jenniferdovefutureworks-blog

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3D Modeling- Week 1 Getting to grips with Maya by modeling a dinosaur.

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Games as a Social Medium

Games are integral to many cultures and are one of the oldest forms of human social interaction. Games have taught people important social skills such as agreeing on rules, healthy competition, bartering and co-operation. Games have often embodied the views and traditions of a culture to be passed on to the next generation. The definition of a Game can be seen as “A physical or mental contest, played according to specific rules, with the goal of amusing or rewarding the participants” – Mike Zyda Some of the earliest evidence of games being played is in 3000BC Egypt and Iraq where the oldest set of gaming equipment was found in the form of the ‘Royal Game of Ur’ also known as the game of 20 squares. Both Senet from Egypt and the Royal Game of Ur are racing games, perhaps the predecessor to modern day backgammon.

Fig 1 : A Senet board Senet  wasn't bound by social status and was played by both the rich and the poor. People who couldn't afford a purpose made board would scratch squares into the ground or slabs of pottery and stone to play on. There are even examples where Senet boards have been scratched into the floors of temples. Egyptian culture and beliefs wove their way into the game of Senet until it became solely about the arduous journey to the afterlife and the toils of the Sun God, Ra. The game integrated key narratives of the Egyptian Religion, so it will have become a great way of passing on the stories and lessons to the next generation.  Senet was incredibly popular, with one inscription saying “You sit in the hall; you play Senet; you have wine; you have beer” (Decker 1992) showing it was a form of leisure, and competition. In 2000 BC Wei-qi or “Go” is played in China and later in Japan. The literal meaning is "encircling game" It is a board game involving two players. Playing well was considered one of four arts a cultured Chinese scholar should master. The game had fairly simple rules, but winning required careful thought and strategy, this will have been a good aid to teach critical thinking and to consider what effect your actions will have in the future. In China only people of high social status would have the spare time and inclination to play Wei-qi. If you knew how to play and could talk about the game it shows to others that you were educated and born into an affluent family. Irving Finkel states that, “It is evident that the appearance of board games in the stage of human social evolution coincides with the development of structured and sedentary communal living, associated with shared responsibility and labour. It is under these circumstances that leisure first makes itself apparent, and it is surely leisure that is the prime requirement for the invention and play of board games.”

Fig 2 : A Dogs and Jackals Table Moving on to 1800BC a game whose original name has been lost, known as Dogs and Jackals was played in Egypt. This game required two players to set a wager and winning was based on luck and chance, an early form of gambling. There is the earliest record of cubical Dice in 700 BC. In 3-600’s there are records of emperors and other aristocracy playing different backgammon variants. Today, enthusiasts have formed clubs to play backgammon socially. Local clubs often hold casual gatherings, where members can meet at a café or bar to play and interact. Backgammon clubs also organize tournaments, the large tournaments bring hundreds of people together to watch and play.

Fig 3 : One of the oldest chess sets ever found. By the 700’s Chess is believed to be played in India though some historians suspect it was originally from China. Chess is most likely so popular because it was played to teach war strategy and the consequences of ones actions, much like Wei-qi. People who could play chess were seen as intellectual and held in high regard amongst normal folk, many rich silk traders would play chess against each other in their spare time. As a consequence of this the game became very popular, particularly in the Muslim world and it was carried back, throughout Islam, across North Africa and eventually into Europe. In the 1200’s Alphonso X had written “Book of games” Which describes versions of Chess, Backgammon and Alquerque  (also known as Qirkat). The earliest relations to snakes and ladders were being played in India and there is a mention of Cards in spain. In the 14,15 and 1600’s many new games are made, such as an ancestor to Rummy Royale, Checkers and Solitaire. Mancala began as an accounting tool for trading goods that evolved into a form of entertainment, where you gamble cows, sheep and goods. Perhaps practicing Mancala made people better socialites and traders. Games begun to open up to players of all ages and social status, as good education and the ability to read and write spread, so did rules and understanding of more complicated board games. The 17-1800’s brought Bridge, Poker and Solitaire as a card game. Ludo was printed, based on Indian Pachisi. Chinese checkers was published in the west and ‘Snakes and Ladders’ was published in England. In the 1900’s there was the ‘The Landlords Game’ which is the earliest ancestor of monopoly and 1903marked the birth of miniature war games. Modern Scrabble was invented in 1947. In 1960 ‘Cathedral’ is invented in New Zealand and sold to be published in 1979. 

