Crossy Road: using a game to promote other games

Crossy Road (2014) is a casual mobile game created by Hipster Whale Studio. It’s a tribute to the classic game Frogger (Atari, 1981), this time constructed in an isometric perspective, full of new possibilities. Check the comparison below:





You start the game with a chicken trying to cross the cars, rivers and other dangerous obstacles but, by earning some special points it’s possible to acquire new characters like the duck, the goat, the zombie, the mage, the monster of Frankenstein and many others (even the internet meme DOGE gained its digital version in this game). There’s a clever business model inside the interface and players are able to buy (with real money) new characters or watch advertising videos to earn new points, at anytime.



There’s another smart point inside the game: sometimes the system gives out some special characters to play. These characters are from other games and an invite to download a new experience appears on the screen. In the example below, the player earned the main character from the game named Epoch; few seconds after receiving the prize, an ad with the message “EPOCH – download at App Store” appears to the player. There are many characters to achieve in Crossy Road, lots of them from other games.



This kind of communication structure refers to Davis’s ideas about promotional culture; this author (2013, p.191) says, “Promotional culture has become a more central, influential part of communication and social relations, just as financialization, globalization and new communication technologies have”. In the contemporary times, a good mediatic product never comes without a promotional strategy embedded inside its essence.

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Reference:

DAVIS, A. Promotional culture: the rise and spread of advertising, public relations, marketing and branding. Bristol, UK: Polity, 2013.

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Is A Raw Diet Safe For My Pets??

BY:  Laurie Brzostowski, President, Snaggle Foot Dog Walks and Pet Care-Round Lake, IL

Every day I wake up and there is some new fad diet going on for both people and pets.  Carbs, no carbs, red meat, no red meat.. and the list goes on and on.

This happens with pets also.  One of the diets that has been making news the last couple of years is a raw diet for pets.

I decided to get some facts on whether it is safe to feed pets a raw diet.

So here goes:

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) agrees. In studies published in AVMA’s journal, homemade and commercial raw food diets for dogs and cats were found to contain dangerous bacteria like E. coli and Salmonella, just to name a few. Other tests showed that unprocessed food diets can lead to nutrient deficiencies or excess that can cause serious illnesses in pets. Also, pets chewing on raw bones can lead to obstruction or perforation of their gastrointestinal tracts, and fractured teeth.

Also, don't forget about Lysteria.  You’ve probably heard of Salmonella and are familiar with the symptoms of salmonellosis, but you may not have heard much about the lesser known foodborne illness listeriosis. Listeriosis is caused by the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes and is a leading cause of hospitalization and death due to foodborne illness, especially in industrialized countries.

If you don’t want to feed your dog or cat a commercial diet, consider a homemade diet that will diminish the risks of foodborne illnesses. These meals should be thoroughly cooked and need to be formulated by a veterinary nutritionist or by your veterinarian to make sure they’re nutritionally sound.

If you are passionate about feeding your pet raw foods, please consider the following tips.

• Work with your veterinarian to ensure that your pet’s diet is nutritionally balanced.
• Avoid feeding raw foods in homes with babies and toddlers (who put lots of things in their mouths), the elderly and those with compromised immune systems.
• Practice regular hand washing before and after feeding pets.
• Practice appropriate disposal methods when cleaning up pet feces.

I understand that people want to do what is best for their pets, however, please make sure you do your research first when considering a raw diet.  Talk with your veterinarian or even a nutritionist to make sure that you truly are doing the right thing for your pets by feeding them a raw diet.

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Narrative and games

Some posts in the past, I’ve talked about the games I’ve created. I explained some approaches and creativity process to the games YN, Álmok, Dominaedro and others. All these games have something in common: they are abstract games, more focused on mechanics and less in narrative.

But, at this moment, I’m developing with some friends a new mobile game named: MIND ALONE. I’ll talk more about this game later, but it’s basically an interactive narrative for mobile platforms. So, what is it we actually mean by interactive narrative? Ince (2006, p.48) defines very well the term, saying, “In a broad sense it is simply that the experience of the unfolding story responds to the actions of the participant. In terms of games, those actions are the gameplay choices the player makes. At any one time, the way the narrative responds could be character-related, plot-related, story-related, or a combination of these”. I’m studying a lot of books to give the right tune to this ludic interface.



The game I’m creating is more based on plot/story-related. I intend to put some dark atmosphere with an intense narrative in it, and the gameplay will be created using some clever puzzles in the background. The idea here is to follow the concept that “story, dialogue, character profiles, etc., should all be created in a way that add to the design of the gameplay” (INCE, 2006, p.36).

So, wait for news about my new game. It’s a new creative experience for me and I hope for it to be a good journey for the players. The previous image is part of the game’s opening. Curious? Keep track here for more information.

