A Year Ago Today Endgame:Syria Was Released…
A year ago today we released Endgame:Syria. We made the game in 2 weeks, rushing to get it out for what naively seemed that the time like the last days of the Assad regime. That had been a number of attacks on his inner circle and they looked like they were falling… That would opened the possibility to an end to the conflict and an end to the civilian casualties. Sadly the deaths continue.
When we created the game, during the design process, the game seemed to simulate a much more attritional conflict that the media narrative we were seeing. Sadly the accuracy of the simulation has proved to be closer to reality that the media reports I was seeing back then.
As the US and Iran agree a nuclear deal, it seems like that might open the doors for a settlement in Syria. I hope that peace comes there soon as its the people now caught in the middle that are suffering the most in this situation – a situation that has been spiralling out of control for some time now…
You can help the people of Syria by donating to UNICEF here.
Links about the conflict and on Endgame:Syria you might find of interest:
- Guardian on Syria
- Syria Deeply
- Newsgames as the future?
- Games for Change
- Responses to Endgame:Syria One and Two and Three.
Chainsaw Warrior in Steam Sale and More!
Update: The sale is over now – thanks to all who joined in. The game is still out there and a bargain at $5!
So rejoice fellow gamers, Steam has it’s huge Autumn sale on! Chainsaw Warrior is currently on sale on Steam – plus we’ve extended the sale to the Apple App Store and Google Play – it won’t be there much longer so I suggest grabbing your copy now!
Chainsaw Warrior Screenshot
There are some other great Games Workshop titles on sale too:
- Space Hulk
- Talisman Prologue
- Bloodbowl – Chaos Edition & Legendary Edition
- Plus all of the Dawn of War titles and DLC are on sale too!
There are lots of other games on sale too and here’s my picks of those worth checking out…
Speaking in Vienna Today at Subotron
I’m speaking in Vienna today! If you’re about, come along!
Veranstaltungsreihe zur Theorie von digitalen Spielen 2013
im MuseumsQuartier / quartier 21 / Raum D, 1070 WienFreitag 29.November 13, 19:00
SUBOTRON arcademy: Real Life, Digital Expression: Turning Reality into Digitality
Dr. Tomas Rawlings
GameTheNews.net / Auroch Digital, BristolThis talk looks at the concept of making games from real-world events. It will look at the recent projects undertaken, including “Endgame:Syria”, which caused a media flurry when Apple refused it on the App Store, “NarcoGuerra”, looking at the war on drugs and the recent project; “JtR125″ – a playable documentary looking at the last of the Jack the Ripper murders in London, 1888. GameTheNews.net is a project looking at turning news into games which has generated applause and criticism from its approach and subject matter.
Kurzbiographie
Tomas is Design & Production Director at Auroch Digital and its acclaimed news-gaming project GameTheNews.net which produced the global talking-point, “Endgame:Syria”. He has designed games from original titles to known IP, e.g. “Star Wars:The Battle for Hoth” and the multiple award winning“Call of Cthulhu:The Wasted Land”. He is a games consultant working with major organisations such as the Wellcome Trust. He has a doctorate from the University of the West of England in Software Studies. He also blogs at agreatbecoming.com, is a co-founder of the non-profit Bristol Games Hub and is named in Bristol’s Arts & Culture Power List.
Thanks to all who helped for Board Game Jam
I had an amazing time at Bristol Games Hub’s recent board game jam. It was great fun and as a games designer, a real treat to focus so intently on game mechanics for an extended period. In digital development the pressure is always on to draw a line under the mechanics so the code and art can get going – it was nice to be able to iterate separate to that for a change! There is a bit more info on bristolgameshub.com
We’d like to thank all who took part in our first ever Board Game Jam and the first game jam hosted at the Hub’s base in Stokes Croft. The event was a huge success with people traveling from far and wide to take part (kudos to those who traveled from Brighton and Cambridge to join in!). We have 5 team of developers who created 5 amazing games made on the theme of ‘Winter’ created and a huge amount of energy, creativity, meeples and sweets to go around.
