On Luck

Computer Games, Concepts

Luck is one of those interesting concepts that have meaning whether anything like it actually exists or not. I think it’s farely safe to propose that luck doesn’t exist in at least in the form that you could acquire it somehow. Of course this doesn’t stop anyone from trying. Yet an utterance like:”He sure is lucky” when someone wins the lottery is perfectly meaningful sentence. It is highly unlikely to win at a lottery, so you can say that winning it takes luck.

But someone always wins at lottery. If you could keep on playing it for long enough, you would win. Being lucky in this way probably wouldn’t propagate elsewhere in life nor would it be expected to. People believing in luck might even feel that something bad should happen to them to balance out the luck they’ve received.

Luck seems to be associated with isolated incidents then. A person isn’t born with intrinsic luck, it happens to him at certain times. Contrast this with Computer Games such as NetHack where you can actually be lucky and luck can be acquired. What does this mean? If you jump in the moat and you are about to drown, if you are lucky enough you get a chance to crawl out before you die. If someone uses the Finger of Death on you, they will mostly fail, and so on. A concept that doesn’t have a real-life counterpart, yet still has a meaning, has a perfectly valid existence within a Computer Game.

Can you say the same about any other form of Art?

Why Computer Games Are an Art Form

Computer Games

There is an infinite amount of daftness to go around, enough so that there are still people clinging to the idea that Computer Games wouldn’t be art. Of course, as with often with humans, this matter is rarely settled with convincing argumentations or empirical log-to-the-forehead -evidence. That’s not going to stop me from trying though. I present for your reading pleasure an argument for that Computer Games are an art form.

NetHack is a game where you have to go deep in the Dungeons of Doom, down to Gehennom itself, to find 3 artifacts, one of them from the clutches of the dreaded piece of age, Wizard of Yendor (affectionately called ‘Rodney’ by NetHackers). These artifacts will give you access to the temple of Moloch that has stolen The Amulet of Yendor, which you must retrieve and return to your god. At the end game you fight your way through 5 elemental planes, last of which is the Astral plane, where you will encounter the Three Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Famine, Death and Pestilence.

Hang on. Are we a Horseman short? The game doesn’t seem to think so. When you #chat with Death he replies:”Who do you think you are, War?”

After killing thousands of monsters either directly or indirectly, perhaps genociding a number or races, getting close to finishing the game, the player is presented with this idea. He is War himself. Of course, the full blow of this situation is not delivered through reading about it. This shall forever remain as the lonely straw of hope for those opposing the superiority of Computer Games as an art form, not playing them!

Strange Aural Phenomena

Inquiry

I was watching the third episode of the last season of The Sopranos. Somebody gets shot on the street in that episode. As they show a close-up of the body a female scream is heard in the background. Fair enough. I only got the distinct feeling that I’ve heard it before, and I have. It was on a music piece by a local indie artist and I’ve certain I’ve heard it elsewhere as well. Now I’ve concrete evidence instead a vague feeling.

This is not an isolated incident. I seem to notice that the sound of door opening in television in many occasions sound familiar. The particular sound that I recognize I’ve heard in some computer game, probably Half-Life.

Even with this meagre empiric evidence I’ve convinced that this is a real phenomena, reusing sound samples beyond ridiculousness. Why does it happen? Is it so hard to come up with a sound sample library big enough to make running into familiar sounds improbable enough? Or is this just an unlikely coincidence? Does it happen for copyright reasons?

Why should we care anyway? Well, for one, it quickly disposes the suspension of disbelief. It is also highly annoying, partly because I don’t know why it happens?! WHY?!

Reality-Tv Idea

Computer Games, Game design

Why has no-one thought about a reality tv-series set in Game industry? The possibilites are endless! There would be a number of people competing over a chance to get their game design realized by a team of harnened industry veterans. You could subject the candidates to all kinds of hardships, sleep deprivation, impossible dead-lines, hunger, humiliation and of course all manner of personal strife. You could draw party-lines based on whether candidate was brought up on the NES or C64.

Since most of the candidates would probably be men, you could set them up with a model school attendants and add alcohol. Then you could have a bit of Gordon Ramsey -type screaming and cursing, visits from industry heavyweights offering words of encouragement and wisdom and of course challenges with overly luxurious prizes like dinner with Pac-man.

Now that I’d like to see.

Lean, Mean Birthday Entry

Current Matters, Nostalgia

I turn 33 years old this day. Jesus (according to many) died at that age, as did Alexander the Great. Not that I’m comparing myself to these gentlemen nor making a prediction, just bringing up historical facts to your attention.

Those who know me are aware that I’m something of a nostalgic. Tommipommi had dug up some opening themes from various tv-series from the 70’s which has been an inspiration for this entry. These are all tv-series that have made an impression on me in my childhood, via continued exposure or other means.

