Journal Wk 2: digital vs non-digital games
What are the differences between table-top board/card/roleplaying games, computer games and sports/live action games? What abilities and constraints does each kind offer you as a player or as a designer? How might the same game change from one medium to another?
Table-top games tend to be turn-based as moderating a real-time format is difficult. Equipment-wise they don’t require much space and everything you need can be easily carried.
Computer games are typically only restricted by the user input as the world and the rules are usually only restricted by the programming capabilities of the designer. There are also hardware constraints with high-end games requiring high powered machines.
Sports/live action games generally require open space to play. The game itself is restricted by real world physics. These games are also in a real-time format, with any turn-based games being just a oversized board game.
A live action game being made into a computer game usually involves giving the player control of a whole team or giving the ability to change which person is being contolled. A board game can be transferred directly to computer format without any changes as all thats being done is a virtualisation of the play equipment.
Changing a computer game to a board game or live action game can be extremely difficult as a lot of computer games have custom worlds/physics which can’t really be replicated in the physical world.
A response to http://comp4431.wordpress.com/2009/07/27/journal-wk2-digital-vs-non-digital-games/
