311 Matching Annotations
  1. Feb 2024
    1. I love the inclusion of gaming within digital storytelling! As someone who games I can affirm that there are alot of games such as Stardew valley, legend of Zelda and others that are interactive while taking the player through a story.

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  2. Jan 2024
    1. If you have studied the historical campaign, you may wonder if the same operational plan can be duplicated in the game—with the same results.  The answer is yes.  The unit capabilities and game mechanics allow for a repeat of history, but there is always the other player to consider.  As with history, the two sides have nearly the same number of infantry divisions, tanks, mobile units and artillery.  The German advantage is most evident in airpower—the Luftwaffe dramatically outclassed the Allied air forces in the campaign (and so it is with the game).  Only the German player who knows exactly how to employ their units with careful attention to the movement and combat sequences, event card use, the hidden unit dynamic, and especially the air rules—will be able to duplicate the historic success of the 1940 Wehrmacht.  And even then, the historic result was only possible because the Allied response played almost perfectly into Germany’s hand.  But there is more than one path to a decisive result, and the game allows for multiple campaign plans for both sides.  The rules are set up to mirror the operational, command, and doctrinal differences between the two opposing sides, but the contest is designed simply to re-create the same historic “canvas” upon which both players may then paint—the issue will be decided by a combination of player decisions and the fortunes and fog of war.
  3. Dec 2023
    1. As his work developed over the following decades, Kasparian produced many studies of great depth and analytical refinement. He was a strong player (the champion of Armenia ten times and a competitor in four USSR championships) and it shows in his compositions. In introducing his collection of 400 studies, published in 1987, he described his work in the following terms. "I have paid the greatest attention to the themes of positional draw, mate, stalemate, and systematic manoeuvre. This is no accident, but entirely natural: in contemporary study composition these themes are often being elaborated, they are promising, fruitful and, perhaps, inexhaustible." Yes, his themes may be the familiar ones, but the originality and subtlety of the play give his compositions a variety that seems as inexhaustible as the game itself.
  4. Oct 2023
  5. Sep 2023
    1. The Glass Bead Game is "a kind of synthesis of human learning"[11] in which themes, such as a musical phrase or a philosophical thought, are stated. As the Game progresses, associations between the themes become deeper and more varied.[11] Although the Glass Bead Game is described lucidly, the rules and mechanics are not explained in detail.
    1. Art is the hook that engages students…. The subjects are familiar so that students have much to recognize but they also contain elements of mystery so students have observations, ideas, and emotions to puzzle over [my emphasis]. (p. 24)

      Right, so the modern equivalent would be to design a game or an 3d animation in an intuitive way, yet the integration of pipeline in this systems makes it so that not even experienced professionals in the area cn develop a short film or an interactive experience through art that eases people into coding.

      I think we need to do a better job at this. If the system that allowed us to design the processes also taught it to people then we wouldn't have to chose between improving the learning curve and the system there should all be one. why did we stop shipping manuals with our tech..? ahh it was because we stopped caring about what the people that designed the tool thought.

    1. Within the expansive realm of video games, there exists a special niche devoted to the heartwarming and charming aspects of gaming – known as cute games. These delightful creations provide players with an opportunity to immerse themselves in enchanting worlds brimming with charm, whimsy, and an abundance of adorable elements.

    1. What are the best online games for girls? There are several choices available when it comes to the best online games for girls, catering to different preferences and interests. Here are some prominent genres and particular kinds of games that appeal to girls:

    1. Embark on a whimsical journey through enchanting realms with Princess Games for Girls. Rule kingdoms, solve puzzles, and dress up royalty in dazzling gowns. Adventure awaits as you unlock magical powers, befriend fantastical creatures, and create your fairy tale happily ever after in this captivating world of princesses.

  6. Aug 2023
    1. Get ready to unleash your culinary creativity with the captivating cooking games for girls at CuteDressUp! Embark on a delightful adventure in the virtual kitchen and hone your skills as a talented chef. From baking mouthwatering cakes to preparing scrumptious meals, these games offer a perfect blend of fun and learning. With their charming graphics and engaging gameplay, the cooking games at CuteDressUp provide an enjoyable experience for aspiring chefs of all ages. So put on your chef's hat, grab your utensils, and let the culinary magic begin!

    1. Explore a world of imagination and style with CuteDressUp – the ultimate destination for play dress up games tailored for girls. Unleash creativity as you mix and match outfits, accessories, and hairstyles to create stunning looks. From princesses to everyday fashion, embark on a fashion-filled adventure that sparks joy and endless fun!

    1. Cutedressup offers an enchanting collection of princess games tailored specifically for girls. Dive into a magical world filled with captivating adventures, dress-up options, and imaginative role-playing. Whether you dream of being a graceful princess in a sparkling gown or embark on thrilling quests in enchanted kingdoms, Cutedressup provides an exciting and captivating gaming experience that will transport you to a world of fantasy and wonder. Let your inner princess shine and indulge in the delight of playing princess games designed just for you at Cutedressup.

    1. Play fashion games for girls at CuteDressUp! Explore a world of style and creativity as you dress up virtual models, design stunning outfits, and showcase your fashion skills. From glamorous red carpet looks to trendy everyday ensembles, let your imagination run wild and express your unique sense of style. With a wide selection of clothing, accessories, and hairstyles, CuteDressUp is the perfect destination for fashion-forward girls who love to play and experiment with fashion. Get ready to unleash your inner fashionista and have a blast at CuteDressUp!

    1. Cutedressup offers an exciting collection of doctor games specifically designed for girls. Step into the shoes of a doctor and experience the thrill of saving lives, diagnosing patients, and performing virtual surgeries. With adorable graphics, engaging gameplay, and a wide range of medical scenarios, these games provide a fun and educational experience for young aspiring doctors.