Matka maailman ympäri was a Spanish/Japanese co-production and although it was later neutered with a Finnish dubbing, it has left it’s mark in my brains in Spanish. I think I even preferred the ending titles with it’s clock-theme.

Arsène Lupin is the prototypical rogue-character to me thanks to this French series. I don’t remember much about the series itself, except I recorded the theme of it on tape (a popular past-time) and thus it followed me for a good part of my childhood. Again, I prefer the ending titles.

Galactica was the best thing ever! It defined how a spacecraft should look like for a long time. Everything sci-fi was compared to it, including Star Wars. For some reason at some point I was forbidden to watch it, which for me has stayed as an example of a cruel and unusual punishment. In pre-school we were denied a certain type of toys because “you would construct Galactica ships with them”. I don’t know why I’m not more bitter a person today.

Salaperäinen Saari was a show I have only a few memories of. It did introduce me to Jules Verne though and coupled with the programme mentioned just above lead to our pre-school teacher going to a tv-show called “Sydämeni pohjasta” (Transl. From the Bottom of My Heart) to express her worries about the effect of tv on kids. I landed my first tv-appearance on the intro of that particular episode.

Olipa Kerran Avaruus was another sci-fi (animated) series that defined in turn what things should look like. I now own the series on DVD (which actually left me wanting in the nostalgia department), but it remains as a golden childhood memory. This one I was allowed to watch.

Robin Hood was a series that provoked endless plays of, well… Robin Hood. All the other attempts at portraying the myth have been somewhat disappointments, maybe apart from the Errol Flynn one. I think this series planted a seed that found a perfect soil in Lord of the Rings.

One more! Chocky was about a boy who meets an alien that manifests itself as a spinning pyramid. I honestly think I could watch it today and not cringe over the cheesiness of it. The last episode was fried gold.

…Tripods!

Looking back that list, I guess I have to admit that I was brought up on sci-fi. Of course this isn’t exhaustive list. There are some memories that I’d like to find the source for.

Does anyone remember a *ahem* sci-fi -series from somewhere Eastern Europe, perhaps Hungary, from the 80’s. It dealt with time travel and it might have been about timetravellers being stranded on our time and trying to get back? I remember one slice of dialog from it, an older man is explaining to a boy how circle and roundness is found everywhere in the world, when you throw a rock in to water, the ripples are circle in shape, the bust of a woman when she’s lying down… Does that ring any bells to anyone?

Change of Work Order

Apprenticeship

Ok, since I’m running a bit over a week late on my schedule, I’m going to change my work order a bit to save all the heavy thinking to the back of the schedule. I’m going to leave the ‘Game Algorithms and Game Objects’ sub-chapters last. Instead I’ll just focus on getting the ‘Free Form Explanation’s and ‘Description of game mechanics and elements’ done.

Crowd Control

Current Matters

This week and yet tomorrow I’ll be engaged in the extreme enterprise of being a substitute teacher. I’d be at fault claiming it has been as awful as my worst nightmares, but on Monday I had to be up at six, find necessary places, drag a load of math from the bottom of my brain and so on. Today everything went smoother.

The waking-up-at-six -part alone has kept me from updating a certain design document.

Throwing Out Ideas…

Computer Games, Game design

… to make room for new ones.

Not so long ago, I was asked to deliver a level-design for an imaginary computer game as a work example to a Game designer position. Suprisingly I didn’t get the position for lack of experience, what I did get was a rather nifty idea to be used in mystery or problem-solving games or anywhere you deduction would be part of the game. I’m describing it in this entry and if anyone sees any value in it or might use it in their own games, it would be nice to be told about it or credited in somehow. Continue reading →

Nothing to Report -Entry

Apprenticeship

I have been updating the documentation. My intention is not to mention every little update here, instead I try and maintain that information on the documentation itself.

So far so good, I haven’t ran into what-now’s or dead ends. My intention is to underdesign the game concerning elements that can be added later e.g. different enemy ships. Of course I have to address this need in the design and subsequently in the technical realization.

On Documentation, Pt. 3

Apprenticeship

Ok, I promise that this is the last post for today on this subject, I saw the need to revise my document one way still. See if you can spot the difference. Spotting the looney is much too easy around here…

0. Structure, Purpose and Scope of This Document

1. Abstract

2. a.) Free form Explanation of Nokkapokka
b.) Free form Explanation of Kärhämät
c.) Free form Explanation of Vihollisuudet

3. a.) Description of game mechanics and elements in Nokkapokka
b.) Description of game mechanics and elements in Kärhämät
c.) Description of game mechanics and elements in Vihollisuudet

4. a.) Game algorithms and game objects in Nokkapokka
b.) Game algorithms and game objects in Kärhämät
c.) Game algorithms and game objects in Vihollisuudet

5. Audiovisual Overview
a.) Suggestions for the look, sound and feel of the game
b.) User interface

6. Metastuff, some reflection on the process, open problems, other notes

Appendices
-Licences
-Analysis of the gameplay
-Feedback and history