http://ludusnovus.net The Art of Interaction Wed, 18 Jun 2008 22:53:53 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I haven't addressed roleplaying games directly on Ludus Novus much. At first glance, they don't fit in with video games all that well, and several times I've used them as a contrast to video games. However, there's a distinction that I can make that I think makes them ... http://ludusnovus.net/2008/06/18/character-sheets-an-rpg-primer/ Jim Sterling over at Destructoid wrote a post the other day claiming that linear games provide pacing and structure that nonlinear "sandbox" games do not: Indeed, if every game was a huge open world, you would soon find yourself growing bored, or at least overwhelmed as you struggle to find time ... http://ludusnovus.net/2008/06/17/freedom-done-wrong/ In Episode 5, I discussed the difference between short form and long form video games and interactive fiction. I compared certain games to short stories and novels, but I didn't discuss the third well-known form of artistic writing: poetry. A poem is a work of language where the ... http://ludusnovus.net/2008/06/12/phyta-games-as-poetry/ The Independent Gaming Source recently finished the submission period for their Procedural Generation Competition. Contestants had about a month to begin and complete a game that created content on the fly, allowing players a different experience each time they played the game. Voting should start soon, but before ... http://ludusnovus.net/2008/06/10/tigsource-procedural-generation-competition/ In this podcast, I discuss the player-author contract. An interactive work sets up a trust between the player and the work's author. This takes the form of a contract which, when violated, can cause the player to reject the work. The Player-Author Contract The work can be played ... http://ludusnovus.net/2008/06/09/ludus-novus-011-written-in-blood/ A few weeks ago, Jesse Venbrux, creator of the previously-discussed Karoshi games, released a short interactive piece called "Execution." Not really a game, "Execution" is a quick subversion of what video games typically are and a subtle comment on the thing that the form is currently obsessed with: killing. The ... http://ludusnovus.net/2008/06/05/execution-changing-games-forever/ Found via Rock, Paper, Shotgun, Bill Harris writes a post about that racism-referencing Resident Evil 5 trailer, as recently pointed out by a much-demonized man named N'Gai Croal. I think Harris is right when he says that the trailer is racist, but that its creators probably aren't. What was N'Gai ... http://ludusnovus.net/2008/04/21/race-and-responsibility/ Joakim Sandberg has just released Noitu Love 2: Devolution and I highly recommend you check it out. You can pick up the demo for free, but it's worth the $20 for the full version. It's the answer to a single burning question: what would happen if you made ... http://ludusnovus.net/2008/04/18/noitu-love-2-variations-on-a-theme/ No sooner do I post about constraint in games than Shamus Young over at Twenty Sided contradicts me. I said that The Sims begins constrained by a lack of funds and ends up with more options later in the game. He says the opposite: At the outset of the ... http://ludusnovus.net/2008/04/16/the-sims-and-constraint/ Earlier this week I played a game called Yume Nikki (or Dream Diary, apparently) by Kikiyama. A post on the IndieGames.com blog turned me on to it; you can get an English translation (with complicated installation) there. The game is about a girl who refuses to leave her ... http://ludusnovus.net/2008/04/16/yume-nikki-and-constraining-the-player/