|| -------- -- -----  A E R I E   O B L I V I A N A . singular book of text wandertainment by Frank Edward Nora ------------------- ----------- GET ALL OBLIVIANA--ISSUE 002--PART 4 <-------  ||  OsoaWeek  ||  Get All Obliviana  ||  Issue 002  ||  -------> (Cup OWga002d, Created v3 (10/3/99), Copyright 1999) = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Tue 7/20/99 * 10:02 PM So the idea is that LWOR is the basis for all of the "objects" in Obliviana. In this context, "object" is like in "object oriented programming", not like a physical object. I did some work on LWOR last night. I disovered that there are twelve places where a square can fit between the roads. I still have to verify that there are 12 and only 12, but it is definitely very interesting. And I connected the centerpoints of these squares in several ways--there are many potential ways to do this--to form the basis for Waterway Jincafurhee. This, the nature of the layout of Jincafurhee--was something that was undefined. But now, I have the framework for the creation of Railway Stunposso and Waterway Jincafurhee. I just had the thought about possibly switching the locations of Jincafurhee and Stunposso. I think that I must adhere to the binary, male/female symbolism. And when you look at a Railway and a Waterway, the Railway is male and the Waterway if female. In LWOR and in Octagon, one is surrounding the other. The surrounding one should be the female, the "o". And the inner one should be the male, the "x". As well, "x" relates to railroads because of the whole "railroad crossing" (xing) thing. So, I should therefore use the "inbetween squares" to guide the layout of Stunposso, and then I have to decide on the specific nature of the layout of Jincafurhee. Now, on to the bigger picture. Various aspects of LWOR will be the basis for the "Jot" system. This is what I have been calling "objects" for the past few days. "Jot" is a term I have used for this aspect of Obliviana in the past, along with "Glyph". I think, actually, that "Glyph" might actually be better for this purpose. So. Glyphs. 15 Glyphs for each of the Racetracks / Raceways / Railways / Waterways. Hmm... I gotta do something about the terminology there... And 209 Glyphs for the Storms. And 80 Glyphs for Octagon. And for the Revolvers. And for various geographical features in LWOR. And buildings, and places... In this new context, LWOR is much more important to Obliviana than it has been in the past. Idea: Jincafurhee/Stunposso for Revolvers Obliviana Archive and Obliviana Future? But... and here's the big question... how, specifically, do Glyphs relate to their "inspirations"? Well, this is defined in the definition of the Glyph, in the overall context of the Obliviana Game System. I think that in attacking this problem, I can set forth some very basic ideas: [1] "Fonosta Device" is a major game element, and it is the "container" in which the player "puts" things. [2] "Glyphs" are the things that are "put into" Fonosta device. [3] Very generally, the game is about the acquisition and transformation of Glyphs. [4] Each player has one and only one Fonosta Device. From the moment of its inception, a player's Fonosta Device will remain "constant". That is, it is not a temporary thing, but a permanent thing. And while it can and will change frequently, it retains its "history". [5] An idea I had a few weeks or months ago was that Fonosta Device would change only once every 13 weeks. But this is at the "official" level. All during those 13 weeks, a player's "Working Device" can be in a state of constant flux, building up all the elements necessary for the big update. [6] At this scale of time, with only four updates per year, the update becomes a big thing. As well, keeping a FD's history is made simpler, at least at the "official" level, because it can simply be a set of images of each Device in sequence. [7] Fonosta Device is represented by a graphical image. It uses a symbolic language, made up of Glyphs. But like the letters of the alphabet as they relate to fonts, I see there being numerous "Glyph Fonts", allowing for many different "look and feel" themes. This is a theme and variation thing, and it has to be kept under control, because too much variation can kill the strength of the system. [8] Hey! It's July 20! I had totally lost track of the time! Obliviana Day 1999 is fast approaching! Wouldn't it be great to be able to introduce this new system on that day, just a week away? Good night...! Thu 7/22/99 * 10:10 PM Got a few games on Ebay, Custer's Revenge and Beat'Em &Eat'Em... Anyway, I want to continue to work on the new LWOR idea. I would note that the LWOR idea is not really new, per se, but it does bring things together in a new way. At the beginning of a new idea, it always shines so bright, as a POTENTIAL thing. Then as time goes on, it becomes REAL and it loses that sheen. Well, this new idea is shining now, but I realize that I have to navigate the rough waters ahead to make it into reality. I've been into an idea lately, the atmosphere and social aspects surrounding games like poker, billiards, darts, etc. It's a level of pretense, a love of drinking and bars, and a whole thing. It's not that I want to participate in such games and places. It's just that the ATTITUDE interests me. The new card game I am working on is definitely based on the LWOR map, which has 60 numbers going around its 4 sides. Flip 1-11 and Dire 1-19, each one twice. I was thinking of changing the pronunciations of Flip and Dire to "flep" and "dare". I could also keep Flip the normal pronunciation and change Dire to "deer". I am seeking a change because "Dire" in its normal pronunciation is unacceptable to me, because it doesn't sound right. And changing the actual words Flip and Dire is out of the question at this point, since they have been an established part of Obliviana for such a long time. So the new card game, I have been working on it. It would involve a number of Storm Codex decks, all with different back, all shuffled amd all back in their boxes, and the boxes there on the table, and they are obtained, traded, cracked opened, used, etc. I think this idea does potentially fit into the whole billiards/poker milieu. I guess this is interesting to me in the aspect of the core game being somewhat universal, and not just for a narrow demographic of brainy weirdoes. But now I want to talk about the new idea from a broader context. LITTLE