  7. Jul 2023
    1. Over the past few years, there has been a notable surge in the popularity of celebrity games, captivating both fans and gamers. While these games are primarily recognized for their ability to entertain, it raises an intriguing question: can celebrity games also possess educational value?

    1. Liang, Machado, Talvite, Bowling - AAMAS 2016 "State of the Art Control of Atari Games Using Shallow Reinforcement Learning"

      Response paper to DQN showing that well designed Value Function Approximations can also do well at these complex tasks without the use of Deep Learning

      A great paper showing how to think differently about the latest advances in Deep RL. All is not always what it seems!

  8. Jun 2023
    1. Liang, Machado, Talvite, Bowling - AAMAS 2016 "State of the Art Control of Atari Games Using Shallow Reinforcement Learning"

      A great paper showing how to think differently about the latest advances in Deep RL. All is not always what it seems!

    1. LeBlanc, D. G., & Lee, G. (2021). General Deep Reinforcement Learning in NES Games. Canadian AI 2021. Canadian Artificial Intelligence Association (CAIAC). https://doi.org/10.21428/594757db.8472938b

  9. May 2023
    1. CD-ROM interactive content and games like Myst (1993)

      The 1993 game Myst, available on CD-ROM, had a card index like format.

    1. 《The Elephant Collection》是原作者 John Cooney (jmtb02)  2007 - 2012 年在 Armor Games 上以一只蓝色小象为主角创作的 Flash 游戏,后来他加入了 Kongregate 直到 2019 年重回 Armor Games 并于两年后出任 CEO。 这个合集是由其他开发者进行重制的:Antony Lavelle (咩咩启示录Loading 开发商的程序员,早年间也是 Armor Games 上的 Flash 游戏开发者) 合集里包括知名度较高的《只有这一关 / This is the Only Level》系列《成就解锁 / Achievement Unlocked》系列等
    1. Cooking up a storm in the kitchen or designing the perfect bakery, these cooking games for girls offer endless opportunities for fun, creativity, and culinary exploration. So put on your chef's hat, grab your apron, and get ready to whip up some delicious meals and desserts!

    1. Get ready to enter the magical world of Winx Club, where fairy powers and adventure await! In these exciting Winx Club games, you'll get to join Bloom, Stella, Flora, Musa, Tecna, and Aisha on their epic quests to save the universe from the forces of darkness.

    1. Welcome to the world of Celebrity Games, where you can step into the shoes of your favorite stars and experience their lives like never before! Each celebrity has its own unique storyline, challenges, and goals to achieve, so you can play the game that best fits your interests.

    1. DressUpWho is a popular online platform where users can play dress-up games featuring virtual models and customize their appearance using a wide variety of clothing and accessory options.

    2. Welcome to DressUpWho, the ultimate destination for fashion lovers and game enthusiasts! In DressUpWho Games, you get to unleash your creativity and design skills by dressing up your favorite characters and celebrities. From Barbie to Disney princesses, from Hollywood stars to anime characters, you'll find a wide range of fashion icons to choose from.

    1. Shopaholic Games offers a fun and immersive shopping experience that appeals to players of all ages and skill levels. With its intuitive gameplay, colorful graphics, and addictive challenges, it is the perfect choice for anyone looking to satisfy their inner shopaholic while also developing their strategic thinking and decision-making abilities.

    1. Cute games are a genre of video games that feature charming and endearing characters, colorful graphics, and fun, lighthearted gameplay. These games often appeal to a wide audience, including children and adults who enjoy playful and cheerful experiences.

  10. Apr 2023
  11. Mar 2023
    1. they involve the flow state. For this it is necessary to make use of adaptability that in the educational scope allows the personalization of the experience to extend the immersion and fun.

      Use of games involve the flow state. flow state is perhaps the most valuable state a student or anyone trying to learn something could be in. Flow combined with the acquisition of knowledge is a rare occassion that cannot be compared when taking education and insight as valuable with any other state (the normal state). (One could argue Thomas Campbell's trancedental medititative state, but he was a natural 'Talent', and it involves a practice of TM (Transcedental Meditation) that is beyond the scope of the ability of many educational settings to provide or consider).

  12. Feb 2023
  13. Jan 2023
    1. axi  embodies a new generation of games

      Axie Infinity play-to-earn game

      Funded by a16z, this game allowed character owners to farm out their characters to "scholars" who would play them for a cut of the player's earnings. It has been accused of relying on predatory mechanisms to extract rent from lower demographic populations.

    1. The game went on to be a minor hit in Japan, selling over 100,000 copies -- and was followed up by a Game Boy version which, thanks to Pokemon's popularity, sold over 300,000, launching the new franchise.

      Interesting facts about the launch of the Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons series in Japan. The first game for SNES sold about 100,000 copies. The game that most launched the series, however, was the simpler Game Boy game, which "sold over 300,000, launching the new franchise." This article credits the success of Pokemon in part with the high sales of Story of Seasons.

    2. "It wasn't all that easy to apply the concept of living life in the countryside to a game design document," said Yasuhiro Wada, creator of the Harvest Moon franchise. Wada had moved to Tokyo after being brought up in the countryside. Though he had no interest in returning to that environment, he finally understood its advantages compared to the big city, and thus wanted to turn that experience into a game. The problem was that he didn't know how. "I needed to nail the player experience," said Wada, but he had a problem: "How do you express the game system of living while working?"

      Yasuhiro Wada, the creator of Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons, explained that he first had the idea of creating a game where the player cared for cows from growing up in the Japanese countryside.

