 04:31:22 PM
Thats one avenue of attack, definitely.  Have you considered KLF-esque tactics to get your stuff noticed?
And I'll see what I can do.  I don't normally write anything but prose, but I'll give it a go.
Well, if someone gave me a million dollars, I'll burn it in a field.
I promise.
Really.
Srsly.
I have other ideas. Or would do, after a decent nights sleep. I shall consult The Manual and think on options.
Viral marketing works best with a strong hook. You need an awesome 30 sec vid clip of a kid hacking up his granny with a lightsabre or someone drop kicking a baby. Most of these have very little to do with the product, more to do with motivating the transmission. Viral marketting is all about making it impossible for the person who's seen it not to forward it to all their contacts with a 'holy fuck you've got to see this' subject line.
What I'm basically saying is the discordian element of the message need be no more than a url that pops up at the end. It's been tried and tested - a high enough percentage of viewers will type that url into their browser. You already have their attention the hard bit is keeping it once they get there.
True. Thats why I want a mindfuck though. Media attention. Normal media, then online, mostly because its more effective.
Might it be worth demonising discordia? I'm thinking that we could send screeds of emails and letters and the like to our local priests and whatnot, from "concerned parents/ family members" who's children have been indoctrinated into this heinous cult, which is spreading like wildfire on the internet. All the usual culprits will be wheeled out, subliminal tracks in popular music, chatroom grooming, playground touting.. etc.
The clergy already have the media in their pocket so we can capitalise on this by fuelling their paranoia enough to get the tabloids on our case. Once the gutter press decide theres a story there they'll latch on to it and, as is their wont, blow the whole thing out of all proportion. Then a couple of our younger viewers can step forward with all sorts of horror stories about what discordia has done to them, sparking outrage and, with a bit of luck, pressure on goverment to nip this baby sacrificing, animal raping cult in the bud.
If we make it to this stage it would be quite easy to turn the tables by exposing the whole thing as an elaborate hoax.
I've actually done that, to a degree. A couple of us have mockup letters knocking around and its a good campaign. If it could be linked into a wider media presence, it could yield very interesting results, but I think that prior media would be necessary for an optimal result.
Might work, if it's big enough.
Please refer to Negativland's "Helter Stupid" album.
http://www.subgenius.com/bigfist/FIST2001-1/subnews/X0022_Shelter_from_Helter_.html
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to design some hienously libelous anti-discordian propaganda. Discordian rituals involve baby raping, drug taking, flag burning, terrorism, satan worshipping and staying up late on sundays.... Discordian organisations are a front for mafia money laundering, al quaieda, snuff porn, racketeering and barry manilow cd's.
I'll do some later, but they hardly help in going viral. Unless you can get the Pope or a Grand Mufti to denounce. There is the problem of no shared medium for it to enter into the wider consciousness. Its a good low level and local tactic, but thats all.
I think you're going to have to accept that you gotta start grass roots. The only chance of success lies in maintaing the subterfuge long enough to build the momenum and set the snowball in motion. It begins with one article in one local paper. Only when it's spread to a dozen local press will it attract national interest, then international, then global paranoia. I'm ready to do my bit, fucking with the establishment is totally my bag, another couple of hundred like me and we might get this thing off the ground.
I disagree. One stunt, media concentration and the internet can and have successfully fueled such things before. Which is of course the point of the thread.
Quote from: Cain on November 01, 2006, 04:20:42 PM
LDD Sermon 6: Going Viral
When something goes viral, it means that people start to pass it along to their friends, and they to their friends, until ultimately everyone's talking about it.
- Alex Shifrin
"Nonviolent actions are almost completely useless when deprived of media exposure."
- Antonio Negri
So I've laid out the plans and shown you all how Discordianism could become even more decentralized and effective. I've talked at some length about how subversion is our ultimate tool and should inform any strategy the activists among us intend on. What I haven't done is told you how to get to this stage.
Quite simply, Discordianism needs to go viral. It needs to be springing up like weeds, everywhere with no sign of how it appeared, with self-starting Cabals becoming more and more common. Of course, this process is already underway, thats how Discordianism works. Someone reads the book, passes it onto their friends and the next thing you know they're a cabal. What I propose is a refinement of the process, to speed it up.