WORLD OF RACETRACKS AS THE BASIS [1] LWOR encodes both 11x19=209 and 8x2x5=80. Well, the =80 part is not totally there, but all the rest is there right now. [2] Obliviana, in its Glyph aspect, needs a lot of THINGS to base the Glyphs on. And beyond this, Obliviana needs to have an understandable basis. LWOR as an imaginary place is the kind of cool, tongue-in-cheek kind of thing that I think a lot of people will be able to embrace. [3] I think that Fonosta as a concept might return to the idea of a little "guy" in LWOR. But this immediately brings up the specter of a real-time online world. This is a problem because: [a] as in the past, I still do not have the resources to create such a thing, at least to start with, [b] I still maintain that Obliviana must exist in a form that would have been feasable before computers, and [c] another of my ideals in Obliviana is that someone can play on their own without ANY communications with Obliviana. [4] From another perspective, players are approaching LWOR as "fans", and not necessarily as participants. NASCAR comes to mind. People are into the themes and variations, the personalities, the recordkeeping, etc., without actually being directly involved. Color schemes and logos are very important in NASCAR as they will be in Obliviana. [5] So, there WILL be characters in LWOR, but the main idea might not be for a player to have a character in the game. Rather, players are "fans" of LWOR and the stuff going on there. [6] In this new context, I think that there could be some people who are actually in the world, but it would be along the lines of more stringent guidelines and rules. That is, getting into LWOR as a Racer would be a thing to strive for. And the unattainable is almost always a heck of a lot more compelling than the attainable. [7] So then, a Fonosta would not be a character... or would it? Could each player have their own "alternate" LWOR? Hmm... [8] LWOR as virtual world and LWOR as a "basis" are two different things. But in order for it to be a good basis, it will have to be interesting... [9] So, I have to establish the definition of what exactly... of the foundation of LWOR... I have the map, which I need to do some more work on, but I need to decide the "angle" for presenting it to people. [10] I have done an enormous amount of work on LWOR. It is indeed a "little world", a "little tiny reality". But I need to breath some life into it. Sun 7/25/99 * 2:45 PM Obliviana Day is less than 2.5 days away, and still I have only a vague idea of what I'm going to do. I have to do something! I am in the midst of the archive project, which I am really dragging my feet on. And now I have Obliviana Day and the new LWOR ideas, and the new card game idea... I do, of course, hope that on Obliviana Day 1999, I will be able to set forth a new idea that will revitalize Obliviana and eventually lead to success. I have been in this situation before, and I usually come up with something, and though my ideas of the past were not THE idea, they all make up the foundation to where I am now. So even if the idea I come up with for Obliviana Day 1999 is not THE idea, it will be another step... Hey! Come on! I gotta wake up! I can't have this defeatist attitiude. People looking at LWOR, at the design of LWOR, the things going on, etc. A scalable idea... Fonosta Device as a scalable idea... One idea I have had is to distill Obliviana down to a very simple game and then promote that game, in hopes that it will catch on. This game would also be scalable. So, the basic game would be very easy to learn and playing. And with scaling up, in scope and complexity, the game BECOMES all of Obliviana. This implies that the game can incorporate all kinds of sub-games, activities, entertainment, etc. So, with the idea of scalability, the basic game will need to have sub-games and the like. Another major idea in Obliviana is the idea of Fonosta Device. Each player has one Fonosta Device, and it is transformed fully once every 13 weeks. But the idea of a Device that is transformed has to be at the core of the game. Glyphs are the contents of a Device, and they are all related to LWOR, which itself is based on the twin systems of 11x19=209 and 8x2x5=80. I have been seeking a relationship between the two systems. One relationship that I need to explore now is the number 30: 11+19=30 (8+2+5)*2=30 16+4+10=30 (11+19)*2=60 (8+2+5)*4=60 22+38=60 32+8+20=60 So, is there a clear equivalency? Well, looking at the Storm Codex of 60 cards, each of the 8x2x5 values would be represented by 4 cards. I don't see a clear equivalency. That is, I don't see an easy way to assign the four cards. But it is clear that the four cards will be two pairs, of course. So, in general, the basic game will have to be scalable, it will have to involve Glyphs and Devices, and it will have to incorporate both the 80 and the 209 systems. As well, it will have to incorporate sub-games and activities. And, it will have to be easy to learn and play! Idea: The most basic game will be bare-bones. But then, using the basic rules, themed "scenarios" will be developed. These will involve a specific set of sub-games and activities. Now, what about the nature of the game in terms of sequence? Because, full Obliviana is segmented, but endless. But I see "endless" as a scaling factor, so the basic game will have either one or a set number of segments before the game is over. But even the basic game could allow for Devices to carry over into the next game. In terms of the materials for the most basic game (or "Bo" as I was calling it awhile back), I had conceived of it being ONLY pen and paper. But now, I see it as pen and paper and Storm Codexes. Lately, I have been getting a lot more into the Storm Codex deck, and I do see it as an essential part of Bo, especially since it can encode 80 as well as 209. Ace--4 2-9--3x8=24 10--2 In light of this, the 80 element "2/xo" should be identified with the 10's. f10 (10 of hearts) would be "x", and d10 (ten of spades) would be "o". Of the 13 that remain, there are 4 Aces plus 24 2-9. Even though there are 8 Aces in the Storm Codex, there is no way to distinguish between the members of the pairs, other than by marking the cards. But I have made a mistake. Each of the 8x2x5 elements needs TWO cards associated with it in 30, and FOUR in 60. So, it would hav to then be the Aces--the blacks/Flips being "x", and the reds/Dires being "o". This leaves 26/52 left for the remaining 13. In the full SC, there are four 10s, and 6 each of the numbers 2-9. I'll have to get back to this... 3:51 PM Bo will have a beginning, and middle, and an end. The end is going to be perhaps roughly equivalent to the end of a 13-week Trick Sojourn. That is, all the work done on the Device in that time is "solidified". This would then define the basic flow of Bo, where a game could consist of a single "Sojourn", or of multiple ones linked together. Idea: pairs of cards in front of you can be "transformed" into a Glyph in your Device. And Glyphs can affect the cards... 