    1. “It looked like we’d run out of time and would have to scrap the battling feature, but Nintendo made it clear they wanted battles in the game, so we had to make it happen”, he explained“So I just thought, ‘well no choice then, it has to be done,’ and the early battles were something you just watched. You would just see there was a battle and who won and who lost.”Morimoto revealed that when this element was first shown to Nintendo, the feedback was negative. “We showed that to Nintendo and the surveys we got back called it ‘boring’,” Morimoto said. “I guess they were right, but we were cutting it close to the deadline trying to add in battles that the player commands.“Ultimately, it’s what everyone wanted, so we got it to work with the Link Cable and made it a reality.”

      The story of how Pokémon Red and Blue were almost released without link cable battling.

    1. Ai Ebihara is the kind of character that you expect to hate from the get-go, but her struggle surprisingly becomes one of the better links in the game. Ai is pretty and rich, and she knows it – something that makes her insufferable at the start. She is always stroking her own ego, keeping up appearances, and spends her time being generally self-centered. But it takes a form of rejection to show Ai is dealing with some heavy feelings, even suicidal thoughts. What I loved so much about Ai’s social link is that it’s unpredictable – a rollercoaster of uncertainty. Every time you think you know where you stand with the girl and make progress, you get slapped in the face with an unsettling event or revelation. The question the link poses: Is there a redeeming quality about her? Can a kind soul be all it takes to save someone? Watching it all unfold is beautiful.  

      "The question the link poses: Is there a redeeming quality about [Ai Ebihara]? Can a kind soul be all it takes to save someone?"

      This is a beautiful write-up of the Ai Ebihara social link in Persona 4. I would be curious what the author thinks the answers are to the two questions presented. In my view, Ai's redeeming quality -- that is the quality she uses to redeem her character in the end -- is the same quality that drove her unpleasant personality early in the arc -- introspection. The player "saves" Ai by giving Ai the courage to save herself. Part of the beauty of the link is that the rest is for Ai to figure out as she goes forward.

  14. Dec 2022
    1. Steam emulator for GNU/Linux and Windows that emulates steam online features. Lets you play games that use the steam multiplayer apis on a LAN without steam or an internet connection.

      Interesting project to make it possible to run some Steam games that ordinarily would require Steam to be running to run without Steam.

    1. The magic bullet of education and skillseliminating poverty is an alluring one, but without a substantial increase in thenumber and quality of opportunities available, it is only a mirage.
    2. However, there is fatal flaw to this argument—as an overall macro strategyfor reducing poverty, it will be ineffective unless we also increase the overallquantity and quality of opportunities, particularly job opportunities, in society.In other words, by providing an individual with greater education, we havemade them more competitive in the job market, but only at the expense ofsomeone else. In this sense, the strategy is played as a zero-sum game.

      initally creaded: 2022-10-10

    3. The critical mistake that has been made in the past is that we have equatedthe question of who loses the game with the question of why the game produceslosers in the first place. They are, in fact, distinct and separate questions.

      Rather than focusing on education as the magic bullet for improving poverty, we should be focusing on the structural problems of the economy itself. It shouldn't be a zero sum game as that will always result in losers and thus poverty. The choices we make with that fallacy simply decide who will face poverty and will never fix the root issues.

  15. Nov 2022
    1. Donations

      To add some other intermediary services:

      To add a service for groups:

      To add a service that enables fans to support the creators directly and anonymously via microdonations or small donations by pre-charging their Coil account to spend on content streaming or tipping the creators' wallets via a layer containing JS script following the Interledger Protocol proposed to W3C:

      If you want to know more, head to Web Monetization or Community or Explainer

      Disclaimer: I am a recipient of a grant from the Interledger Foundation, so there would be a Conflict of Interest if I edited directly. Plus, sharing on Hypothesis allows other users to chime in.

  16. 7nightstranslations.wordpress.com 7nightstranslations.wordpress.com
    1. Tanabe Meito is a psychology student in the “World of Light”, a completely ordered world were people don’t have a shadow. He’s not entirely satisfied, though; and when he meets a girl with a shadow called Shimon he ends going with her to the “World of Shadow”, a rural village where the people are shadows, and Shimon is the only one with both body and shadow. Right after that they meet two other persons with body and shadow: a girl with no memories, who they finally name Sou, and a woman also with no memories but who recalls being called Riri. Then they start living together in Shimon’s house, and have mostly slice-of-life happenings while they investigate a mysterious voice Meito heard just before going to the World of Shadow, and Meito gets used to the shadow people. And while that’s happening you have scenes of a boy who lives with his mother, who eats him, until he discover eating is love, eats her, and goes out into the outer world. Then things get real trippy, and nothing else makes any sense, until the very end, or ever.

      "And while that's happening you have scenes of a boy who lives with his mother, who eats him, until he discovers eating is love, eats her, and goes out into the outer world. **Then things get real trippy, and nothing else makes any sense, until the very end, or ever."

      This is as apt a description of MYTH as one could write.

    1. context

      should introduce the context earlier, as well as the main function's BError type.

    2. The "S" in ECS stands for "Systems". A System is a piece of code that gathers data from the entity/components list and does something with it. It's actually quite similar to an inheritance model, but in some ways it's "backwards". For example, drawing in an OOP system is often: For each BaseEntity, call that entity's Draw command. In an ECS system, it would be Get all entities with a position and a renderable component, and use that data to draw them.
    3. You can find the glyphs available here.

      Link is dead, maybe use wikipedia instead.

    4. In our tick function

      Need to introduce the tick function and GameState here.

    1. I like to say that in ECS we design bottom-up. We look at data and which behaviour depends on which data. In OO we design top-down, we search for abstractions and generic behaviours / definitions.
    1. The fingerless gloves have padded palms.

      Describing Nintendo's Mario Party gloves.

    2. Original March 9, 2000 AP report on settlement between Nintendo and New York State regarding alleged Mario Party injuries.

