Battleships Iteration

      Classic games are pretty straight-forward. Easy to learn, with simple rules and not many strategies to master, or probably not strategy at all. Just a bit of luck,  pens, paper and you are ready to go. This kind of games don't vanish in time because are easy to learn and carry around, being a good source of fun on-the-go.

     On Friday class, held on 17th October we had to split in pairs and play a game of battleships. As expected, everybody was already familiar with the game and everything went smoothly. At the end of the "playing phase" people were saying that they felt all kind of emotions: from the frustration of not hitting the opponent ship to the joy of guessing turn after the turn where the opposite player's ship is.

     As a task, we were told to add some new elements or rules to the game in order to change the gameplay and perhaps the feelings players get. I came up with the idea of adding three bombs on each player's map. If the opponent guesses the position of the bomb on the board he destroys everything around the triggered bomb. People came up with a lot of new interesting ideas such as stacking ships, collecting materials in order to repair any damages, random-shaped ships and so on.

     It was a nice exercise to see how the experience changes if we add or subtract elements from a game.

    

Games classification.

     Based on a French sociologist (Roger Cailloins) notions, games were slit into two groups: Paidia and Ludus.

     Paidia  refers to "play" for pleasure, games usually have no hard rules to follow. A good examples are SimCity series, Minecraft, GrandTheftAuto series and so on. Player could just take a break from the quest/ missions-side part of the game and enjoy free roaming.

     On the other hand, games classified as Ludus are constrained by rules and usually the player focuses on winning. 

     After the game is classified as either Ludus or Paidia, based on the gameplay, ther are: Agon that refers to competition, Alea which is the element of randomness or chance in a game, Ilinx refers to movement and Mimicry which is defined as simulation or role-play.

     I chose to classify Heroes of Newerth and Diablo III 

     Heroes of Newerth is a game that can easily be classified as Ludus. There is no free roaming and the games is definitely constrained by a set of rules. Two teams of five battle each other in order to destroy the opponent's base. Every player choose one hero to play with and they are ready to go. Every match lasts in average around 40-50 minutes and progression is not saved after the battle concludes. In terms of gameplay HeroesOfNewerth has elements of Agon because of the high competitive community. I might also say that the game asks for a certain amount of luck/chance because, unless you party up with some friends, you'll get random teammates who might not be as good at the game as you so are therefor the game has Alea elements. I don't think Mimicry can be found here because you're not playing an RPG so there is no role-play.

     Unlike HeroesOfNewerth, Diablo III doesn't focus on competition/Agon even though the game can be classified as Ludus because of the leaderboards and the community you're competing with indirectly. Diablo III also lets players the opportunity to explore the world of Sanctuary without being force to follow any rules (except the fact that you have a well-defined game area). Here we can easily see the element of role-play or Mimicry. The game main focus is on Alea or chance because Diablo III uses the RNG (random number generator). The map will always be randomly generated as well as the drop amount and quality of items.

     

Bibliography -updated-

1.   Author:
      Chandler, H. and Chandler, R.(2009) "Fundamentals of Game Development". London. Foundations of Game Development.

2.   Reader:
      Malone, T. and Lepper, M.(1987) "Making Learning Fun: A Taxonomy of Intrinsic Motivations of Learning" in Snow, R. E. and Farr, M. J Aptitude, Learning, and Instruction: Volume 3: Cognitive and Affective Process Analyses. v. 3. Hilsdale. NJ: Erlbaum. pp. 223-253.

3.   Journal:
     Adachi, P.J. and Willoughby, T. (2013) "More than just fun and games: The longitudinal relationships between strategic video games, self-reported problem solving skills, and academic grades,  Journal of Youth and Adolescence", 42, 1041-1051. doi:10.1007/s10964-013-9913-9

Like forgetting the door open...

 . ...And suddenly guests come in and I feel like I have to introduce myself. I might not be the best host out there but for sure I'll do my best, so whoever comes in can read a little about me. I have some answers at some question people might ask so they can get a glimpse of idea about who I am.

        

        

What is the title of the book (fiction) you are currently reading, or what is the title of the last fiction book you read?

In the past two months I stopped reading fiction literature because I had to focus on the university application as well as getting some information about what I was about to do when the courses start. Beside programming languages and some articles about how to model in different computer graphics software, nothing else was to be read. Before that period of time, probably four months ago I finished reading “The Shinning” by Stephen King. I really enjoyed his book because his writing techniques appeal to my taste as he can make me feel anxious and most of the time uncomfortable. King tell his stories in such way you can feel a shiver down your spine when you read them. He is a master when it comes to horror novels.

                                             

What is the title/topic of the book (non-fiction) you are currently reading, or what is the title /topic of the last non-fiction book you read.

I had to read a lot of non-fiction books this year, especially in May because the final exams were right around the corner and I had to prepare a total of seventeen Romanian writers. Even though I was supposed to write about one author, I could not rely on luck so the best thing to do was to read one book for every writer on the list. I can honestly say that I enjoyed each and every book I chose. Different styles, different stories, each book had something new and interesting to show to the reader. Although was a pleasure to read them all, I can’t deny the fact that the one that I liked the most was “Morometii” by Marin Preda. The story is set between First and Second World War. The book focuses on Moromete family that struggles to stay unite in uncertain and unpredictable times, caught between two major historical disputes. I recommend the book to everyone that likes drama, history and humor.

                                                       

What is the last live performance (music, drama or dance) you attended?

My last live performance I attended was in Bucharest, a couple months ago when I went to see a Romanian rock band playing live. They did an awesome job on stage. I was very pleased I could go and see them. One of the best experience I had. 

                                       

What is the title of the last film you saw at the cinema/online or watched on DVD.

The last movie I watched on DVD was “The Number 23” which is a psychological thriller film written by Fernley Phillips,  starring Jim Carrey. The film is really intense, has a captivating story and an unexpected ending. Go watch it if you have't already!

                     

                                                                                            

How often do you read a newspaper? (Which one? Online or physical?)

I don’t read newspaper as most of the news I get to know about are from television, social media or friends. I believe newspapers are not a good way of staying updated to social life nowadays mostly because there are better and faster ways of getting information.

                                                     

Which art gallery/museum/ exhibition did you last visit?

I remember that, before the school ended, I visited an art gallery in Bucharest that had exposed all kind of contemporary paintings that, to be honest, were very hard to comprehend. Most of them were very minimalistic and had almost no “art elements”. Probably that’s why I focus on programming and not on designing. All in all, it was a nice and quite unique experience.    

                                                       

How many hours a week do you spend playing video games?

Now that I am away from home and I have to take care of everything, I would  say I probably spend about ten hours a week playing video games but before coming to university I had a lot more. Playing games on computer was the most common way of entertainment. After a long day at school ( most of the time I had about six/seven courses a day), video games were the best way of relaxing. I believe this was for the best because I’ve learned a lot from playing video games, to be honest, such as history, geography, time and money management, I developed good reflexes and good skills in communication. Definitely it was not a wasted time.

How many hours a week do you spend playing games other than video games?

To be honest, the only games I played other than video games were chess and backgammon. My father is very good at chess and he usually had time for one or two skirmishes. Other than that, I didn’t play board games of any kind except “Catan”, “Monopoly” and some card games from time to time, so on average I probably spend less than an hour a week .