O-X Layers

Don't have time for a real game, but still have the desire to waste some time? Tired of ties and cat's games? Are two dimensions literally child's play for you? Well if you fall into this apparently very specific category of bored, three dimensional people who hate ties and also have a friend nearby ((why are you bored if you have a friend nearby?)) then O-X Layers is the game for you!

You are familiar with Tic-Tac-Toe, because everyone is, for better or worse, so imagine three Tic Tac Toe grids layered on top of each other. Or maybe don't imagine it, just look it at this picture. Also imagine the middle square of the middle grid doesn't exist. Or is blotted out. Or whatever being filled in means to you.

That was easy! No imagination required!

The players are X's and O's, taking turns in order as in regular Tic Tac Toe.

So with almost three times the real estate to compete over the game will already take longer! Huzzah!

But will it end in a tie, without the next rule it probably would. So here is the caveat.

Disregarding the first move of the first player, where you place your marker on your chosen grid determines which grid your opponent must play on, as shown by this handy example.

This indicates where your opponent plays next.

                                                     
                                                 








Playing upon the top row of any of the three grids forces your opponent to play on the top grid, playing on the middle row of any grid forces them to play on the middle grid, and playing on the bottom row of any grid forces them to play on the bottom grid.


The win conditions are still three in a row, you can win as if it was a classic grid, like so:

But you can now also win by connecting a three dimensional three in a row as well, as shown in these two examples:

Like so

And like so

So there you have it. O-X Layers. Utilize an pen and paper to try it yourself, who knows you might just win, or maybe even enjoy it, the game is your oyster! But not the world, I don't have that sort of pull just yet. This game is totally within my purview though, so enjoy!

Tic-Tac-Sox

This game is a three player version of Tic Tac Toe, with the addition of a point system. To begin, a game board is drawn out with three vertical lines and three horizontal lines in the fashion of original Tic Tac Toe. Also to be drawn is a score board for "S", "O", and "X", the three players symbols for game-play.
Set up should look as shown below:

From here plays decide who begins (dice throwing is very helpful here if one is available, though not required). Players place their symbols inside the squares as they would for the original Tic Tac Toe, except they are aiming for a few different goals as well in this version.
The first goal is to block another player from scoring either three or four of their symbol in a row. Example seen below: (O receives a point for blocking X's three in a row).

The second goal is to place three (or four) of the player's symbol in a row as seen below: (X receives 2 points for getting three in a row).

The third goal is to create the word "SOX" inside the game board as seen below: (X receives a point for spelling SOX).

Once the game board is completely full (even if the last few turns generate no points), the round is finished and players may choose to create another board to rack up points, or simply finish playing.

The point system goes as follows:
*blocking another player from placing three or four in a row: 1 point
*Placing three in a row: 2 points
*Placing four in a row: 3 points
*Creating SOX: 1 point

Note: If in one turn a player manages to block two other players from getting three or four in a row, the player whose turn it is receives a point for each blocked row (ex. O blocks both S and X from getting three in a row; O receives 2 points).

Points are added up. If a player manages to, in one turn, block two other players, get three in a row, and create SOX, they receive 5 points for that turn.

Winning: The player with the most points wins.

Shadow of the Colossus

(Sorry for the late post have been having loggin issues)

During our play session last week I sampled an old ps2 classic video game Shadow of the Colossus by team ICO released in 2005. A video game that thrives off maintaining a huge atmosphere, a great sense of exploration, a beautifully eerie soundtrack, and 16 truly memorable boss battles, this game is cited by many publications to be a high achievement and by some the greatest videgame of all time. What sets this game apart from many others is mainly the atmosphere and visual appeal it creates putting you in a world you know very little about and bringing more questions than it answers, sure there's a story that has a beginning and an end but the journey throughout is the real meat of this game.

As far as the plot goes it relatively simple and as mentioned before has many aspects to it that remain unanswered the entire game, but basically you control a nameless protagonist who enters a sacred forbidden land in an attempt to resurrect his deceased girlfriend (I believe), a voice from the sky tells him that he can do so if he slays 16 Colossi scattered across this ancient land using a magical sword he possesses. And from that point the whole game centers around you and your horse traversing this utterly enormous landscape in search of each Colossi.