    1. Tug o’ War’s warning in Mario Party Superstars explicitly says “do not rotate [the stick] with the palm of your hand.” But 2000s kids remember that, in the cold, cruel world of Mario Party, where you don’t get participation trophies, you had to be willing to sacrifice a hand. Now that they’re adults, I expect them to pass this lesson along to the next generation.

      Article jokingly notes that it expects Mario Party veterans to pass on lesson about joystick rotation games to newer generation. I had not read this line before I did just that in my own article questioning the return of the games in the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pass version of Mario Party.

    2. As CNET reported way, way back in 2002, Spitzer’s office negotiated an agreement with Nintendo for the company to provide four (4) pairs of sports gloves to every Mario Party owner who wanted them. (This request had to be accompanied by some rather onerous proof of ownership and purchase information.) Very few parents were believed to have actually taken up Nintendo on this offer. Fewer than 100 complained directly to Nintendo.

      Contemporary article noting that very few people are believed to have taken Nintendo up for offer of gloves as recompense for alleged Mario Party injuries.

    1. 2000 - Nintendo agrees to supply protective sports gloves to American owners of the Mario Party video game for the Nintendo 64. The Attorney General's office of New York had complained to the company after hearing many reports about children being injured playing the game.

      March 9, 2000: Date in which Nintendo settled Mario Party lawsuit brought by NYS.

    1. I can’t say I’ve ever hurt myself, but I had a friend who got one nasty blister in the palm of his hand from playing the orignal Mario Party on the N64. I remember he was going around showing it to everyone at school the next day. He was so proud of himself.

      Second-hand account of Mario Party injury dated May 28, 2008.

    1. Llewelyn described the gloves as "similar to weight-lifting gloves" with padded palms. The Attorney General's office estimated the cost per user could be as much as $18.

      Nintendo's description of Mario Party settlement gloves.

    2. Nintendo will provide each family with up to four gloves as part of the settlement. In addition to the cost of the gloves, Nintendo has also agreed to pay for the state's legal fees, totaling about $75,000.

      Mario Party owners could receive up to four gloves. NYS received 75k.

    3. While no case was actually filed, the New York attorney general's office has received almost 100 complaints from consumers whose children had sustained hand wounds from playing any of five different levels of the Nintendo 64 game. The injuries ranged from friction burns and blisters to lacerations and punctures.

      Claims that Mario Party injuries included friction burns, lacerations, and punctures.

    4. "This settlement is good news for the parents throughout the nation," said New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. "Nintendo has agreed to take responsibility for the effect of its games on young people."

      Former AG Spitzer claiming Mario Party settlement was good news for parents across the nation.

    5. Video game maker Nintendo of America Inc. agreed on Thursday to provide protective gloves to approximately 1.2 million children who play the game Mario Party. The agreement is part of a settlement with the New York state attorney general's office and could cost Nintendo (ntdoy) up to $80 million.

      March 8, 2000 article on Mario Party settlement agreement reached between NYS and Nintendo.

    1. The gloves offered to players resembled that of a weight-lifting glove, similar to the Harbinger brand, with thick padding on the palms. The Attorney General’s office at the time estimated the cost per user was about $18 USD in damages (And gloves).

      Describing the gloves offered to Mario Party owners.

    2. Beth Llewelyn, a spokeswomen for Nintendo at the time, stressed that the total cost to the company will more than likely be much less then $80 million USD. “We have had only 90 or so complaints in the year that the game has been on the market,” she said. “We don’t know how many people are going to take advantage of the offer.”

      Nintendo noted it only had about 90 complaints about the Mario Party rotation games.

    3. The 5 mini-games in question were Paddle Battle, Tug O’War, Pedal Power, Cast Aways, and Deep Sea Divers, and children needed to rapidly rotate the joystick to succeed at the activities. In many cases, children (And adults) developed horrible blisters on the palm of their hands.

      Listing the five rotation games in the first Mario Party and asserting that "many" people developed hand injuries and blisters.

    1. As of December 1999, about 1.15 million copies of "Mario Party" had been sold in the United States, according to the AG's office, which estimated the offer could cost Nintendo $80 million if every consumer takes advantage of it. The actual cost is expected to be much lower, however, as fewer than 100 parents have complained directly to Nintendo since the game went on the market a year ago.

      Fewer than 100 parents actually complained about Mario Party.

    2. Under the settlement, Nintendo agreed to provide four sets of sports gloves to each "Mario Party" owner who sends in a request. The rather elaborate proof-of-purchase requirements are detailed at (800) 521-0900.

      Nintendo's agreement to provide gloves to people who purchased Mario Party.

    3. The recorded message on the company's "Mario Party" hotline, however, recommends that players avoid injuries simply by manipulating the joystick with their thumb and forefinger rather than the palm of the hand.

      Nintendo's advice for avoiding injuries while playing Mario Party's rotation games is similar to its note on the Switch Online port.

    4. "The alarming thing was how little time some of these children spent playing the game before they were injured," Pritchard said. "One parent said their child had been playing the game for 15 to 20 minutes when they got a second-degree burn."

      Former AG Spitzer's claim that children received second-degree burns from playing Mario Party.

    5. "One kid got a tetanus shot," said Christi Pritchard, a spokeswoman for New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer.

      Former AG Spitzer's claim that a child had to get a tetanus shot from playing Mario Party.

    1. Mario Party might be accused of producing the same concepts over and over again, but it has a storied and interesting history to it. Most older gamers will likely remember the “glove” incident, where the Nintendo 64 controller was so tough that it damaged player’s hands, forcing Nintendo of America to provide protective gloves and paid $75,000 in legal fees.

      Starting that Nintendo paid $75,000 in legal fees over claims that rotation games in Mario Party caused hand injuries.