The first thing is that there need to be numerous sources on it. As things stand, there are about 5/6 professionally done Discordian sites and the rest are largely personal pages. Now, this isn't too bad, except that most of the dissenting and differing opinions are on a few big sites and nowhere else. To lay the foundation for what I suggest, everyone should probably create their own site (look up Geocities and other free hosting places) and put a few of their own interpretations on there, as well as a links page to the rest of the sites and the larger forums.
Thats the base. The next stage is where it gets tricky. The next stage would be to gain media coverage, to draw attention to Discordianism. Unfortunately, the most effective example in going viral in recent history is Al-Qaeda. Once a unified terrorist organization, in the space of 5 years it has become a bona fide movement, with self starting cells being set up in over 60 countries. Say what you like about their aims, but from a marketing point of view, thats a huge success.
Of course, I don't suggest something as retarded as blowing up a building. Thats just stupid. What I am thinking of, however, would be some sort of massive jake. Something that would embarrass the powers that be, that is distinctive, but most importantly something that can then be linked to Discordianism. I'm sure if we thought about it, we could think of something. A video of whatever it is would be good too, maybe a follow-up one as well, a sort of mock statement from so-and-so of the Something or Other of the Discordian Society.
Step three would then be to make sure that the media coverage was backed up with our own spreading of the event, via things like MySpace and YouTube. People see what happens, get interested and check it out via the web. And what do you know, there are all these sites all over the place....I would suggest it happened in the USA, however. The USA has the largest concentration of cable channels and media outlets in the world and so is the obvious place to stage anything.
From there on in, it is most likely out of our hands. We will have created some runaway monster of some description. This should be no problem for us. We should be naturals at this. Look how Banksy's stock went up after one trick. Hell, look at Fathers4Justice, they took one gimmick of dressing up as superheroes and mounting protests and ran with it for as far as they could go and still got national coverage up to the bitter end. We really should've done stuff like this a long time ago.
I finally got round to reading this. I'm glad I did. You say that we shouldn't blow up a building, which I understand. But how about destroying something symbolic of those "powers that be"? I mean, it's those types of scenes that draw so many dissillusioned kids into terrorism. So why not Discordianism? And I mean something that won't result in innocent deaths.
your treading on dangerious grounds when you talk about blowing anything up
anything can happen
people could get hurt - even if you dont want them to
as well I dont think that is type of attention you want
want kind of people will be recruited?
What Thurenz said. It could be a symbolic destruction, but the symbolism would be in such a medium destruction would be easily accomplished. Its an idea though. I'm interested in hearing what input Roger, Hoopla and ECH have though, as they really have the right sort of mind for this thing. And are probably less tired than me.
sorry, I'm probably just as tired as you. got called in to work the bar last night, worked til 2:30am, then had to be back down there at 10am to spend most of the day winterizing the smoking area and taking down the outside tiki torches and bamboo mats, and have to be back down there again at 8pm to bounce tonight, which is DJ night which means the drunks will be even more obnoxious than normal. and to top it all off, we didn't get done closing off one section ofthe deck, which means I'll be chasing underage people out of the place all night as they'll be taking advantage of the BIG GAPING HOLE in the wall that I can't see from the front door.
but tomorrow I'll try to have something artculate to say.
Ah, OK. Sounds like a fun time.
yeah. they've started finding excuses to take bouncing shifts from other people and give them to me even though I originally specifically said that I only wanted one night a week. but they offered me a 25% raise in my hourly pay and free meals, and I couldn't refuse. aparently, the extra costs for my services are more than offset by the fact that no one EVER starts a fight, steals bar glasses, or walks out on their tab when I'm working.
i agree with sillycybin though. need more of a mission statement, more of a "what's the point"
what LMNO said, however a very nice ad rem soundbite:
Quote from: LMNO on November 01, 2006, 04:36:48 PM
Worldwide jailbreak.
is slightly too vague for me.
i dunno i've been chatting for a long time on these fora, BIP and other places about discordianism and related subjects. but whenever the talk comes to something of action, it's either
- another mediocre jake
- a good jake that takes too much effort for anyone to actually perform it
- some kind of action with a purpose i don't condone or just don't have much feeling for
- flyers/pamphlets etc, i've printed off a few (in quantities of around 5-50), spread them around at university, public transport etc. unfortunately most are either too americanocentric or too vague and general or "advanced" discordianism for people to care about.
only with a few very good friends i got some success, which was actually kind of dissapointing, cause when they finally understood and agreed with my views, some (unfortunately very temporary) feeling of hopelessness got to them, and basically they froze like a bunny gazing in the headlights of a speeding car. metaphorically speaking. you probably seen it yourself.
ok, so the question is
WHAT IS DISCORDIANISM ALL ABOUT??
i just have this vague notion, which leads me to agree with plans like "worldwide jailbreak", but prevents me from actually communicating this notion to other people, unless i take long nights, a good bar, couch, some substances, good times and then when outside the pub, on the rainy sidewalk just before our ways part i see this glimpse of understanding which i know they'll completely forget about when they close their eyes in 20 minutes.
