The book is devoted to advancing and developing the frontiers of superconductivity; in particular, the theory of the Diagrammatic Iteration Approach (DIA), described in Chapter 1, is unique in the community of superconductivity.The application of DIA to electron correlation effects has allowed the tough issue of strongly-coupled electron systems to be solved, which is important for high-temperature superconductivity (HTS). DIA, when applied to a layered two-dimensional system, gives rise to marvelous outcomes that can explain all the anomalies in the normal state of HTS, and leads to a transition temperature that is dependent on quantities including the dielectric constant, electron band mass and spacing between layers. This then serves as a quantifiable guide on how to make ideal superconductors. Moreover, in such a scenario, the mechanisms of low- and high-temperature superconductivity can be unified on the basis of repulsive Coulomb interactions between electrons.The book contains rich first-hand information on experiments at the frontiers of superconductivity, as well as on relevant applications of such cutting-edge developments. For instance, Jiasu Wang, co-author of the chapter discussing the HTS Maglev train, is the person who completed the world's first HTS Maglev train. Thus, the draw of this book lies not only in its ability to marry theory, experiment and application, but also in its inclusion of research from prestigious experts of the field.

Combining theory and practice, this updated new edition provides a complete overview of how to create deep and meaningful quests for games. It uses the Unity game engine in conjunction with Fungus and other free plugins to provide an accessible entry into quest design. The book begins with an introduction to the theory and history of quests in games, before covering four theoretical components of quests: their spaces, objects, actors, and challenges. Each chapter also includes a practical section, with accompanying exercises and suggestions for the use of specific technologies for four crucial aspects of quest design: • level design • quest item creation • NPC and dialogue construction • scripting This book will be of great interest to all game designers looking to create new, innovative quests in their games. It will also appeal to new media researchers, as well as humanities scholars in the fields of mythology and depth-psychology that want to bring computer-assisted instruction into their classroom in an innovative way. The companion website includes lecture and workshop slides, and can be accessed at: www.designingquests.com

THE APOCALYPSE CODEX PROPHESIZES THE COMING OF THE APOCALYPSE, UNLESS, OF COURSE, THE UNDERGROUND APOCALYPSE RESISTANCE CAN PREVENT THE APOCALYPSE FROM HAPPENING. HOWEVER, IN THE TRICKY PROCESS OF TRYING TO PREVENT THE APOCALYPSE, THE APOCALYPSE RESISTANCE INSTEAD CAUSES THE APOCALYPSE TO BEGIN. IS THE ZOMBIE DOOMSDAY UPON US: IN SHADOW OF TOMORROW, HELLREBEL AND HELLDEVIL ARE ORPHANED TWINS RAISED AS DAY-WALKING VAMPIRE HUNTERS BY THE BROTHERHOOD OF BLOOD, OTHERWISE KNOWN DOWN THE ROAD AS THE UNDERGROUND APOCALYPSE RESISTANCE. WALKING DEAD MEN WANTED AS VIGILANTE OUTLAWS HUNTED DOWN BY THE LAW, HELLREBEL AND HELLDEVIL MUST HUNT DOWN THE DEVIL INCARNATE BEFORE THE DEVIL INCARNATE HUNTS DOWN SIN INCARNATE. OTHERWISE, SIN INCARNATE WILL GIVE BIRTH TO DEATH INCARNATE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DID YOU KNOW ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON PENNED DR. JECKYLL AND MR. HYDE ON A SIX-DAY COCAINE BINGE? LIKE DR. JECKYLL AND MR. HYDE, EACH ONE OF US HAS A SPLIT PERSONALITY. THE GOOD SIDE THAT WE SHOW OFF DURING THE DAY, AND THEN THAT DARK SIDE THAT WE TRY TO KEEP HIDDEN IN THE DARKEST CORNER OF OUR CLOSET. I HIDE THESE EPISODES INSIDE THE CLOSET. WE ALL HAVE SKELETONS BURIED IN OUR CLOSET. BUT ME, I HAVE A CEMETERY BURIED IN MINE. HOWEVER, I FEAR SOMEONE WILL UNLOCK MY CLOSET. I SEE IT EVERY NIGHT IN MY NIGHTMARES, NIGHTMARES THAT WAKE ME EVERY NIGHT. LIKE FRANKENSTEIN, I SEE MYSELF FLEEING IN FEAR, RUNNING FASTER AND FASTER, RUSHING DOWN A DARK ROAD DISAPPEARING THROUGH THE SNOW-SWEPT WOODS GROWING DARKER AMIDST A BITTER WINTER, RUNNING FARTHER AND FURTHER AWAY, RUSHING THROUGH THE WIND-SWEPT WILD. IT WANDERS WAYWARD ACROSS UNFOLDING VIRGIN VISTAS AS IT WONDERS TO GOD IN HEAVEN, WHY THE HELL IN THE WORLD ARE THE RABID DOGS IN SUCH RUTHLESS, PITILESS, RELENTLESS PURSUIT? THERE ARE SOME DOGS THAT BARK. HOWEVER, THERE ARE OTHER DOGS THAT BITE. SAVE ME FROM MY SINS BEFORE THEY CATCH UP TO ME. MAN MAKES HIS HELL AND MY MIND IS MINE. SAVE ME FROM THE DEVIL AND FREE MY SOUL FROM THIS LIVING HELL. AS A WALKING DEAD MAN HUNTED DOWN IN THE DEAD MANS LAND, YUPPIE CITY WAS HOOKED ON MALE FUEL. MALE FUEL TURNED YOU INTO A MAN. MALE FUEL TURNED YOU INTO A MACHINE. MALE FUEL TURNED YOU INTO A MONSTER. HOWEVER, WHEN BIO/CIDE WENT UNDER, BIO/CIDE CITY NO LONGER MASS-PRODUCED MALE FUEL. THE ALICE-IN-WONDERLAND WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOM OF MALE FUEL WAS THAT YOU DEVELOPED VIOLENT ZOMBIE-LIKE BEHAVIOR THAT TURNED YOU INTO A HUMAN BEAST THAT BEHAVED LIKE A ZOMBIE. WHAT WAS STILL LEFT AT THE BIO/CIDE CITY WAS HORDED BY HUMANS THAT TOOK REFUGE UNDERGROUND. HOWEVER, FOR THOSE THAT WERE STILL ALIVE, THE UNDERWORLD WAS NOT ANY BETTER THAN THE WORLD THEY LEFT BEHIND. FOLLOWING THE GRAVEYARD WARS, THE WORLD OF HORROTICA WAS RECLAIMED BY THE OUTCASTS AND THE OUTLAWS WHO WEATHERED THE STORM WHILE LIVING UNDERGROUND WHERE THE REMAINING REMNANTS OF THE HUMAN CIVILIZATION RETURNED TO THE MORTAL WORLD WHERE THE OUTCASTS AND THE OUTLAWS TOOK CONTROL OF THE HUMAN WORLD, WHICH BECAME KNOWN AS THE LAWLESS LAND.