In terms of gameplay it basically jots down to two things; finding each Colossus, and once you do, figuring out how to defeat them. Each of these segments is a whole breathtaking experience in and of itself. The world is so massive and visually stunning that I'd sometimes get so lost in the scenery i'd forget what I was supposed to be doing, one minute i'd be in a shrine deep beneath the earth, the next i'd be in a massive desert, or in the ruins of some lost ancient civilization. Another thing setting this game apart from many others is it's lack of any recurring or re-spawning enemies, no level grinding or developing your skills, it's essentially just sixteen boss battles, which brings us to our next topic, the Colossi them themselves. Theses creatures are essentially large stone giants usually animal like that range from the size of perhaps a large vehicle, to some that completely tower over you, to some that are as tall as skyscrapers. Defeating them is not as simple as one would expect, it requires the players to think of ways to utilize either the environment or simply to traverse these massive giants and scope out their weaknesses. It may sound simple, but it can be surprisingly difficult and complex finding ways to topple these titans, but once you do it's just all that more rewarding.

This game has also been brought up numerous times when posing the age long question; Are video games art? This game is cited very often whenever I hear or read about this topic. Now first off if we were to go by the standard Webster's definition of the word art,(the conscious use of skill and creative imagination)  then yes this game qualifies (as well as that lousy picture of a horse you may have drew in first grade). It's definitely creative and full of vivid imagination, but what I think most people refer to when bringing this up is more along the lines of; Are video games HIGH ART. In this case there's much more to be argued. Basically it means will this game still be remembered and acknowledged decades, even centuries down the road for it's artistic quality as a game. While there's absolutely no way to be certain, I personally think that this game as well as a few others have the potential to be so. Overall though, if anyone hasn't had the opportunity to experience this game I highly recommend you do so, it's one the few games out there that blends numerous elements together so seamlessly and is still to this day one of my favorite games of all time. Shadow of the Colossus is available for the PlayStation 2 gaming system as well as the PS3 in HD tagged along with team ICO's preceding game Ico, but going into that game would constitute another few paragraphs that I don't feel like writing. Until next blog.

Bingtoe

Bingtoe

It's like Bingo, Wordsearch, and Tic Tac Toe all combined into one game! This game incorporates elements of chance to lower the playing field level to a less competitive setting. You are less concerned about blocking opponents and more concerned about trying to make words, even though you may not always get that word in the end.

It's a great game that only requires scrap paper and a pencil to make. Only takes a couple of minutes to set up and the cleanup for a new game is super easy (only requires someone to bend the board and dump all the letters back into the cup).

How to play:

1. Set up a playing board. Minimum should be 4x4, but make the board larger for a longer game.
2. If you make the minimum size, make little pieces of paper which each letter of the alphabet. Make only one set of vowels for a harder game, make an extra set of vowels for a normal game. If you make a board that's larger than 5x5, make sure to double the regular letters and triple the vowels so you have enough playing pieces.
3. Put letters into some sort of cup, shake them around, and choose one piece of paper without looking. 
4. Place the letter anywhere you desire.
5. Attempt to make as many words as you can, keep score.
6. After the entire board is completely filled, the person with the most words wins!

Rules:

1. You are allowed to make words diagonally, vertically, and horizontally
2. You cannot use names
3. You can only use English words (you can't use Spanish words amongst English words)
4. You cannot spell words backwards (right to left)
5. You cannot use acronyms (Such as T.V. or C.P.R.)
6. Plays best as a 2 player game. Can be three players if the game board is made larger and additional letters are added.
7. You are allowed to claim multiple words in the same string of letters (For example, if you made the word "arm" on the board, you win this word. On your next turn you get a 'Y' and put it on the end to spell "army", then you also get this word even though it used the previous word "arm"). 
8. If you see a word that you didn't see before, it's pretty much up for grabs by whoever sees it first.
9. It's ok if you don't end up using all of the pieces, you're only trying to fill the board so you will definitely end up with leftover letters.

Why it's fun:
It's a fun game because it's not a dead game like Tic Tac Toe. The level of difficulty is fairly easy allowing for beginning readers to play. The game relies partly on chance, and the rest on your identifying skills.

The game also tends to really show who is awake and paying attention. Once your turn is over, another player may notice that you completely missed a word. The opponent may also see a place to make a word that you didn't think about. It's all about being on the ball and keeping your eyes peeled open. It's a great way to learn words and recognize words faster, as well as identify words among a conglomerate of letters. A sharp eye and some good luck will help you win a game!

Modifications:
Originally I set up the game to be "whoever finds a word first." It didn't quite work because the game ended too fast. By winning with the most words after filling up the entire board, it makes the game longer and in turn also levels out the playing field by giving the opponent more time and opportunity to win. This also prevents players from winning the game with simple two letter words. There were other suggestions like adding point values to words, but I felt that complicated the game beyond being casual and made it too much like Scrabble.

I made a blog!

