Games

The guys over at Podfun have implemented a version of Zarch completely in Javascript - tested only in Firefox, but then who in their right minds uses anything else these days. And, by the power of i-frame, here it is:

Left mouse: thrust | Right mouse: fire

That right there is why kids need to pay attention in trigonometry and physics classes!

And speaking of kids, you can get to see a posh kid spectacularly fail to fly the craft in the intro-video provided with the A3000, introduced by the poster-boy of the BBC Computer Literacy Project, Fred Harris, who patronisingly tels the kid “he’s getting to lever, aren’t you?” and then points out that “it’s harder than it looks”, while the kid 1) nose-dives into the sea 2) explodes on the launch pad (always a favorite) and 3) manages fly up a hill to before hesitantly slamming into the ground.

Earlier, on Nightsoil:

zarch
virus update
archimedes-emulation

Viral marketing has finally ‘come of age’ or, perhaps, ‘gone senile’ with the Lost Game a game where simply getting other people to join the game is enough to win it - if it’s not a huge marketing scam, or new form of ARG, it very much should be.

…[more]

So, these are the treeware components I received as the start-up pack for the Battle of Five Armies play-by-mail game:

…[more]

illustration (detail) for The Lord of The Rings by Cor Blok

I’ve signed up for the Middle Earth PBM introductory game - The Battle of Five Armies (based on the climactic battle in JRR Tolkiens The Hobbit) - sent the £10 fee via pay-pal and am awaiting the start-up pack to arrive. Unfortunately I’m the ‘first-in’ on a new game, so will have to wait for another 4 players to join before the game can begin proper, but hopefully it will mean I’ll get my first choice of Elves or Northmen to field.

“Hmm” I hear you think “I could join up too, but what am I going to get for my tenner?” …[more]

Been looking at widening experience of interactive (game) media.

The general idea of a “Play By Mail” game is that you take a board-game, wargame or role-playing game, and instead of sittling around taking turns playing the game, the actions to be taken each turn are written down and mailed to a central moderator who then works out the result of each move and informs each player of the outcome.

Obviously, this kind of play lends itself more to slow, strategic turn based games, like scrabble or chess, rather than poker or snap. Of course PBMs are also incredibly specialist and have a definite aesthetic of their own.

illustration for The Hobbit, by Tove Jansson

One currently running game (since 1985) is the Middle Earth PBM (MEPBM) - drawing on JRR Tolkien’s works - having a significant intellectual property and license, seems to draw enough players and remain a commercially viable (?) operation… …[more]