Games « Apostolos Koutsokalis

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What I learned from TGTSNBN: Epic Moments

Posted on 17/11/2016 by apo

No one can be sure if it is because of addiction, nostalgia, or the fact that TGTSNBN is really the greatest case study of all time, that enables it to present parallels to everything I encounter. Probably a little bit of everything. Having recently played through the latest Guild Wars 2 Living Story episode, I wanted to touch up on one of the most famous elements of TGTSNBN: Cinematics. This post obviously contains spoilers for both games (and any other example I come up with while exploring and typing).

Anyone familiar with Mr. A. should also be familiar with some if his most famous go-to phrases: “The math checks out”, “Play something awesome”, “It’s not the game at fault but the players”, “Do it in a cinematic way”. It is the last phrase I want to explore. Interestingly enough this was a phrase that Mr. A. adopted later on during the course of the game and did not use at all until the mid-ending of the first book. By “cinematic” he actually meant trying to make an in-game situation, more epic, more memorable, by either exceeding what the game system supported, or even ignoring major game rules. Following are some of the many instances of this happening. Read more …

What I learned from TGTSNBN: Failing at Early Access

Posted on 23/01/2016 by apo

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Every time I begin typing an intro for this series, I always re-realize how amazingly prophetic TGTSNBN really was. As a perfect example of what NOT to do of course. The game’s first year was just before the cataclysmic tsunami of many releases of early access titles that would soon follow, a release method that has nowadays become more the rule than the exception. And yet TGTSNBN did not only manage to present concepts that were (arguably) quite innovative and ahead of its time, but managed to become the staple example of things to avoid on so many levels, that I almost feel bad seemingly bashing it while presenting its aspects.

With a “re-imagined” version of the game releasing “soon™” it dawned on me of how interesting the developer choices were concerning releases (aka “books”) of the game. The development state and cycle of the game were more than an urban myth. Ask any player that ever played the game whether they were playing an alpha version, a beta version or a finished product at any given time. The different answers will be just as many as the number of players asked. Read more …

What I learned from TGTSNBN: Addictive Unfairness

Posted on 20/06/2014 by apo

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I had originally planned for a different subject to continue the series but recent – ahem – “discussions” made me change my mind and opt for the following.

Apparently, even three years into the game, over 80% of retired and active players strongly believe they were treated unfairly and that admins showered others with favoritism. Even though most of these claims are true – because there are the occasional delusional people that lack proof and reason – it’s more about the “why” and “how” than the “what”. Unfairness, either intentional or not, was undoubtedly a major factor in the game’s development and evolution, in more ways than just treating people differently.

Although quite a few unintentional unfair events took place, by unfairness I will be mostly referring to pure intentional abuse and bias, unless specified otherwise. The one and only truth is Read more …

Twitch Plays Pokemon

Posted on 20/05/2014 by apo

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When I set out to finish this post, that has been in the making for far too long, I had a feeling that it would lack a very important factor: timing. I asked myself “why would anyone care anymore? You already told people in private almost anything you had to say or comment about twitch plays pokemon“. But then I realized: Twitch still plays Pokemon.

While the viewership or excitement might not be the same, enough elements still Read more …

What I learned from TGTSNBN: Tutorial

Posted on 11/03/2014 by apo

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While presenting “why a tutorial is needed in every game”, is very interesting and educating by itself, it is something that has be done by others many times, so I will not waste time that ~~could~~ should be allocated elsewhere. You can search, or ask me to provide you with many sources on the subject if you want to, but the focus will be strongly related to TGTSNBN and the wonderful data that it so unknowingly and unintentionally provided.

What most people think of a tutorial is that it’s the part of the game where one learns which button does what.

While this is indeed one of the purposes of a tutorial it is not an exclusive one. A good tutorial should be part of the means that the developer utilizes to introduce the game to the player: story, aesthetics, game mechanics, or button functions. It’s up to the developers to chose which of those points to focus on. I am certainly not claiming that it should contain all of the above, but thinking of some of my most memorable tutorial experiences while typing this, I can assure you that the most engaging ones Read more …

What I learned from TGTSNBN: Ignoring the rules

Posted on 24/01/2014 by apo

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Please take a moment to watch the following video before continuing. I find it to be one of the most perfectly executed presentations ever made, just like most of their other videos, so you might want to at least take a look to their channel if not subscribing right away.

What makes TGTSNBN such an interesting case study is the fact that it isn’t a pure tabletop RPG, one that just needs a rulebook with descriptions and explanations. It is so much more: a community game with facebook groups that need their own moderating, a tabletop game that needs crystal-clear rules, an online browser game that has features that affect how players gain experience, skills and resources. So let’s take it step by step and see how the designers tackled each of those three game aspects. Read more …

What I learned from TGTSNBN: Metagaming

Posted on 28/12/2013 by apo

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Wikipedia defines metagaming as: a broad term usually used to define any strategy, action or method used in a game which transcends a prescribed ruleset, uses external factors to affect the game, or goes beyond the supposed limits or environment set by the game. Another definition refers to the game universe outside of the game itself.

In simple terms, it is the use of out-of-game information or resources to affect one’s in-game decisions.

While in other games metagaming is generally more accepted or even “required” (think of famous chess openings, or current stronger deck types in card games, or strategies adopted by professionals in video games), it is a completely different story in RPGs. Read more …

What I learned from TGTSNBN: The one man army

Posted on 27/12/2013 by apo

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Transitioning from a concept to a final product is no easy task. Let alone a country-wide game that is played by 10-40 people everyday (peak active players were around 100). What we’re looking at is 2-7 sessions everyday, that means 2-7 GMs that need to be briefed in advance. It also requires those players having their characters ready and possibly a session tailored to their tastes. That doesn’t sound like an impossible feat right? Well it isn’t, provided that we are discussing a finished product.

After 2.5 years the game is still in development, with parts of it being redesigned every couple of weeks and new features still rolling out. Game design, ~~web application development~~, class balancing, GM briefing, loot handing, character leveling bonuses, feedback receiving, session managing, group moderating, bug squashing and so many more are required for the game to operate smoothly. I am not trying to make it sound harder than it actually is. It is hard! Especially for a single person to pull all that off!

The game’s owner/designer/master admin that will from now on be reffered to as “A.” wanted to make it happen all by himself. And by “all” I mean everything that he believed wasn’t straight out of the question for him (i.e. programming). So take another look at the above requirements without wondering anymore why “web application development” was striken through. And no, that’s not one less job for A. because mister A. will now also need to communicate with the web developer, graphics designer and suddenly we’re back to square one. Read more …

Series Intro: What I learned from TGTSNBN (The Game That Shall Not Be Named)

Posted on 26/12/2013 by apo

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This will be a series of articles in which I will be presenting my personal experiences and derived conclusions while playing a “Greek mass augmented reality tabletop and browser role-playing game”.

While it is true that the game never tried to promote itself exactly as such, it is in my opinion the best cross of descriptions that were used to promote and describe it. What follows is my attempt at a full yet brief presentation of the game’s concepts, setting, mechanics, creator’s choices, etc so that the future parts can focus on individual aspects (will be in italic font) but only after a general idea on how the game was conceived developed and played has been established. Read more …