Plus the team I was in won, so that makes it doubly-fun! 🙂 🙂
JtR125 on Gamezebo
There is an interview with Janet Jones, Patrick Crogan and myself as the JtR125 team on Gamezebo talking about ‘playable documentary’:
That game will explore the facts of the Jack the Ripper murders in London without chaining players to a linear progression. “Players will make choices,” Rawlings said. “The player takes on the role of a journalist in 1888 [and] needs to find the story to get into print for their readers. They need to figure out where the witnesses are and get them to talk. This gives them options in what stories the paper will print. The players are striving towards conveying to their readers the nature of the crimes, and so in the process, come face to face with the nature of the evil that committed them and the society that they are contained within.” Dr. Crogan added: “JtR is doing something interesting with the game form that is based on the ‘what if’ mode of computer simulation. The player will play as one or more personages from the time of the murders, so if we get it right they will face some game challenges that will give them some insights about the things different people (like investigative journalists or ‘working girls’) faced in living in the East End under the shadow of the Ripper murders with their associated police and media frenzy.
Update: This has happened now and can be found here.
Really excited to be taking part in a mass AMA (Ask Me Anything) on Reddit along with lots of other talented GW licensed developers on 3rd December 8pm GMT, 3pm EST. The line-up is:
- Auroch Digital (Chainsaw Warrior)
- BHVR (Eternal Crusade)
- Cyanide Studio (Bloodbowl Star Coach & Dungeonbowl)
- Eutechnyx (Storm of Vengeance)
- Nomad Games (Talisman)
- Full Control Games (Space Hulk)
- Rodeo Games (Warhammer Quest)
- Roadhouse Interactive (Warhammer 40,000:Carnage)
- Herocraft (Warhammer 40,000: Space Wolf)
So join us all then!
Reddit AMA on 3rd Dec!
Great Science-Themed Free Casual Games
OK so you want to get some science on and you’re wanting to have a bit of fun, be it for yourself or to get somebody else engaged with some SCIENCE on! Here’s a few free casual games that all have great science behind them you might enjoy…
Dysbiosis – This fun action-shooter won the Wellcome Trust’s Gamify Your PhD competition. It turns the actions of your gut wall into fun gameplay.
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Cell Invaders – This won the 2013 Royal Society Game Jam event. It looks at the action of the cell wall as an action-puzzle game.
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Quantum Revolution – A brilliant space-action game that explores Quantum Physics. Also from the Royal Society Game Jam.
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Similaria – Another Gamify Your PhD entry; this time looking at understanding Malaria as a puzzle game.
Bristol Games Hub Gets Analogue with Board-Game Jam
It’s on!
The non-profit space promoting games development in the South West, Bristol Games Hub, is taking a bit of a break from digital as it throws open the doors and invites people to join them for an old-school boardgame event. However, rather than just playing boardgames, this time participants are expected to create them. Starting on Friday 22 nd November and on Saturday the 23 rd, the jam challenges game developers and other interested participants to create a new board, card or other non-digital game in just 24 hours. While the games needed to broadly be non-digital, using digital to augment the real-world experience is also encouraged. Prizes will be awarded to the best creations. The event gives an opportunity for those interested in finding out more about the games industry to work alongside experienced developers and together create a new game.
While it may seem very retro in a digital age, boardgames have been undergoing something of a resurgence in recent years thanks to the rise of crowdfunding and geek-culture. The Kickstarter campaign for ‘Zombicide: Season 2’ raised over $2 million from backers, over 9000% of its original goal. Cthulhu Wars raised over $1.4 million, over 3500% of its original goal and Tammany Hall, a game about political corruption, raised over 430% of its goal to achieve just over $150,000. Games that link the physical to the digital such as Skylanders and Disney’s Infinity have also surged in popularity in both real and virtual worlds. Director of Bristol Games Hub, Debbie Rawlings, said, “Our digital games jams have been hugely popular so we’re always seeking new ways to both challenge the creativity of our residents and encourage new collaborations – going offline is a exciting way to combine our passion for creation with a fun social event.”
Dice, card, counters, meeple and other helpful props, as well as food and refreshments, will be provided for all participants. Tickets for Bristol Games Hub’s Board-Game Jam are free, but going fast – you can sign up here.