  17. Oct 2022
    1. en 2018 et 2019, Ubisoft a ajouté à chaque jeu un mode éliminant toutes les missions et tous lescombats, appelé « Discovery Tours », dans le but que les professeurs d’Histoire dans les écoles secondairespuissent utiliser ces jeux dans leurs cours.
    2. Pourtant, cesmêmes chercheurs accordent toute leur attention aux jeux vidéo sérieux qui, ils le reconnaissent eux-mêmes,sont souvent « peu motivants », « amusants » et « divertissants » (c’est-à-dire, offrant un engagement et uneimmersion faibles), contrairement aux jeux vidéo commerciaux ou basés sur le divertissement (Davidson, 2008;Gee, 2008; Granic et coll., 2014; Hamari et Koivisto, 2015).
    3. les jeux vidéo basés sur le divertissement offrent des expériences similaires aux jeux vidéo sérieux, et qu’il estdonc probable qu’ils mènent à un apprentissage significatif
  18. Sep 2022
    1. The need for students to participate in the larger conversations around subject mattershelps writers creating more intellectual prose, but this becomes difficult in a “culture

      prone to naming winners and losers, rights and wrongs. You are in or out, hot or not, on the bus or off it. But academics seldom write in an all-or- nothing mode” (p. 26).

      Our culture is overly based on the framing of winners or losers and we don't leave any room for things which aren't a zero sum game. (See: Donald J. Trump's framing of his presidency.) We shouldn't approach academic writing or even schooling or pedagogy in general as a zero sum game. We need more space and variety for neurodiversity as teaching to the middle or even to the higher end is going to destroy the entire enterprise.


      Politics is not a zero sum game. Even the losers have human rights and deserve the ability to live their lives.

  19. Aug 2022
    1. These methods of interaction and your storyline of yours will definitely make the game interesting. You are all set to make a text-based game by yourself. Go get started and show your skills.

      How to make text-based games in C++

  20. Jul 2022
    1. While we are in the process of updating our Minecraft Usage Guidelines to offer more precise guidance on new technologies, we wanted to take the opportunity to share our view that integrations of NFTs with Minecraft are generally not something we will support or allow. Let’s have a closer look!

      Above-the-fold statement on NFTs in Minecraft

  21. May 2022
  22. Apr 2022
    1. In his practice, Leiris wrote,Duchamp demonstratesall the honesty of a gambler who knows that the game only has meaningto the extent that one scrupulously observes the rules from the very out-set. What makes the game so compelling is not its final result or how wellone performs, but rather the game in and of itself, the constant shiftingaround of pawns, the circulation of cards, everything that contributes tothe fact that the game—as opposed to a work of art—never stands still.

      particularly:

      but rather the game in and of itself, the constant shifting around of pawns, the circulation of cards, everything that contributes to the fact that the game--as opposed to a work of art--never stands still.

      This reminds me of some of the mnemonic devices (cowrie shells) that Lynne Kelly describes in combinatorial mnemonic practice. These are like games or stories that change through time. And these are fairly similar to the statistical thermodynamics of life and our multitude of paths through it. Or stories which change over time.

      Is life just a game?

      there's a kernel of something interesting here, we'll just need to tie it all together.

      Think also of combining various notes together in a zettelkasten.

      Were these indigenous tribes doing combinatorial work in a more rigorous mathematical fashion?

  23. Mar 2022
    1. Twitch, the popular site where people go to watch other people play video games

      That's an oversimplification -- even video game streamers spend a lot of time just talking to their audience or watching videos.

      Twitch provides on-demand, human connection (like radio or TV before it).

  24. Feb 2022
    1. Rebel Wolves said it will be a studio built on “the foundations of fairness, teamwork, and openness [...] unified by the mission of putting the team first —ALWAYS— [...] they believe that happy people create great games

      You can't help but notice the shade thrown over CD Project Red with this statement. The development of The Witcher 3 was notorious for its crunch, I can only imagine it was worse for Cyberpunk 2077.

      https://www.gamebyte.com/cd-projekt-red-admits-crunch-period-for-the-witcher-3-was-not-humane/

      https://www.polygon.com/2020/12/4/21575914/cyberpunk-2077-release-crunch-labor-delays-cd-projekt-red

    1. With Stadia's consumer model going down the drain, Google announced it would pivot Stadia to become a behind-the-scenes, white-label data center service that the company will reportedly re-brand as "Google Stream."

      I think that makes a lot of sense. Google doesn't want to do the "platform building" Microsoft and Sony excel at, and it doesn't have to.

      Imagine playing or trying out video games simply on the developers website.

  25. Jan 2022
    1. “It makes perfect sense,” says Moro from his home in Boston. “For the game to be a success, it needs to be simple and playable, and picking the most common terms means that in the end, we all get it right in just a few tries.”

      Esteban Moro

      For games to be a success they need to meet a set of Goldilock's conditions, they should be simple enough to learn to play and win, but complex enough to still be challenging.

      How many other things in life need this sort of balance between simplicity and complexity to be successful?

      Is there an information theoretic statement that bounds this mathematically? What would it look like for various games?

