Mud Connector
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Steve Jackson
It Takes A Thief. When brute force won’t get the job done, you need someone with . skills. A specialist. Preferably someone who doesn’t let a lot of nagging concerns a b out law or morality get in the way. Whether you’re looking for just the right character to GURPS Basic Set, Third Edi- round out an adventuring party, or a dangerous NPC to tion Revised and GURPS challenge your players, GURPS Rogues has what Compendium I are required to use this book in a GURPS you need – 29 different templates, letting you quickly campaign. While designed create the scoundrel that’s right for the job. for the GURPS system, the Templates include . character archetypes and ! Thieves who are only in it for the money, such as the sample characters in this armed robber, cat burglar, pirate, pickpocket, house- book can be used in any roleplaying setting. breaker, and forger. ! Rogues who have other goals than mere material THE ROGUES’ GALLERY: gain, like the spy, hacker, evil mastermind, mad scientist, and saboteur. Written by Lynette Cowper ! Charmers who work more with people’s minds than with lockpicks and prybars, . the con man, bard, Edited by fixer, gambler, prostitute, and street doctor. Solomon Davidoff ! Mysterious figures who work on the shadowy edges and Scott Haring of society – the tracker, poacher, assassin, Cover by m aster thief, smuggler, mobster, and black marketeer. Ed Cox Each template comes with four complete characters, Illustrated by drawn from a wide range of settings. All told, you Andy B. Clarkson, get 116 ready-to-use sample characters, as well as his- Jeremy McHugh, torical background and information on the Thomas Floyd, Cob Carlos, Bob Cram, t e chnology and tactics that shaped their professions. -
Theescapist 103.Pdf
originally a mass of badly dressed Call and its wide open world. Michael Escapist Forum: I very much respect characters became a group of Zenke speaks to a few radiomen at the the hard work Richard has done over the individuals, individuals selling stuff and forefront of the MMOG podcast movement. years, but I have a very hard time For me, it started way back in 1999. It talking about killing things bigger than And Dana Massey explains what Blizzard reconciling what he’s saying here with was February; I was 15. A friend of mine rats. A guy dressed like a wizard did right with World of Warcraft, but his new chosen medium. had me over to take a look at a new summoned a demon right next to me, worries none of the other players in the game he just got: Ultima Online. He then named it “a” and told it to follow field learned the correct lesson. MMOs are a poor vehicle for telling a showed me an ugly little isometric view him. Then a woman wearing nothing but story. While all MMOs HAVE a story, the of a town called Britain, though I a robe stole the sword I had in my Enjoy! players are usually so busy squabbling couldn’t figure out why - no fog or guys backpack. The whole place teemed with over mechanics or questing for loot that in furry hats. The area he referred to as possibility, and I was hooked. Yours, they couldn’t care less about WHY the bank was overrun with people, real they’re doing it. -
Flexible Games by Which I Mean Digital Game Systems That Can Accommodate Rule-Changing and Rule-Bending
Let’s Play Our Way: Designing Flexibility into Card Game Systems Gifford Cheung A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Washington 2013 Reading Committee: David Hendry, Chair David McDonald Nicolas Ducheneaut Jennifer Turns Program Authorized to Offer Degree: Information School ©Copyright 2013 Gifford Cheung 2 University of Washington Abstract Let’s Play Our Way: Designing Flexibility into Card Game Systems Gifford Cheung Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Associate Professor David Hendry Information School In this dissertation, I explore the idea of designing “flexible game systems”. A flexible game system allows players (not software designers) to decide on what rules to enforce, who enforces them, and when. I explore this in the context of digital card games and introduce two design strategies for promoting flexibility. The first strategy is “robustness”. When players want to change the rules of a game, a robust system is able to resist extreme breakdowns that the new rule would provoke. The second is “versatility”. A versatile system can accommodate multiple use-scenarios and can support them very well. To investigate these concepts, first, I engage in reflective design inquiry through the design and implementation of Card Board, a highly flexible digital card game system. Second, via a user study of Card Board, I analyze how players negotiate the rules of play, take ownership of the game experience, and communicate in the course of play. Through a thematic and grounded qualitative analysis, I derive rich descriptions of negotiation, play, and communication. I offer contributions that include criteria for flexibility with sub-principles of robustness and versatility, design recommendations for flexible systems, 3 novel dimensions of design for gameplay and communications, and rich description of game play and rule-negotiation over flexible systems. -
