Been there, Done that? Part II

What can you do with a BA in Arts? (Or English for those who are being a smart arse) What can you do with common household items? Do mullets give you super powers? This questions could be answered but why would you, when there is MacGyver?

That's right, I'm going to try to thunk out a MacGyver game in this entry.

MacGyverisms:
MacGyver Online

For those not in the know (or simply too "cool" to have ever watched it), MacGyver was a TV show about a secret agent, who preaches non-violence and carries a Swiss Army knife instead of a gun. Apparently having a science degree and the ability to turn junk into inventions will save the world.

A MacGyverism is a word used to describe the "ingenious" use of items by MacGyver to solve problems. Like blow open doors or escape off mountains. A MacGyverism will have some basis in scientific principles but have been adjusted for entertainment (anti-terrorist) purposes.

In the 1st episode, MacGyver uses 12 MacGyverisms to save the day:

- Disarmed missile with a paper clip
- Matches, string & rifle made timed diversion
- Smashed flare-launcher barrel used as rocket thruster
- Lit cigarette with hidden laser
- Used Cigarette smoke to see laser
- Mirror from binoculars reflected laser to 'sting' itself
- Raised fallen I-beam with knotted fire hose filled with water
- Tested heat on door with a stick (it caught fire)
- Pulled wires out of control panel and joined together to start fans in gas chamber.
- Milk chocolate bars stopped sulfuric acid leak
- Sodium metal & cold capsule made explosive
- Signaled status by blinking light system in Morse code

Let's pretend that Mac-daddy doesn't have any copyright and licensing issues that would prevent us from making a game. What kind of games can we make out of this TV show? Why would we even make games out of something so implausible?

MacGyver's main gimmick is, a secret agent that can unleash world-saving powers but these powers work best when he's got to improvise. That's right, this show is all about implausible stuff but making it look cool and exciting. Nothing says cool than turning a casket into a jet ski.

The show can be a video game, the main question is what kind of game would you make?
[These are questions, I'm sure there are games that do all this kind of stuff with no problems but I'm going off the top of my head here]

• Action/Adventure is a pretty easy choice, the player can control MacGyver on missions but how would you factor in the improv item creation? Can you make an inventory that works to combine items without in the way of the action?
  - 2D platformer where Mac fights enemies and collects required items along the way (Boring)
  - 3D platformer like Uncharted
  - Point&Click Adventure offers a way of inventory but you're going to have more fun dodging the enemy and karating chopping them into unconsciousness. (can't remember if Mac has karate skills)
  


• Puzzlers, do MacGyver puzzles involve combining items or do you collect items? Or solving actual puzzles?
  - Would a mini-game like Bioshock's hacking system work in MacGyver-land?
  - How about collection of mini-games? Anyone up to see how fast you can solve a problem? eg. How fast can you collect helpful items or how fast can you rig up that cement mixer?
  - It's tempting to see how fast can MacGyver escape like Kiss Kiss Bang Bangalore (It's a Simpsons gag)
  - Or even Mythbuster style
  


• FPS... Mac's got a no-gun policy but maybe you can go FP on gadgets?
  - Maybe Mac can swap tools to get past guards and save some hostages
  - Of course you could always TPS if you prefer looking at Mac from afar
  - Maybe Mac inspired Die Hard clone or Arkham Asylum?


• Things you shouldn't even think about:
  - A sidekick (It's a safety precaution against fans)
  - Rythm game
  - Sports.. ?

Been there, Done that? Part I

How do you make a game out of something that has never been made into a game? First you have look for some source material. One of the hardest things to do is to look for a subject, because you will keep looking and looking. This list will make you cry as will asking a well-read games lecturer. Avoid this, it is misleading and dumb.

Here's where I'm at with finding topics for the essay.

Der Ring des Nibelungen:
More info at Wikipedia

It's very tempting to do this one. It's got a lot dramatic elements and it falls neatly in the narrative structure, it's a story about heroes, gods, tragedy (bursts at the scenes) and love. It also has the added bonus of Viking Helmets, the big ladies who sing are bit of a downer, especially when you realise that interval is four hours away...

The biggest downer to this is - Odin Sphere. The more I remember the game, the more I realise that the Ring Saga has been made into a video game.

Ring Saga contains:
- Wotan (Odin)
- Valkyries
- Nibelungen (Magic Ring)
- Fighting over Magic Ring
- Dragon
- Orphaned hero in love with Valkyrie (who is also daughter of Wotan)
- Treachery
- Tragedy (Death)
- Götterdämmerung (Ragnarök - The Nordic End of the World)

Odin Sphere contains:
- Odin
- Valkyries
- Titrel (A magic ring)
- Fighting over magic ring
- Dragons (Bonus points if you find Wagner the Dragon an in-joke)
- Orphaned hero in love with Valkyrie (yes, who is the daughter of Odin)
- Treachery
- Tragedy (Death)
- Armageddon (End of the World)

How's that for derailment? I'm going to have to find me a new topic.