The task is hopeless, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be done...
Quote from: SillyCybin on November 01, 2006, 05:42:23 PM
Might it be worth demonising discordia? I'm thinking that we could send screeds of emails and letters and the like to our local priests and whatnot, from "concerned parents/ family members" who's children have been indoctrinated into this heinous cult, which is spreading like wildfire on the internet. All the usual culprits will be wheeled out, subliminal tracks in popular music, chatroom grooming, playground touting.. etc.
The clergy already have the media in their pocket so we can capitalise on this by fuelling their paranoia enough to get the tabloids on our case. Once the gutter press decide theres a story there they'll latch on to it and, as is their wont, blow the whole thing out of all proportion. Then a couple of our younger viewers can step forward with all sorts of horror stories about what discordia has done to them, sparking outrage and, with a bit of luck, pressure on goverment to nip this baby sacrificing, animal raping cult in the bud.
If we make it to this stage it would be quite easy to turn the tables by exposing the whole thing as an elaborate hoax.
That's a nice one. That kind of happened with Satanism and various cults. They have these four whackjobs talk about how they were used as breeders so their babies could be used in snuff films, and they get a whole special report on CBS. When in reality it's like four kids who threw a dead cat at a church or somthing.
If you're by yourself then you could easily do it one community at a time. First you do something to get the towns attention, especially the authorites, such as odd graffitie(sp) containg odd quotes and even odder symbols. Then you send out hundreds of letter talking about a "secret society" that exsist among highschool students which has these outrageous rituals to prove loyalty and accelerate the process of reaching their ultimate goal (make sure you get these letters to the highschool administraters.) Then you follow this by a series of letters sent out by the "society" itself, which all have different names and aims, but all have the same symbol printed in the letter in the letter head.
Then you have to do somthing that attracts the media's attention. This has to be somthing relativly big, and blowing up something symbolic
could be a good idea (do it like the weather underground did and warn whoever's in danger before the explosion goes off.) Or you can appear after some kind of disaster takes place wearing an all black cloak, leaving in a very mysterious way.
Joining a group, secrecy, and attention would draw alot of teenagers to the cuase, however ridiculous it may be.
Eh?
Keep it simple Trollax.
Quote from: LMNO on November 01, 2006, 04:27:30 PM
In regards to this, I need lyrics.
I have beats, I have music, but I have no flow.
Consider this a formal request for Discordian lyrics*.
Alas, I cannot provide full sets of lyrics, but perhaps this will seed someone else's imagination:
You're such a good puppy, you've been trained to not see the leash anymore....
I like "trained not to see the leash".
I like it too. Reminds me of something from Revelation X's chapter of the CoN, which I have been reading recently.
I'm still thinking lyrics, but I've done a shitload of work over the past 2 days and my wrists are aching.
Quote from: LMNO on November 03, 2006, 02:53:47 PM
I like "trained not to see the leash".
I had grandiose ideas of writing an entire rant using the housepet metaphor, but it's just not coming.
Quote from: Cain on November 03, 2006, 02:56:41 PM
I like it too.  Reminds me of something from Revelation X's chapter of the CoN, which I have been reading recently.
I'm still thinking lyrics, but I've done a shitload of work over the past 2 days and my wrists are aching.
::matsurbation innuendo here::
Quote from: LMNO on November 03, 2006, 03:00:46 PM
Quote from: Cain on November 03, 2006, 02:56:41 PM
I like it too. Reminds me of something from Revelation X's chapter of the CoN, which I have been reading recently.
I'm still thinking lyrics, but I've done a shitload of work over the past 2 days and my wrists are aching.