Nordic Game Is a Great Way to Do This
2 Igloos inc. / Carcajou Games / Triple Boris 2 Igloos is the result of a joint venture between Carcajou Games and Triple Boris. We decided to use the complementary strengths of both studios to create the best team needed to create this project. Once a Tale reimagines the classic tale Hansel & Gretel, with a twist. As you explore the magical forest you will discover that it is inhabited by many characters from other tales as well. Using real handmade puppets and real miniature terrains which are then 3D scanned to create a palpable, fantastic world, we are making an experience that blurs the line between video game and stop motion animated film. With a great story and stunning visuals, we want to create something truly special. Having just finished our prototype this spring, we have already been finalists for the Ubisoft Indie Serie and the Eidos Innovation Program. We want to validate our concept with the European market and Nordic Game is a great way to do this. We are looking for Publishers that yearn for great stories and games that have a deeper meaning. 2Dogs Games Ltd. Destiny’s Sword is a broad-appeal Living-Narrative Graphic Adventure where every choice matters. Players lead a squad of intergalactic peacekeepers, navigating the fallout of war and life under extreme circumstances, while exploring a breath-taking and immersive world of living, breathing, hand-painted artwork. Destiny’s Sword is filled with endless choices and unlimited possibilities—we’re taking interactive storytelling to new heights with our proprietary Insight Engine AI technology. This intricate psychology simulation provides every character with a diverse personality, backstory and desires, allowing them to respond and develop in an incredibly human fashion—generating remarkable player engagement and emotional investment, while ensuring that every playthrough is unique. -
Monstrous Compendium.Pdf
How To Use This Book Welcome to the fourth Monstrous Compendium volume. Here we detail rates are given in parentheses). Movements in different mediums are ab- the creatures unique to Krynn, the world of the DRAGONLANCE® saga. breviated as follows: Fl = fly, Sw = swim, Br = burrowing, Wb = web. As in previous volumes, all entries are given in alphabetical order on re- Flying creatures will also have a Maneuverability Class from A to E. movable loose-leaf sheets. The loose-leaf sheets can be placed in a master HIT DICE controls the number of hit points damage a creature can with- binder for easy reference as needed for an adventure. stand before being killed. Unless otherwise stated, Hit Dice are S-sided Important Note: These monsters should not be intermingled with the (l-8 hit points). The Hit Dice are rolled and the numbers shown are added monsters from the previous three volumes of the Monstrous Compen- to determine the monsters hit points. Some monsters will have a hit point dium; keep these monsters together in a separate section of your binder. spread instead of Hit Dice, and some will have additional points added to All monsters included here are typical for their type: likewise, the their Hit Dice. Thus, a creature with 4 +4 Hit Dice has 4d8 +4 hit points encounter tables are guidelines for general play. Variations of your own (8-36 total). Note that creatures with + 3 or more hit points are considered design are encouraged. Those DMs unfamiliar with the world of Krynn the next higher Hit Die for purposes of attack rolls and saving throws. -
Game Design 2 Game Balance
CE810 - Game Design 2 Game Balance Joseph Walton-Rivers & Piers Williams Friday, 18 May 2018 University of Essex 1 What is Balance? Game Balance Question What is balance? 2 Game Balance “All players have an equal chance of winning” – Richard Bartle Richard covered a combat example in the first part of the module. 3 On Strategies Game Balance • What about higher level strategies? • Zerg rush? • Dominant strategies • Metagaming 4 Metagaming - Rock Paper Scissors • A beats B, B beats C, C beats A • If there are lots of A players, people will play C • Then there are a lot of C players, so people play B • and so on... 5 Metagaming - Dominant Strategies • What if A is significantly stronger? • No one will use the other two strategies • We want to encourage variety in play 6 Can we detect this? • Can we detect strategies which are overpowered? • Try to punish strategies we don’t want to see • We did this earlier in the week with rotate and shoot! • Can we measure this? 7 Automated Game Tuning • Academics seem to think so... • Ryan Leigh et al (2008) - Co-evolution for game balancing • Alexander Jaffe et al (2012) - Restricted-Play balance framework • Mihail Morosan - GAs for tuning parameters 8 Game Curves First Move Advantage First Move Advantage • Typically affects turn based games • Going first in tac tac toe means either a win or adraw • White has > 50% win rate over all games • Worse effects if you have resources • We need a way of dealing with this 9 First Move Advantage Magic Second player gets an extra card Go Second player gets 7.5 bonus -
Understanding Visual Novel As Artwork of Visual Communication Design
