Going off on more tangents I wonder if I can direct my focus towards factions.
My investigations in lore seem to lead me further and further away from card games and I think the reason for that is because card games, their mechanics and play styles reflect the lore and not the other way round.
Due to this I want to perhaps write Lore for a faction, which I have started and runs off a short story I was writing that I turned into a little history for a new world I ended up creating.
When it comes to factions that too is a whole other story but I can still use my investigations from Hearthstone to turn my lore back into a playable artifact.
When it comes to factions there are several open ended games that come to mind and even close ended, linear games that too have factions albeit inaccessible.
I am reminded of Fallout: New Vegas which I enjoy very much due to the complexity and intricacies of the factions and how decisions have game changing consequences. Another game that I identify with is Shin Megami Tensei series which is a more traditional RPG and you are introduced to the different factions, eventually you must choose which you want to side with and head towards a particular ending based on the D&D alignment system.
Factions have always fascinated me and I hope that I can pursue this end in the development of my artifact.
I've uploaded the tl;dr speech notes in the Analysis post.
Thursday, 27 March 2014
Wednesday, 26 March 2014
26/03/2014
Reading through the Gamasurta Article 'Plot is overrated Game narrative is all about your characters' the idea and discussions around throwing out the three act structure got me thinking.
People were going with the idea that it works in certain situations and in others it simply doesn't and much of this references back to movies and the way they're mapped out.
What got me thinking is the fact that Games aren't movies but a lot of the time they are viewed as the closest reference. I think this is a poor reference because of one factor and that is time.
A movie will have to be seen and experienced within a couple of hours, you can't keep people watching for more than that or else they'll simply lose interest after too long. Likewise you can't reference a game to a T.V. series because that too can only capture the attention of the viewer for so long, no to mention both have time constraints based on budgeting, production and marketing.
Then this led me to think why not reference games to books. Books are designed to be read and experienced at the will of the reader. They can be put down and picked back up with no loss of experience, granted the reader comes back every day or so. Unlike a T.V. series which is another extended experience, the reader of a book can simply put it down whenever they want. There are suggestions where chapters are defined but the reader can stop mid sentence, paragraph or even page, unlike a T.V. series which you have to watch until the end, unless you want to loose track of what's happening.
Since a book can be read at the readers pace it allows them to control the narrative in a sense. Each readers experience will be different depending on where they stopped and started. A reader always has the choice to read from start to finish, chapter by chapter, but they can also skip what they like, they can stop and start where they like and in a sense form a different experience than intended.
Where this comes in with games is they like books have a narrative under their control. Interactivity plays a large part in this but also how the player progresses through the game. The player can choose to save at the preset locations, stop and reload whenever they choose, or they can save, move forward for a bit, come back and save, stop and reload. They like the book can experience more or less than what was intended and is due to the player or readers decisions on how to experience the material.
In the sense of the three act structure books do follow this, but they don't necessarily have to, much like games and that's simply because they don't have the time constraints like movie's or T.V. series do in which they must put so much content in a certain time frame, the structure helps map this out.
(I'm not sure if I should post this on their page, I feel a little intimidated)
People were going with the idea that it works in certain situations and in others it simply doesn't and much of this references back to movies and the way they're mapped out.
What got me thinking is the fact that Games aren't movies but a lot of the time they are viewed as the closest reference. I think this is a poor reference because of one factor and that is time.
A movie will have to be seen and experienced within a couple of hours, you can't keep people watching for more than that or else they'll simply lose interest after too long. Likewise you can't reference a game to a T.V. series because that too can only capture the attention of the viewer for so long, no to mention both have time constraints based on budgeting, production and marketing.
Then this led me to think why not reference games to books. Books are designed to be read and experienced at the will of the reader. They can be put down and picked back up with no loss of experience, granted the reader comes back every day or so. Unlike a T.V. series which is another extended experience, the reader of a book can simply put it down whenever they want. There are suggestions where chapters are defined but the reader can stop mid sentence, paragraph or even page, unlike a T.V. series which you have to watch until the end, unless you want to loose track of what's happening.
Since a book can be read at the readers pace it allows them to control the narrative in a sense. Each readers experience will be different depending on where they stopped and started. A reader always has the choice to read from start to finish, chapter by chapter, but they can also skip what they like, they can stop and start where they like and in a sense form a different experience than intended.
Where this comes in with games is they like books have a narrative under their control. Interactivity plays a large part in this but also how the player progresses through the game. The player can choose to save at the preset locations, stop and reload whenever they choose, or they can save, move forward for a bit, come back and save, stop and reload. They like the book can experience more or less than what was intended and is due to the player or readers decisions on how to experience the material.
In the sense of the three act structure books do follow this, but they don't necessarily have to, much like games and that's simply because they don't have the time constraints like movie's or T.V. series do in which they must put so much content in a certain time frame, the structure helps map this out.
