Since before I finished university, I've had no reliable internet access and a lot of issues with both my laptop and desktop that have had me out of commission for a while with no way to access my files.
I will rectify this and get back to posting as soon as possible, thankfully everything was backed up and I have it all.
I am very sorry this has taken so long.
BA (Hons) Game Design: Year One
the documentation blog of a game design student's first year of university.
Saturday, 15 June 2013
Sunday, 7 April 2013
DD1000 - war games (interesting videogames set during war)
* The otherworld in The Darkness is modeled after First World War scenarios, the Germans are demonic and No Man's Land is a neverending hell. You fight through German bunkers to reach the heart of the demons possessing you, and find out the curse plaguing your family stemmed from the First World War, when a relative of yours summoned the beasts. So that is story-relevant!
* A chapter in the Gamecube game Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem was set during the First World War. You play as a reporter holed up in a makeshift hospital in a church at the Somme, and is not strictly relevant to the ancient, demonic Tome of Eternal Darkness coming into your possession.
* find out where Call of Duty games are set (plus controversy!)
* and Medal of Honour
* Battlefield, maybe?
* A chapter in the Gamecube game Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem was set during the First World War. You play as a reporter holed up in a makeshift hospital in a church at the Somme, and is not strictly relevant to the ancient, demonic Tome of Eternal Darkness coming into your possession.
* find out where Call of Duty games are set (plus controversy!)
* and Medal of Honour
* Battlefield, maybe?
Saturday, 6 April 2013
DD1000 - war games (interesting video games set in the cold war)
A lot of games have incorporated war into them in some fashion, sometimes subtly.
For example, rather than the boisterous and violent World Wars, some games emphasise the quieter Cold War.
The third Metal Gear Solid game (a series I'm not particularly fond of) was set during the Cold War in 1963, which seems fitting as the franchise is about espionage and stealth. As the Metal Gear Solid games feature over-complicated, bizarre, and confusing stories, the game being set in the Cold War can often be forgotten, and it's often overshadowed by ramblings about the Patriots and the Philosopher's Legacy (or whatever all that was), only really obvious due to the xenophobia toward Americans characters in the game tends to have, as you play an American spy deep in the Russian jungle. The game does directly mention aspects of the Cold War in cutscenes, more to establish the time period than to add anything to the story, mentioning Nikita Khrushchev leading the Soviet Union, and the occasional mentions here and there of the Cuban Missile Crisis and Yuri Gagarin being the first man in space. It's not relevant information, and the actual story has nothing to do with it even being set in the Cold War, it's essentially a game about a man forced to murder the only person he ever cared for, with a lot of crazy and bizarre things tacked onto the side, and a fairly interesting healing system.
A character in the game, the Fury, is also a reference to a conspiracy theory from the Cold War: the lost cosmonauts, failed space missions that ended in disaster and tragedy the Soviets wanted to cover up. The theory probably is completely false, but it is interesting nontheless! A speculated recording of a lost cosmonaut mission can be found here. I really enjoy this theory!
Regardless, at its core, a stealth game being set during the Cold War is an immensely interesting idea.
Speaking of the Cold War, Bioshock was also set in 1960. Again, the Cold War setting is not entirely relevant as you play the game, but it is relevant to the backstory of the world, and is subtly always there. Early in the game, as the player descends into Rapture, two of the slides presented in Andrew Ryan's speech refer to Communism and Capitalism, as well as religion. A little while later, Andrew Ryan taunts the player and questions why they're there, asking if he's a 'KGB dog' or a 'CIA jackal'. Andrew Ryan himself is a man who fled Russia for a better life in America, and hating how that Capitalist state is no better than the Communist one he escaped from. Rapture was his escape to create a state for him and others like him, people who want freedom and are fed up with the constant fighting between Communists and Capitalists. However, the game is built heavily on the ideals of objectivism,a philosophy coined by Ayn Rand in her books during the Cold War. Objectivism is essentially the idea that the key to one's own happiness should be the one true pursuit in life, that there should be full respect for one's individual rights, like the laissez-faire mentality Capitalism had: if it doesn't bother me, then I don't care. Or at least, that's my understanding!