Story Generator v2.0

To rectify the terribly bad post, I've decided to redo the story and write it the way it should have been. (Edit: 3/4/10 - Well at least something more exciting)

The basic elements:
- Henry the Theoretical Force
- Wanted by the Cops
- Is next to a discarded lunch
- A kingdom torn by Civil War happens
- With a Happy Crack Dealer
- In a story about Liberation

Quantitative Explosions: Let's get Theoretical(20XX)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article does not cite any references or sources.
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Quantitative Explosions: Let's get Theoretical is a 20XX remake of the original 19XX film and directed by BLah. It deviates from the original by having the main character Henry continually refer to the discarded lunch next to him as an allegory to his situation. [citation needed].

Plot:

This article's plot summary may be too long or overly detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise.

The film opens in a country torn by war, a voice over informs the audience. The government is corrupt and is secretly a means of distracting the public from the machinations of the Mien Royal Family who are unable to agree on a successor to the throne.

Henry the Theoretical Force (A Glowing Ball or Tony Abbott) is chased by armed forces into hiding in an alleyway dumpster. As the leader of a resistance group and a Theoretical Force, he is able to perform super human acts by eating books on various theories. The Big Bang Theory enables him to shoot fireballs and explode atoms while Monomyth gives him the abilities to rewrite people's lives.

Unable to access any material in the dumpster, Henry waits for his meeting with a fellow resistance fighter, he talks about his views of the government and his life story with different characters that seek refuge in the dumpster. Henry tries to recruit several of these characters by telling them stories of his exploits.

These stories range from when Henry began as a resistance fighter to his current situation. Henry's current plan is to bomb the royal palace by getting drug dealers to pass out a super drug filled nanobots developed by the resistance. People having ingested the drug will be possessed to congregate outside the government stronghold. At a signal, the possessed will explode.

Complications occur when the dumpster is emptied and Henry is transported to the Lunch Zone. The Lunch Zone is filled with discarded lunches of "a thousand and one mindless office workers" and a thousand and one hungry homeless cops. Underpowered by a lack of reference material, Henry is forced to retreat. Later Henry meets Happy Crack Dealer(Some Guy) who shows him how to harness the power of memory to remember theories and fight he bad guys. "Yar, you've learnt to unshackle yourself from your limitations."

I is hax0r!!!!111!!

Happy Crack Dealer also reveals to Henry that the government is a front and his real target is that of the royal family. Henry is about to launch his way out of the Lunch Zone when he encounters Royal Offspring #1138(a Robot) who has finally won the right to be the rule of the country.

An epic fight occurs and at this point the film diverges into three separate endings.

Ending A: Where #1138 reveals that he has reprogrammed all the resistance nanobots in the drugs to transform people into super solders and finally achieve his goal of ruling the country. Great catastrophe ensures for Henry and the resistance.

Ending B: Henry engages in a super move that changes the events of the entire movie and enables the resistance to overthrow the royal family but at the cost of taking the movie down to 1.5 hours (Oh shame). Thus liberating the audience from their seats.

Ending C: The film continues on its explosive and verbose manner as the epic fight causes the entire Lunch Zone to collaspe on itself. The country is then freed of a tyranical monarchy and a pesky resistance.

Story Generator : Liberation

story generation exercise - in groups - take a pack of post it notes [or tear up a piece of paper]

INSTRUCTIONS: every member of the group writes on the cards:

1. a character name and attribute [eg martha the vandal]
2. an obstacle [eg main character is blind]
3. a setting [eg inner london]
4. a *disturbance* or event [eg a stranger arrives]
5. another character [eg dark stranger]
6. a premise or idea [eg this game is about justice]

place each card type in separate piles and shuffle them - each member of the group takes a card and has to put together a plot and tell the story

post the stories your JOURNAL BLOGS - each story should be told in well under 50 words - ensure a decent unity of action - a beginning, middle and end ..



*Note: The (freedom) note is something I scribbled down after trying to figure out what Henry is.

After a rather mad scramble, I got six post-its but I don't plan on writing a story in 50 words. Given what could happen, the story of Henry the Theoretical Force sort of demands more than 50 words.

The following story contains much swearing and drug abuse. Sorry, Dave hasn't got any manners.

