Remediation

Remediation Notes:

Remediation can be defined in different characteristics in new digital media, Immediacy and Hypermediacy.

Immediacy:

• Immediacy aims itself at the viewer to forget that they're watching.

• This happens in films or photorealism. Photorealism is great example of the techniques  that are used in the industry.

Hypermediacy:

• Hypermediacy draws the audiences to its constructed nature without trying be unknown like hiding it.

• Examples of this is the web and modern video games.

Remediation:

• Remediation offers a range of conventions, examples of conventions being used between different media's is photorealism as it is not used to preserved the medium of photography.

• Remediation takes place when it is needed on a new medium to develop unique contents, such as in games, films, TV shows and other media's.

Bibliography

• Caillois, R. (1961) Man, Play and Games. 2nd Edition. United States of America. The Free Press of Glencoe, Inc.

• Gonzalez, C. (2013) Learning to Stand in the Other's Shoe: A Computer Video Game Experience of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Social Science Computer Review.

• Gustafson, J. (1990) Design a Character. The Reading Teacher. 86-87.

• Schell, J. (2008) The Art of Games Design: A Book of Lenses. 1st Edition. United States of America. CRC Press.

• Shanahan, I. (2003) Bow, Nigger. always_black.

• Triantafyllakos, G. Palaigeorgiou, G. Tsoukalas, I. (2010) Fictional Characters in Participatory Design Sessions: Introducing the Design Alter Egos Techniques. Interacting with Computers. 165-175.

Narrative and Games

Narrative in games is quite important to the game and the industry. Narrative can be used to draw players in and to create a sequel of the game in order to expand upon the original game. Game developers have used different solutions with the narrative of games, changing the player experience in a way to give the player to make choices of their own that will affect the narrative. An example of a company that uses these methods is Bioware and their games such as Mass Effect 1, 2 and 3, and Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age 2. In these games the player when interacting with another character or gameplay, the player is presented with number of choices with will change the affects of the narrative and gameplay.

Notes on narrative:

• The narrative does not have to be in the game itself but can be shown in the levels or cutscenes.

• Games can weave the narrative into gameplay.

• Other games will give the player total control of the narrative such as Electronic Arts The Sims, the player will control their characters giving them limitless ways to change the narrative and how the game flows.

New Games Journalism / Old Games Journalism

Old Games Journalism:

• It focusses on detailed descriptions of mechanics and the game itself.
• Removing any experience of the game such as gameplay.

The article is type of article that you will read on websites, a great example of this is a website that known by many; IGN (uk.ign.com). Articles like these focus on telling the reader about the game and what to expect without letting the reader know to much about the game such as the story or any spoilers that could end the experience there and then.

New Games Journalism:

The article I used for this was Bow, Nigger by Ian Shanahan, always_black. "Bow,Nigger"

In the article Ian talks about his experience playing Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast (A first and third person action shooter, developed by Raven Software and published by LucasArts and Activision; Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast). He begins with his personal experience in the game, such as the gameplay. Instead of going into detail of the games mechanics and his thoughts on it.

Conclusion:

From what I've read Old Games Journalism is more of way to find out information about a games, whereas New Games Journalism is a read where the readers will gain a experience from an actual player and there thoughts on it. My opinion I would read more Old Games Journalism to help me find out more about the games to help me buy the right one I would like.

Gender and Games

Notes on Gender and Games

• Video games are more focus on men, surveys have shown that the population of people who play games are men and only a small percentage behind me are women.

• Games have been expanding every year introducing new audiences, men and women. But when it comes to market, the game industries focus more towards men.

• Women seem to prefer to play more casual games. Casual games such indie games have a low budget and others compared to big 'Named' games such as Halo. Whereas Halo games are a big number of female players.

• The new population and rising of women gamers is new to the gaming industry as they have only focused on the men. But this isn't a bad thing, the games industry have noticed this and are taking advantage of this.

• The games industry advertisement towards men will soon be towards men and women. Soon gaming will be a big mix gender entrainment, instead of seeing gamers as nerds.