    2. The inventor of the original English version, Welsh-born software engineer Josh Wardle, created it during the pandemic to entertain his partner – a word game addict, as he told The New York Times.
  26. Nov 2021
  27. Oct 2021
  28. Sep 2021
  29. Aug 2021
    1. 've long been a fan of board games, I enjoy a game that fully occupies my mind, clearing out all the serious thoughts for a bit, while enjoying the company of good friends. Modern board games saw dramatic improvement in the 1990's with the rise of Eurogames, and I expect many people would be surprised if they haven't tried any of this new generation.
  30. Jun 2021
    1. graphics are not really important in the grand scheme of things, even less so in puzzlers, but the diorama-like presentation of forests and cute animals immediately won me over, and I found small things like moving animals in the backround hours into the game. gotta admire the attention to detail.
    2. add some quality of life stuff like volume sliders, windowed mode, unlimited undo, etc.
    3. when it first came out, cubicity: slide puzzle was full of mobile shenanigans, but based on feedback the developers quickly 'de-mobilized' it during launch week
  31. May 2021
  32. Apr 2021
    1. Best Online Casino GamesPlay the best online casino games at the best recommended online casinos. Discover our guides to tips and tricks about online casino games.Online casino games – this is the most popular type of game for real money, which are played at online casinos. All online casinos have a huge selection of games. We only offer you the best free online casino games!
    1. The game is not too bad.. sweet graphics yet minimalistic.. but why the heck 1,5k achievements? I can barely concentrate on the levels because all the freaking achievements pop up all the time. One per level would have done the job just fine.. i love achievements.. but getting 1,5k for nothing is hideous.
    1. as it stands, this only goes to highlight what a miracle, what a classic for the ages Actraiser really is, whilst confirming itself as, unfortunately, one to avoid.
    1. Probably the only thing I'd like to see fixed now is the possibility of quick restart like in the old Timberman and not having to wait for the 'Game Over' screen to finally be back to the good ol' choppin'
    1. I really like the ideas in this game: the theme, what it's trying to accomplish (explore the problems with imperialism, if I understood correctly), the game board, the game in general. I want to like it.

      but, I don't think I would like this one enough due to the luck and relying on other players' whims (trading) mechanisms:

      • Dice Rolling
      • Push Your Luck

      You can risk a lot getting an expensive estate, but if you push your luck too much, your risk/gamble won't pay off and you'll permanently lose that [pawn] and those victory points.

    1. Just about everything players own can be exchanged at any time. The old promise system has been redesigned to provide players with the ability to give away future favors for crucial leverage in the heat of a negotiation. Players have never had so many ways to make a deal. 
    2. John Company offers players a new understanding of British history in the eighteenth and nineteenth century that reflects contemporary scholarship on the subject and extensive research into primary documents. John Company attempts to put the critical events of that time in their proper context and show how the imperial experience transformed the domestic culture of Britain. The East India Company lurked behind every building of a textile mill and every bit of wealth in a Jane Austen novel.  John Company is an uncompromising portrait of the people who made the Company and the British Empire what it was. It is as frank as it is cutting in its satire.  Accordingly, the game wrestles with many of the key themes of imperialism and globalization in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and how those developments were felt domestically. As such, this game might not be suitable for all players. Please make sure everyone in your group consents to this exploration before playing. 
    1. Unfortunately, there is some urgency to this effort. As Shashi Tharoor writes in his book Inglorious Empire (2018), over the past 30 years, there has been a tremendous bout of collective amnesia, espeically in the UK, about the history of empire and its consequences. Into this vacuum, revisionist historians of the worst kind like Niall Ferguson have capitalized on historical blind spots of people living today to make an absurd case for the benefits of empire. This cannot be allowed to happen. Tharoor believes that one of the best bulwarks against this erasure is to do the work of inquiry and to make the history of empire accessible and apparent to the widest audience. It is into this effort that I submit my work. John Company is an unsparing portrait that hopefully will give its players a sense of the nature of empire and the long half-life of its cultural production. It is certainly not the only way to make a game about empire, but I hope that it does its part in adding to our understanding of that subject and its continued legacy.
    1. Around &Bigger the box is bigger: 75mm high instead of 45mm or so.That was the main reason for the name &Bigger. The first edition does fit in its box but very tight. Because the first factory used bigger cardboard than planned. They told me about this "upgrade" after they produced the game. The thicker tiles (about 2.5mm) did feel good for the game so the &Bigger edition has the same
    1. The central decision of the game is when to play your houses. And you didn't even really talk about that.
    2. Few real decisions to make....Not in my experience, either in tile placement or in disk placement. Of possible interest is the thread:Informal experiment: how easy to find "the optimal disk placement" in various positions?wherein we see that even in the second phase, which people often complain is "automatic" or "obvious", the decisions are not necessarily obvious.
    3. However, it can be extremely frustrating placing the tiles. Very commonly there will be no position to place a tile in and it will be put to one side. Perhaps someone new to tile-laying games wouldn't find this so odd, but to anyone with experience of Carcassonne it will seem very limiting. In Carcassonne you can pretty much always place a tile, with several choices of position available. Every player I've introduced this game to has looked at me as if to say, "We must be doing something wrong." But no, that game is designed that way. Sometimes it feels like the map builds itself - there is often only one viable placement, so it starts to feel like a jigsaw, searching for that available position. Surely placing a single tile shouldn't be this difficult!

      I don't think I'd find it frustrating. I think I would enjoy the puzzle part of it.

      But indirectly I see that difficulty in placing tiles impacting my enjoyment: because it means that there are no/few meaningful decisions to be had in terms of where to place your tile (because there's often only 1 place you can put it, and it may sometimes benefit your opponent more than yourself) or which tile to place (because you don't get any choice -- unless you can't play the first one, and then you can play a previously unplayable one or draw blind).