For example, rather than the boisterous and violent World Wars, some games emphasise the quieter Cold War.
The third Metal Gear Solid game (a series I'm not particularly fond of) was set during the Cold War in 1963, which seems fitting as the franchise is about espionage and stealth. As the Metal Gear Solid games feature over-complicated, bizarre, and confusing stories, the game being set in the Cold War can often be forgotten, and it's often overshadowed by ramblings about the Patriots and the Philosopher's Legacy (or whatever all that was), only really obvious due to the xenophobia toward Americans characters in the game tends to have, as you play an American spy deep in the Russian jungle. The game does directly mention aspects of the Cold War in cutscenes, more to establish the time period than to add anything to the story, mentioning Nikita Khrushchev leading the Soviet Union, and the occasional mentions here and there of the Cuban Missile Crisis and Yuri Gagarin being the first man in space. It's not relevant information, and the actual story has nothing to do with it even being set in the Cold War, it's essentially a game about a man forced to murder the only person he ever cared for, with a lot of crazy and bizarre things tacked onto the side, and a fairly interesting healing system.
A character in the game, the Fury, is also a reference to a conspiracy theory from the Cold War: the lost cosmonauts, failed space missions that ended in disaster and tragedy the Soviets wanted to cover up. The theory probably is completely false, but it is interesting nontheless! A speculated recording of a lost cosmonaut mission can be found here. I really enjoy this theory!
Regardless, at its core, a stealth game being set during the Cold War is an immensely interesting idea.
Speaking of the Cold War, Bioshock was also set in 1960. Again, the Cold War setting is not entirely relevant as you play the game, but it is relevant to the backstory of the world, and is subtly always there. Early in the game, as the player descends into Rapture, two of the slides presented in Andrew Ryan's speech refer to Communism and Capitalism, as well as religion. A little while later, Andrew Ryan taunts the player and questions why they're there, asking if he's a 'KGB dog' or a 'CIA jackal'. Andrew Ryan himself is a man who fled Russia for a better life in America, and hating how that Capitalist state is no better than the Communist one he escaped from. Rapture was his escape to create a state for him and others like him, people who want freedom and are fed up with the constant fighting between Communists and Capitalists. However, the game is built heavily on the ideals of objectivism,a philosophy coined by Ayn Rand in her books during the Cold War. Objectivism is essentially the idea that the key to one's own happiness should be the one true pursuit in life, that there should be full respect for one's individual rights, like the laissez-faire mentality Capitalism had: if it doesn't bother me, then I don't care. Or at least, that's my understanding!
Thursday, 4 April 2013
DD1000 - war games research (kriegspiel)
Kriegspiel, the German word for wargame, was a system for training Prussian troops. The first of these was created in 1812 by father-and-son Georg Leopold von Reiswitz and Georg Heinrich Rudolf von Reiswitz. It was named Instructions for the Representation of Tactical Maneuvers under the Guise of a Wargame.
The grid system for the game field was born from a specifically-designed table for King Friedrich Wilhelm III. The field was divided into a grid, which would be come core for war games and roleplaying games the world over ever since. Game pieces were specialised, from specific playing pieces, to pre-cast terrain models, and dice. Reiswitz created the original gamemaster, as it were, as his game employed an impartial third party who would oversee the game and assess every move made. He referred to this person as a confidant.
Reiswitz created elements of his game that became staple fr all other games since. Opposing forces were colour-coded red and blue (as practically all games are these days), using maps, uniforms, and complex combat rules. Some pieces even had different speeds to move and play their turn, and each turn would last two minutes. The game had two sides of up to five players each, and there would be an hierarchy of command between them to communicate signals and so on, and if the units are out of sight of one another, those players could not communicate.
It became wildly successful among military forces, not just in Prussia.
