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Geek Culture / BlandJam - May 2013

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Libervurto
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Posted: 29th Apr 2013 09:42 Edited at: 12th May 2013 21:33
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RandJam is coming to a close, so those of you who've already finished your entries, given up on your entries, never made an entry, have no idea what I'm talking about, are possibly thinking about your next project, and that project could be your entry for BlandJam!

What is BlandJam? BlandJam asks you to take a monotonous and boring task and make it into an interesting and engaging game. Think of something really boring then ask yourself what is interesting about this thing, what aspects could be embellished, what abstract ideas and external factors could you introduce to the game to make it more fun/engaging?

I strongly suggest you try out this great example before beginning: Papers, Please (beta is free) is a game about being an immigration inspector, sound dull enough? Here's the description from creator Lucas Pope's website:
Quote: "A Dystopian Document Thriller.

The communist state of Arstotzka has ended a 6-year war with neighboring Kolechia and reclaimed its rightful half of the border town, Grestin.

Your job as immigration inspector is to control the flow of people entering the Arstotzkan side of Grestin from Kolechia. Among the throngs of immigrants and visitors looking for work are hidden smugglers, spies, and terrorists. Using only the documents provided by travellers and the Ministry of Admission's primitive inspect, search, and fingerprint systems you must decide who can enter Arstotzka and who will be turned away or arrested."

It's very clever how he has managed to weave an intriguing story and a lot of tension into a game where you sit at a desk all day stamping paperwork.

BlandJam will run from May 1st - 31st.

Good luck...

The difficulty in learning is not acquiring new knowledge but relinquishing the old.
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TheComet
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Location: I`m under ur bridge eating ur goatz.
Posted: 29th Apr 2013 10:17
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I have no time, but I'd just like to say: OBese, keep making these jams! They're awesome.

TheComet


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The Zoq2
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Posted: 29th Apr 2013 19:41
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I will have to see if I come up with something realy boring to enter with

And like comet said, Rand jam was pretty awesome so keep going
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Seppuku Arts
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Posted: 29th Apr 2013 21:59
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Hmm...thoughts.

I hear plumbing's a pretty boring job, lets spruce it, perhaps add a princess, oh and magic mushrooms are fun, maybe some dinosaurs? Yeah, raaaawr I think yu should ride one too. And...and a giant turtle as a big boss, everybody loves turtles.


Seriously though, not sure what I'd be able to come up with. Perhaps a Flooring Inspector who solves crimes...*shrugs*

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Libervurto
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Posted: 1st May 2013 09:37
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I am going to base my game on washing dishes.

The difficulty in learning is not acquiring new knowledge but relinquishing the old.
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Libervurto
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Posted: 12th May 2013 21:38
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Just giving this a bump for those who have not seen it.
This is a very difficult challenge, it requires a lot more skill to turn something boring into something fun than to slap random ideas together. Remember that, like Papers, Please, you can use things that are external to the core of the game to make it more interesting.

The difficulty in learning is not acquiring new knowledge but relinquishing the old.
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Jeku
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Posted: 12th May 2013 22:36
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Papers, Please had an interesting premise to me, though. I have considered being a border guard and that sounded interesting, so we can't assume that some of these things would be bland for everyone.


Senior Developer - CBS Interactive Music Group
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Indicium
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Posted: 12th May 2013 22:46
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Quote: " I have considered being a border guard and that sounded interesting"


From what I've seen on TV - that seems like an 'interesting' job.


They see me coding, they hating. http://indi-indicium.blogspot.co.uk/
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Libervurto
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Posted: 12th May 2013 23:22 Edited at: 12th May 2013 23:54
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Quote: "Papers, Please had an interesting premise to me, though. I have considered being a border guard and that sounded interesting, so we can't assume that some of these things would be bland for everyone."

Yes, but the core mechanic is checking documents, which in isolation is a dull monotonous task, it's everything surrounding the task and the context of the situation that makes the game/job interesting. That is the challenge of BlandJam, to bring out those interesting aspects.

Here's a game about working in a call centre:

Mechanically it is very similar to Papers, Please but more of a straightforward simulation. I don't think it's a very well-formed game but one point of interest is how obnoxious and stupid the customer is, he makes it a bit more challenging and also encourages you to keep playing to hear what dumb thing he'll say next. I can see how this could be cathartic for someone who works in a call centre.

The difficulty in learning is not acquiring new knowledge but relinquishing the old.
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Seppuku Arts
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Posted: 13th May 2013 00:36 Edited at: 13th May 2013 00:37
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Quote: " I can see how this could be cathartic for someone who works in a call centre."


Oh yeees. This video reminds me of a customer I had earlier.

I'll probably lose this game on the basis of catharsis.

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budokaiman
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Posted: 13th May 2013 15:19
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I've finally come up with my idea. I'll be basing it off of QA testing, the only way to beat the game is to find and exploit bugs.

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ShellfishGames
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Posted: 14th May 2013 20:50
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Quote: "Here's a game about working in a call centre:"


People actually pay 2$ to buy this game? Man, I must be doing something wrong...

Well anyway, this jam's a great idea. Since I wasn't able to finish my entry for RandJam I'll avoid such an announcement this time, but what I can say is that I've got an idea and will do my best to make a playable game out of it.

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Libervurto
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Posted: 14th May 2013 23:39
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Anyone remember this game? Every Day the Same Dream

The difficulty in learning is not acquiring new knowledge but relinquishing the old.
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ShellfishGames
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Posted: 19th May 2013 00:09
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Quote: "Anyone remember this game? Every Day the Same Dream"


Thanks for posting the link! This is the first time I played it, but it's really amazing. Very atmospheric and the music is pretty great. And such a cool art style...


My game is almost finished. It's called Press Any Key and that describes the gameplay rather well. Sounds amazing, doesn't it? But seriously, I'm quite satisfied with how it's turning out, I'm almost sure a few people will have a little fun with it.

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Seppuku Arts
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Posted: 19th May 2013 03:31 Edited at: 19th May 2013 03:32
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Quote: "Anyone remember this game? Every Day the Same Dream"


First time I played it. I thought for a short game it was very good, quite unsettling. Definitely an interesting take on the your theme, might inspire something, who knows? *shrugs* if I find time to do it.

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ShellfishGames
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Posted: 27th May 2013 14:53
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So here it is... my glorious game Press Any Key.



Have fun, and I recommend to not skip the intro. Sadly it's the best part of the game.

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The Zoq2
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Posted: 27th May 2013 17:40
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That game was a lot better than I expected. You get new things just fast enough to keep it entertaining, I don't realy know about replay value though.

Also, the intro was pretty good
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Libervurto
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Posted: 27th May 2013 20:45
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Yeah, that was surprisingly fun, Shellfish. Nice one.

The difficulty in learning is not acquiring new knowledge but relinquishing the old.
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budokaiman
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Posted: 1st Jun 2013 02:23
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So, I ended up scrapping my first idea, a couple of days ago. I couldn't really come up with anything past 3 levels. I started on a new game called "House Arrest" (which should give an idea of the game). I didn't say anything here, because I wasn't sure on how much I'd get done. Turns out, not a whole lot. I still like the idea and I think I may continue to work on it for RetroJam.


"Giraffe is soft, Gorilla is hard." - Phaelax
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