Mafia
What makes Mafia work?
It works because it is a social game of deception and analysis. Not all information is available to everyone and it requires players to be cunning and perceptive.
What is good strategy?
Since I didn’t get a chance to play this in the lecture or tutorial, and I can’t remember any strategies that I used the last time I played. Although, I probably just selected anyone that was shifty.
Could it work as an online game?
I don’t believe it could not work as an online. For the reason that the game relies on deception and acting. In an online chat-like screen, you cannot look at things such as people’s facial expressions and the tone of their voice. Also, it doesn’t allow for spontaneous and quick replies. The way instant messaging works will allow people to carefully form their statements and replies which will make it harder to determine what type of person they are. Although, this also could mean that people who are mafia can construct a nice statement which may convince other people to kill off that person.
If not, how could you change it to make it work?
Well, to make this game work in the online space, I believe you would need to introduce the things that exist in the real world, but not the internet world. This would mean the game will require some way of allowing video frm web cams etc and microphones. To be honest, I can’t really think of a way to make Mafia work without making the online version the same as the physically face-face version of real life. Thus, the internet being only a method of communication between players and not a new experience.
Is the player always right?
The short answer (this is my opinion)
NO!!!!1111!!1!one!!1one!
The long answer
Let’s take myself as an example. One of my most favourite gaming franchises is the Ace Combat series. To be honest, the series isn’t brilliant. The stories are cliche, gameplay is repetitive and it’s extremely arcadey (sp?). However, what makes me love the series so much is my love for fighter aircraft and the fact that I can fly multi-million dollar machines with ease. If every developer, listened to me and made their games cliche, repetitive and arcadey(sp?), the games will become very boring. I’m in the minority of loving this game, but even if we pick the majority, we’d be left with nothing but spammy FPS, mediocre RTS, overwhelming music/rhythm, addictive MMO games. That to me, just doesn’t seem that fun, especially when I like playing all sorts of games from all genres.
Sure, game developers need to develop games that will make money so that they can put food on the table and have a roof over their heads, but I believe that all games shouldn’t just be centred around the player’s experience. Players may not see the designer’s new ideas as interesting or entertaining (especially when it’s something new they haven’t seen before), but I think that occassionally the risky idea should be implemented. It may be discovered that it was actually a good idea and moves the industry forward.
Sensor gloves game idea
I’ve only been to the snow a couple of times and to be quite honest, it was a bit disappointing as the snow was pretty hard. So I’ve never really enjoyed the thrills of participating in a snow ball fight. So this leads me to this week’s game idea. Obviously, it is impossible to recreate the real settings and feelings that exist in a real snowball fight, but it is still possible to implement all of the different actions that occur in a snow ball fight.
While wearing the gloves, players are able to scoop up snow with their hands and proceed to form a ball with different hand movements which will compact the snow into shape. The player can then proceed to throw the ball in any manner they please (under arm, over arm, etc). It is even possible for the player to just let go of the snowball and let it drop down to the floor (i.e. of the virtual world). The beauty of having a virtual environment to do such things is so that the game can change the physics of the world. So now it’s possible to put a lot of spin on the snowball during the throw which means that players can curve the trajectory of flight and dodge obstacles to hit opponents.
Also, it’s possible to use the hands for defence and block incoming snowballs. This leads to an interesting dynamic of players being able to softly catch incoming balls so that the player doesn’t get hit, but now they also have a ready-made snowball which they can throw back.
Fluid mechanics idea
I’ve been thinking about it for about a week and this is what I’ve come up with.
The game will rely on using waves to move objects. In this player versus game game, players will be required to move their boat around by only using the power of a wave. Waves can be generated by dropping objects into the water with a click of the mouse (or any other control scheme that will work with the mechancs described here). The longer the click, the larger/heavier the object will be which will generate a larger wave. Also, there is a delay with the objects falling into the water. These object will remain in the game until a new round starts. This means that the objects that are placed in the game will also become obstacles.
There will be other obstacles in the games which will affect the way waves behave (such as land etc). Not only that, but there are enemies with will prevent the player from completing their objective. This include sea dragons and pirates. However, the player can limit their movements by generating waves which impede their movements. E.g. a dragon is moving towards the ship, the player places an object into the water between the ship and dragon and the wave hits the dragon slowing it down. The wave strength also affects the enemies which means the stronger the wave, the more the enemy’s movements are impeded.