11:38 PM Bo... scalable game... Scalable so that a Trick Sojourn and everything your do in it in full Obliviana is scaled way down for Bo. Where does Stormjaunting fit in here? It is an activity... but is that all? Should it be more directly represented in Bo? Obliviana Day ideas so far: [1] New LWOR Map [2] Bo Both of these seem too far from completion to be ready in two days. Ideas: Building up with components, as in Glyphs in Device, but putting components together in particular ways. Also, chance typ thing, like pachinko, perhaps with Glyphs and a SC with cards turned over one after another (representing Flips and Dires). Bo... Glyphs... building Device... interaction between cards and Device... Wow, man. I was pretty enthused earlier. Now I'm bummed out. Mon 7/26/99 * 9:01 PM Well, tonight I gotta get the idea, and tomorrow I have to manifest it. I am talking specifically about Bo. Tomorrow night, I need to have something new on my website, and I would like it to be Bo. Wow. So I better get moving. Bo. Basic Obliviana Game. A very simple game which is scalable, and which scales up to become full Obliviana. Let me go over some of the basics: [1] Bo is a very simple game which is scalable and expandable. "Bo" refers to the most simple variation. [2] Bo will use as equipment Storm Codex decksand paper and pen. Additionally, a printed rules sheet/guide can also be used. The idea of preprinted FOWs has crossed my mind, as has using graph paper. I even tried to come up with a way, using rib matting of creating FOWs with a rubber stamp method. I would prefer to be able to use blank paper with no graph paper or preprinted sheets needed. This limitation is for Bo, not for all variations of Obliviana. [3] Idea: Build up a FOW using Glyphs, with the card affecting Flips and Dires / Columns and Rows... [4] 80-based Glyphs, as I created a few months back, using 8x2x5, A-H, x-o, 1-5, such as Bo3, Ax4, Ho1, etc. These could be done graphically, starting with a square (x) or circle (o), with the other elements inside. [5] One big question is the exact nature of the Glyphs. Can I stick to the 80-based Glyphs, with the 209 elements existing in other parts of the game, or should Glyphs also be 209-based? I think that Glyphs can remain 80-based. [6] Beyond Glyphs, there is the issue of Devices--the containers of Glyphs. Specifically, since Devices are FOW-shaped, do Glyphs have to reside in specific Storms? And if not, how do the Storm Codex cards / Storms affect the Glyphs? [7] Idea: Start with a blank FOW. Then "draw in" Glyphs, with the cards directly affecting the board, as in Vulpine Gathering (the boardgame). This is interesting. [8] Glyph Transformation. Very simply, the 80 Basic Glyphs need to be able to transform into High Glyphs. How is this to be done? [9] Idea: Draw circle or square. Inside, draw A-H (left), and 1-5 (right). This is very, very simple. [10] Now. The nature of High Jots... [11] Wait! I just went to the bathroom and read about the checkers-like game, "Laska". Then I got an idea (not really realted to Laska). The idea is that each player has a blank FOW, which is his or her "Energy". By marking off Storms or Rows or Columns, different actions are possible. This could be IN LIEU of the Storm Codex, since it satisfies the 209 aspect of the game. It also brings Bo back to being a game which required NO EQUIPMENT beyond pen and paper. Yes, drawing a FOW can be tedious, but preprinted/photocopied sheets can be used the point is that it CAN be played with only paper and pen. [12] I just drew a FOW, along with 60 numbers all around, and while not perfect squares, it is perfectly usable for this purpose. I did it by subdividing a rectangle into 8x16, and then adding three more lines each way. [13] There's a little bug on Hx3... [14] So now, High Jots. This is a central unresolved question in Obliviana. I think that looking at Octagon, it's clear that High Jots will be made in a number of different ways. I think that for the purposes of Bo, I can have a very simple set of High Jots. So here goes: maybe it can relate to the Glyph linking system I created a few months back, with a poker-like set of "hands". By completing a "hand", a high Jot is created, and placed in the Device. So the goal of the game will be creating the best Device, given the limited "Energy" available in the FOW, where Storms, Rows, or Columns are used up in various operations. And players will be able to use energy to hinder the efforts of their opponent(s). Also, Glyphs and Glyph sets may have powers which do not require loss of energy. So then, the game would consist of each player making plays on their own sheet(s) of paper. The interaction would be in causing something to happen to their opponent(s), which the other)s) would then carry out on their own sheet(s). [15] Sub-Game. I definitely want to have a sub-game kind of thing in Bo, since Sub-Games are going to be so much a factor of Full Obliviana (Fo). In Bo, the Sub-Game(s) can be very simple. [16] Okay. So I'm getting somewhere here. And for Obliviana Day, I can present this game, all hand-drawn and scanned. But I still have a ways to go... [17] Okay. So I have to work on the game now in a logical fashion... 