It’s the fantasy quest of a lifetime…and everyone‘s got an excuse to get out of it. When all the mighty Heroes of Legend are trapped under an evil spell, lesser-known heroes from warriors to wizards are gathered to go save the day. One problem: everyone has a tale to tell about why they can’t go on a quest just now. Are the Enchanted Lands doomed? This hilarious build-your-own adventure play can be performed with any combination of components and optional interludes. Includes: The Wizards of Northwick by Patrick Greene The Three Thieves by Matthew Byrd The Power of the Elves by Kathryn Funkhouser The Law of the Instrument by Ruben Carbajal The Cosplay by Elissa C. Huang Pastryland by Elizabeth A.M. Keel The Hero's Journey to Group Therapy by Carrie McCrossen Huzzah for Three Wishes! by Mora V. Harris Possessed by Ian McWethy Most Special Child by Jason Pizzarello ( * These plays can be licensed together or separately. If you license the whole collection, you have permission to pick and choose which plays to perform.)

In the quest for sustainability, we strive to meet our present needs without sacrificing the same opportunity for future generations. Our success or failure depends on our ability to think in “systems,” integrating environmental, social, and economic considerations. But how do we learn systems-thinking? In a series of engaging, rapid-fire stories, Sustainability through Soccer takes readers on a journey through a progression of systems-thinking and sustainability concepts. Using the beautiful game of soccer as an analogy, Leidy Klotz illuminates real-world interdependencies (such as between climate change and human rights), building the chain of concepts in a fun, accessible way. Soccer nerds and newbies alike will be entertained on the way to a deeper understanding of sustainability science.

What Is Your Quest? examines the future of electronic literature in a world where tablets and e-readers are becoming as common as printed books and where fans are blurring the distinction between reader and author. The construction of new ways of storytelling is already underway: it is happening on the edges of the mainstream gaming industry and in the spaces between media, on the foundations set by classic games. Along these margins, convergent storytelling allows for playful reading and reading becomes a strategy of play. One of the earliest models for this new way of telling stories was the adventure game, the kind of game centered on quests in which the characters must overcome obstacles and puzzles. After they fell out of fashion in the 1990s, fans made strenuous efforts to keep them alive and to create new games in the genre. Such activities highlight both the convergence of game and story and the collapsing distinction between reader and author. Continually defying the forces of obsolescence, fans return abandoned games to a playable state and treat stories as ever-evolving narratives. Similarly, players of massive multiplayer games become co-creators of the game experience, building characters and creating social networks that recombine a reading and gaming community. The interactions between storytellers and readers, between programmers and creators, and among fans turned world-builders are essential to the development of innovative ways of telling stories. And at the same time that fan activities foster the convergence of digital gaming and storytelling, new and increasingly accessible tools and models for interactive narrative empower a broadening range of storytellers. It is precisely this interactivity among a range of users surrounding these new platforms that is radically reshaping both e-books and games and those who read and play with them.