(I'm not sure if I should post this on their page, I feel a little intimidated)
Friday, 21 March 2014
22/03/2014
Recorded the tl;dr version whose script I will upload later.
It's more focused and reduced from about an 1:10:00 to 0:11:00.
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwLkCKQNxrM
It's more focused and reduced from about an 1:10:00 to 0:11:00.
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwLkCKQNxrM
Thursday, 20 March 2014
20/03/2014
Created and uploaded the video, continued to make discoveries along the way.
May make more but I am content with this for now.
May make more but I am content with this for now.
Wednesday, 19 March 2014
19/03/2014
I've decided to focus on Hearthstone for the time being since there is still a lot I can and will have to do and stuff I was figuring and working out while I was recording the videos. I will come back to Yu-Gi-Oh but that's a whole other subject.
I have a tendency to see things doing analysis from memory but I end up discovering new things when I'm actually participating.
Some way through the videos I lost part of what I wanted to talk about and that was in part due to me rushing to get the videos done, knowing I had to get the Yu-Gi-Oh part done, but in postponing that I can devote full focus to the future videos.
Writing some speech notes to keep me focused.
Written speech notes, will upload them with the other notes.
Possible just explain the heroes each while scrolling through the cards in crafting mode instead of playing at first and will do more POC videos but with a more focused explanation.
I have a tendency to see things doing analysis from memory but I end up discovering new things when I'm actually participating.
Some way through the videos I lost part of what I wanted to talk about and that was in part due to me rushing to get the videos done, knowing I had to get the Yu-Gi-Oh part done, but in postponing that I can devote full focus to the future videos.
Writing some speech notes to keep me focused.
Written speech notes, will upload them with the other notes.
Possible just explain the heroes each while scrolling through the cards in crafting mode instead of playing at first and will do more POC videos but with a more focused explanation.
Tuesday, 18 March 2014
18/03/2014
Recorded four proof of concepts on four different heroes, Warlock, Shaman, Mage and Paladin.
Uploaded Videos.
Link to playlist: Interaction and Play Hearthstone Analysis POC
Uploaded Videos.
Link to playlist: Interaction and Play Hearthstone Analysis POC
Monday, 17 March 2014
17/03/2014
Warlock finished
Understanding that archetypes can be interpreted both in their own universe and in a general sense and can be manipulated or changed to fit their needs.
I found it hard to pin down the connections between lore archetype and play style for paladin since much of it is quite separate, however much of it does tie in with Warcraft mechanics instead.
Paladin finished
The warrior class has made me aware of the idea of using personality to define the element as in Garrosh's aggression being translated into the cards. The actions of characters can also portray this in the lore.
Warrior finished.
I'm seeing that some cards are based off lore, but several are based off archetypes.
Hunter finished.
Shaman finished (yay).
Extra bit written at the end.
Began Yu-Gi-Oh analysis.
Understanding that archetypes can be interpreted both in their own universe and in a general sense and can be manipulated or changed to fit their needs.
I found it hard to pin down the connections between lore archetype and play style for paladin since much of it is quite separate, however much of it does tie in with Warcraft mechanics instead.
Paladin finished
The warrior class has made me aware of the idea of using personality to define the element as in Garrosh's aggression being translated into the cards. The actions of characters can also portray this in the lore.
Warrior finished.
I'm seeing that some cards are based off lore, but several are based off archetypes.
Hunter finished.
Shaman finished (yay).
Extra bit written at the end.
Began Yu-Gi-Oh analysis.
Sunday, 16 March 2014
16/03/2014
Started analysis, covering each character in hearthstone, realizing the extent of my workload.
Mage finished, planning to upload everything at once as a word document, hopefully for discussion with group/class as well as a video as proof of concept.
I tended towards the archetypal connection to play style rather than the lore itself due to a more established connection. The lore while interesting has no immediate effect on the game play or play style, it does however have an effect on the construction process as well as the cards that make up the game which is something else I'll have to look into at a later time.
I'm finding that the Druid's lore is a heavy influence on what cards he got and how the effects reflect this fact.
Druid finished.
I am beginning to understand the semiotics and nuances of writing game lore, history is important and feats of greatness or tragedy must be established, well known figures recurring and deities direct influences at times.
Priest finished.
Rogue finished.
Mage finished, planning to upload everything at once as a word document, hopefully for discussion with group/class as well as a video as proof of concept.
I tended towards the archetypal connection to play style rather than the lore itself due to a more established connection. The lore while interesting has no immediate effect on the game play or play style, it does however have an effect on the construction process as well as the cards that make up the game which is something else I'll have to look into at a later time.
I'm finding that the Druid's lore is a heavy influence on what cards he got and how the effects reflect this fact.
Druid finished.
I am beginning to understand the semiotics and nuances of writing game lore, history is important and feats of greatness or tragedy must be established, well known figures recurring and deities direct influences at times.
Priest finished.
Rogue finished.
Saturday, 15 March 2014
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