Fig 4 : A gathering of D&D players  By 1974 the father of all role playing games Dungeons and Dragons was published. It is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game, designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. It was originally inspired by miniature war games however  D&D differs from traditional war gaming in the fact that each person gets a particular character to play, not a military formation.  Dungeons and dragons quickly became huge because of the interest from miniature war gaming societies and people who loved the fantasy genre. In the late 1970’s Arcade machines were at the height of their popularity. The games were not confined to arcades however and were found in pubs, clubs, petrol stations and supermarkets. Arcade machines are pay to play which means that they were available to anyone and everyone. One of the attractions of the arcade games was the ability to post your high score along with your name. This allowed people to publicly brag about their score and for others to try to beat it. The people who held the highest score on a video game had in very high social status and the winners of many games tournaments were celebrities amongst the arcade gamers. After the decline of Arcade games in the 1990’s gaming became a rather unsocial thing to do, gamers would often prefer to stay indoors and play Civilization than go out and make new friends.

Fig 5 : Official World Of Warcraft Artwork However in the past ten years gaming has taken a new turn. World of Warcraft was released in 2004 and is one of the first big Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Games. This opened up a whole world where people could connect and play together. People could meet others with similar interests and make a guild or go on raids together. The majority of  modern games have some sort of online feature where you can play with people from across the globe, people you would otherwise have no way of meeting. Microphones allow people to talk in real time and some players use webcams so their friends know what they look like, gamers have made friendships that last for years. It’s possible that most gamers have a better and richer social life than those who don’t game at all. Games help us teach and learn they are an important from of leisure and they strengthen bonds within a community. From the first game of peekaboo we play as an infant to the friendships we create online, games play a huge part in our social development not only in one person’s lifetime but across the entire history of the human race. Sources of information: ‘In Search of the Meaning of Senet’ by Peter Piccione, Archaeology 33 (1980) Retrieved 04/05/2015 from, http://piccionep.people.cofc.edu/piccione_senet.pdf Arneson, E. (n.d.). These Are the 50 Most Significant Board Games Published Since 1800. Retrieved 04/05/2015, from http://boardgames.about.com/cs/gamehistories/a/timeline.htm Laura June, & June, L. (2013, January 16). For Amusement Only: the life and death of the American arcade. Retrieved 05/05/2015, from http://www.theverge.com/2013/1/16/3740422/the-life-and-death-of-the-american-arcade-for-amusement-only ‘History of Games Timeline’ retrieved 05/05/2015, from http://historicgames.com/gamestimeline.html 

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The first ‘modern’ Games

In the 14,15 and 1600’s many new games are made, such as an ancestor to Rummy Royale, Checkers and Solitaire. Mancala began as an accounting tool for trading goods that evolved into a form of entertainment, where you gamble cows, sheep and goods. Perhaps practicing Mancala made people better socialites and traders. Games begun to open up to players of all ages and social status, as good education and the ability to read and write spread, so did rules and understanding of more complicated board games. The 17-1800’s brought Bridge, Poker and Solitaire as a card game. Ludo was printed, based on Indian Pachisi. Chinese checkers was published in the west and ‘Snakes and Ladders’ was published in England. In the 1900’s there was the ‘The Landlords Game’ which is the earliest ancestor of monopoly and 1903 marked the birth of miniature war games. By 1974 the father of all role playing games Dungeons and Dragons was published.

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Early Chess

By the 700’s Chess is believed to be played in India though some historians suspect it was originally from China. Chess is most likely so popular because it was played to teach war strategy and the consequences of ones actions, much like Wei-qi. People who could play chess were seen as intellectual and held in high regard amongst normal folk, many rich silk traders would play chess against each other in their spare time. As a consequence of this the game became very popular, particularly in the Muslim world and it was carried back, throughout Islam, across North Africa and eventually into Europe.