I mentioned I made a blog in class and I know at least one person wanted a link to it so now you ALL have it. For better or for worse.

http://breakdontbend.blogspot.com/

Brand new yesterday so not much content, even less of it makes sense because it's essentially train of though rambling about whatever I happen to be thinking about in regards to games. I encourage completely ignoring this post >.>

Don't Starve

(Sorry this is late. I forgot what the prompt is for this week's post)

From the most superficial standpoint, Don't Starve is 2D Minecraft, survival only, fashioned after Tim Burton macabre, yet charming style. Every world is generated, unique to its design. You can even customize the number of enemies, amount of food, and adjust the difficulty. Your character, the default being Wilson, wakes up in a forest and has to collect materials, fashion himself tools, find himself food in order to make it through the night. You have three status bars you have to keep track of: health, hunger, and sanity.

As you explore the land, which has different biomes where you can find different materials and mobs, you find these strange objects called Things. These Things have to be collected in order to advance to the next stage of the game, Adventure Mode. Don't Starve gives you the option to end your survival world, in ways many simulator games such as Harvest Moon and Animal Crossing don't. In games like these, you start out with nothing, and then you acquire things in order to build a town or establish yourself with good and money. However, in Don't Starve, you slowly learn crafting recipes that will help you survive more easily. Some items are difficult to find but have great benefits to them. For example, the winter variant of the Koelefant can be killed for its trunk, which will make the best clothing article that protects against freezing during the winter. However, Koelefants are difficult to hunt and kill as it is. Winter, which lowers your health the longer you are from a heat source, makes the challenge all the more difficult.

As you progress, you seek better and better items. The team behind Don't Starve, Klei Entertainment, is constantly updating the game with new features. Only recently, they added cave systems to the game. The caves are difficult. It is eternally dark so you have to bring a light source with you. Your sanity slowly decreases the longer you explore and there are more enemies than not. You want to explore the caves because it's a challenge and because there are materials, exclusive to the caves, that yield high benefits to your character.

There are also a number of characters you can choose from. Each character has perks and skills that can help or hinder your progress in the game. Wilson, the protagonist of the game, has the ability to grow a fine beard. While the beard provides warmth and is especially useful during the winter, it also drains sanity. Wes, a mime, is completely useless. He has lower health, lower sanity, doesn't do as much damage, and has faster draining hunger. You can only unlock this character by completing Adventure mode and choosing him as an option. Klei Entertainment recently added Woodie, a lumberjack who can turn into a beaver.

The constant updates and additions to Don't Starve adds to its re-playability. You can regenerate worlds to explore and challenge yourself to playing different characters. There is always something new you want to experience which is part of what makes Don't Starve a fun game.

-Zixing Guo

Skyrim

I'll be honest, I don't play Skyrim as most people do. In fact, you could say I don't have the button-mashing skills to play it at all. And you'd be correct. This game was introduced to me by my boyfriend, and he didn't let me know anything about the game when he had me create a character. So I learned as I went, and I didn't get very far before I was attacked by wolves and panicked, pausing the game and handing the controller back to him. From then on out he let me make the decisions but it was his skills with the buttons and speed that made "my game" achievable. As you may know, I am no video-game champion. On that note, because I only had the decisions to make, and wasn't worried about my lack of skills, I loved this game!

Now, for those of you who don't know the world of Skyrim, it is an era during which magic, swordsmanship, and thievery reign. And there are rumors of dragons...

It is the players goal to play out the certain story pieces of the game while also engaging in side-quests of "life", such as forging weapons, collecting items for alchemy, learning at the college, and killing draugr. Because this game simulates life in another world, the basics of life such as talking to people, and collecting food are still usual parts of game play, however, there is no "grinding" to obtain a higher level. Unless, of course, you'd like to grind. But the higher levels of character building are easily obtainable through the quests. For example, in order to get an ancient book for a professor at the college, you must travel to a cave in the mountain, kill any guards and draugr (undead), perhaps dispatch a very unfriendly foe, and solve a puzzle or two. You now have obtained the book as well as experience points.

I think the main reason I liked this game is because of it's freedom of play. I was more interested in leveling up my magic, or my archery (so I could easily fight from a far distance), than my swordsmanship, or thieving. When I was asked to plant a ring on a man who I knew nothing about, I had the choice to refuse to do so, not hindering my path to the end of the game, simply not obtaining whatever lied at the end of that mini-quest. And so I took down my foes in my own selected choice of weapon (fire and arrow), and was give choices as to what paths I would take in my game.

I believe that the elimination of grinding and the availability of choices which reflect the person's true characteristics make this game fun for a large population of players.

...and let's not forget that you can shout at dragons to kill them. That's pretty cool too!