blog :))

interactive shmintershmactive

[frankalexh]

Non-linear narrative design

The Stanley Parable is one of my favourite games of all time. Mainly its my bias as a writer; it’s so goddamn funny and intriguing. However the non-linear nature of the game makes every choice you make seem so much more important. I want this kind of participatory environment in my game,

[frankalexh]

Creative Commons

Oh, how I love thee. In the age of unlimited replicability and participatory culture it just makes so much more sense to license under CC. I get why large companies don’t, after all they’ve invested sometimes hundreds of millions of dollars into a single IP title, but for smaller companies and individual developers, why the hell not?

One of my favourite examples of this is from the game Road Redemption, which at the beginning of the game before even the developer card has a huge sigh that says basically “PLEASE STREAM AND MOD”. 

They have the right idea. You reach so many more people and build so much more of a name for yourself if you invite collaboration as opposed to shutting it out.

[frankalexh]

Freeciv pros and cons

I’m not so sure about this one. 

I love strategy and turnbased games, so the more the merrier. I also like the idea of implementing user-generated content.

I just worry about the balancing of gameplay mechanics with user generated content; will someone be able to come in and just storm the house?

It doesn’t seem like it so far, and I will absolutely be playing it, but I’ll hold off endorsing it until a coupe of games in.

http://www.freeciv.org/

[frankalexh]

Futurelearn’s Transmedia Storytelling Course

I love Futurelearn. The first course on screenwriting I ever took was on Futurelearn, and I’ve done 6 courses on there since, mainly focussed on cinema exhibition and distribution.

This seems like a fascinating course though, I’m definitely going to enrol when the course of over. 

https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/transmedia-storytelling/0/steps/27333

[frankalexh]

The Future of Storytelling

A fascinating resource for emergent methods of storytelling, with unique appeal for me as a podcast addict.

It seems to be more of an aggregator in terms of articles. Still interesting, but the audio content is what really appeals to me.

https://moodle.napier.ac.uk/mod/url/view.php?id=1377069

[frankalexh]

Returns considerations

Chaos will be a AAA title, given the budgetary concerns outlined in earlier posts. Therefore it will likely be priced at standard rate for games of its type, at least £49.99 RRP. 

Given this concern, distribution should be wide. However, the cost of licensing and development, as well as the added cost of VR support isn’t necessarily a detriment, with at least 1 game in 2018 grossing over $60 million. ROI is never a guarantee, but in my estimation Chaos poses no more of a risk to a megapublisher’s profit margin than any AAA game.

https://www.roadtovr.com/100-vr-games-exceeded-1-million-revenue/

[frankalexh]

Platform considerations

Now that the mechanics and potential budgetary concerns are established it’s time to look at potential platforms and distribution.

Given the scope of the game, I estimate any publisher worth their salt will want to push the game into as many screens as possible; Xbox, PlayStation and PC being the big three.

Especially if there’s a case to be made for VR support, PC is an essential platform for distribution thanks in part to its processing power. 47% of publishers release on the platform Steam, PC gaming is going to be worth an estimated $45.5 billion in 2021 (and god knows how that number might skyrocket thanks to the COVID lockdowns around the globe) and there are going to be an estimated 62 million VR headsets in consumer homes by 2025.

However, of all VR headsets sold Sony dominates the market, more than doubling Oculus, its nearest competitor. Therefore, a VR supported game has a comfortable home on at least 2 of the largest consoles on the planet.

With VR market in America alone estimated to surpass $70 billion by 2026, VR support for an immersive, triple A title seems like a good thing to invest in in 2020.

https://www.roadtovr.com/100-vr-games-exceeded-1-million-revenue/

https://fortunly.com/statistics/video-game-industry-statistics/

https://www.statista.com/statistics/671403/global-virtual-reality-device-shipments-by-vendor/

https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/industry-reports/virtual-reality-gaming-market-100271

[frankalexh]

Application to VR and second-screen gaming

i think Chaos would excel as a VR game. Not a VR exclusive, I don’t think any publisher would pump the kinds of money Chaos might require into a VR exclusive, but given that we’re in the ‘plateau of productivity’ for VR tech right now, I think a strong case could be made for VR support and the option of second-screen interaction for non VR gamers.