EPISODE #54 - It Came Out of A Sandwich
[Dramatis personæ]

NARRATOR, a Disembodied Voice

HENRY, a Theoretical Force

DAVE, the Happy Crack Dealer

COPS, a group of highly ineffective law enforcement officers

RADIO, a pair of deus ex machinas


NARRATOR:
Following his misadventures in episode #231 "Attack of the Killer Munchies", Dave the Happy Crack Dealer had evaded the police by diving into a dumpster. Disguising himself with old banana peels and Doritos wrappers, Dave quickly adopts a freegan lifestyle. We now present a tale of high action and liberation, coated in a dense layer of mediocrity, episode #54 "It Came Out Of A Sandwich".

FX:
[Police sirens, running footsteps and heavy breathing can be heard]

FX:
[Police radio cuts in, lots of static]

RADIO OFFICER:
All units to convene at City Hall, armed and ready. Repeat, armed and ready at City Hall.

FX:
[Footsteps and squad car door slams. Heavy breathing stops]

COP B:
Damn Rushkies! Ya kno' dis city ain' had no peace since dem royals stopped makin' babies.

COP A:
Yeah, yeah. Pass over 'em tasers. It's gonna be a rough nite.

FX:
[Car revs up and drives away. Sirens fade out. Dumpster lid can be heard]

DAVE:
Fuck, I thought I was screwed. [snorts] Ahh, that's some good shit.

FX:
[Crackling of chip packets, plastic bags and falling tin cans]

DAVE:
Half a sandwich! [crackle] Cheetos! Yeah, I'm going to have me some delicious. [eating noises]

HENRY:
Dave, Dave, you must help me.

DAVE:
Fuck! Henry, can't ya see a man's eating here. What you want now? I thought you weren't coming to see me anymore. [grunts]

FX:
[Thump and rustling of garbage]

HENRY:
Dave, did you just snort some cocaine?

DAVE:
I'm a crack dealer, course I snort the shit. As an all seeing force, you're a dumb fuck.

HENRY:
I'm a theoretical force, not an omnipotent force. Dave, will you listen to me? This matter is important.

DAVE:
[sighs] Yeah, whatever. It's not going to like the time we stared at those goats, is it? Those woolly bitches gave me the willies.

FX:
[Police radio crackles and the dumpster lid slams]

RADIO:
All units are reminded that the Prince is armed and dangerous. Deadly Force has been granted to all units. I repeat, shoot to kill.

FX:
[Sirens, guns and cars get fainter. Dumpster lid slams.]

NARRATOR:
After much talk about old ladies, life and the price of bananas, Dave and Henry proceed to walk around the city. Dave is unaware that Henry has convinced him to purchase a series of university texts while Dave has secret motives to liberate a large stash of drugs from the police.

FX:
[Loud crashes and explosions can be heard. Police sirens and gun shots fade in and out. Dave's laughter can be heard.]

DAVE:
Booyeah, I am the Superman!

FX:
[Loud explosions and a machine gun fires briefly.]

HENRY:
Dave, please will you get those books off that shelf. Dave!

COP A:
Police! Put down that cardboard lady...?

FX:
[Loud crashes and fade]

NARRATOR:
Problems begin when Henry is unable to open the books and Dave is beaten up by a pair of Siamese twins who steal all his money.

FX:
[Scuffling and yelling is heard. A thump follows.]

HENRY:
Curses, I forgot I don't have arms. Dave, Dave?

DAVE:
Shove it Henry. [in pain] Why don't you just shove it.

HENRY:
Dave, please.

DAVE:
Fuck it Henry. If you don't shut up I'm going to burn them damn books.

FX:
[Sirens and gun shots can be heard]

RADIO:
The war between the West and East Royal Family factions entered public scrutiny again as an explosion killed over 100 people.

COP B:
Youse, freeze. Hey I'm talkin' to youse!

FX:
[Gun shots]

NARRATOR:
Henry and Dave's relationship crumbles when after a bad day of running away from the police, Dave burns all the books that he's collected for Henry.

FX:
[Fire crackles]

DAVE:
Damn you to fucking hell. The police have been on our tail for days.

HENRY:
No... Dave please, I really need those books. Please. I never told you this but I...

DAVE:
Shut up! You little whiney bitch! Just leave.

FX:
[Popping noise]

NARRATOR:
With that single pop, Henry disappeared from Dave's life.

DAVE:
Finally. What a douche. I can get back to work.

NARRATOR:
[cough] Back to our story. Dave finds himself able to continue with his work as the Happy Drug Dealer without the strange adventures of stealing Jungian and Socratic texts. Sadly he is unaware that this has all been an extremely bizarre dream that resulted from eaten a half eaten sandwich he found in the dumpster.