9:58 PM THE GAME OF BO Here are the basic game actions: [1] Create Glyph or Glyph Element. [2] Make Glyphs if the Element scheme is used. [3] Connect Glyphs. [4] Bloom a set of connected Glyphs into a High Glyph, which is then placed in the Device. As of now, I see High Glyphs in the Device as being unalterable in Bo. [5] Use of "Powers". Powers can cause things to happen to Elements, Glyphs, and "Chains" (connected Glyphs). Powers have the potential to affect both friendly and opposing Elements, Glyphs, and Chains. Possible Powers: Add to Chain, Break Chain at a specific point, "shatter" Chain (all Glyphs disconnect), trade Glyph (this would involve Glyphs moving from player to player--I think that this may be okay, but I have to consider the ramifications in scaling up to Fo. [6] As far as the Device goes, is there sequence or structure within the Device? Also, how are Devices compared at the end of the game? Should I have Chains and "hands" in the Device? This would allow for a set of games to use the same Device, while starting from scratch in other regards. Chains are order-specific. Okay. So I need to come up with a set of High Glyphs. This set is the kind of thing that will be expandable. So the set in Bo can be very basic. Also, I am VERY committed to getting a version of this game ready by tomorrow night. I have all the basics here. I just have to put them all together. If I have to take a day off of work tomorrow, so be it. But I could also take off Obliviana Day itself. 10:24 PM I think I can get the game to an acceptable place tonight. The game as I present in on Obliviana Day will be an "alpha" version. Therefore, it does not have to be perfect--it just has to be playable. And not that many people are gonna see it anyway, and I don't think that anyone will play it. But it will be a start. So, I need to answer a few questions. Firstly, am I going with Elements? I think I am. Elements are the individual components that make up Glyphs. Now, I have a glimpse into the game as it will eventually be, and I think that being able to see what other players are doing is very important, since it will very strongly influence decisions. In order for this to be a big thing in the game, the nature of what you have as opposed to what an opponent has is very important. This relates very strongly to FOW and how it will be used. I see the game very much based on FOW Energy. Specifically, Element creation is one aspect of the game that is unlimited, except that each Element that is created will "cost" one Storm. This basic rules would allow for 69 Glyphs with 2 Elements left over. This, of course, assumes that this is all the FOW is used for, which is not the case. Also, the ratio is not set. So, for example, each Storm COULD produce 3 Elements. Maybe all three will have to be of the same denomination? Another idea: The numbers around the FOW could be circled to gain some advantage, but it would then impose some restriction, like having to "spend" all the Storms in that row or column before spending any other Storms. Another idea: Patterns of spent Storms have some meaning. Like a square of four spent Storms, not touching any other Storms. This then opens the way for very rich strategy. Okay. So, game sheets consist of several areas. The FOW is the first area. The Glyph/Element/Chain area is the next area, and it could be subdivided in several ways. The Device is the third major area. As far as subdivision in the second area, Elements are "divided" from Glyphs and Chains by their nature. And Chains and Glyphs are also divided. The Device must be on a separate sheet of paper because it can carry over from game to game. So, the "work area" of Glyphs and Elements and Chains is a common area, since I think that Glyphs can also be "shattered" and reduced to their component Elements. So the Work Area is one big area. Since the various transformations (link, break, shatter, etc.) will require much crossing-out and redrawing, this area may need to carry over onto more sheets. The FOW can be separate, or it can be on the first Work Area Sheet. In fact, the Device could also be on the same sheet, and copied onto a new sheet as the need arises. So, here is a new look at game actions: [1] Create Element. [2] Combine three Elements into a Glyph. Note that a Glyph cannot be "partial". That is, it cannot contain only two Elements. [3] Link Glyph. This operation creates a connection between two Glyphs, forming a Chain. Or, it can add a single Glyph to an existing Chain. Or, it can link two Chains together. In all cases, only the "ends" of the Chain are available for linking. [3] Break Chain. This removes ONE link in a Chain. This can break off a single Glyph, or break a Chain into two separate Chains. [4] Shatter Glyph. Shattering a Glyph separates it into three Elements. [5] Shatter Chain. This break all links in a Chain, reducing it to a set of unconnected Glyphs. [6] Demolish Chain. I'm not so sure about this one. It would shatter the Chain, and also shatter all the Glyphs that were in the Chain, resulting in a set of Elements. This could have a very high cost, such as spending 25 Storms, in a 5x5 square. [7] Get High Glyph. This takes a Chain and transforms the entire Chain into a single High Glyph which is placed in the Device. All Glyphs in the Chain are "wiped out". This is germane because it could be necessary to "evolve" a Chain into a High Glyph even if more than the needed Glyphs are present. That is, one part of the Chain satisfies the criteria for a certain High Glyph. Two Breaks could be made to "edit" the Chain so that the additional Glyphs are not lost, but if, for example, an opponent is threatening a Chain Shatter or a Demolish, then Evolving the Chain may be called for. [8] Circle. This is just an idea, but Circle could link the two ends of a Chain, protecting it from harm. But I don't think this is such a good idea. Maybe other forms of protection are possible. So, the seven (or eight) basic moves above are pretty much the main game actions. Now, in terms of making things happen, I think the motivation must be entirely in the FOW. That is, all actions, and attacks, and defenses must be done by spending Storms. And here is an example of a defense: Say an opponent "casts" a Shatter against a particular chain. The attacked player could "cast" a defense, but it would require spending Storms. AND--the Flip/Dire numbers could indeed be Germane in such cases. NOTE: I am very strongly leaning toward changing the pronunciation of Dire to "dare". Flip's pronunciation is unchanged. 