What Computer Game Designers can learn from Non-Electronic Games.
- Games designers find it hard to define what makes their 3D game unique, because they are all similar.
- 2D games are the same as 3D games in the creative sense.
- Software is a plastic medium.
The industry channels our efforts into reworking the same themes over and over.
"Science fictionals" no understanding of Literature other and Sci-Fi.
- This limits them.
Costikyan states that you need to have a fairly wide experiance of game further than the last 5 years of all platforms, genre and age range including both digital and non-digital board games.
"Vidiot" - A person whose sole understanding of games derives from video games.
The importance of study to non-electronic games:
Modern Art/Settlers of Catan.
On the mass.
German Boardgames:
- Negotiation and diplomacy as innovation.
- Back stabbing occurs.
Target Audience:
War Games - Older men in 40s +
Sci-Fi Games - Younger teenagers (e.g. Warhammer 4000k)
- Time in both playing/painting
- It's a hobby for fanatics.
Minitures Gaming is appealing.
- Wargame appeal
- Collectors appeal: Enjoy the modelling over playing the game.
You will always want cool new figures.
War Games:
'Tactics' by Charles Robets in 1953
SPI and Avalon Hill - War game industry as a small scale.
GDW - Small publisher
War games got far more complex in the later years - sometimes the rulebook was 16 pages of 9 point type some even had 96 pages!
The industry was convinced that innovation in design rather than in technology was what the audience wanted.
Designers of RTS games need to study board wargames
- To emphasise conflict/no just blowing up crap.
- Emphasise lines of supply, fog of war, combined arms, menuvour (Mirco), formation (Unit Positioning).
Sci-Fi board games were an outgrowth of wargaming.
- Have fairly complex rules.
Rolplaying games began in 1973.
- Dungeons and Dragons.
- No victory conditions "win"
-Boundless
- Co-opertate with other to get anything done.
GURPS - "Genereic Universal Role-Playing System"
Vampire: The Masqurade - Appealing to the gothic subcultre
Found to be interesting. ("Role playing is officially cool")
Digital version (Arguably) Brutal Legend which appeals to the 'Heavy Metal' subculture group, as a way of apealing to an audience.
CCG - Collectable Card Games:
Magic the gathering:
- Began as a limited set of rules as a whole but cards contain sub rules.
- The fascination of which you never quite know what you're up against. (Thousands of different MTG cards out there).
- Trading of cards
- Hobby games
- RPGs
- Collectable.
The Nature of the Game:
Magic has a scene simlarly to the Starcraft II scene in that pro players are often flown overseas.
Live Action Roleplaying - LARPS
Sub genres of LARPS:
- Adventure/Line
- Interactive/Freedom
- Commercial
- Adventure LARPS: - Take place outdoors