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Ancient Games

In 2000 BC Wei-qi or “Go” is played in China and later in Japan. The literal meaning is "encircling game" It is a board game involving two players. Playing well was considered one of four arts a cultured Chinese scholar should master. The game had fairly simple rules, but winning required careful thought and strategy, this will have been a good aid to teach critical thinking and to consider what effect your actions will have in the future. In China only people of high social status would have the spare time and inclination to play Wei-qi. If you knew how to play and could talk about the game it shows to others that you were educated and born into an affluent family.

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Ancient Games

Some of the earliest evidence of games being played is in 3000BC Egypt and Iraq where the oldest set of gaming equipment was found in the form of the ‘Royal Game of Ur’ also known as the game of 20 squares. Both Senet from Egypt and the Royal Game of Ur are racing games, perhaps the predecessor to modern day backgammon. Senet wasn't bound by social status and was played by both the rich and the poor. People who couldn't afford a purpose made board would scratch squares into the ground or slabs of pottery and stone to play on. There are even examples where Senet boards have been scratched into the floors of temples showing that the game was even popular with the highly religious. Egyptian culture and beliefs wove their way into the game of Senet until it became solely about the arduous journey to the afterlife and the toils of the Sun God, Ra. The game integrated key narratives of the Egyptian Religion, so it will have become an integral part of passing on stories and lessons to the next generation.  Senet was incredibly popular, with one inscription saying “You sit in the hall; you play Senet; you have wine; you have beer” (Decker 1992) showing it was a form of leisure, and competition.

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Final Character Sheet 

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'Me as A' Character Design : Initial Sketches

Action Pose

Side View

Front View

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Identifying the Core Mechanics

Gone Home. 2013, PC. Fullbright Company (Portland, Oregon, USA) • Designer - Steve Gaynor 

• Core Mechanic - Walking, picking up notes by pointing and clicking.

• Feature List - There are no set goals and no way to 'win'. Just exploring and finding clues to reveal a story.

• The exhibited aesthetics - The game is set in one house in 1995. All the furniture and decorations are inspired by images in popular magazines from that era. 

Minecraft. 2011, PC. Mojang (Stockholm, Sweden)

• Designer - Markus Persson

• Core Mechanic -  Exploring the world, building/destroying blocks and crafting items to use in game.

• Feature List - There are two mains modes survival and creative. In survival you encounter enemies and bosses that will try to kill you and destroy your creations. You can only move and change blocks, not create new ones.. In creative mode the 'mobs' do not attack you and you have infinite blocks to build and create whatever you want.

• The exhibited aesthetics - The world is made up of different types of blocks, such as grass or wood these are spawned in  large biomes. The games is designed to have 'terrible graphics' and that is one of the features that makes it so popular.

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Identifying Design Overview

Why have you chosen this object? I have chosen my radio because it has an eye-catching design. It is different and stands out. I use it often and I have owned it for a long time. What are the positive design features of this object? The positive features of the radio include mimicking the look of a Marshall amplifier, a clear display and good quality but small speakers. It will appeal to a large target audience such as musicians and fans of the Marshall Company. It can play both analog and digital radio stations, it also gets the time via radio so you never have to set it. What are the negative design features of this object? This radio does not come with a remote and it is not portable. The front of it looks as though is have been designed with utmost care and attention, but when you turn it around is has a plastic back that lets the side down looking a little tacky. Do you like the design of this object? I like the design of this radio. It sounds great, has a wide range of stations and extra features such as an alarm clock. In addition it looks good, is easy to carry or move and has add on features you can buy to make even better. What is the function of this object? The function of this object is to pick up transmissions and play digital and analog radio stations. Special features include a digital clock, alarm clock and automatically adjusting screen brightness. I think people may believe this radio sounds better than other, similar radios because of the input from Marshall even though underneath it is the same as other Pure brand digital radios.