MUDRA Journal of Art and Culture Volume 32 Nomor 3, September 2017 292-298 P-ISSN 0854-3461, E-ISSN 2541-0407 Understanding Visual Novel as Artwork of Visual Communication Design DENDI PRATAMA, WINNY GUNARTI W.W, TAUFIQ AKBAR Departement of Visual Communication Design, Fakulty of Language and Art Indraprasta PGRI. University, Jakarta Selatan, Indonesia [email protected] Visual Novel adalah sejenis permainan audiovisual yang menawarkan kekuatan visual melalui narasi dan karakter visual. Data dari komunitas pengembang Visual Novel (VN) Project Indonesia menunjukkan masih terbatasnya pengembang game lokal yang memproduksi Visual Novel Indonesia. Selain itu, produksi Visual Novel Indonesia juga lebih banyak dipengaruhi oleh gaya anime dan manga dari Jepang. Padahal Visual Novel adalah bagian dari produk industri kreatif yang potensial. Studi ini merumuskan masalah, bagaimana memahami Visual Novel sebagai karya seni desain komunikasi visual, khususnya di kalangan mahasiswa? Penelitian ini merupakan studi kasus yang dilakukan terhadap mahasiswa desain komunikasi visual di lingkungan Universitas Indraprasta PGRI Jakarta. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan masih rendahnya tingkat pengetahuan, pemahaman, dan pengalaman terhadap permainan Visual Novel, yaitu di bawah 50%. Metode kombinasi kualitatif dan kuantitatif dengan pendekatan semiotika struktural digunakan untuk menjabarkan elemen desain dan susunan tanda yang terdapat pada Visual Novel. Penelitian ini dapat menjadi referensi ilmiah untuk lebih mengenalkan dan mendorong pemahaman tentang Visual Novel sebagai karya seni Desain Komunikasi Visual. Selain itu, hasil penelitian dapat menambah pengetahuan masyarakat, dan mendorong pengembangan karya seni Visual Novel yang mencerminkan budaya Indonesia. Kata kunci: Visual novel, karya seni, desain komunikasi visual Visual Novel is a kind of audiovisual game that offers visual strength through the narrative and visual characters. -
In- and Out-Of-Character
Florida State University Libraries 2016 In- and Out-of-Character: The Digital Literacy Practices and Emergent Information Worlds of Active Role-Players in a New Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game Jonathan Michael Hollister Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION & INFORMATION IN- AND OUT-OF-CHARACTER: THE DIGITAL LITERACY PRACTICES AND EMERGENT INFORMATION WORLDS OF ACTIVE ROLE-PLAYERS IN A NEW MASSIVELY MULTIPLAYER ONLINE ROLE-PLAYING GAME By JONATHAN M. HOLLISTER A Dissertation submitted to the School of Information in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2016 Jonathan M. Hollister defended this dissertation on March 28, 2016. The members of the supervisory committee were: Don Latham Professor Directing Dissertation Vanessa Dennen University Representative Gary Burnett Committee Member Shuyuan Mary Ho Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and certifies that the dissertation has been approved in accordance with university requirements. ii For Grandpa Robert and Grandma Aggie. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thank you to my committee, for their infinite wisdom, sense of humor, and patience. Don has my eternal gratitude for being the best dissertation committee chair, mentor, and co- author out there—thank you for being my friend, too. Thanks to Shuyuan and Vanessa for their moral support and encouragement. I could not have asked for a better group of scholars (and people) to be on my committee. Thanks to the other members of 3 J’s and a G, Julia and Gary, for many great discussions about theory over many delectable beers. -
CONJECTURE GAMES PRESENTS: Conjectural Roleplaying Gamemaster
CONJECTURE GAMES PRESENTS: CRGE conjectural roleplaying gamemaster emulator By Zach Best Artwork by Matthew Vasey The Helldragon (order #6976544) “If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn’t thinking.” – George S. Patton Dedicated to Katie. Who shares every step with me. Written by Zach Best Artwork by Matthew Vasey Published by Conjecture Games (www.conjecturegames.com) Special Thanks to Alex Yari, Francis Flammang, David Dankel, Nicky Tsouklais, Matthew Mooney, Aaron Zeitler, Kenny Norris, Jimmy Williams, and Deathworks for playtesting, editing, and general commenting. Very Special Thanks to Chris Stieha for being the first and most thorough playtester an indie game designer could ever ask for. All text is © Zach Best (2014). All artwork is © Matthew Vasey (2014) and used with permission for this work. The mention of or reference to any company or product in these pages is not a challenge to the trademark or copyright concerned. 2 The Helldragon (order #6976544) Table of Contents What is CRGE? pg. 4 Loom of Fate – Binary GM Emulator, pg. 6 The Surge Count, pg. 8 Unexpectedly Explanations, pg. 10 Loom of Fate Examples, pg. 11 Loom of Fate Tutorial, pg. 13 Conjured Threads – Story Indexing Game Engine, pg. 14 Stage of the Scene, pg. 16 CRGE Scene Setup, pg. 18 Bookkeeping, pg. 18 Storyspinning – Frameworks for CRGE, pg. 20 Vignette Framework, pg. 21 Vignette Framework Tutorial, pg. 23 Tapestry –Multiplayer CRGE Module, pg. 24 Appendix I (Tables), pg. 27 Appendix II (Vignette Framework Tutorial Example), pg. 28 3 The Helldragon (order #6976544) What is CRGE? Conjecture The Conjectural Roleplaying Gamemaster “Is the door locked?” This is a very simple Emulator (“CRGE”) is a supplement for any pen question applicable to many RPG adventures. -