DAVE:
The pastrami was good or was that rat?

HENRY:
I disliked my ending, can I change it?

FX:
[Sirens]

COP B:
Gotcha, I'm a goin' enjoy beatin' your ass.

FX:
[Theme song]

NARRATOR:
Next Week, Will Dave the Happy Crack Dealer be able to survive 30 minutes of Bingo the Birthday Clown? Tune in for episode #148 "Star Crunch is a Serial". Don't forget to tune in for the special presentation of episode #0-75-A "The Return of Henry". How will Dave be able to combat Henry the Theoretical Force, now powered by a Joseph Campbell Narrative engine?

Sorry that was utter shit.. Maybe I will rewrite it at some point.

Flights of Fantasy

While we're still stumbling around and trying to find something to write about, here's some more ideas for the 2nd essay. For the fantasy inclined fan, here's some works that you could turn into video games.

Phantasmagorical and Strange Happenings

• The Redwall series by Brain Jacques:
  anthropomorphic animals, swords and protecting their castle from the enemy are the main points of this series. Do I sense an RTS?


• Diana Wynne Jones' novels:
  Did you know Howl's Moving Castle had a sequel? Or you could try the Chrestomanci series featuring a enchanter with nine lives.


• The works of Raymond E. Feist:
  Try to to focus on one book or one of the smaller series. Yes, there have been some games but you could make Magician: The Game or how about political intrigue Tsurani style in Daughter of the Empire.


• Arcorna by Anne McCaffrey


• Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea's series


• The Black Jewels by Anne Bishop:
  'Bad fantasy' but does have some elements appropriate for games that have units or characters that level up via hierarchy.


• David Eddings:
  Perhaps try The Elenium or The Tamuli.


• Promethea by Alan Moore (Alan Moore may screw your head in this one. Copies of this comic are floating around in the Brisbane City Council library system)


• Novels by Haruki Murakami (Challenging and intense reading)


• Tomorrow series by John Marsden (Die hard fans may kill you for destroying the spirit of the book


• The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (intense reading, if you're female you might think it's shit)


• American Gods by Neil Gaiman


• Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer:
  Contains a child who's an evil genius, fairy police force with lasers and a ninja butler.


• Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke


• Thursday Next by Jasper Fforde


• Abarat series by Clive Baker:
  If you're going to tackle this one, perhaps concentrate on the world of Abarat.

Hurtling through the Galaxy

Like the last post, this one is going to about looking for ideas for the essay topic: Why this work has not been converted into a videogame before and discuss.

[4:50 pm I've just realised some of these ideas are not actual "works", they are more concepts so you'll either need to find a source material(text/video) based around these concepts. I'll be changing some of these so they are based off actual texts or films.]

TV, Science Fiction and Oddballs:

• MacGuyver:
  I can't see why a game that uses MacGyverisms to solve problems, escape cells and kills bad guys hasn't been made. It could just be the mullet.


• The A-Team:
  Explosions, guns, escapes and Mr T.


• Mythbusters:
  Teaching kids or grownups, the hows and whys of the universe. You could make it into a learning game, give your player a problem, give them free run of some labs and see if they can busts some myths. Alternatively you could turn in into a trivia game to see how much stuff you know.


• The Action Hero's Handbook


• Phillip K Dick


• Snow Crash:
  Hacker/Sword Fighter/Secret Agent turned pizza delivery guy who's broke has discovers plot to destroy humanity. The story world features the Metaverse, a fictional virtual reality that was spawned from the Internet. It's been described as an MMO.


• Comic book heroes:
  Flash Gordon, Tom Strong or find a hero like Hungry Beast did.


• 2001: A Space Odyssey:
  If you were trapped in space with HAL, what would you do?
  Alternatively you could look at Moon. (Beware, die hard fans may stop you from killing the movies)


• Brainship series


• Culture Jamming:
  - Steal This Book
  - Flash Mobs (Improv Everywhere)
  - Anonymous
  - The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster
  - Scientology(insert appropriate level of sarcasm here).


• Alternate Sports *Concepts:
  - Roller Derby(Whip It)
  - Unicycle Hockey or Boxer Hockey
  - BASEketball
  - Dodgeball (links to international rule book in pdf form) or the movie
  - Speed Dating (I jest)


• Advergame *Concepts:
  If you don't mind capitalising on a current product or you like seeing where extreme commercialisation is headed, why not try making a game to help advertise a product or company?
  - Kids MMO where weapons use brand name candy as ammo. Sour Warhead anyone?
  - This, obviously copyright and the corporation may scare you off buy you know it would awesome if it where made.


