Here is the final iteration of the game.
http://sta.sh/01ju7gvsewka
Kevin Cannon
A Normal Life the Game Iteration 2 (Tech Concept and Finished Script)
This is a game I made last year, it has essentially the mechanics that this game is going to have. http://pandapool.deviantart.com/art/Choose-your-own-Adventure-Net-Neutrality-Edition-460253402
Adventure game Script
A Normal Life the Game Draft 1 (scripts and concepts)
Right now this is just the first few options for my game. More to come soon.
3DS Intervention Final
The Plan:
For my intervention I walked around the show floor of PAX East 2015 taking pictures of people on their 3DS video game consoles. I would then upload those pictures to a Twitter account I created called @On3DSatPAX with the hash tags #On3DS and #PAXEast2015. I managed to take 35 photos total, although some photos contain multiple people on their 3DS consoles.
I didn’t verbally tell anyone about my Twitter account, what I used to communicate was a feature of the 3DS called “Street pass.” Street pass works when two people with 3DS consoles are close to each other where upon the both send a digital avatar for the consoles, known as a Mii, to the adjacent persons 3DS. The Mii can then be viewed with a personalized message. I made a Mii in the likeness of Mario, gave him the name “On3DSatPax,” and gave him the message “Find Mii Twitter.”
So for Friday and Sunday of the PAX convention I walked around PAX with my 3DS in my pocket taking pictures of people in the hopes that they would get my message and see themselves posted on Twitter.
The Strugle:
The 3DS does not allow the use of @ symbols in the use of either the name or the message of the Mii, not that it mattered because both the name and the message used the maximum allowed characters. So I tried to compromise in a way that was both clever, and relatively easy to understand the meaning of.
Something I did not realize before doing this was that a 3DS can only store up to 10 street passed Miis at anyone time. Meaning that if someone was not checking their 3DS regularly, there was a good chance they would not receive my Mii or my message due to the amount of people at the convention also street passing with each other.
The Result:
By the end of the convention I had four followers, who I assumed to be bots and spam accounts, and had recieved only two messages, which had nothing to do with the subject of my Twitter account. I also have know way of knowing if anyone saw anything I posted due to my Street Passing, and seriously doubt that anyone who did recieved my Mii bothered to read its name or its message (I usually don’t). You can see the documentation of the intervention here: https://twitter.com/On3DSatPAX
Intervention Proposal
I will be walking around the show floor, and surrounding area, of PAX East taking pictures of anyone I see holding, or playing on a 3DS console. I will then upload those photos to a Twitter account I have created for the expressed purpose of presenting photos of people on their 3DS game consoles. As I am walking around the show floor I will too have a 3DS which will be on and using the “Streetpass” feature of the system to send messages to other people’s 3DS consoles, informing them of the Twitter page, and its content.
The Twitter page can be found here: https://twitter.com/On3DSatPAX
IGF 2015 Finalist: This War of Mine (Dibs)
This War of Mine is not what you would call a fun game, but it is one of the most compelling experiences you’ll have for some time. This War of Mine is the story of people, innocent civilians, trying, and often failing, to survive in war torn country. Playing a game like Call of Duty or Medal of Honor, it is easy to forget that those chest high walls, and deserted cities used to be peoples homes and lives, This War of Mine works to remind you of that fact.
At it’s core, the game is a 2D survival/scavenging game. You start out in a rundown house with a few survivors, and have to quickly get to work find food, fuel, medicine, and anything else you might need later down the line. You can add more survivor to your party, and upgrade or add to your house to keep it running smoothly and safely; however, you’ll quickly find that there is a finite number of recourse, and most of the time your survival comes at someone elses expense.
While in many games with a morality system, you are free to kill, loot, and desecrate to your hearts content as long as you’re killing, looting, and desecrating the right people; in This War of Mine, there are no “evil people” or “good people” there are only people. If your survivors are starving you may need to steal it from someone else home, and as a result your character might begin to lose moral because of their actions. If the house you’re robbing is home to a family who you must then kill in order to save yourself, not only will your character become depressed, but you, the player, will feel the impact of your actions. And if your character becomes depressed, they may turn to drugs in order to forget what they’ve done.
This War of Mine is an amazingly game, and you are unlikely to find a game like it anywhere else for a long time. If you’re sick of what you perceive to be the glorification of violence in games, or believe that you’ve become desensitized to the struggles of others, This War of Mine might just be what you need.
Final Appropriation With Rules And Documentation
Kevin_Running With Scissors Appropriation
Running With Scissors (Appropriation)
Materials/Setup
Eight participants are needed, and two people with stop watches.
Find two pairs of scissors, preferably of similar or equal ability.
Procure four different samples of materials that can be cut with said scissors (paper, tin foil, plastic, etc.).
Cut each material into equal halves so that you have eight total, with two of each material.
Find one reasonably long hallway.
Get enough tape, tacks, or other fixatives which can be used to hold all of the materials to the wall.
Along one wall, set up one of each material so that they are all equidistant away from each other and one end of the hallway. For example, in a 40 foot long hallway, place the first material 10 feet from the entrance of the hallway, the second material 10 feet from the first material, then third material 10 feet away from the second material, and the forth material 10 feet away from the third material (This should be the other end of the hallway). Try to set them in order from weakest to strongest materials.
With the other four material, set them up on the opposite wall, parallel to the materials that have just been placed.
Rules
Split up into two teams of four.
Have one timer assigned to each team.
Have each team choose which of the walls in the hallway they want to use – left or right.
Each team gets a pair of scissors, distribute the scissors however you see fit.