Virtual and Augmented Reality: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications makes some fantastically compelling arguments for the adoption of virtual reality in the gaming field.

https://www-igi-global-com.ezproxy.napier.ac.uk/gateway/book/189162

Similarly, a coupe of articles and videos on the application of second-screen technology make a great case for it adoption in an unobtrusive way. Given many PC gamers already use a dual-monitor display, the case is strong for expanding the use of a dual screen setup to relay differing information. Included below is an interesting article about how EA is taking a lead in second screen entertainment. Chaos could potentially fit into a slate of second-screen enabled games quite easily.

https://www.polygon.com/2013/8/29/4671152/second-screen-will-continue-to-be-an-important-part-of-eas-games

https://www.extremetech.com/gaming/174482-the-rise-of-second-screen-gaming-where-will-the-ps4-and-xbox-one-take-us

https://www.ibc.org/consume/more-is-more-investigating-attention-distribution-between-the-television-and-second-screen-applications-/1028.article

[frankalexh]

Publisher and Developer touchstones

Given the scope of the game and the budgetary concerns, I’ve developed a list of developer and publishers that might be interested in the game.

Developers:

Remedy entertainment: Control is an incredible game, mixing the esoteric and the scientific with a fantastic hub and spoke design. Definitely a contender.

https://www.remedygames.com/

Naughty Dog: with a focus on balancing a well-paced unfolding narrative with engaging mechanics I could see them being interested. Would limit to a PS exclusive, however, which might impact on their decision to acquire the title given its high budget.

https://www.naughtydog.com/

The Chinese Room: A left-field choice given the size of their operation, but their focus on adventure-style map exploration would be incredibly useful to Chaos.

http://www.thechineseroom.co.uk/

Publishers:

2k have a long history of publishing immersive narrative entertainment with great combat mechanics,including one of my favourite series’, Bioshock. 

https://2k.com/en-US/

Bethesda Softworks: As well as their substantial RPG offerings they publish engaging spatial map games, some with a focus on narrative, like Prey and the Dishonored series, as well as others with a focus on mechanics, like Doom. A contender.

https://bethesda.net/en/dashboard

Ubisoft: somewhat obvious, somewhat left-field.Their output isn’t that focused on this kind of game, but my god do they have the money to pull it off. A hard sell, but worth a shot.

https://www.ubisoft.com/en-gb/

[frankalexh]

Image licensing

Again, images are going to be incredibly important. Not just copy written punk images (merch, likenesses etc.) but brands popular to the punk scene at the time. (Elmer’s glue for the mohawks springs to mind).

Again, this requires a legal team, which is why this is a high-budget, high-concept game.

Primers on this form of licensing:

https://info.legalzoom.com/article/copyright-laws-and-video-games

https://gamedevelopment.tutsplus.com/articles/understanding-licenses-or-can-i-use-this-asset-in-my-game--cms-22510

https://www.licensingsource.net/indepth/is-video-games-licensing-finally-growing-up/

[frankalexh]

Music licensing

The soundtrack for Chaos is killer. proto-punk, hardcore and anarcho-punk are key to setting the game in context and framing the action in each sequence. Think Crass, The Stooges, Wire, Iggy Pop, X, Stiff Little Fingers, early The Clash and beyond.

This ain’t cheap, which is why the game will be pitched to major studios and publishers, companies with the legal and financial resources to acquire these licenses. 

Some initial reading on the licensing of music:

https://iconcollective.edu/license-music-for-video-games/

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2019-10-16-how-does-the-games-industry-solve-its-problem-with-music-licensing

http://twvideo01.ubm-us.net/o1/vault/gdc04/slides/music_licensing_videogames.pdf

[frankalexh]

Chaos Magic: A Primer

This is high-concept magical stuff, so I’ll try keep it brief.

Chaos magic is a method of interacting with the unknown (whatever that means to you) that differs from the traditional magical schools of hermeticism, the left hand path (like Lavey’s Church of Satan) and the right hand path (like the Order of the Golden Dawn), which are all more scholarly pursuits  full of dogma and rules.

Chaos magic is what it sounds like; you open yourself up to the things you don’t understand without attempting to codify them. It differs from prayer in its somewhat material nature. Like with all magic the end-goal is a change in the physical or emotional world of the person practising it, but chaos magic is thought to be an unstable method of doing this. 

Its like jumping into whitewater rapids to reach the end of the river; you might just get there. but you could just as easily be dashed on the rocks.