Make games not war! =)

Go gamers!

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Reference:

INCE, Steve. Writing for video games. London: A & C Black Publishers Limited, 2006.

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Don't Be A Victim Of Online Puppy Scams

BY:  Laurie Brzostowski, President, Snaggle Foot Dog Walks and Pet Care-Round Lake, IL

Every year around Christmastime the internet is full of online puppies "for sale" or even for "free".

Don't be fooled by these online advertisements. Thank goodness, many animal lovers are becoming aware that purchasing a dog—or any animal, for that matter—from a pet store is a big no-no. Most pet store puppies come from puppy mills where dogs are housed in cramped, filthy conditions without sufficient veterinary care, food, water and socialization. Furthermore, the breeding dogs at puppy mills—the moms and dads—are bred as often as possible without rest between litters, in order to increase profits.

But a growing trend among commercial puppy breeders is to cut out the pet shop—the middleman—and use online retailing to get their puppies directly into your homes.

Buyer Beware!
Consumers trying to find dogs from responsible breeders or breed rescue groups often turn to the Web for advice. But they soon find themselves bombarded with elaborate websites offering the offspring of "champions." With a host of fancy terms and picturesque photos of tail-wagging terriers, and every other adorable breed, it is easy to become overwhelmed with choices.

Don't be fooled: Scattered among the websites of responsible breeders and rescue groups, Internet puppy scammers attract potential buyers with endearing pictures and phony promises. If you buy a puppy over the Internet, not only are you risking supporting puppy mill cruelty, you're also risking being scammed out of your money. According to the Internet Crime Complaint Center, hundreds of complaints are filed every year from victims who were scammed when buying a dog online. The puppy you receive may not be the puppy you agreed to buy, and you may not even receive a puppy at all! Internet scams abound, including everything from fake "free to good home ads" where the buyer is asked to pay for shipping, only to never see that puppy they tried to help, to breeders posing as sanctuaries or rescues, but charging upwards of $1,000 in "adoption" fees.

How Can I Avoid Being Scammed?
The best way to avoid being scammed is to simply never buy a dog you haven't met in person. While the Internet can be a valuable tool for finding a responsible breeder or breed rescue group, please make sure to follow these tips when using the Internet to find a pup:

• Always visit. Responsible breeders and rescue groups will be more than happy to offer you a tour.
• Always pick your puppy up at the kennel. Do not have the puppy shipped or meet at a random location.
• Always check references, including others who have purchased pets from this breeder and the veterinarian the breeder works with.
• Be sure to deal directly with a breeder, not a broker.
• Never send Western Union or money order payments.
• If you are told that there will be no refunds for a sick puppy, you are most probably dealing with a puppy mill. A reputable breeder or rescue group will always take the puppy back, regardless of the reason.

Please also keep in mind that adoption is still the best option, even if you have your heart set on a purebred dog. There are thousands of dogs waiting for good homes at local animal shelters, including purebreds! There are also a number of reputable breed rescue groups passionate about finding great homes for purebred dogs who have been abandoned, abused or surrendered to shelters.

How Do I Report a Scam?
If you feel you have been a victim of a puppy scam, please contact the following organizations:

• Internet Crime Complaint Center
• Better Business Bureau

So please be careful when you are looking for new furry family member.

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The experience of IRON FROM ICE

Telltale Games is an American independent digital publisher, founded in June of 2004. The company has in its portfolio games like The Walking Dead, Tales From The Borderlands and The Wolf Among Us. Few days ago, the studio launched the first of six chapters of The Game of Thrones new game, entitled Iron from Ice.

With a gameplay based on decision trees, Iron from Ice offers an experience of narrative construction to the player. The game adapts the choices you make and the story is tailored by how you play. Even simple dialogues are constructed to give to the player the sensation of meaning choices, like in the example below:



As its predecessor – The Walking Dead – the game is not 100% based on dialogues, it also offers some ability tests and moral choices to the player. It’s interesting to play it more than one time, trying to choose different options to watch different outcomes in the narrative.

This kind of experience shows us a new way to read a story, and Gee (2003, p.13) remembers us that “when people learn to play video games, they are learning a new literacy”. This author (2003, p.14) also emphasizes that there are different ways to read different types of texts; in this context, literacy is multiple, then, in the sense that the legal literacy needed for reading law books is not the same as the literacy needed for reading physics texts or superhero comic books. This game idea is not new, and we have some old examples from the 80’s that share the same game mechanics. The point is: with the new generation of consoles, a game like this one becomes exponentially full of possibilities for experimental narratives.

Check the trailer below:



And the gameplay:

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Reference:

GEE, James Paul. What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003.

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