The grid system for the game field was born from a specifically-designed table for King Friedrich Wilhelm III. The field was divided into a grid, which would be come core for war games and roleplaying games the world over ever since. Game pieces were specialised, from specific playing pieces, to pre-cast terrain models, and dice. Reiswitz created the original gamemaster, as it were, as his game employed an impartial third party who would oversee the game and assess every move made. He referred to this person as a confidant.
Reiswitz created elements of his game that became staple fr all other games since. Opposing forces were colour-coded red and blue (as practically all games are these days), using maps, uniforms, and complex combat rules. Some pieces even had different speeds to move and play their turn, and each turn would last two minutes. The game had two sides of up to five players each, and there would be an hierarchy of command between them to communicate signals and so on, and if the units are out of sight of one another, those players could not communicate.
It became wildly successful among military forces, not just in Prussia.
Tuesday, 2 April 2013
DD1000 - war games research (early, pre-chess board games)
For our final assignment in Historical Contextual Studies, we are to research important pieces of game history to a specific theme, working in groups of 2 or 3. My group was given the history of war games, and all this research will culminate in a visual timeline and presentation about this chunk of game history. I'll be looking at board games to videogames, and the impact they had on the industry and culture.
War games in their earliest forms were things of privilege for the rich, to devise strategies and demonstrate wealth and power. They began as commanding an entire army, but when these games were being transferred to the digital age and gained popularity, the notion of these became individualised. Or, more specifically, games were played from the perspective of just one character rather than a whole army, and the idea of the player in the shoes of a soldier taking on entire armies single-handedly was empowering and exciting. This also gave birth to first-person shooters, and before long, your nameless soldier or cheesy action-hero protagonist evolved into a story-driven masterpiece with a wide cast of developed characters and intricate backstories. But that will come later!
So to start things off, here are some noteworthy and major board games through history.
The earliest recorded war games date back to Ancient Egypt in the form of rudimentary toy soldiers, which have become a staple for war games ever since, as well as for toys the world over. These military figures were discovered in Egyptian tombs, and it is curious to think of what triggered humans to use objects to represent themselves and others, and what kind of toy soldiers could have existed before then, but what is known is that this is the earliest documentation from an ancient and advanced society, so they could be the first self-representational figures to be used as a defined game, which the Egyptians had a particular penchant for.
There is another game that is today known as Go, and it originated in China over two and a half thousand years ago. For its simple rules, it's a devilishly graceful game full of such rich strategy. A chess master, Emanuel Lasker, remarked that due to how elegant and organic the game plays, and the logic it's built on, that any intelligent form of life would have a game near-identical to Go. There could be extraterrestrial life playing it right now!
The game is played with two people, and the goal is to take over more territory than the opponent on a 19x19 grid (or 9x9 or 13x13 for beginners), to take over a larger total area than the opponent. Pieces (stones) are captured by all adjacent points (each intersection on the grid), and that is the only way a stone can be moved once it has been placed on the surface. The game only ends when one player decides that they have had enough and wishes to not make another move. There's no real ending conditions set in stone for the game.
It has an interesting rule of etiquette that ought to be applied to all other games, a very honourable and respectful rule of thumb: do not play a move that you are aware your opponent wouldn't know. In other words, don't play cheap moves because your opponent is new to the game or not as intelligent, and you should play on their level. That is a beautiful rule, honestly.
There is also a predecessor to chess originating from India called Chaturanga, dating back to the 6th Century AD. It was adopted in the 7th Century by Sassand Persia, which is the form that became known as chess in Medieval Europe. However, it is unknown what the exact rules of the game are, but it is noteworthy in the fact that chess became its successor. The rules are merely theorised, and make use of pieces speculated to be a king (raja), a minister (mantri), a chariot (ratha), an elephant (gaja), a horse (ashva), and a foot-soldier (padàti or bhata) or the warrior (sainik).
A predecessor to checkers existed in ancient Rome, but scholars are conflicted as to what the game's rules actually are. The game was called Latrunculi.
That's it for now! More to come soon!
