Came across the Age of Decadence by Iron Tower Studio. Apparently they are building a new isometric, 3D RPG using Torque Game Engine. The game (preview) looks really good!
Below’s an excerpt from an unofficial FAQ from their forum. I am particularly interested in the post-game statistic. Will certainly keep an eye out for this… (More pictures and info available here: Scenic Tour of AoD).
Q: What is the main story drive in Age of Decadence?
A: “The main quest revolves around locating a pre-war temple and dealing with a remnant of another age, exploring events of the past, and dealing with factions affected by your quest.” (Ref)
Q: What happens at the beginning of the game?
A: “The game starts trivially in a small town. Purely by chance, you acquire an ancient map bearing a long forgotten seal. What to do next is up to you.” (Ref)
Q: If I go on a murderous rampage, can I prevent myself from completing the game by killing plot critical characters?
A: “There are no plot-critical NPCs. There is more than one way to acquire plot-critical info.” (Ref)
Q: How many different endings are planned? Will I be forced to fight at the end?
A: “We have seven different endings and only two involve mortal combat.” (Ref)
Q: When I finish the game, will I be able to continue playing with the same character?
A: “No, you can’t play after the game is over.” (Ref)
Q: At the end of the game, will there be a summary of my actions?
A: “Yes, there will be a very detailed (locations, factions, NPCs) summary of your actions.” (Ref)
I have finally sent off the book chapter I co-wrote with JaeHwan Byun for the Gibson-Baek’s book.
Book Title: Digital Simulations for Improving Education
Editors: David Gibson & Young Kyun Baek
Chapter 18 - Making Video Game By Modification (Game Modding): Lesson Learned
Apart from the regular “fix this”, “change that”, I am actually very pleased with the reviewers’ feedback:
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There are very few chapters that I know of that walk a reader through the mod process. As such, this was not only entertaining, but also informational.
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…this would be potentially one of the more widely used chapters!
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…the chapter will be widely used by designers and educators.
The eLBa 2008 is now calling for paper. Information as follows:
June 18-19, 2008, Rostock, Germany
http://www.e-learning-baltics.de/
AIMS AND SCOPE
The international conference »E-Learning Baltics« addresses all aspects of teaching and learning with digital media. It was initiated by both representatives from science and business. E-Learning Baltics offers with a scientific conference (eLBa-Science), an application forum (eLBa-Business) and an accompanying fair an ideal opportunity for presenting innovative products as well as actual and ongoing research results.
The event provides a platform for exchange of results, solutions, experiences and for starting new collaborations. The International Scientific E-Learning Conference eLBa-Science presents the scientific part of »E-Learning Baltics« and affords presentation and publication of peer reviewed scientific contributions covering the fields of computer sciences, pedagogy, psychology, and design.
The 2008 conference focuses on the topic e-learning in working processes. The demand for permanent education and training - life long learning - is by now inherent part of daily job routine. Methods and tools of e-learning can play an important role to meet these demands. The understanding of working processes shall not be narrowed to job routine only. Also pupils, vocational school students, and university students more and more face learning situations that force the use of computers for learning, i.e. e-learning in learning processes. Not least e-learning contributes beyond the active professional life also to the constitution of everyday life, summarized in e-learning for seniors.
Following this, e-learning in working processes addresses very divers topics and perspectives, technologies and theories, implementations and evaluations in the fields of computer sciences, pedagogy, psychology, and design. Accordant we invite contributions from all these fields.
TOPICS of interest include, but are not limited to:
- E-learning in working processes; e-learning in learning processes; e-learning for seniors
- Communication, cooperation, and collaboration in learning processes; computer supported cooperative learning (CSCL)
- Game based learning; game based training
- Didactic for e-learning; game didactics
- Modes of learning and teaching; scenarios for learning and teaching
- Learning technologies; learning platforms; learning programs
- Best practice; examples from professional use
SUBMISSIONS
Submission Deadline: April 7, 2008
We invite contributions to the above-named topics. Extended abstracts of 1-3 pages written in English or German should be submitted until April 7, 2008 via email at submit@e-learning-baltics.de. All submissions will be reviewed by an international program committee. Accepted papers will be presented at the conference (30 minutes for talk and discussion) and published in the conference proceedings. Conference languages are English and German.
