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III. Here Be Dragons: the (Pre)History of the Adventure Game
III. Here Be Dragons: the (pre)history of the adventure game The past is like a broken mirror, as you piece it together you cut yourself. Your image keeps shifting and you change with it. MAX PAYNE 2: THE FALL OF MAX PAYNE At the end of the Middle Ages, Europe’s thousand year sleep – or perhaps thousand year germination – between antiquity and the Renaissance, wondrous things were happening. High culture, long dormant, began to stir again. The spirit of adventure grew once more in the human breast. Great cathedrals rose, the spirit captured in stone, embodiments of the human quest for understanding. But there were other cathedrals, cathedrals of the mind, that also embodied that quest for the unknown. They were maps, like the fantastic, and often fanciful, Mappa Mundi – the map of everything, of the known world, whose edges both beckoned us towards the unknown, and cautioned us with their marginalia – “Here be dragons.” (Bradbury & Seymour, 1997, p. 1357)1 At the start of the twenty-first century, the exploration of our own planet has been more or less completed2. When we want to experience the thrill, enchantment and dangers of past voyages of discovery we now have to rely on books, films and theme parks. Or we play a game on our computer, preferably an adventure game, as the experience these games create is very close to what the original adventurers must have felt. In games of this genre, especially the older type adventure games, the gamer also enters an unknown labyrinthine space which she has to map step by step, unaware of the dragons that might be lurking in its dark recesses. -
Microsoft Xbox One
Microsoft Xbox One Last Updated on September 26, 2021 Title Publisher Qty Box Man Comments #IDARB Other Ocean 8 To Glory: Official Game of the PBR THQ Nordic 8-Bit Armies Soedesco Abzû 505 Games Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown Bandai Namco Entertainment Aces of the Luftwaffe: Squadron - Extended Edition THQ Nordic Adventure Time: Finn & Jake Investigations Little Orbit Aer: Memories of Old Daedalic Entertainment GmbH Agatha Christie: The ABC Murders Kalypso Age of Wonders: Planetfall Koch Media / Deep Silver Agony Ravenscourt Alekhine's Gun Maximum Games Alien: Isolation: Nostromo Edition Sega Among the Sleep: Enhanced Edition Soedesco Angry Birds: Star Wars Activision Anthem EA Anthem: Legion of Dawn Edition EA AO Tennis 2 BigBen Interactive Arslan: The Warriors of Legend Tecmo Koei Assassin's Creed Chronicles Ubisoft Assassin's Creed III: Remastered Ubisoft Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag Ubisoft Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag: Walmart Edition Ubisoft Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag: Target Edition Ubisoft Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag: GameStop Edition Ubisoft Assassin's Creed Syndicate Ubisoft Assassin's Creed Syndicate: Gold Edition Ubisoft Assassin's Creed Syndicate: Limited Edition Ubisoft Assassin's Creed: Odyssey: Gold Edition Ubisoft Assassin's Creed: Odyssey: Deluxe Edition Ubisoft Assassin's Creed: Odyssey Ubisoft Assassin's Creed: Origins: Steelbook Gold Edition Ubisoft Assassin's Creed: The Ezio Collection Ubisoft Assassin's Creed: Unity Ubisoft Assassin's Creed: Unity: Collector's Edition Ubisoft Assassin's Creed: Unity: Walmart Edition Ubisoft Assassin's Creed: Unity: Limited Edition Ubisoft Assetto Corsa 505 Games Atari Flashback Classics Vol. 3 AtGames Digital Media Inc. -
Klassiker Der Spielegeschichte
Klassiker der Spielegeschichte Tex murphy: tesla effect 17. Januar 2015 Prof. Dr. Jochen Koubek | Universität Bayreuth | Digitale Medien | [email protected] Tex Murphy Mean Streets (1989) Martian Memorandum (1992) Under a Killing Moon (1994) The Pandora Directive (1996) Tex Murphy: Overseer (1998) Access Games / Indie Built / Big Finish Games • 1982 Gründung von Acces Games • 1999 Kauf durch Microsoft, Umbenennung in Salt Lake Game Studio • 2003 Umbenennung in Indie Games • 2004 Kauf durch Take-Two Interactive, Umbennenung in Indie Built • 2006 Auflösung • 2007 Neugründung als Big Finish Games Christopher Jones http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,1089/ Writer Game Design Production Video / Cinematics Quality Assurance Creative Service 2000! 2011! Love Story Asuras Wrath Star Strike Conspiracies II – Lethal Networks The Exterminators I Am Playr 2001 Jurassic Park: The Game Point of View Take This Lollipop 2003 2012! Conspiracies The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure 2004 The Silver Nugget The Guy Game The Walking Dead 2005 2013! Doctor Who: Attack of the Graske Bear Stearns Bravo Fahrenheit Beyond: Two Souls School Days Hero of Shaolin 2006! The Walking Dead: Season Two Railfan: Chicago Transit Authority Brown Line The Wolf Among Us Yoomurjak's Ring original Hungarian release 2014! 2007! A Bird Story Railfan: Taiwan High Speed Rail Tesla Effect: A Tex Murphy Adventure The Act Tales from the Borderlands 2008! Game of Thrones Casebook Contradiction Mystery Case Files: Dire Grove Cloud Chamber 2010! Darkstar: -