Role Playing Games Role Playing Computer Games Are a Version Of
Role Playing Games Role Playing computer games are a version of early non-computer games that used the same mechanics as many computer role playing games. The history of Role Playing Games (RPG) comes out of table-top games such as Dungeons and Dragons. These games used basic Role Playing Mechanics to create playable games for multiple players. When computers and computer games became doable one of the first games (along with Adventure games) to be implemented were Role Playing games. The core features of Role Playing games include the following features: • The game character has a set of features/skills/traits that can be changed through Experience Points (xp). • XP values are typically increased by playing the game. As the player does things in the game (killing monsters, completing quests, etc) the player earns XP. • Player progression is defined by Levels in which the player acquires or refines skills/traits. • Game structure is typically open-world or has open-world features. • Narrative and progress is normally done by completing Quests. • Game Narrative is typically presented in a non-linear quests or exploration. Narrative can also be presented as environmental narrative (found tapes, etc), or through other non-linear methods. • In some cases, the initial game character can be defined by the player and the initial mix of skills/traits/classes chosen by the player. • Many RPGs require a number of hours to complete. • Progression in the game is typically done through player quests, which can be done in different order. • In Action RPGs combat is real-time and in turn-based RPGs the combat is turn-based. -
Cyber-Synchronicity: the Concurrence of the Virtual
Cyber-Synchronicity: The Concurrence of the Virtual and the Material via Text-Based Virtual Reality A dissertation presented to the faculty of the Scripps College of Communication of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy Jeffrey S. Smith March 2010 © 2010 Jeffrey S. Smith. All Rights Reserved. This dissertation titled Cyber-Synchronicity: The Concurrence of the Virtual and the Material Via Text-Based Virtual Reality by JEFFREY S. SMITH has been approved for the School of Media Arts and Studies and the Scripps College of Communication by Joseph W. Slade III Professor of Media Arts and Studies Gregory J. Shepherd Dean, Scripps College of Communication ii ABSTRACT SMITH, JEFFREY S., Ph.D., March 2010, Mass Communication Cyber-Synchronicity: The Concurrence of the Virtual and the Material Via Text-Based Virtual Reality (384 pp.) Director of Dissertation: Joseph W. Slade III This dissertation investigates the experiences of participants in a text-based virtual reality known as a Multi-User Domain, or MUD. Through in-depth electronic interviews, staff members and players of Aurealan Realms MUD were queried regarding the impact of their participation in the MUD on their perceived sense of self, community, and culture. Second, the interviews were subjected to a qualitative thematic analysis through which the nature of the participant’s phenomenological lived experience is explored with a specific eye toward any significant over or interconnection between each participant’s virtual and material experiences. An extended analysis of the experiences of respondents, combined with supporting material from other academic investigators, provides a map with which to chart the synchronous and synonymous relationship between a participant’s perceived sense of material identity, community, and culture, and her perceived sense of virtual identity, community, and culture. -
The Decline of Mmos
The Decline of MMOs Prof. Richard A. Bartle University of Essex United Kingdom May 2013 Abstract Ten years ago, massively-multiplayer online role-playing games (MMOs) had a bright and exciting future. Today, their prospects do not look so glorious. In an effort to attract ever-more players, their gameplay has gradually been diluted and their core audience has deserted them. Now that even their sources of new casual players are drying up, MMOs face a slow and steady decline. Their problems are easy to enumerate: they cost too much to make; too many of them play the exact same way; new revenue models put off key groups of players; they lack immersion; they lack wit and personality; players have been trained to want experiences that they don’t actually want; designers are forbidden from experimenting. The solutions to these problems are less easy to state. Can anything be done to prevent MMOs from fading away? Well, yes it can. The question is, will the patient take the medicine? Introduction From their lofty position as representing the future of videogames, MMOs have fallen hard. Whereas once they were innovative and compelling, now they are repetitive and take-it-or-leave-it. Although they remain profitable at the moment, we know (from the way that the casual games market fragmented when it matured) that this is not sustainable in the long term: players will either leave for other types of game or focus on particular mechanics that have limited appeal or that can be abstracted out as stand-alone games (or even apps).