Hell, university recruiters keep trying to sell the Uni on its extra cirricular activity.  We run something like HvZ for free, and the ANU Media should be all over it saying how damn awesome it is to see the game bringing students together from all walks of campus.

Unfortunately, tonight, someone on campus called the media (not the police or campus security) to file a false report against the game.  Thankfully ANU Security and ANU Media explained about Humans versus Zombies, backed us up, and supported our side of the story.  The consequence of that person’s actions has been pretty serious in terms of changing our gameplay – we already had a bunch of rules prohibiting dangerous looking guns, cammo gear was out, and we’ve gone out of our way not to be idiots.  Now we’re under tighter rules, and a more stringent set of conditions, and there’s a threat of a post-game review by Chancellery which is probably going to go badly.  I want to think that the University will be awesome, and I want to believe that the game will be running in Semester 1 2011, but I just don’t have a good feeling about it.

One big problem is that there’s a whole bunch of people on the campus pissed off that we seem to be having fun, and enjoying being on the university, and being so goddamn young and YOU KIDS GET OFF THE UNIVERSITY LAWN type attitudes to the game.  I just have this wretched feeling that these would be the very same people who decry the lack of university spirit, and how students these days are just here to attend class and leave.

The flipside to this has been the incredibly reasoned calm from the moderators, most of the community, and the ANU Security.  This is probably what bugs me most – the HvZ team has gone out of their way to work with the University to make the game safe, playable and low impact, and we’ve had this happen.

It’s so frustrating because it’s killed a whole lot of joy out of the game for me tonight after feeling pretty damn awesome about it previously.

I don’t much feel like playing knowing that the whole fate of the game is on a knife edge.  Particularly since I only have a black wardrobe, and I’d hate to see the students get their game banned because someone freaked out at the lecturer’s dress sense.

For a brief period, this was a crowning moment of awesome. We were having fun.

Guess that’s just not allowed so much anymore.

The HvZ game is a week long tag game, with nerf darts on the side of humanity, and full palm tags on the side of the zombies.  They have the numbers (what with only ever being stunned, and us having one life before we’re turned).  It was strange tonight, sitting up in 1070, tagging my darts and loading up belt clips of ammo.   I can’t put my finger on it but I do believe that the preparation process was both calming (there’s a level of zen when you’re in repeated task based activity), and a sense of game based forboding.

In the game, I am armed. Well armed. Stupidly well armed.  I have a small arsenal that could support a squad, and we could hold off an interesting volume of zombie assaults.  This is a problem in itself – I’m genre savvy in a genre trope driven game.  We’ve got squads, and arsenal, and a weapons locker. Basically, enough cargo to spark one of those “Let’s remove the weapons stash to make it complicated for the survivors” moments in the story line. Really, I need a weapons caddy. Having more guns that you can carry has drawbacks beyond the usual genre issues- you can’t carry them and fire them.  Admittedly, I probably don’t need three machine guns, two shotguns, four pistols and Vera.

Which brings me to the genre savvy problems.  The game runs from Monday to Saturday. I am equipped with the following genre elements

• A comical buddy sidekick (Hi Andy)
• A squad of hardened veterans (Paranoia in Pajenka)
• An apprentice (technically, one of squad was a former student)
• Genre Savviness
• A BFG (three bfg)
• Named Weapons
• The arsenal
• Being the old man.
• Starring the in the sequel (Not as bad as two of my squad – one is now in the third game, and he’s mentoring new recruits. The other starred in the original and returns for the third act)

We’re up against the Sorting Algorithm Of Mortality.  We’re so screwed.  (Did I mention the two from my squad are going to the secret midnight mission? No? Well, let’s see if anyone comes back from that run)

It’s going to be a long week, or a really damn short one.

Nov 3 and Nov 4.

Date: Wed 03 Nov 2010 7:00PM

Date: Thursday 04 Nov 2010 7:00PM

Venue: The Tivoli
52 Costin Street
Fortitude Valley QLD 4006

Ticketses secured…

So I was very disappointed with the cut-scene forced ending of one of the late game sequences.