11:13 PM Aha! But there are more moves! [9] Scramble. This may need to be broken down into several different flavors. But generally, Scramble changes the order within a single Chain. [10] Trade. This also may need different flavors. This move would allow for two Glyphs to change places. In the "domestic" version, a single Glyph could be switched with a Glyph in a Chain, or, two Glyphs in separate Chains could be switched. In the "foreign" version, which I am still not sure about, Glyphs are traded between one player and another, including two single Glyphs, which would have no meaning "domestically". NOTE: I have decides to change the term "Glyph" to "Jot", with "High Glyph" remaining the same. Now, with all these transitions, it could cause a lot of crossing-out and potential confusion. So, I think that lines can be extended to make Chains, though crossing-out and redrawing is also okay. Now, as far as the issue of the the High Glyohs that a player is going for, I think that perhaps something like this might be good: If one player has a certain High Glyph, then the other player cannot get that High Glyph, EXCEPT if he or she can can get two at once. Now, as far as FOW goes, I really like the idea of the 5x5 square for a Demolish Attack. The specific number might change, but the idea is very cool--you hurt the other player, but it also hurts you. And, if you don't have the free space, you can't initiate the attack. [11] Bomb. This would allow you to cross off a Storm in an opponent's FOW. This would be a very powerful attack! I think that Evolving a Chain might cost an entire row! But I'm not sure. 11:28 PM Now, my one concern at this point has to do with scalability, and what exactly is going on with the FOW. But I think that this is something I can deal with later. Right now, I have about 24 hours to get this game done, and I'm locked into this course! And also, I think that this use of FOW is fine. And remember, even if this game turns out to not be fully appropriate to be Bo, it is absolutely an awesome Obliviana Game! I should come up with a name for this game. 11:49 PM HIGH GLYPH OVERLAND Pre-Alpha Version, 7/28/99 by Frank Edward Nora, copyright 1999 www.obliviana.com / obliviana@aol.com INTRO "High Glyph Overland" (HGO) is a very cool, totally original game by me, Frank Edward Nora, that requires only paper, pens, and these rules to play. This is the "Pre-Alpha" version, which means that these rules are pretty much a "rough sketch" of what the final game will be. I am releasing these rules in celebration of Obliviana Day 1999, the 209th day of the year. BASICS In HGO, the goal is to get High Glyphs and put them in your Device. Your "energy source" to do this is your "Forge of Wander" (FOW), a grid of 209 squares called "Storms", 11 wide and 19 high. To make High Glyphs, you first make Elements, then you make Jots out of the Elements, then you make Chains out of the Jots, and with the right Chains, you can make High Glyphs. ELEMENTS Elements are the most basic components in HGO. There are three types of Elements: 8wise, 2wise, and 5wise. The 8wises are: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H. The 2wises are: "x" (square) and "o" (circle). The 5wises are: 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. JOTS Jots are the basic unit in the game. Each Jot is made up of 3 Elements--one each of the 3 types. Jots are drawn by first making a circle or a square, depending on the 2wise. Then, the 8wise and the 5wise Elements are written inside the circle or square. So, one Jot might be a square with "B4" written inside. Another could be a circle with "G1" inside. There are 80 possible Jots. No player can have two of the same Jot at the same time. Jots are referred to thusly: "Do3" is "dee-oh-three", "Fx1" is "eff-ex-won", etc. CHAINS Using the basic action of "Link", two Jots are joined together. To draw this, the two Jots can be right next to each other, or a line can be drawn from one to another. Each Jot can be linked to only one or two other Jots. Linking can also link together two Chains, forming a single Chain. LOOPS A Loop is a special link which connects the two open Jots in a Chain. It is represented by a line with two loops in it. A single Jot can Loop to itself. When a Chain or Jot is Looped, it is "inert", and cannot be subject to any transformation besides Unloop. HIGH GLYPHS High Glyphs are created from Chains. In all cases, when a Chain is transformed into a High Glyph, ALL Jots which make up the Chain are wiped out. To make a High Glyph, a Chain must have a certain pattern in its sequence, somewhat akin to hands in poker (see list below). Once a High Glyph is created, it is drawn in the Device, and is there permanently (at least in the scope of a single game). ACTIONS HGO is played between two or more people, taking turns. Each player may take one Action per turn. Each Action has a FOW cost (see below). FOW The FOW is a grid with 209 squares called "Storms". Every Action has a FOW cost. To pay the cost, Storms are crossed out. There are X types of payments. A BASIC payment is a number, and to pay it, you cross out that number of Storms, anywhere on FOW. A PILFERID cost means that all the Storms in the cost must come from a single row (Dire) or column (Flip). This is represented by "d" for Dire or "f" for Flip. CONNECTED (c) means that all the Storms used in the payment must be connected horizontally or vertically. FIELD means that a block of Storms are paid. This is represented by two numbers and an "x", such as "5x5", 2x3", etc. In such costs as "2x3", the orientation does not matter. If a player's FOW is too filled-in to pay a certain cost, then the cost cannot be paid. The game is over when both players have exhausted their FOWs. ACTIONS & COSTS (Cost in Parentheses) [1] CREATE TWO ELEMENTS (1): Create any two Elements. [2] CREATE JOT (1): Wipe out 3 Elements, one of each type, and draw a Jot using these Elements. [3] LINK (1): Join 2 Jots together. Each Jots can only be joined to at most 2 other Jots. For Looping see [4] below. [4] LOOP (2d): Join the two loose ends of a Chain together, or Loop a single Jot to itself. [5] UNLINK (1): Remove one link, anywhere in a Chain. Does not apply to Loops. [6] UNLOOP (4d): Removes a Loop. [7] BASH (2x2): Reduce a Jot to its compnent Elements. [8] SHATTER (3x3): Break every link in a Chain. [9] DEMOLISH (5x5): Reduce every Jot in a Chain to its component Elements. The Chain is then, of course, gone. [10] BOMB (2x2): Spend any one Storm in an opponent's FOW. [11] TRADE (4fc): Any two Jots trade places. They can be single or in Chains. They can both be on your side, both on your opponent's side, or one on your side and on on your opponent's side. [12] SCRAMBLE (3x3): Change the order of Jots in any Chain, your or your opponent's. [13] GET HIGH GLYPH (2x4): Wipe out qualifying Chain and draw corresponding High Glyph in your Device. Chains satisfying more than one High Glyph may gain those High Glyphs