• Internet Social Phenomena *Concepts:
  Why not see what you can come up with based around stuff like: Twitter, Facebook or even YouTube. Maybe you could use these sites as part of the plot or game mechanic.
  - A Private Investigator searching for missing people via Facebook
  - The FBI trailing drug consignments via coded Twitter messages
  - A wannabe trying to become popular via YouTube

Fragging the Classics

The goal for assignment 2: "this work has not been converted into a videogame before: discuss".

That is a big rabbit hole to go down into, there are a lot of works that you can choose from and a lot of works you should not look at. Stuck for an idea, join the queue, but here's some places you can check out:

Project Gutenberg: One of the best places to get public domain(no copyright) works by authors who've long been in the grave.

Wikipedia: An entertaining place where you can check if a work has been made into a film or video game. Alternatively you could use it to find something that hasn't been done before, like Canning or Mensa.

'Classic' works to turn into games:
I've stuck in some example works that may have used the original as an inspiration or are something in a similar vein. I'm not going to go into what classic is, this is just something to generate ideas.

• The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer:
  Stories within a story of a group of pilgrims (it's the 14th century) travelling from Southwark to Canterbury Cathedral. They tell each other stories to pass the time and provides a framework for Chaucer to use all sorts of literary devices like self insertion, parables and a set of characters who represent a cross section of society. It's really tempting to do a American McGee's Grimm on it..
  


• Genji Monogatari by Murasaki Shikibu:
  Early 11th century Japan's 'Casanova', The Tale of Genji tracks the (romantic) life and times of the illegitimate prince Genji. There are a few ways to go about it, but try to avoid making a erotic visual novel/game, that's the easy way out.)
  


• The works of Alexandre Dumas, père:
  Best known for works of high adventure such as The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo, have a lot elements that could make them into video games. Revenge, politics and swords are awesome. Gankutsuou is Monte Cristo in space. [I've been told a lot of Dumas' books have been made into games so you may have to tread carefully.]
  


• The Bard, William Shakespeare:
  Zounds, these works have gallons of inspiration in them. Hamlet and The Tempest have already been video games but you could try King Lear (lots of dying) or A Midsummer Night's Dream (happy endings). (I know some of these link to wiki but as if you're going to read the whole play at this stage)


• Jane Austen:
  No.. I hear you cry? Well how about mixing it up some? How about Pride and Prejudice and Zombies or Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters? Guts, gore and killing strange monsters in Regency England, why hasn't this been made before?


• Swan Lake by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky:
  Why not, young man finds an enchanted lady who's cursed and decides to free her. There's an evil magician and some drama, sure it's a ballet but you could rewrite it to fit in a video game. LucasArts did with Loom.


• Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelun) by Wilhelm Richard Wagner:
  You're probably more familiar with What's Opera, Doc? (Kill the Wabbit) The Ring saga could be made into a game, who doesn't love Norse gods and viking helmets? Odin Sphere is almost like the opera but without the big ladies breaking glasses or ears.


• The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy:
  Set during the Reign of Terror (start of the French Revolution), the series follows the exploits of Sir Percy Blakeney, a man with a secret identity. When he's not being a fop(the 17th C 'man of fashion'), he's off saving innocent French nobles from getting the chop. How easy would it be to convert it into a action/adventure with swashbuckling rescue missions?


• The Ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes:
  Maybe you can actually create a video game out of the story of an old man obsessed with chivalry who decides that he will become a knight. Don Quixote is beset by problems, he's clearly delusional, people make fun of him and his family are trying to stop him from acting so crazy. What's a man to do when giants (windmills) are all over La Mancha? See if you have better luck than Terry Gilliam in adapting this work.


• A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain:
  A smart talking man with a knowledge of firearms and machinery is transported to the year 528 after being hit on the head. He eventually realises that his 19th C knowledge makes him the smartest man on Earth(Middle Aged version). Hijinks ensure. You could turn this into a several different games, think action/adventure, puzzle or click and point.


• The Ramayana:
  An ancient Sanskrit epic about the prince Rama(an avatar of Vishnu) and his wife Sita who is kidnapped by Ravana the demon King. Don't go "God of War" or "Dante's Inferno" on this despite the similarities. A comic book adaptation is being made into a MMO.

Still stuck?

• Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith


• The Amazing Screw-On Head by Mike Mignola


• Oscar Wilde's stories


• Works by L. Frank Baum (The guy who wrote The Wizard of Oz)


• The Pilgram's Progress by John Bunyan (Heavy Reading)


• The Illiad by Homer (The Trojan War)


• Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift


• Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe


• The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan


• Moby Dick by Herman Melville