A Popcamp Case Study

Notes:

Pick up play
Unlikely to punch you
Overmuch for failure
Accessible
Family friendly

= Complexity is Hidden
- under a gradual learning Curve: where new things are gradually introduce
- Patterns: if the player keeps getting the same pattern in the game, the play will most likely get Bored.

Pacing:
- Attention
:-
- Repetition
:-
- Relaxation
:- Movement Impetus = The will to move forward and progress the game. Giving the player independent Decisions.
:- Tension = Sounds and the Environment can get the player gain tension. Making the player feel week.
'ILLUSORY FEEDBACK LOOP'
:- Threat = it's a mechanical part of the game that makes the player challenge themselves. 'Sense of Real peril the Player is in'.
:- Tempo = The Intensity of Play. Time between each significant Decisions, Very quick Decision making. The more choices you have the slower the decision you going to have.

Don't Be a Vidiot

Notes:

- Costikyan talks about the games industry and how we keep getting the same similar games in are stores.

- Games Designers are limited within the industry to show imagination, this is why there so many similar games filling the store shelves.

- Some games have creativity and great ideas behind them within the industry and have pushed the industry to it's boundaries. Games likes Doom were the ones that expanded the industry.

- Costikyan uses the term Vidiot (Video Idiot) which he describes games designers who only focus on the video games industry, limiting their imagination to what exists now.

Games Britannia - Monopolies and Mergers

The episode is presented by Benjamin Woolley again, In the episode Benjamin talk on how cultural and political impact on games and how it has had on Britain over the past years.

• Britain where the ones that developed the idea of a board game - this was a way of to export it to America where it was adapted for economic and promoting the dream of free enterprise.

Benjamin then goes on and explores many of the classic games which became a part of teaching before they were used for games of entrainment.

The show then starts looking at game called The Mansion of Bliss. The game was focused on one audience, children; this was to get children to attend schools.

• The Mansion of Bliss is a race game played with a teetotum and accompanied by a booklet, which gives information about each playing space. These outline the rewards or forfeits associated with that space. The first player to reach 'The Mansion Of Bliss', in the centre, is the winner of the board game.

• The game was then later imitated by a game called The Mansion of Happiness in the 1890's in the United States.

The game rules notes:

• "WHOEVER possesses PIETY, HONESTY, TEMPERANCE, GRATITUDE, PRUDENCE, TRUTH, CHASTITY, SINCERITY...is entitled to Advance six numbers toward the Mansion of Happiness. WHOEVER gets into a PASSION must be taken to the water and have a ducking to cool him... WHOEVER posses AUDACITY, CRUELTY, IMMODESTY, or INGRATITUDE, must return to his former situation till his turn comes to spin again, and not even think of HAPPINESS, much less partake of it."

'The Mansion of Happiness'

La Decima Vittima

La Decima Vittima also known as The 10th Victim filmed in the 1960's based on Robert Sheckley's 1953 short story 'Seventh Victim'. The film is based on a fictional reality with people killing each other but the killing is a game and anyone anywhere could be playing the game. The films setting is laid out like a competition, more kills you got the better you are means more kills more rewards. So if theres a competition theres a winner, when a person is crowned the winner of the games they are known to all across the world like a celebrity.

Films that came to mind with similarities:

• The Hunger Games - The film chooses multiple people to fight in a arena to the death and only one can be crowned the winner.

• Highlander - Multiple people that are immortal unless their head is removed from their body, fight to the death gaining power from each death but only one can be left alive; quoting the film "There can only be one".

The film did inspire people around its time, while some people took the film as violence others took to it to make it as a game; giving you the game 'Assassin'. Assassin is a game where players interact in the real world to eliminate their the other players.

Royal Game of Ur Tweaks

The game is played with four types of dice, four-sided dice to be exact. The dices where marked with tippex to two points or the corners of the dice. Both players start off the board at the beginning, with the first player throwing his dice but can only enter the game if he scored a four with dice. When the piece move into the central line of the board, it becomes a battle between the two players to reach the end; battling with each other by knocking off each other counters by landing on a square that the enemy is on. But if the enemy counter is on a safe the other player can knock their enemy off. The first player to bear all his pieces off the board wins the game.