at no extra cost! HIGH GLYPH "HANDS" [1] 2wise Minor--5 in a row of the same 2wise. [2] 2wise Major--8 in a row of the same 2wise. [3] 2wise Stutter--5 in a row alternating x and o. [4] 2wise Super Stutter--8 in a row alternating x and o. [5] 8wise Minor--5 in a row of the same 8wise. [6] 8wise Major--8 in a row of the same 8wise. [7] 8wise Straight--5 8wises in a row IN ORDER, rising or falling. [8] 8wise Super Straight--8 8wises in a row IN ORDER, rising or falling. [9] 5wise Minor--5 in a row of the same 5wise. [10] 5wise Major--8 in a row of the same 5wise. [11] 5wise Straight--5 5wises in a row IN ORDER, rising or falling. [12] Drunken--5 in a row with all different 8wises and all different 5wises. [13] Lucky--a chain of 13 Jots. Notes: Block a certain Element in terms of making High Glyphs? Gaining a certain High Glyphs prevents other player from getting it? Fri 7/30/99 * 12:01 AM I updated my web page the other day. I did a little one-panel Zope comic. Carrie sang at Barne's & Noble yesterday. I had trouble with food yesterday (7/28)--bagel with meat taste (from knife?), falafel with cologne taste, hair in coffee. I've been thinking about HGO, and I thought about using a SC to affect the use of the FOW. So, for example, Span and Storm card pairs would limit the placement of "spending" Storms. Also, relating the idea of the game code-named "Snow Midnight Conifer" (SMC, a named I just made up this second), the game with multiple SC decks, relating this to HGO. Then, relating all of this to Vulpine Gathering. How about a simple game of filling in a FOW using SC-Vulpine-type rules? What this is all leading up to is the idea of all these ideas coming together to form a single game. Idea: FOW on paper on a cork board, using pins as pieces... Games... Antebellum... Devastating Nightscape... Vamershee... can these all be incorporated? Well, there is the aspect of the "sub-game" which is not necessarily related to the main game. Bo will be a game that is basically abstract that will incorporate all of the elements. I now see Bo as a game that has a lot of different things going on--FOWs, SC decks, Jots, Devices, etc. The game element that underlies everything else is the Device. Device scales up to Fonosta Device. But there will be Devices which exist within the scope of a game or a series of games. Maybe with all these different elements, games elements can be shited to be used in different contexts, such as the paper FOW board, partially spent, being used in some other capacity. Or a set of Jots, similarly shifted. So, the basics: [1] FOW (Forge of Wander), the 11x19 board. [2] SC (Storm Codex), the deck of cards representing twice each row and column of FOW. [3] Jot, the basic unit in the 8x2x5 system. 80 total. [4] Jot Elements, the 8wise, 2wise, and 5wise basic components of Jots. 15 total. [5] High Glyphs, the objects which are entered into Device. [6] Fonosta (from Vulpine), the 6-sided die which starts off with 5 "charges". [7] Cups (from Vulpine), the poker-like chips which are gathered in Vulpine. [8] Device, a container for High Glyphs. 12:19 AM So, there will be many different specific games within Bo, but the goal for all of them is the creation of High Glyphs. Backing up now, Bo has be be able to scale up to be Fo (Full Obliviana). In this regard, what happens in the game has to be structurally the same as Stormjaunting and the recordkeeping of Stormjaunting. Or, Stormjaunting can be viewed as a "sub-game", with its own kind of High Glyphs. Now, I want to discuss two recent ideas, which I'll call Rampart and Pachinko. "Rampart" is the idea of building structures. The name comes from the videogame Rampart, a game which I have often wished was more freeform, with the feature of being able to continue to build in the same way with unlimited capacity. "Pachinko" refers to setting something up and then going through some kind of activity which is predominantly chance-based. These two ideas can be related, if the constructs can be used as the basis for the chance game. This bring back an idea from a long time ago, of the Fonosta Device being a pinball-like construct, always changing as the data changes, and the pinball-like game would also add to the data. So, in terms of a foundation for constructing such things, FOW seems pretty good. And as far as randomness goes, SC seems to be the right element. Now, at this point Device is STILL too vague. I really need to get specific on Device and the nature of High Glyphs. Scalability implies "nesting", where an entire series of games becomes distilled and then becomes a small part of the next game, which in turn also gets distilled. DEVICE The purpose of Device is to record lots of information in a small numbers of symbols. In order for this to work, the symbols need to be a kind of language. To be a language, different symbols need have different meanings. Each of the 80 Jots has a different combination of 8wise, 2wise, and 5wise. This makes for 15 basic meanings, divided into three kinds. 8wise is Major, 5wise in Minor, and 2wise is "binary". I see 209 as being the "motivation" factor and 80 as being the "meaning" factor. In HGO Pre-Alpha, this structure is represented. The FOW is the "Energy", and the Elements, Jots, and High Glyphs are the "meaning". Could a have actual Vulpine Cup-like chips that represent all 80 Jots? I could get the blank units at Canal Plastic. This could add a whole new dimension to the game--a tile aspect, as in dominoes and mah-jongg. These tiles could also serve as the Cups in Vulpine. And... the 6-sided die could represent 5 charges in a number of capacities. The idea here is to combine pretty much all of my core game ideas into a single game. A big FOW board, dice, Jot tiles, SCs, pen-and-paper elements. And how about Jukewand as well, with its 5 segments? 