War games in their earliest forms were things of privilege for the rich, to devise strategies and demonstrate wealth and power. They began as commanding an entire army, but when these games were being transferred to the digital age and gained popularity, the notion of these became individualised. Or, more specifically, games were played from the perspective of just one character rather than a whole army, and the idea of the player in the shoes of a soldier taking on entire armies single-handedly was empowering and exciting. This also gave birth to first-person shooters, and before long, your nameless soldier or cheesy action-hero protagonist evolved into a story-driven masterpiece with a wide cast of developed characters and intricate backstories. But that will come later!
So to start things off, here are some noteworthy and major board games through history.
The earliest recorded war games date back to Ancient Egypt in the form of rudimentary toy soldiers, which have become a staple for war games ever since, as well as for toys the world over. These military figures were discovered in Egyptian tombs, and it is curious to think of what triggered humans to use objects to represent themselves and others, and what kind of toy soldiers could have existed before then, but what is known is that this is the earliest documentation from an ancient and advanced society, so they could be the first self-representational figures to be used as a defined game, which the Egyptians had a particular penchant for.
There is another game that is today known as Go, and it originated in China over two and a half thousand years ago. For its simple rules, it's a devilishly graceful game full of such rich strategy. A chess master, Emanuel Lasker, remarked that due to how elegant and organic the game plays, and the logic it's built on, that any intelligent form of life would have a game near-identical to Go. There could be extraterrestrial life playing it right now!
The game is played with two people, and the goal is to take over more territory than the opponent on a 19x19 grid (or 9x9 or 13x13 for beginners), to take over a larger total area than the opponent. Pieces (stones) are captured by all adjacent points (each intersection on the grid), and that is the only way a stone can be moved once it has been placed on the surface. The game only ends when one player decides that they have had enough and wishes to not make another move. There's no real ending conditions set in stone for the game.
It has an interesting rule of etiquette that ought to be applied to all other games, a very honourable and respectful rule of thumb: do not play a move that you are aware your opponent wouldn't know. In other words, don't play cheap moves because your opponent is new to the game or not as intelligent, and you should play on their level. That is a beautiful rule, honestly.
There is also a predecessor to chess originating from India called Chaturanga, dating back to the 6th Century AD. It was adopted in the 7th Century by Sassand Persia, which is the form that became known as chess in Medieval Europe. However, it is unknown what the exact rules of the game are, but it is noteworthy in the fact that chess became its successor. The rules are merely theorised, and make use of pieces speculated to be a king (raja), a minister (mantri), a chariot (ratha), an elephant (gaja), a horse (ashva), and a foot-soldier (padàti or bhata) or the warrior (sainik).
A predecessor to checkers existed in ancient Rome, but scholars are conflicted as to what the game's rules actually are. The game was called Latrunculi.
That's it for now! More to come soon!
Saturday, 30 March 2013
XB1000 - board game rules (revised)
ORIGINAL POST DATE: OCTOBER 16TH 2012
Including rules for a two-player game, and the event cards have been removed.
RULES
* Oldest player goes first, and then the order follows chronologically to the youngest player.
* Minimum of TWO players, maximum of TEN.
* Every time a player rolls an odd number, they draw a card from the EVIDENCE decks.
* One player is the detective, one is the killer. The remaining players are either genuine witnesses or accomplices.
* The detective must NOT know who the killer is immediately.
* Suspects WILL confer wordlessly, just show each other the cards. When the roles are drawn, they will know who each other are.
* All SUSPECTS have their cards FACE DOWN in front of them. They must NEVER look at ANOTHER PLAYER’S cards for the rest of the game, but are free to look at their own at any time.
* After the ROLE cards are drawn, the LOCATION and SCENE cards are drawn. They serve no purpose to gameplay, but create a scene for the players to be immersed in. These will remain FACE UP in the play area for the remainder of the game.
* Whenever the DETECTIVE rolls a 6, they can choose to force a player to turn a card of their choice over, except for a ROLE card.