On the other hand, having been pushed into an end game by force than choice, I’ve finished Red Dead Redemption my way. Once more forced into a pistol draw showdown, I went to disarm my opponent, didn’t work, got killed, and respawned (turns out there’s only one end to be had. Annoying).  So, knowing if I got too close I’d trigger the cutscene, I deliberately failed the mission, and instead of a pistol duel, turned the ending into a long cinematic quality fight on the riverbank.

Details of my open sandbox gaming ending follow.

If you want to resolve the matter of your father’s death at the hands of a nasty little thug, you don’t do it with a clean shot to the chest (or a head shot at 500 metres). Not amongst my people.

So, I fire a few warning shots at my opponent (out of game, I have wanted to kill the NPC for a while), and break the scripted story.  Then it gets to game ending I want.

[Transcript of the event]

I front my game!father’s killer, and shove him around a bit. I had plans, and those plans give way to anger at the site of the old man.

He draws his pistol on me rather than swap punches. He has the years, I have the stamina, and he’s a right nasty bastard. But he’s old, slow, and I’m as fast with a gun as my father. The rifle cracks, and the pistol drops from his hand into the river. The gun that killed my father won’t save this man tonight.

We swap punches, trading blows to the ribs, head and stomach. If he hurt me, I didn’t feel it.  More punches follow in a fairly one way passage of pummeling. I get some kicks in when he’s down, and I feel some satisfaction, taking the moment to enjoy the treating the man who gunned my father down like a mongrel dog.  It’s a mistake, as he grabs his rifle from the ground.

I dodge back, weave, and grab my lasso. He wants a gunfight, but I want vengance, and I want this to be a slow time for him to know he’s going to die. It don’t end easy,and on a given day, a rope’s no match for a bullet.  This time, my lasso finds it mark, and the rifle drops into the river. He’s down and hogtied on the bank before I’ve had a chance to think, or even realise if I’ve been hit.

I stop, and I consider my choices.

Execution style? Too quick

Tied to the back of the horse into the river?Too uncertain.

Railroad and traintracks? Too impersonal?

Dropped into a wolf pack? No.

No. There’s years of resolution to be had here, and I owe John the game a good resolution.

I cut the bastard free.

He runs. Slowly, but it’s all he’s got left.

I follow, throwing punches, and forcing him towards the river’s edge.

He realises what’s at stake, and the fight turns briefly, as he battles out of the shallow water, and tries to run for high ground.

It doesn’t work.

The fighting begins again, in earnest, and we’re battling knee deep in the water. He goes down for the count, but pulls himself up, and out of drowning.  We trade blows again, and he’s reeling backwards, deeper into the river. I follow, oblivious to the currents as the water flow past my waist.  A swing and a miss, and then,  I realise that this is how it will end.  Mano e mano, on the banks of a river, no witness, no glory.

I speak, forcefully, clearly, and with the legacy of my father’s death behind me.

“My name is Jack Marsden. Remember that”

Two more punches, and he drops into the river, never to rise again.

[/end transcript]

Seriously, that was one of the most satisfying endings for a story/game/ANYTHING that gave me a sense of resolution like none other.

I’m not going to bother closing out the storyline as it’s forced to occur, I’m far far too happy with this as the conclusion.  Even moments where the AI just stopped, and stood, waist deep in the water for a moment had a certain poignant feel of desperation and resignation. This was an old man fighting for his life, and knowing that it wasn’t going to end well, he was going to face retribution from the son of the man he killed, and yet, barring for a brief few moments, the fight was never certain. He got shots away from a pistol, a rifle, landed good punches, got up when it looked over, and even at the very last, I waited on that riverbank for a few moments, holding my breath before I sure it was over, and he wasn’t coming back.

Damn.

This is what gaming is heading towards.  Deep emotion experiences, powerful moments, and the storytelling that you create in the world that’s shared by the designers.

Hot damn. Sandbox end for the win.