The Role of Audio for Immersion in Computer Games
CAPTIVATING SOUND THE ROLE OF AUDIO FOR IMMERSION IN COMPUTER GAMES by Sander Huiberts Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of PhD at the Utrecht School of the Arts (HKU) Utrecht, The Netherlands and the University of Portsmouth Portsmouth, United Kingdom November 2010 Captivating Sound The role of audio for immersion in computer games © 2002‐2010 S.C. Huiberts Supervisor: Jan IJzermans Director of Studies: Tony Kalus Examiners: Dick Rijken, Dan Pinchbeck 2 Whilst registered as a candidate for the above degree, I have not been registered for any other research award. The results and conclusions embodied in this thesis are the work of the named candidate and have not been submitted for any other academic award. 3 Contents Abstract__________________________________________________________________________________________ 6 Preface___________________________________________________________________________________________ 7 1. Introduction __________________________________________________________________________________ 8 1.1 Motivation and background_____________________________________________________________ 8 1.2 Definition of research area and methodology _______________________________________ 11 Approach_________________________________________________________________________________ 11 Survey methods _________________________________________________________________________ 12 2. Game audio: the IEZA model ______________________________________________________________ 14 2.1 Understanding the structure -
Visual Design in Video Games
Forthcoming in WOLF, Mark J.P. (ed.). Video Game History: From Bouncing Blocks to a Global Industry, Greenwood Press, Westport, Conn. Visual Design in Video Games Carl Therrien So why did polygons become the ubiquitous virtual bricks of videogames? Because, whatever the interesting or eccentric devices that had been thrown up along the way, videogames, as with the strain of Western art from the Renaissance up until the shock of photography, were hell-bent on refining their powers of illusionistic deception. —Stephen Poole (2000, page 125). Illusion refining, indeed, appears to be a major driving force of video game evolution. The appeal of ever-more realistic depictions of virtual universes in itself justifies the purchase of expensive new machinery, be it the latest console or dedicated computer parts. Yet, one must not conceive of this evolution as a linear progression towards perfect verisimilitude. The relative quality of static and dynamic renders, associated with a wide range of imaging techniques more or less suited to the capabilities of any given video game system, demonstrate the unsteady evolution of visual representation in the short history of the medium. Moreover, older techniques are sometimes integrated in the latest 3-D games, and 2-D gaming still enjoys a very strong following with portable game systems. Despite its short history, a detailed account of the apparatus behind the illusion would already require many volumes in itself. In this chapter, we will examine only the fundamentals of the different imaging techniques along with key examples. However, we hope to go further than a simple historical account of illusion refining, and expose the different ideals that governed and still governs the evolution of visual design in games. -
Christy Marx
Write Your Way Into Animation and Games Write Your Way Into Animation and Games Create a Writing Career in Animation and Games Christy Marx AMSTERDAM • BOSTON • HEIDELBERG • LONDON NEW YORK • OXFORD • PARIS • SAN DIEGO SAN FRANCISCO • SINGAPORE • SYDNEY • TOKYO Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier 30 Corporate Drive, Suite 400, Burlington, MA 01803, USA Linacre House, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8DP, UK © 2010 Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, elec- tronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Details on how to seek permission, fur- ther information about the Publisher’s permissions policies and our arrangements with organiza- tions such as the Copyright Clearance Center and the Copyright Licensing Agency, can be found at our website: www.elsevier.com/permissions. This book and the individual contributions contained in it are protected under copyright by the Publisher (other than as may be noted herein). Notices Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and experience broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical treat- ment may become necessary. Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluat- ing and using any information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein. In using such information or methods they should be mindful of their own safety and the safety of others, including parties for whom they have a professional responsibility. -
19. CD-ROM Games