I don’t believe in it, but I love to read about it.

https://www.hermeticfellowship.org/HFHermeticism.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Satanic_Bible

https://www.golden-dawn.com/eu/displaycontent.aspx?pageid=170-biography-israel-regardie

llewellyn.com/journal/article/1799

https://blackwitchcoven.com/chaos-magick/

https://shrineai.chwezi.tech/books/book1.pdf

https://principiadiscordia.com/

http://www.chaotopia.com/

[frankalexh]

Narrative reference points

Some further reading, watching and listening I’ve been doing for a further overview of both the story world and the lore of the story.

Story world:

https://pleasekillme.com/ (both the book and the website)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Season-Witch-Occult-Saved-Rock/dp/0399174966/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=season+of+the+witch&qid=1588077674&sr=8-4

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Unnoticeables-Robert-Brockway/dp/1783297972/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1PJLQWC052COG&dchild=1&keywords=the+unnoticeables&qid=1588077699&sprefix=the+unnoti%2Caps%2C166&sr=8-1 (this whole trilogy is absolutely fantastic, highly reccommend to all)

Lore:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B079X55SV6/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1#ace-g4131440328

https://bigthink.com/culture-religion/nazis-occult

https://www.lastpodcastontheleft.com/episodes/2017/12/30/episode157-nazis-and-the-occult-part-1-severe-and-annoying

https://www.lastpodcastontheleft.com/episodes/2017/12/30/episode-158-nazis-and-the-occult-part-2-white-people-nerds

[frankalexh]

Nazi esotericism

To understand the direction of research of the Nazis, there’s a couple of important touchstones. Bear in mind I don’t believe in any of this shit, but the Nazis sure did.

The first is Madame Helena Blavatsky. A Ukrainian mystic, her ‘theosophy’ (note: ravings of a lunatic) is one of the origins of the word Aryan, used to describe the most perfect one of the 6 original ‘root’ races of man (aka gross early-phrenology race-science).

The second is a dumb sci-fi book called Vril: the Power of a Coming Race. It describes a subterranean master-race ascending and claiming the throne of man. It’s fairly easy to see what inspiration the Nazis drew from this...

The intersection of these beliefs is that of Vril energy. a mysterious life energy capable of enormous destructive and regenerative power. This was rumoured to be the focus of Nazi occult research; the harvesting of this energy for the future of the Reich. One of the ways this energy is harvested is in the form of emotional outpouring, and one of the strongest of these is group hatred.

It’s just dumb enough to make sense.

(I’d like to point out how silly this is again, and that some of these links are outright laughable conspiracy stuff. Fun story though)

http://blavatskyarchives.com/longseal.htm

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Helena-Blavatsky

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1951

https://web.archive.org/web/20041011215513/http://laesieworks.com/ifo/lib/WW2/

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=jy-1YuG3RCIC&pg=PT439&lpg=PT439&dq=harvesting+vril+energy&source=bl&ots=Yza3vYVmgo&sig=ACfU3U3H6_3e2Ts_JlhbkLSmfDXjRlPk6g&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjgp42BkYvpAhWITsAKHaMeDVgQ6AEwCXoECF4QAQ#v=onepage&q=harvesting%20vril%20energy&f=false

[frankalexh]

Sequence 3 Reference images

Not many images survive of the Nazi’s occult leanings, but Himmler’s research into esoteric and mystical ways to ensure the survival of the Reich is well-documented (if debated).

For this sequence imagine if the new Wolfenstein series, Hellraiser and the climax of Hereditary somehow had a baby.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/infamous-castle-of-wewelsburg

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/central-european-history/article/nazi-magicians-controversy-enlightenment-border-science-and-occultism-in-the-third-reich/B3BE167EE68DF206E856B97514A9242A

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057%2F9780230109056_9

[frankalexh]

Sequence 2 Reference documentary

A documentary I remember watching as a kid that shook me to my core. This is what I imagine the Nazis in sequence 2 to be living like; squalid, fighting an underground war.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0235327/

[frankalexh]

Sequence 2 Reference images

This set of reference images will be for the second sequence of the game, in which our hero is drawn into the world of Nazi machinations in the 70′s punk scene

https://www.timeout.com/newyork/travel/nyc-subway-photos-see-off-limits-and-abandoned-stops

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXPECTQTW_I

https://www.boredpanda.com/hell-on-wheels-new-york-underground-photography-80s/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic

http://www.columbia.edu/~brennan/abandoned/cityirt.html