Cry Engine 3 Demo @ GamesCon 2009
I bumped into some Crytek video demos of Cry Engine 3 that were shown in GC 09. The videos showcased the German dev studio’s new development tools to help level designing for multiplatform games running CE3. While this may not sound like anything new to other multiplatform game engines available, the most interesting aspect is the fact that changes can be made live and streamed to the PS3 and X360! It is even possible for the designer to test the changes on the console with the controller. If an element of the design is wrong, sync the console with the dev PC, make changes, desync, and playtest the level again. Check it out for yourself.
Cry Engine 3 Demo Part 1
Cry Engine 3 Demo Part 2
Pretty cool eh?
But this leads me to one question. Will this lead to lazy designers? Well, not really lazy, but more like gungho towards making changes. I’m an inefficient programmer where I typically try something without really thinking about whether it is the best thing to do overall. So I would type something out and if it works, it says in. It’s only after when I’ve realised that the solution was probably not the best one and I would have to code in a weird way so that I could continue to use what I previously had.
Now, if I were to use a tool such as this, I would be putting things in not really thinking about whether it is really needed in the long run. For example placing a bunch of debris in the middle of a road because it makes the landscape more interesting. However, without really thinking about how later in the game, you are required to travel back in a vehicle, but cannot get pass the debris and there is no other alternative route. OK, it’s not a great example, but hopefully, you get the idea.
Anyways, I’m not trying to disrespect any designer out there. I’m not a designer, but it was something that just occured to me when I was watching the videos. Trying to do rapid prototyping and designing in a 3D environment is quite difficult to do and I do see this tool being extremely helpful in this aspect. I just hope that it is used properly because level design is very important to ones enjoyment of a game.
A game that my Mum could play
This is definitely a toughy. I have no idea what to think of. I guess if I took the same approach as in the week 4 tutes, then I would have to say cooking, cleaning, sewing, going to work etc be activities that my mum does. Those seem very generic though. Thinking about it more, she’s a believer of Feng Shui. Therefore, she likes to move stuff around the house (furniture, decorative items etc) in an arrangement that promotes the best qi flow of the house.
Taking that idea I’m thinking that a game based on Feng Shui may be fun. I’m just throwing stuff out there, but the game would involve moving items around the house so that it promotes the best qi flow. I guess it would have a Sims format where people in a house living their life. The player would rearrange the objects around the house. The arrangment will ultimately determine how the flow of the house will affect the occupants.
So a badly arranged house will bring bad luck and fortune to the occupants while a good arrangement will bring luck and fortune. Since this affects the occupants lives, this will also determine which things they buy and add to the house. That is, they make more money and thus bring more expensive items, which could positively or negatively affect the house’s flow.
However, the position to get the maximum flow is not the only thing that needs to be taken, if it’s someting that shouldn’t be there, such as a fridge, in the middle of the lounge room, then there will be a negative affect on the occupants (as well as their guests) as it doesn’t make much sense in putting a fridge in the middle of the lounge room.
Now that I’m thinking about it, this could just be sort of extended to a interior designing game…
Is that all there is? I don’t think so.
Firstly, I’ll just say that both parties make valid cases and there are things I agree and disagree on with both rants. Personally, I would love to see more innovative games which are not just fun. I wouldn’t mind playing a game which made me question about aspects of life or have deeper meanings. Judging by what is currently available and to be released, the industry is definitely not stuck in a creative dead-end. Sure the ratio between fun and artistic games is greatly uneven, but this just means that making a good artistic game is not so easy.
Even the ratio between small and full blown artistic games is uneven. In Anthony’s reply to Jaffe’s rant, he mentions how games like Ico and Shadow of the Colossus are games that can be done right. However, even these fantastic games didn’t do to well in the market. Even now, I struggle to come up with fun game ideas each week let alone come up with an artistic game idea. So just imagine trying to come up with a good artistic game idea that a publisher is willing to fork out $50 million for the development of the game. There is a reason why there are much more bite sized artistic games than blockbuster games. Looking at the time between the releases of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, these games seem to have taken a couple of years to develop including the time taken when they were throwing up ideas and prototypes.
If I am an investor in a publishing company, I would hope that I wouldn’t see my hard earned cash go to waste. With games such as Heavy Rain and Alan Wake, the industry is definitely not at a dead-end, but I think it should be kept in mind that pursuing such creative and artistic games is a lot to ask for. I would love to make a ground-breaking game, but not if the game is a flop and my career ruined. I would rather spend years trying to perfect it and have the chance to actaully make a game worth while than take the risk. Otherwise, if I fail, I may never have the chance to make a ground-breaking game again. The truth is that for the medium to grow, progress has to be made, but I don’t mind if it is at a cautious pace.
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