Forthcoming in WOLF, Mark J.P. (ed.). Video Game History: From Bouncing Blocks to a Global Industry, Greenwood Press, Westport, Conn. 19. CD-ROM Games Carl Therrien While it became a standard relatively recently, disc-based storage goes a long way back in the history of video game distribution. The term encompasses a wide range of technologies, from magnetic floppy discs, analog laserdiscs, to a variety of digital optical media. Of the latter, the CD-ROM enjoyed the strongest following and the longest lifespan; as of 2006, a significant number of PC games are still burned on CDs. When it became the most common video game distribution format in the mid nineteen-nineties, the compact disc was already a standard in the music industry. In contrast to the magnetic tapes used for the distribution of albums and movies, optical discs allowed relatively fast, random, non-linear access to the content. But these features were already common in the realm of cartridge-based video game systems; the ROMs in Atari 2600 or Super Nintendo game cartridges were directly connected to the system’s working memory and could be read instantly. The CD drive optical head couldn’t compete; as a matter of fact, optical discs introduced the infamous “loading” screen to the console gamer. Video games benefited first and foremost from the storage capabilities of the CD-ROM. While the CD format shares its core technical principle with the more recent DVD standard (found in the Xbox and PlayStation 2) and other dedicated formats (such as the Dreamcast’s GD-ROM and the Gamecube optical disc), this chapter will focus solely on the integration of CD-ROM technology and its consequences on game design and development. -
The Return of Doom
100 | Angela Ndalianis ‘HAIL TO THE KING!’ – THE RETURN OF DOOM It was back in 1993 that the horror was unleashed in the form of the doom: evil unleashed. Developed by the Texas-based company id Software, this com- puter game was to introduce radical innovations not only to the First-Person Shooter (fps) genre, but also to the soft and hardware technology that drove gaming. In 1994, the sequel doom 2: hell on earth was to push the envelope further still. Drawing upon the science fiction and horror conventions of cine- matic examples like alien (Ridley Scott, 1979), aliens (James Cameron, 1986) and evil dead ii (Sam Raimi, 1987), both doom games upped the ante in game culture by transferring experiences familiar to the horror and science fiction film spectator over to the gamer. Discussing doom’s influences, Jay Wilbur, the then chief executive officer of id stated that id ‘wanted to make an alien-like game that captured the fast-paced action, brutality and fear of those movies’, while also amplifying the action and horror with evil dead ii, whose ‘chain- saws and shotguns are an unbeatable combination!’.1 It would not be an under- statement to say that these two games are up there with the most popular and influential games in game history. Significantly, one of the concerns of the games’ creators – John Carmack and John Romero – was to transfer the dread, suspense and terror that was familiar to film audiences into the game environ- ment. Fast forward to 2004: a new breed of game horror is born again in the form of the pc-game doom 3 (to be released in December 2004 on x-Box). -
Realfilmaufnahmen in Computerspielen
Realfilmaufnahmen in Computerspielen. Analyse von Live-Action Full Motion Video Spielen. Autor: Steffen Boos - im März 2012 eingereicht als Masterarbeit - HOCHSCHULE MITTWEIDA UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES (FH) Fachbereich Medien Studiengang Information and Communication Science Erstprüfer: Prof. Dr. Ludwig Hilmer Zweitprüfer: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Robert J. Wierzbicki Datum 11.08.2013 Ort: Hamburg Inhaltsverzeichnis iii Inhaltsverzeichnis Vorwort 5 Referat 6 1 Einleitung 7 1.1 Zielsetzung . 9 1.2 Vorgehensweise . 11 2 Wissenschaftliche Einordnung und Historie von Live-Action Full Motion Video Spielen 12 2.1 Definition des Begriffs Spiel ........................... 12 2.1.1 Definition nach SALEN/ZIMMERMAN . 13 2.1.2 Definition nach JUUL ........................... 14 2.1.3 Definition nach ADAMS/ROLLINGS ................... 17 2.1.4 Fazit Definition des Begriffs Spiel .................... 17 2.2 Definition des Begriffs Computerspiel ...................... 18 2.2.1 Fazit Definition des Begriffs Computerspiel . 19 2.3 Definition des Begriffs Live-Action Full Motion Video Spiel . 20 2.3.1 Produktionsarten von Full Motion Video Spielen . 20 2.4 Historische Entwicklung von Full Motion Video Spielen . 23 3 Analyse von Live-Action Full Motion Video Spielen 36 3.1 Narration in Live-Action Full Motion Video Spielen . 36 3.1.1 Linearität vs. Nichtlinearität . 38 3.1.2 Interactive Storytelling . 39 3.1.2.1 Verzweigte Narration . 40 3.1.2.2 String of Pearls (Perlenkettenmodell) . 43 3.1.2.3 Foldback Stories (zurückgefaltete Geschichten) . 45 3.1.2.4 Amusement Park Model (Vergnügungsparkmodell) . 45 3.1.2.5 Building Blocks Model (Baukastenmodell) . 46 3.1.2.6 Fazit Interactive Storytelling . 46 3.2 Interaktivität in Live-Action Full Motion Video Spielen . -
Final Year Project Report –