::matsurbation innuendo here::
Nah, I have people who do that for me. 8-)
Here kitty kitty
Lie down dog
you feel nothing
when you sleep like a log
Tied down
out in the cold
no use complaining
you're getting too old
You don't hear them laughing at you
roll over play dead in this invisible zoo
fattened up and served to the feast
you been trained not to see the leash
Lazy monkey
plugged into the lie
treading the mill
til the day you die
Bought and sold
commodity flesh
your future stolen
fed bullshit fresh
You don't see them cracking the whip
you see no chains think theres nothing to slip
no walls no fences no cry for release
you been trained not to see the leash
people will hate the idea of going viral, because we all despise the idea of defining discordianism. to have any success with this kind of thing you'll need recognizable icons and an encapsulated format for whatever it is you're trying to sell. even if it's only temporary or only an 'outer shell,' you're going to have to spend a lot of time preparing discordianism for easy marketing, and that means 2+3=5 and Fnord and all the shit that everybody loves to hate around here.
Troof, thats why I wanted to lay the groundwork via setting up more sites first.
we need to set up a advertising / marketing / public relations firm
or at least pretend to
or pretend to be pretending to
we are choking on our own skills in these forums
Lyrics, before they vanish from my head - only two verses and no chorus, but it's something to start with. Apologies for any stylistic resemblance to Nine Inch Nails. And if anyone chooses to run with this, the second verse is definitely the last one of the song. I also think there needs to be another verse before the first one I came up with.
-----
They'll tell you that you've got free will, they'll say that you can choose
But it's only from the options they've already picked for you
Push the button, pull the trigger
See their empire getting bigger
And you'd destroy the things you love
If you pick "none of the above"
They'll train you from the cradle that we all want to belong
And sell you everything they claim is evil, sick and wrong
And just 'cause you don't see the leash
You'll think that you have been released
You'll think I freed you with this song
But even I'm still just a pawn
I can see a KMFDM-type track to the above lyrics.
Fascinating. I've not heard any of their stuff. Maybe if I check some out, it'll inspire me for the rest of the words. :D
try KMFDM "sucks", that track always cracks me up. also "a drug against war" or "torpedoes" (that one actually by MDFMK) and "D.I.Y" are some of my favourites.
DIY is one of my favorite songs. also, Disobedience, Ikons, and Glory are good if you're looking for the whole "danceable and catchy yet underpinned with sociopolitical vitriol" vibe.
X-thread with mechanical alchemy rant. Anyone interested in stepping off the page with this and making a net broadcast or series of? Much easier to get a monkey to watch pretty moving pictures and listen to soothing voices than actually read something. Instead of producing a pamphlet we write a script.
Viral thing still applies - we accuse the makers of this film of all sorts of perverse and violent notions, subliminal messages invoking satan and all the rest. There's enough writers on this board already, all we need are some volunteer presenters and a video artist/animator or two.
I have found that there is a severe lack of people with knowledge, talent or motivation for video on this board. EB&G, too. There must be Discordian videographers out there, but I don't know where.
Funny there's usly a video artists or two in any online forum I've been on. Maybe part of the discordian mindset.
Quote from: SillyCybin on November 07, 2006, 02:12:31 PM
video artist/animator or two.
I'd be willing to help with that.
If anyone is actually interested...
Got any of your work online?
Nothing online, no.
I'm into 3D animation and stuff (XSI, 3Dsmax etc.)
I can do something in Flash too, I suppose...
Any requests?
You interested in working on a pc game?
Quote from: davedim on November 07, 2006, 11:17:51 PM
Nothing online, no.
I'm into 3D animation and stuff (XSI, 3Dsmax etc.)
I can do something in Flash too, I suppose...
Any requests?
Yeah, I'm working on some songs. I'll PM you a link, pick which ones you want to do a video to.
I've done some lyrics already, just so you know, but I'm polishing them up some more before general release.
Sweet. I hope I can do them justice.
Also, if we can find the talent...
http://www.hdnetfilms.com/submissions/index.html
Quote from: SillyCybin on November 08, 2006, 07:05:04 AM
You interested in working on a pc game?
Maybe... what have you got in mind?
I just had an idea which I figured I was as well posting here
Second coming in a box
Would work sorta like a comedy skit that takes the form of a public service announcement on behalf of the Church of the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ the premise being that christ has returned to earth but the church caught him trying to escape and is keeping him locked up in a big chest where his message is given to the viewer via the presenter. So there'd be a sorta banging and commotion and a faint 'kenny from southpark' kinda outburst then the minister would 'translate' this, along the lines of 'jesus says you should listen to what I tell you cos he aint always gonna be there for ya' ... shit like that.
Pretty obvious really but I figure if it's done right it could be funny as hell, but making a serious satirical point at the same time.