12:40 AM I think I'm getting somewhere here. One big idea here also is the idea of a group of players player an extended game, where Devices carry over from individual games, making a larger game "riding" on top of the individual games. Maybe each player in turn can choose the specific game to be played, with the results of each game adding to the player's Game Device. And even if, say, such a meta-game would take weeks to complete, the outcome of that meta-game would then be a part of a meta-meta-game. This is like my idea for Stormjaunting and Fonosta Device--a game that keeps on going. So, for example, a player might declare the next game to be Vamershee--the origami game--and then the results of that game would be recorded in the Devices. This would then imply that all the various games using the standard equipment and ideas would be sub-games, with the meta-game riding above all of them. Idea: An abstract strategy game using chesslike pieces on a FOW. And again, I need more specifics for Device and High Glyph! Goodnight. Mon 8/2/99 * 2:02 AM High Glyphs, I want them to combine the 209 and 80 elements. This is the key to much of the design of Device. Thu 8/5/99 * 1:36 AM Just watched the movie "White Lies" on cable. It's about a girl who falls in with a white supremecist cult. And it's got me thinking about cults in general again, particularly the idea that Obliviana could be warped into a cult someday. This is something I must prevent. Specifically, Obliviana incorporates some very powerful supernatural things, and these things are very much neutral--that is, Stuff like Stormjaunting is a very basic kind of thing--like walking or seeing or exploring. There is no idealology attached to it. This makes me think that it would be possible for an idealology to be attached to it in the future, perhaps beyond my control. So, I am now thinking of attaching an ideology to it, to help prevent it from turning "bad". I do actually have a lot of doctrine and ideologies, myself. But I want to limit the range of official ideologies in Obliviana. Obliviana is about opening your eyes and appreciating where you are. It's about exploring, about keeping your boundaries open. In a very general sense, Obliviana is a way of bringing more of the "light" of the Primal into your life. The idea here is that people used to be able to perceive "Primal Light", but our capacity is now severely limited. It seems that narcotics give people brief glimpses, but these glimpses result is greater darkness in the long run. Evil is something that makes sense in the dark, away from the Primal Light. This is sounding awfully familiar to traditional religion, the "Light of God" and all that. And indeed, the parallel is valid. The big idea in Obliviana is to take the initiative yourself and let some Light in. This is not something that is mutually exclusive from the worship of a deity. But in Obliviana, the focus is on the self. The big question is whether Stormjaunting attacts "evil spirits". And I think, from my experiences, that it does not. BUT, this is a theory that I need to do some more thinking on. I am certain that, for example, when a person takes a drug lik heroin, they "light up" in the eyes of evil spirits, and become a target. Stormjaunting is something with some aspects like drugs--it does open you up to the Light, but in a very different way. My gut feeling is that evil spirits are not in "tune" with 209. 209 may be so deeply buried in reality that no beings really know much about it. I have been trying to get people into Obliviana for a long time now. As of yet, it has not caught on. And maybe this is good--it gives me a chance to resolve some of these issues before it moves beyond my control. The idea here is that once it "takes off", it will to some extent take on a life of its own. Each person that encounters it will build their own mental model of it, and if the "doctrine" is lacking some elements, those aspects will be "filled in" in unpredictable ways, in people's minds. So the main idea here is that Obliviana does need some doctrine to go along with it, ven though I might prefer to keep it totally neutral, such a course is not possible. It will have doctrine attached to it, and it's better if I have some control over it. 1:53 AM Okay. Now onto tonight's other topic... THE NATURE OF DEVICE Okay. A Device is a container, which contains High Glyphs. My new idea for it is for the container to be "representational" as opposed to "abstract". An example of this idea would be for Device to be like a "Sim" game, with a location and stuff in that location. Device needs to have both locations and objects, and they need to be symbols that represent locations and objects. The "hook" would be that there are many choices in what you can put in your Devices, and ultimately, your singular Fonosta Device. These objects will have many different themes and shapes and colors. And you have to "work" to get these objects. So, I need to come up with the parameters. The kinds of locations and objects that will be the symbols. I do have a framework. Devices cannot be overly big. That is, there is a practical limit to the number of objects. For example, a Device needs to be able to be presented on a single sheet of lettersize paper. This means that the glyphs in a Device will need to be each be big enough to be easily "readable". So, I need to concentrate on the nature of the location, and the nature of the objects. It could be something like you have a mountaintop, and you put stuff there. Or a road. Like, you have your own road, and you put stuff on that road. It has to be something simple like that. One idea I had in the past was a sword shoved into the ground. This related to having a home in LWOR. And I think that it makes sense to use LWOR is the general location. So it does make sense that a Fonosta Device will represent a piece of property in LWOR, and the stuff you have their. This is in a symbolic sense at first, since the actual implemenetation of a shared world would be apart from the symbols. Fri 8/6/99 * 2:18 AM Game referred to in OsoaWeek, Have Tina/some other name, as being a game incorporating elements of Bowling, Trading Cards, and Religion. I see this idea as being germane here. The pinball/pachinko aspect is also big here. That is, a game with some random elements, but some skill too. One idea--use SC to generate random Storms, and get "prize" High Glyphs. Also, idea of SC encoding 8x2x5, with 10 each of 2wise and 4 each of 5wise. 8wise is a problem, because with 2 each, there are four left over. These four could be A/B, C/D, E/F, G/H. But I don't know. Now, I want to get into specifics with the nature of Device/High Glyphs. First, I want to address the issue of multiple "locations". Being that the objects will have numerous potential attributes, I think that objects could define locations. That is, I do not want to have to draw lines of any sort to divide Devices. So, the idea would be that certain High Glyphs are associated with different locations, and having at least one of a given High