PRCO303 – Final Year Project Report – Houndtor Histories & Legends Gareth Wright 10239101 This project aims to deliver the reader a report on the complete development of a visualisation driven, hybrid game development that leverages the local moorland area of Hound Tor, Dartmoor National Park. Devon in the UK through transposition into a 3 Dimensional interactive replica environment, alongside local historic and factual game play elements used to gently drive the overall experience. Page left intentionally blank I Abstract This document delivery is the final submission works for the Computer and Games Development BSc Hons Final year Project Module. It contains a finalized and collated report that culminates with a deliverable product that is available for download on through the accompanying blog. The document follows a report style and a contents are provided. At the back of the document are all design, code and build elements, where it was not reported on as part of the main document. This report summarizes and concludes the final elements that complete this project, but much of the collated research can be found in the appendices when not specifically or detailed in within this project documentation. Table of Contents I Abstract ............................................................................................................................................................................. 2 II Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................................................................... -
GOG-API Documentation Release 0.1
GOG-API Documentation Release 0.1 Gabriel Huber Jun 05, 2018 Contents 1 Contents 3 1.1 Authentication..............................................3 1.2 Account Management..........................................5 1.3 Listing.................................................. 21 1.4 Store................................................... 25 1.5 Reviews.................................................. 27 1.6 GOG Connect.............................................. 29 1.7 Galaxy APIs............................................... 30 1.8 Game ID List............................................... 45 2 Links 83 3 Contributors 85 HTTP Routing Table 87 i ii GOG-API Documentation, Release 0.1 Welcome to the unoffical documentation of the APIs used by the GOG website and Galaxy client. It’s a very young project, so don’t be surprised if something is missing. But now get ready for a wild ride into a world where GET and POST don’t mean anything and consistency is a lucky mistake. Contents 1 GOG-API Documentation, Release 0.1 2 Contents CHAPTER 1 Contents 1.1 Authentication 1.1.1 Introduction All GOG APIs support token authorization, similar to OAuth2. The web domains www.gog.com, embed.gog.com and some of the Galaxy domains support session cookies too. They both have to be obtained using the GOG login page, because a CAPTCHA may be required to complete the login process. 1.1.2 Auth-Flow 1. Use an embedded browser like WebKit, Gecko or CEF to send the user to https://auth.gog.com/auth. An add-on in your desktop browser should work as well. The exact details about the parameters of this request are described below. 2. Once the login process is completed, the user should be redirected to https://www.gog.com/on_login_success with a login “code” appended at the end. -
Ancient Greece and Rome in Videogames: Representation, Player Processes, and Transmedial Connections
Ancient Greece and Rome in Videogames: Representation, Player Processes, and Transmedial Connections Thesis submitted in accordance with the requirements of the University of Liverpool for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Ross Clare September 2018 Abstract Videogames are a hugely popular entertainment medium that plays host to hundreds of different ancient world representations. They provide very distinctive versions of recreated historical and mythological spaces, places, and peoples. The processes that go into their development, and the interactive procedures that accompany these games, must therefore be equally unique. This provides an impetus to both study the new ways in which ancient worlds are being reconfigured for gameplayers who actively work upon and alter them, and to revisit our conception of popular antiquity, a continuum within popular culture wherein ancient worlds are repeatedly received and changed in a variety of media contexts. This project begins by locating antiquity within a transmedial framework, permitting us to witness the free movement of representational strategies, themes, subtexts and ideas across media and into ancient world videogames. An original approach to the gameplay process, informed by cognitive and memory theory, characterises interaction with virtual antiquity as a procedure in which the receiver draws on preconceived notions and ideas of the ancient past to facilitate play. This notion of “ancient gameplay” as a reception process fed by general knowledges, previous pop-cultural engagements, and dim resonances of antiquity garnered from broad, informal past encounters allows for a wide, all-encompassing study of “ancient games”, the variety of sources they (and the player) draw upon, and the many experiences these games offer.