    4. I recently played a prototype of an upcoming game called Bronze. This takes the tile-laying/ territory claiming mechanic and builds on it by adding abilities to each of the tiles. they benefit you in some way if you claim them. The result is a very similar feel to Fjords (competing for a share of the map) but with greater depth.
    5. Requires you to play multiple rounds (i.e. short games) to balance the scores
    6. Luck over-rides strategy
    7. You can't avoid the comparisons to Carcassonne even though the scoring mechanic is very different. It just looks the same, and the tile placement phase feels close enough to be familiar. However, this familiarity starts to nag at you, only adding to the frustration when tile placement is clumsy and luck-driven unlike Carcassonne. The comparison is not favourable for Fjords.
    8. There is a tendency in short luck-heavy games to require you to play multiple rounds in one sitting, to balance the scores. This is one such game. This multiple-rounds "mechanic" feels like an artificial fix for the problem of luck. Saboteur 1 and 2 advise the same thing because the different roles in the game are not balanced. ("Oh, well. I had the bad luck to draw the Profiteer character this time. Maybe I'll I'll draw a more useful character in round 2.") This doesn't change the fact that you are really playing a series of short unbalanced games. Scores will probably even out... statistically speaking. The Lost Cities card game tries to deal with the luck-problem in the same way.

      possibly rename: games: luck: managing/mitigating the luck to games: luck: dealing with/mitigating the luck problem

    9. You can strategise to a degree by trying to block off a potential peninsula (cut off between two mountains for example). This can start a little race to claim this area. e.g. I cut off an area with one of my houses. My opponent places another house deeper into the peninsula claiming it, so I place yet another on the peninsula. This little war does not (and cannot) last long, because you only have four houses each.
    10. You can strategise to a degree by trying to block off a potential peninsula (cut off between two mountains for example). This can start a little race to claim this area. e.g. I cut off an area with one of my houses.
    11. Luck is a major factor. As discussed above, sometimes the map seems to build itself and you draw tiles which you HAVE to place even though they are aiding your opponent.
    12. f you cannot place it, it is set aside for use later in the game if an opportunity arises. (Tiles are set aside a lot.)
    1. There are times when a piece CAN be played, but the options available lead to many strategic decisions:1) If I play it HERE, will it benefit me more than you?2) Does the placement force my hand to place another farm, and if so will I have a farm defecit compared to yours?3) Does this placement create a situation where I might be giving up first-play advantage (opening up a piece that had previously not been playable)?
    2. Actually, I think your wife's point is quite astute. Once you become very familiar with this game, there is almost too much deep planning in the moves.
    3. My wife's first description of playing Fjords was that it felt a bit like playing Othello, in that you had to think too far ahead. I don't see it that way. I think that the luck of the draw & the fact that a tile must be played if it can, means that you can't always plan too far ahead. Often you have to try to work out how to make use of what you've got.
    1. What's the point of playing a game featuring fjords without also including vikings to pillage the other player's lands...I've actually developed two additional tiles for Fjords: The Dragon and The Marauding Hoard. Both do exactly that.(I've play tested them with a friend well over 40 times and we both agree that with an expanded set of Fjords tiles, these two greatly improve the game for us. I'll write the tiles up and post them to BGG... eventually)
    2. you're quite the lucky man. i finally got my wife to agree to play fjords with me last weekend and, after beating me pretty soundly in two straight games, she announced she didn't like the game. turns out she didn't like the puzzle/board-building aspect of the game, the lack of aggressive play ("it would have been better if i could have fire-bombed some of your land") nor all of the 'action' taking place in the last minute or two of the game.drats.
    3. It's the first time that my wife and I have played Fjords together. She's not a gamer but we've recently been playing a few more games and she's been willing to try a few Eurogames (e.g. Carcassonne) and some of the kosmos 2-player games (Jambo, Odin's Ravens, Balloon Cup, Lost Cities) that I've borrowed from friends which is great. I manage to get a hold of a copy of Fjords and we have a go.I tell her that it involves spatial awareness and planning ahead. I explain the rules to her (having only played it once or twice myself and won each time), and she's doing her best not to roll her eyes; there's a definite lack of enthusiasm there.
    4. I tell her that it involves spatial awareness and planning ahead.
    1. It's as good as online-only, however with noone actually playing you'll find yourself queueing for bot matches (even having to wait for the "other players" to select their vehicles). You want to just race your mate in a local game- nope! Local races are single-player only (apparently the devs couldn't be bothered with coding a split-screen or zooming camera to enable local multiplayer races). Want to play online but specify the map? Nope! Play a game online with a good lobby and want to stick with that group? Nope! Every game forces you to exit after each event.
    1. Firstly, I don't like being thrown back into the menu every single time I fail a challenge, I prefer to be thrown right back in to it, maybe a "retry" option should be there to throw you right back in once you fail a challenge.
    1. As the project goes along, I’ll be posting some blogs about my design process and thinking around the game, and if you’re interested in my writing about games, I have written for both Meeple Mountain and Dicebreaker.
    1. It's really kind of sad that I want to play the game and form a better opinion of it and I can't because I have to wait for lives to regenerate.
    1. list of achievements does give you more incentive to replay the adventure if you're interested in that sort of thing.
    1. There has been some Quality-of-Life changes as well, which I really appreciate. For example, the long elevator in level 10 has been replaced with a teleporter. There's been some balance changes as well, but aside from level 10, I haven't checked them out.
    1. the game is designed in such a way that you don't need too many tries to figure out boss patterns or tricky platforming sections. Another nice feature is that you can warp between different areas so you don't have to do a bunch of backtracking.
    1. this game is - well not exactly bad, but it also isn't a very good game of the genre - there are some riddles and puzzles that can give you quite the headache. I like hard puzzles, I like games where all isn't quite obvious - but I also like a barrier-free gaming experience.
    1. The problem is the 'power-ups' (aka cheats?): the ice cubes, bombs, and especially the teleports. They seem needed to solve some levels (at least for 3 stars completion), but because they are widely available (5 of each / level) they are completely overpowered. Why would you try to solve a level without them, when you can use them? It removes the incentive to actually solve the puzzles the hard way. It breaks the game. Shame.
    1. these events can break the flow of the game and force the player to repeat sections until they master the event, adding false difficulty to the game.
    1. Reminds me ofo DVONN, but only with respect to disappearing hexes/spaces. DVONN is a much much better (actually strategic) game.

