Posted: 2008-08-15 20:23:47 A few of us (Niklas, RonaldDerGrosse, Equestenebrarum, Dal and I) have banded together to explore some ideas about cooperative game making. Collectively, we call ourselves “The GameFellas”.
Our idea is to work together to illuminate themes or subject areas that have not been well-covered in PurposeGames. In our first stab at the concept, the subject is China, which is woefully under-represented here.
So, over the next week or so, each of the five of us will be releasing games on this common theme. Some games will be very easy, some very difficult. And you will see many levels of difficulty in between. There will probably be 10-12 games in all. Five of these games will be “Pentathlon” games, part of a challenge competition. We will keep track of the scores on these games, and award virtual Gold, Silver and Bronze medals to the best scorers. There will be respectful nods given for these awards. We have not yet worked out the details of these awards, but will do so very soon.
The “Pentathlon” games will be marked as such in the game descriptions. There will of course be five such games, one from each “GameFella”, as well as other non-Pentathlon games by some of the Fellas.
The games are to be released over time, about one day apart:
The tentative schedule (subject to change) is as follows, going from easiest games to more difficult ones:
*The Grand Canal of China (I: Bodies of Water) by Tickman; August 16
The Grand Canal of China (II: Cities) by Tickman; August 17
*Topography of China by Niklas; August 18
China: Spelling of Cities Now and Then by Niklas; (August 19)
*A China Connection Quiz by RonaldDerGrosse (August 20)
*Chinese Dynasties Timeline by Dal ; (August 21)
Modern China Timeline by Dal ; (August 22)
And finally, the most challenging of all:
*The Biggest Cities of the People's Republic of China by Equestenebrarum (August 23).
Tentatively, the games marked with a * are the Pentathlon games; one from each author. The range of difficulty is great; from very simple to very challenging.
The last Pentathlon game is the “Biggest Cities” game by Eques. One week after that game is published, the awards will be made. (Aug 30).
After all the listed games are published, some of the GameFellas will release more games in the series. None of those will be Pentathlon games. But please do play them.
We would also invite others at that time to make their own games on this subject.
As noted above, some minor details of the schedule and the Pentathlon are not yet worked out: That information will be posted soon.
A historical note: the cooperative game concept has been discussed on and off at least since last March. Dal revived it couple of months ago, and it took awhile to settle on a topic. When we decided on China, it was still weeks before the Olympics, and nobody was thinking about the connection. Well, discussion and work on games dragged on, and here we are in Olympic time. And that’s what triggered the Pentathlon idea.
Everyone, please enjoy the series and the competition. Comments and corrections are welcome.
Good luck to all, and we’ll see who gets that gold.
A special note to Dal, Eques, RDG and Niklas: It’s been great working with you Fellas.
I hope the GameFellas will ride again!
Good Luck, and Good Games.
Tickman