Glyph will show the presence of a location. Taking another angle, Device represents a "property" in LWOR. That's property as in a parcel of land. This direction brings up the issue of the relationship between the Fonosta Device and the Internet-based shared-world "VIAT" implementation of LWOR. I think I can create an acceptable relationship between these two things: The Fonosta Device objects are of one "class", and other objects, such as the characters, houses, etc., can be of another class. I like this idea. But there is another question. Will there be "nesting"? That is, can one object be "inside" another object? For example, would you need a flagpole before being able to get a flag? This relates to the idea of building a construct out of a number of different elements. This could be resolved in the "trading up" aspect, where HG(s) are traded up for new HG(s). But at a gut level, I don't like the "nesting" aspect. I do like the idea of "kinds of land", like a little desert, a little forest, etc. These could be represented by designs in the shape of a horizontal line, with things "on top" of them. This would then make the layout of the Device germane, as opposed to the idea that a given set of HGs are the same no matter what the configuration. This then relates to the issue of HGs being connected in various ways. And in general, I think that this should be the case. So, perhaps "nesting" isn't so bad after all. Good night. Fri 8/6/99 * 11:27 PM Okay. I want to start to bring these ideas together. One thing I am concerned with is the nature of Device as it relates to being accessible to a large number of people. That is, Device should not be so complex and convoluted that a player of traditional games should be put off by it. A thought just struck me--that Deviceis another part of the game, equal to FOW and SC and all the rest. So, a Device-only game is conceivable. Idea: Game with SCs with a single FOW on paper, with cards affecting it, etc. Okay. So Device as a standard game element. Cool. This brings thing into further focus. Very basically, Device as game uses a set of glyphs, and the glyphs are placed in a "Device", which is a vertical rectangle, with an aspect ratio of 11-to-19. For more informal applications, a single sheet of paper can be used as the entire Device. So, it is clear that it is the glyphs which are the main thing in Device. So, let me start with a few basics about the Glyphs: [1] First of all, I have been using the term "High Glyph" to refer to all Glyphs. Now, I am going to use "Glyph", with the possibility of "High Glyphs" being a class of Glyphs. [2] Glyphs are symbols first, and graphics second. What this means is that Glyphs can be represented graphically in many potentially different ways while still retaining their meaning. One example would be when the game is played with pen and paper, as opposed to as a computer game--the Glyphs on computer could have a number of "fonts". [3] Each Glyph has its own identity. There will be an official set of Glyphs, and this set will expand. In a given game environment, a subset of Glyphs might be used. [4] Each Glyphs has a name, and this name implies the thing that it symbolizes. [5] The idea behind Device is that the Device itself is a parcel of land in LWOR. The Glyphs represent things that are on that land. [6] With this in mind, it is clear that there can be a Racetrack identification. That is, a Device can be "in" one of the Racetracks. But I am also considering that a Device could be "general" and not a part of any Racetrack. This is something I have to consider. [7] Again, with Racetracks in mind, it makes sense that Glyphs should each be "based" in a particular Racetrack. This would allow for overall themes for each Racetrack. In other words, all Glyphs from a particular Racetrack would follow the same overall theme. [8] I have done a lot of work on the idea of themes. There are traditional themes, such as pirate, forest, snow, city, etc. Then there is my idea of creating brand-new themes. I think that for the purposes of the overall game, that the themes should have some traditional element to help people connect with the themes on a visceral level. To this end, I need to go back to my notes on theming... 11:58 PM Well, I think I'm going to have to start the theming process pretty much from scratch. The big thing I need to do is to finalize the Revolvers that are associated with each Racetrack. This will be the first level of subdivision, and it will help in creating the themes. Also, I do want to maintain an overall theme, so that there will be an overall Obliviana "feel" to everything. Now, another big question is the game "meaning" of Glyphs. This refers, in a general way, to the way that Glyphs relate to each other. In order for this to work, each Glyph will have to be "made up" of a set of standard elements. This is a the case with the 80 Jots--they are each made up of three elements--the 8wise/8side, 2wise/2side, and the 5wise/5side. But Glyphs will have to have a much richer composition. One possibility is that the system that is used to construct the Glyphs will be such that the number of possible Glyphs is staggering. That is, as opposed to the 80 possible Jots, there could be millions of possible Glyphs. In this regard, there will clearly be in existence a subset of all possible Glyphs, as opposed to Jots, where all 80 exist. So, in this regard, Glyphs are like written words. The number of possible words is limitless, and even if you look at 8-letter words, there are nearly 209 billion combinations of the 26 letters. Clearly, the 8-letter words in existence are a subset of total number. And this brings up another point--whereas Jots are made up of strictly 3 elements, one each of 8x2x5, Glyphs could indeed have a variable number of "letters". Stepping back a moment, I do need to keep the Glyphs system simple and understandable. An example of a traditional system like Jots is playing cards. Each playing card is made up of two elements--one of four suits, and one of 13 ranks. This system is very easy to understand. The Jot system is not much more complex, and is, I think, pretty easy to understand as well. The Glyph system should be a system with simple basics that can be combined into great levels of complexity. Look at chess. There are 6 different pieces in a very simple system, but with a huge level of complexity. -------> ------------------- ----------- -------- -- -----