    1. A PvP level was added just for the sake of ♥♥♥♥♥ and giggles, the only purpose of this this is game is achievement farming.
    1. Academy Games has always prided itself in the quality of its rules. Most of our rules are taught in stages, allowing you to start playing as soon as possible without needing to read everything. We are very careful about the order we teach rules and rely heavily on graphics and pictures to facilitate understanding. We also include a large number of detailed picture examples, often with 3D renders, that help you understand the context of the rules.
    2. We also include a large number of detailed picture examples, often with 3D renders, that help you understand the context of the rules. For these reason, we generally don't start laying out the final rulebook until production art is complete. Writing and laying out a 20 page rule book like this generally takes about 3 months from start to finish, usually requiring a complete rewrite or two, and involves dozens of editors.
    3. We use an online editing program called ProofHQ, where you and our development team will review the rules, discuss ideas, and add comments and suggestions, so that these rules are of the same high quality as our other game rules. We have used this process for years, because integrating outside eyes and ears is an invaluable asset.

      having more eyes is better

  33. Mar 2021
    1. Proton is a new tool released by Valve Software that has been integrated with Steam Play to make playing Windows games on Linux as simple as hitting the Play button within Steam. Underneath the hood, Proton comprises other popular tools like Wine and DXVK among others that a gamer would otherwise have to install and maintain themselves. This greatly eases the burden for users to switch to Linux without having to learn the underlying systems or losing access to a large part of their library of games. Proton is still in its infancy so support is inconsistent, but regularly improving.
    1. This is yet another one of the sad, sad list of excellent games that Asmodee contracted someone to digitize for the least amount of money possible, and it shows. It's a pity, because they're excellent games, but if you don't have the patience for them, it's infuriating to go through all those hoops. Any user doing a QA session for 10 minutes would have told them most of these.
    1. We set out from the hypothesis that videogames may become interesting resources for their inclusion in the education processes in formal contexts
    1. This article demonstrates how Monte Carlo simulation can be used to solve a real-world, every day problem: Of these three games, which one will provide entertainment for my four-year-old yet let me retain my sanity? If your child is inflexible regarding changing the rules, choose Cootie or Chutes and Ladders which have similar average game lengths. Of the two, Chutes and Ladders is probably the more interesting because of the possibility of moving both forward and backward. If your child insists on Candyland, consider changing the rules as suggested above. An alternative strategy, of course, is simply to let your child cheat. This not only shortens the games, but has the additional incentive that it usually causes the child to win and puts them in a better mood (though it certainly doesn't teach much about ethics). On the bright side, in the few weeks it has taken to complete this study, we have progressed from board games to card games, specifically Uno, which are much more interesting for adults and children. Perhaps there is a God after all.

      The most awesome set of conclusions I've read in a paper in years!

    2. In each of the games moves are entirely determined by chance; there is no opportunity to make decisions regarding play. (This, of course, is one reason why most adults with any intellectual capacity have little interest in playing the games for extended times, especially since no money or alcohol is involved.)

      The entire motivation for this study.

    3. Monte Carlo simulation is used to determine the distribution of game lengths in number of moves for three popular children's games: Cootie, Candyland and Chutes and Ladders. The effect of modifications to the existing rules are investigated. Recommendations are made for preserving the sanity of parents who must participate in the games.

      And people say math isn't important...

    4. <small><cite class='h-cite via'> <span class='p-author h-card'>Lou Scheffer</span> in Mathematical Analysis of Candyland (<time class='dt-published'>10/26/2007 21:55:07</time>)</cite></small>

    1. Based on my search, the game might be developed by neptun digital, an Android game called Brain On Physics Drop - Idle Balls Puzzle. It was released on Amazon, on June 29, 2017. Free.Later on Sep 4, 2017 it was put on google play store called Physics Brain Balls - Drop It On Dots. Free.Then in June 2018, its web browser version Love Draw released by Faramel Games. Free.Later here on Jan 9, 2019, Windows port showed up. Paid to play. Apart from all of this, the design of origin is simply modified based on a free game called Brain Dots released in 2015.A port doesn't deserve to be paid, let alone the origin of the port is not original at all.

      Not everything needs to be 100% original. People are allowed to charge money for their creations/work. "Porting" a game (probably writing from scratch if they are not the same developer) is not trivial.

    1. First off, achievement spam is not a selling point. In fact, this game broke my Steam client because it spams achievements. Whenever I closed it, it froze my client. What am I gonna do with there cheevos anyway? "Look, I got the achievement "Web 1720", am I cool now?"
    1. Good bit of content, but very little of it. 10€ for leviathans is a salty price for what it offers, if this was part of the Utopia DLC it's asking price of 20€ would have been easier to justify. Worth getting just to have more content in the game but paradox is really stretching by asking money for this little. Could/should have been a free update really.
    1. Try before you buy Here's a link to the game on Tabletopia: Judean Hammer on Tabletopia
    1. Shogi is a classic game. I know many people who want to play Shogi, but the Kanji on the pieces makes it too hard to master. I have designed this Shogi with icons so anybody can learn it easily.
    2. If you want to try playing to see how these pieces work in the game, you can playtest it on the Iishogi.org site (https://lishogi.org/).  Last year the Iishogi designer asked me to register the Design SHOGI pieces on their site.  This Iishogi.org is a free to play Shogi website.  I was willing to give them permission to use them.  You are free to play and switch pieces design from the piece variation section.  If you register your ID, then you can play vs the A.I. easily.  You can learn how the Design SHOGI pieces work there.
    1. a strategy game for me is mostly about the mechanics and the replayability. I love good art and design, but function follow form!
  34. Feb 2021
  35. www.metacritic.com www.metacritic.com
    1. Difficult enough to prove a worthy challenge, with an over-complexity that might have benefitted from a little self-restraint.

      overly complex = unnecessarily complicated