The AT Weekly Snapshot--October 5th, 2007
Setting: 15th Century. The principality of Wallachia employs unique processes that serve the dual function of deterring outside invaders as well as entertaining the royalty.
The prince has personally contracted the players to maximize process efficiency, through acquisition and utilization of resources. Among these resources are food, peasants, pikes and Turks. The prince will hold unexpected feasts at random processing sites - the players who can quickly lay out food and the proper atmosphere will receive the prince's utmost admiration. Players who fail will instead feel his piercing disappointment.
Today's snapshot and write-up comes courtesy of Mark Wrynn. Thanks, Mark!
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14 comments:
Yay I'm famous.
Funny - initially I thought the title would be tough to recreate. Five minutes of font searching and I found they simply used the Magic the Gathering font for Wallenstein, plus a couple of simple Photoshop effects (outer glow and bevel-something-or-other).
So is this a prequel to FURY OF DRACULA?
This would be a fine game compared to some other ideas people have out there now.
I was listening to a recent podcast where a designer was talking about how he was scooped on an idea for a game. The idea was the Tulip Bulb craze back in Holland during 1634-1637. If you have never heard of this check out this link for more info.
http://www.investopedia.com/features/crashes/crashes2.asp
Who in the hell is going to buy a game based on the market crash of Tulip Bulbs???
It was so funny listening to this because it shows just how out of touch these Euro designers are. Our good friend Derk was present during this interview and had never heard of the earthshaking of event of the tulip bulb crash either. I am a little disapointed that Derk didn't slap some sense into this self absorbed designer but maybe he was thinking, "Whatever"
These Euro designers are in their own world and have no clue about what the gaming market wants.
I have no problem for this guy to make a game like that for a class project but to put something like that on the market is nothing but elitist, arrogant bullshit!
It just proves to me that the gaming industry is in dire need of more creative and hip designers.
Don't mess with Vlad!
--Mike L.
The Tulip Bulb bubble was actually REALLY interesting if you read about it. The book "Extraordinary Delusions and the Madness of Crowds" has tons of bizarre chapters that make the worst net flame wars massively insignificatn.
Invariably, the Euro ish game will be a basic stock market game where you know at some point that you want out of the bubble.
They'll fail to get across the idea of people spending the equivalent of tens of thousands of dollars for a single tulip bulb, and the ensuing murders and riots.
Personally, I'd LIKE to see an economic game based on Neal Stephenson's "System of the World" trilogy. The Tulip bulbs are just a side note in that epic. It has people starting insane wars to launder money.
Um, not to chime in on the 'Yah, Tulips' bandwagon (but I will).
Read Michael Pollen's 'The Botany of Desire'. The book is divided into four chapters, and one fourth of the book is devoted to the Tulip craze. It's amazing how plant genetics and a stupid craze to have weirder flowers than others made people behave.
...but then I'm a plant geek. I am still gunning for a swamp game.
Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, by Gregory Maguire (the guy who wrote Wicked), is also about the Tulip Bulb crash.
If I was forced to choose between a game about shipping cheese or speculating on tulip bulbs, I'd have to go with the tulips.
Ha. Some of the gardeners around here have such an infatuation with hostas that I wonder if they've even recognized some of the tulip craze in their behavior.
If you combine Pit with a shipping game like Medieval Merchant, and you've got the makings of a tulip Euro.
--Mike L.
Yeah Barnes, this game takes place before Drac cut his hair (and mustache) and sold out.
Jack, that book sounds interesting. I'll have to add that to my list. (I'll pass on the game about tulip bulbs, though.)
Actually, the entire text of the book (the 1852 edition) is here:
http://robotics.caltech.edu/~mason/Delusions/epdatmoc.html
I read a lot of odd things. Google "Nigerian vanishing penises" or "Thai prostitute drug laced nipples" for even more bizarre reading.
I guess no one would make a game about THOSE.
Of course all speculative market bubbles are fascinating (the South Sea bubble in the early 18th century as the first British example), but they are fascinating because of what happened around them, like the political fall out.
Think of the land speculation ahead of the transcontinental railways in the 19th century. Great stuff!
Steve is right that it might not resonate with the larger public (because of historical ignorance), but I share Jack's fears that it might just become a boring stock market game.
Ah, those were the days where a tulip bulb might get you a Rembrandt!
This conversation is way, way, way too intellectual for this website. All of you are fired.
And the people who fired the people who were fired are also fired.
--Mike L.
I might agree with Ken if I knew what "conversation" and "intellectual" meant.
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