Sounds abit like Dostoevsky's Grand Inquisitor. If you stole bits from that, the point would be made perfectly.
Anyway, here are some bad lyrics for y'all to laugh it. I admit listening to the Australian band Cold Chisel was some influence, as opposed to edginess of the like of KMFDM or NIN
Black Iron Prison
I've spent a lot of time in this dark stinking cell,
I built myself piece by piece into a personal hell,
I don't know how it was I wound up here,
or if there is even a way to get myself out
They clubbed all the rebels and rioters down,
never stopped doing their countless rounds,
we're all marching to some other Nazi's tune,
while trapped in the same small black rooms
When the first ever jailbreak we had came
it turned out to be nothing but more of the same
prisoners turned into the jail guards
a new prison, but with the same old walls
But there came a new plan on the inside
a way to finally be free of this in one stride
they said we built a prison in our minds
and we were invited to our personal jailbreak
Copied, pasted, soon to be recorded.
Is there a chorus?
Also, I have been wanting to make recordings of TGRR's stuff for quite a while, but he never gave me permission, because he wanted to do it himself.
Normally, I would just go ahead and do it anyway, but TGRR's very touchy about ownership.
IMO, it needs a chorus and another verse. I'll see if I can get it done tomorrow, as I'm finishing up a talk I'm giving this week today. I'll also see if anything else comes to me for other songs, as I will probably spend most of the day sticking up flyers etc anyway.
I suggest PMing Roger either here or through EB&G. I've found he is normally fine, so long as he is credited with the words, which is fair enough. If he does give permission, I suggest "This is the House Thomas Jefferson built" as excellent material.
I have come up with a new song title thanks to the eXile: you can't rhyme 'liberty' with 'RPG'.
Quote from: LMNO on November 08, 2006, 01:24:35 PM
Quote from: davedim on November 07, 2006, 11:17:51 PM
Nothing online, no.
I'm into 3D animation and stuff (XSI, 3Dsmax etc.)
I can do something in Flash too, I suppose...
Any requests?
Yeah, I'm working on some songs. I'll PM you a link, pick which ones you want to do a video to.
I'll help out with that if you want...
i have to warn people who want to create a computergame. to make anything better than "a funny flash game people pass to their friends", you need at least half a year's work and a team of at least 5 people. that is, if you're completely passionate about it and willing to spend most of your free time on it. otherwise you need more.
i've seen too many computer-game projects here at CS get off a flying start, then dissolve into oblivion, because people underestimate what a huge project any semi-serious modern-day computer game is.
the old old computer games might be made by one or two people, in relatively little spare time. but they are really of the complexity of the "funny flash games" we have these days, millions of them.
Quote from: davedim on November 14, 2006, 09:27:12 AM
Quote from: LMNO on November 08, 2006, 01:24:35 PM
Quote from: davedim on November 07, 2006, 11:17:51 PM
Nothing online, no.
I'm into 3D animation and stuff (XSI, 3Dsmax etc.)
I can do something in Flash too, I suppose...
Any requests?
Yeah, I'm working on some songs.  I'll PM you a link, pick which ones you want to do a video to.
I'll help out with that if you want...
Go to http://earfatigue.multiply.com and poke around. I suggest looking for a track called "The Revolution". See what you can do.
If you hear anything else you like, let me know.
Quote from: triple zero on November 14, 2006, 12:44:23 PM
i have to warn people who want to create a computergame. to make anything better than "a funny flash game people pass to their friends", you need at least half a year's work and a team of at least 5 people. that is, if you're completely passionate about it and willing to spend most of your free time on it. otherwise you need more.
i've seen too many computer-game projects here at CS get off a flying start, then dissolve into oblivion, because people underestimate what a huge project any semi-serious modern-day computer game is.
the old old computer games might be made by one or two people, in relatively little spare time. but they are really of the complexity of the "funny flash games" we have these days, millions of them.
www.sourceball.com (http://www.sourceball.com)
two years of my life a team of about 20 and still we never got it to release. Yeah, I know what I'm letting myself in for ;) New project is for unreal engine3 I've been working on script and concepts for about 6months and I expect about 1 1/2-2 years worth of work in there for a team of about 10.
You work for campershite?
CS = Computer Science (lol there's actually a bash.org quote about this confusion, which i had to think of while using the abbreviation .. :) )
well, it helps you at least can rip a good engine off an existing game. (the computer graphics used to be my forte in such endeavours)