* Or, a detective can choose to INTERROGATE a player verbally, in a kind of Guess Who fashion: asking what classification their weapon and item fall under, or to ask any questions they like, to try and coax them to flip their card, or quess if they are a WITNESS, ACCOMPLICE, or KILER. Once the KILLER is found, it's game over.
* If there is a definite ‘NO’ to a category of weapon or stolen object after questioning everyone once, then they can be crossed off your checklist, and ticked if a player has the card.
* There is a limit of two questions per interrogation.
* Mix up the questions, if you can! When the detective has an average on the crime criteria, or if they have a gut feeling as to who the culprit is, they can choose to arrest them at any time.
* The game ends when a player is arrested. If the detective is wrong, they lose, and the killer wins.
FOR TWO-PLAYER GAMES
* It becomes a card game.
* Featuring only the KILLER and DETECTIVE.
* The goal is to guess the details of the crime through guessing the KILLER’S cards.
* Three card types are dealt: WEAPON, STOLEN ITEM, and LOCATION.
* The KILLER gets two WEAPON cards and three STOLEN ITEM cards.
* The DETECTIVE cannot name a specific item. That counts as LOSING A LIFE.
* They can only guess CATEGORIES of items, or other factors.
* The DETECTVE has three lives.
XB1000 - board game scenes (revised)
ORIGINAL POST DATE: OCTOBER 16TH 2012
I only added two more, but they do add more of an interesting variety. The two added are major contrasts to each other.
cult activity
candles are strewn about the room, almost all of them are still lit, others have been melted to small pools of wax upon the floorboards, tables and shelves. some candles are arranged in small circles around animal skulls and bloodied scraps of paper and fabric, sometimes arranged around chalk symbols. these candles are the only source of light within the apartment, as the light bulbs have been removed, and the windows have been boarded up.
clean and inconspicuous
nothing really seems off, other than the dead body. there is no sign of a struggle, and mostly everything seems to be in its correct place. something about this is still unnerving, however, and it’s hard to shake off that sense of dread.
conspiracy theorist?
photographs, maps, newspaper clippings, and notes are hanging from the ceiling, pinned to massive noticeboards up and down the walls, and even scattered on the floor. everything is a mess. it feels like both a darkroom and a tomb; the person obviously spent most of their life holed up in this horrid environment, and maybe this was their downfall. it is very unsettling to stay in the room for long, almost depressing, being surrounded by one person’s pent-up insanity.
barebones
all appliances, wiring, furniture, and light fittings have been removed as if abandoned for years. yet somehow, it’s all a mess, full of balled-up paper and scattered rubbish, of medicine and old bottles. even for a squatter, this would be too cluttered and treacherous. it would be hard to tell if someone had ever lived here. it’s unsurprising that someone met their end here, though.
dancing with the devil
neon lights are abundant and casting a colourful yet sickening glow on everything in the room. it makes it hard to tell spilled drinks from blood, and even harder to tell how pale the officers on scene became. evidently recently-discarded rubbish indicated that somebody was having a good time here recently, but had to leave in a rush. this place was clearly in business, but whether the activities are legal or not would not be the concern of this investigation.
XB1000 - board game locations (revised)
ORIGINAL POST DATE: OCTOBER 16TH 2012
A revised list. A little more variety, and I excluded exclusively outdoor locations, as some of the Scene descriptors are exclusively interior depictions.
locations
theatre
locked apartment
diner
art gallery
old mill
nightclub
casino
library
a wealthy residence
hospital
amusement park
an alley
derelict power station
XB1000 - playtesting notes
ORIGINAL POST DATE: OCTOBER 16TH 2012
* very much card-based… is the board needed?
* not enough chance cards or variety
* not enough variety in scenes and locations
* think of revised rules for two-player: make is a straight-up interrogation without the investigation
* too confusing, maybe the killer won’t be allowed to bluff? maybe remove investigations altogether?
* suspects MUST confer, otherwise it becomes confusing and hard to win
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