As I played the game I found to enjoy it as it was quick and completive between the two players, the game does have its ups and downs as the rules are unknown and people have tried to put it together I find myself wanting to change the rules to make it run smoother. The game does get reparative when the players hit the central line on the board and the two player have to race their ways up the board to win, in that time the closer you get winning you would be knocked off by you opponent; the game becomes a luck with the dice. But that is coming from opinion; others may have found it fun and exciting.

The game plays as a race game giving it a race mechanics, just like are games such as Snakes and Ladders; so even many years ago we had similar games.

The second time I played my opponent and me took some time roughly about ten minutes to see what changes we could make and instead of deciding if they could work with the game we just through them in and see how it played. Our first thought was the rules with the dice, we diced that every even number you got the players could add a counter to the bored instead of adding counts anytime we wanted when we played it the first time. This rule was quite exciting when we played the game from what I found out, when we began the game I was given a head start from my opponent as I ruled my dice I was given even’s so more of my counters where placed on the board. I got my three of my counters through and had only two left before I won the game but my opponent still had four left and with those four counters he was ruling over the board, as I couldn’t get through with my two counters. My opponent was controlling the safe squares so my counters could pass while my opponent’s counters where going pass. Suddenly the game had changed with only one counter from opponent he ruled his dice and won the game leaving me just behind.

The game began to show an illusory feedback loop, the feedback loop changes the system and dynamic of the game giving the losing player a boost to catch up with the winning player.

King pieces together, I added this rule to game as it could have been a more risker move but could give you more chances of winning quicker. Just like the classic game Checkers you could King a counter (a counter on top of another counter) but instead of using the Checkers rules; the King rule became almost like a piggyback ride having counters tagging along with one counter.

As I said before this rule was more risker for the player and the opponent. It gave the player more chances of winning the game as the counters moved quicker through the board giving it drama a dramatic mechanic building up the conflict until he has hit the climax, but it made the player’s counters an easier target for the opponent to knock off the board. It was risker for the opponent as well because the player’s opponent had to focus on those counters than the others leaving him to think of a more strategized plan on how to win.

By join the two rules together, it became a harder and more thinking was involved but still kept its excitement between to players so the game didn’t become boring and reparative. The two rules sort of countered each other and balanced the game to make even again, with negative feedback loop making sure the game is rebalanced.

By adding to two successful mechanics to the game by changing the rules on the dice and King pieces together the game still works, but to make it work one mechanic need the other to balance the game. The game is a bit plain and normal and could still have many other rules be placed into the game to become more exciting.

Gamasutra - The Legend of Zelda

Notes:

First off the hero in The Legend of Zelda is a He not a She.


Where the player is supposed to go

How they know that this is path

How the spaces fit together

Critical Path - the quickest path, why? Without using bonus or secret paths. Making the game simple and easy but still giving the player a challenge, not getting the player annoyed with the game.

He talks about Linear. Linear helps the player by not getting him/she lost in the game, but still making the player feel like it is Random in the game.

Intensity Ramping - increasing the difficulty as you progress through the level, but still giving the player a chance to learn to overcome these difficulties.

Encounter is repeated twice.

Variety - variation of enemies - " difficulty - " of level designs - " of player choices - monsters are not mixed to start with.

Training - Manuals.

Tools for Creating Dramatic Game Dynamics

Players interact with the Drama in games, giving them the tools to create the Drama.

Games and Story:

Games can create situation, where players appear to be making up the narrative making the story from the choices the player makes. Situation - Conflict Situation.

'We cannot create drama, we create the circumstances out of which drama will emerge'.

Looking at the Dramatic Narrative Graph, it starts with Conflict the Conflict needs to build and build until it has hit it's Climax then down to Resolution. Extreme Tension, Uncertainty and Inevitability theses are what the Climax needs to give the player drama. The Resolution time is low because you don't want the player waiting for the ending of a game to happen after the Climax.

Feedback system:

Real and Illusory. This changes the system and dynamic itself, for example giving the loosing player a boost to catch up with the winning player.

Positive: Give you a boost when you are ahead.
Negative: Create tension and rebalance the game.