Have each team assemble into a line respectively with both teams at the end of the hallway that does not have a material by it. Give the person at the beginning of each line that teams pair of scissors.
The game starts when the people with stop watches agree and say “Go.” They will both being their stopwatches simultaneously, and the people with the scissors must begin from the starting point at the entrance of the hallway where their teams are, and go to the first objects that have been attached to the wall their team has been assigned to. Once at the material, each must cut off a piece from their respective material. With the scissors and the cut piece of material in hand, go back to your team and hand both to the teammate is next in line in a relay fashion. Try to do all of this as quickly as possible as the points are time based.
The rule of thumb is that the piece cut off should be as bigger than your thumb.
The next teammates must then go to the second pieces that have been hung on the wall, and each cut off a piece. They must return to their team and deliver the scissors and both of the materials to the next people in line.
The third people in line must get a cutting from the third materials hanging from the walls, and must give the last person in line the three cut materials and the scissors.
This final teammates must go to the farthest materials (at the end of the hall), each cut off a piece and return to the starting area. Once they have reached the starting area, the timer for their team stops their stopwatch.
When both teams have collected all four materials and returned to the starting area, the game is finished.
Size matter
At the end of the round, each team must compare the size of their cut pieces to the other team’s pieces of the same material (ex. Paper to paper, foil to foil). A team will have one second removed from their time for each material they have that is bigger than the opposing team’s material.
You are scored based on your time, with the lowest time winning.
Extra Things to Think About
Scissors can only be used to cut the materials on your team’s wall. You are not allowed to interfere in the other team’s progress, or cut anything other than the determined materials. Especially do not cut the other players or yourself.
If a material on your wall falls down during play time it must be put back up on the wall before your team is allowed to finish the game.
You are not allowed to move unless you are holding the scissors.
The final member of a team must be holding all four cut materials and the scissors when they reach the starting area for their team to finish the game.
Players can be added or subtracted based on the amount of materials available.
Stay safe, and work quickly.
Appropriation Ideas
Appropriations
- 3DS Appropriation
Appropriate a 3DS and a few games. Play the games.
- Running With Scissors
This can be played with 2 or more people. Give each person playing a pair of scissors. Everyone set a timer for 1 minute (at the minimum). Everyone start their timers at as near as possible to the same time. You all now have one minute to cut a piece off of as many things as you can. You can only cut something once per round. You will be scored on how many pieces you have cut off. Try not to do anything to dangerous, and do everything in your power to win.
- Role Playing With Toys
Take the first toy, trinket, bobble, or knickknack you see in the day (it must be representative of some definable figure). For the rest of the day try to embody that character in speech, actions, etc. Don’t break character unless someone calls you out on acting like the exact character you chose, there is no close enough. If someone does call you out, explain the rules to them and encourage them to try it out to; then congratulate yourself on your acting skills and feel free to play again. If no one calls you out all day, you can either choose another character for the next day or try to improve upon your method.
- Stacking
Take everything flat in your room (or most things that you can easily move). Try stacking them one on top of the other from largest to smallest. If successful try it again from smallest to largest (I am not liable for broken goods). If successful try any variation in between or start adding non flat objects to that stack. (Michael also can sue me for appropriating his score.)
IndieCade Game Choice – Risk of Rain
http://www.indiecade.com/games/selected/risk-of-rain/
Overview thing or whatever it’s called:
Risk of rain is a 2D, action, platforming, rogue-like, done in pixel art. The honest reason I chose this game was because I already owned it; however, having already played it I knew right off the bat it was a good game.
If you’re looking for some thoughtful in depth commentary on the human psyche, social issues, or the meaning of life find another game. Risk of Rain is quite a standard action game where you kill things do little else. The story of the game is that a mysterious entity has caused your space ship to crash on a hostile planet, and you must survive, kill, and upgrade yourself as best you can before it comes back to finish you off too.
As a rogue-like the major mechanic of the game is iteration. Once you die in a play through you have to start over, but hopefully you’ve learned from you previous foray into the world and are now smarter for it. If your very luck, or skilled, you are able to unlock new items characters, and various outer secrets which can be used in future playthroughs.
The ascetic of the game is quite nice, the music fits wonderfully, and you really feel yourself improving each level as you learn new strategies for dealing with the enemy, and the best combination of items for your character’s class.
Risk of Rain isn’t breaking any molds here, but I don’t think it has to. It’s a good rogue-like, and more than that it’s a good game, and sometimes that is enough to keep you going.
Podcast Score Final_Kevin Cannon
Artist Statement
I don’t quite recall my exact though process that lead my to make this score the way it is. I can say that at the time of conception I had just started listening to the SleepyCabin Podcast and found it very entertaining. Something else I find entertaining, making people feel uncomfortable. So my initial though was to have people listen to this podcast, and let them feel uncomfortable for my amusement.
What I’m most proud of from this score however, is the line “If you in anyway disliked it, complain to friends, family, or strangers about which aspects were the most intolerable.” Call me cynical, but I am of the opinion that people naturally want to complain about things to distract themselves from the normally humdrum lives. I also find it very amusing when people complain incessantly about something they have no control over to people who don’t care, as long as they are not complain towards me. So I though that by adding this line I would beadle to predict what the people who didn’t like the podcast were going to do, hopefully catching them off guard, or embarrassing them (I am not a very good person).
When it came time to revise my score, the most consistent comments were that it is too controlling, and the participant should be allowed a little leeway on how certain things get done, and that it isn’t very presentable, in that you don’t really do anything until the end. So I took out some of the more micro-managy (which is a word I just created) instructions, and added a few more visual components to the scores enactment.