Chainsaw Warrior Original Board Game
Creating a Playable Documentary About Jack the Ripper
So we’ve announced officially more about the Jack the Ripper project;
Today, Friday 8 November 2013, Bristol-based indie GameTheNews.net announces its latest development, a new title based on the infamous ‘Jack the Ripper’ murders called JtR125, one of six new collaborations between filmmakers, academic researchers and creative companies as part of the REACT Future Documentary Sandbox, a nationwide programme to explore the theme of Future Documentary funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.
125 years ago Mary Jane Kelly was murdered, her badly mutilated body found by a rent collector seeking her arrears on the morning of November 9, 1888. The terrible nature of the murders by Jack The Ripper, who himself was never brought to justice, has ensured the ‘Ripper’ killings remain a mystery that still repulses, contests, fascinates and resonates today. More…
And as part of that I wrote an article for Develop about the project:
So what is a playable documentary? We have no idea – that is one of the aims of the project. Our project, JtR125, represents one of six new collaborations between filmmakers, academic researchers and creative companies as part of the REACT Future Documentary Sandbox, a nationwide programme to explore the theme of Future Documentary funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.
For me, I see it as trying to weave together facts and real events into an interaction method that is driven by the player and offers them game-esque ways to connect. So we want it to be playful, but also have a serious side. We want it to be engaging but also impart knowledge. We’ve had some experience of trying to meld facts and gameplay with NarcoGuerra andEndgame: Syria, but this is a much bigger undertaking. More…
VODO Big Brother Bundle! #VODO
You totally need to get this amazing Bundle! It has ‘I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream’ in it!!
VODO has asked one of the original members of Wikileaks, Daniel Domscheit-Berg, to help curate the unique, one-off bundle of content around the theme of Big Brother. It brings together indie creators, authors and experts on one of the most important issues of the day.
In short:
* A unique “pay what you want”, multimedia bundle with games, films, graphic novels, books and music related to privacy, surveillance, and “Big Brother” state control.
* Curated with and introduced by Daniel Domscheit-Berg of Wikileaks, whose biography is the basis of the Fifth Estate movie, out now
* Includes the New York Times bestseller The Homeland Directive, music EP from Immortal Technique, and the crucial new documentary Shadows of Liberty – and more!
* First 10,000 customers beating the average payment get a month’s privacy protection from VPN service IPredator
* VODO is giving 5% of all earnings to Fight The Future, who are organising a worldwide campaign against surveillance.
* Runs for 20 days only, starting on 30 Oct, 2013
Daniel Domscheit-Berg, author of Wikileaks: My Years With Julian Assange, commented:
“I’m delighted to be involved in this exciting bundle. It’s an important time for us all to be thinking about these issues – and this is a great way to get in touch with what’s going on, collect some great, fun content and support independent creators distributing their work in a truly innovative way.”
Daniel’s biography is the basis of the new film The 5th Estate. He lives and works in Berlin Germany.
WHAT’S IN THE BUNDLE?
VODO’s Big Brother Bundle contains two essential documentaries fresh from major film festivals (Shadows of Liberty, Secrecy), award-winning graphic novels (The Homeland Directive, Subatomic), highly rated Steam games (I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream, Hacker Evolution: Duality), original music from conscious hip-hop star Immortal Technique (Surveillance EP), a book from privacy guru Bruce Scheneier (Schneier on Security), and, for the first 10,000 “Beat The Average” customers, 3 months online privacy from well-respected VPN provider iPredator. The bundle also sees the launch of a partnership between VODO and Outcasting agency for artist’s moving image, supported by the Arts Council of Wales, to include artist’s film and video with VODO releases. The Big Brother Bundle will feature Removable Media, a short found-video composition by UK-based artist Darren Banks.
We’re proud to have brought together over $145 worth of content in the bundle – and a great combination of fun, information and creativity.
WHERE THE MONEY GOES
70% of contributions are divided equally between the 7 content providers, 25% goes to VODO and 5% goes to our chosen charity, Fight For The Future. Fight for the Future is dedicated to protecting and expanding the Internet’s transformative power in our lives by creating civic campaigns that are engaging for millions of people.
A Great Becoming... 