February 2006
Only a Game: Na na na na na na na na na Katamari Analysis
by bcpbcpKatamari Damacy = [N] x [V]
[N] =
Katamari (avatar)
Objects
[V] =
Roll
Clump
(Quick Turn)
(Dash)
(Look)
(Map)
[N/N] (adjectives) =
Size/Katamari
Size/Object
January 2006
Only a Game: The Rituals of Alea
by bcpbcpGames designers have a tendency to overlook or dismiss alea (chance), although in cultural terms it is a highly significant class of games. The global video games industry has around $28,000 million turnover, whereas the global gambling industry is worth a staggering $1,098,000 million, forty times as much.
November 2005
Only a Game: A Game Design Grammar
by bcpbcp & 1 otherWhat does it mean to talk of a grammar of game design? And does specifying such a grammar give us an insight into the underlying structure of games, or a new method for approaching game design - or both? Because games vary from pure mathematical formalisms (at the ludic extreme) to behavioural descriptions (at the opposite extreme), any formal reductionistic system will either be focused primarily on the former, or require sufficient latitude to express practically infinite diversity. One such approach is to define a categorial grammar of game design.
October 2005
1
(5 marks)