History in Games

Of what use is the past to a gamer? Peter Lunenfeld: “For the most part, its blood, mischief and role playing that gamers revel in. They live in an alternative universe, a solipsistic one scripted by designers whose frame of reference extends no further back than Pong, Pac-Man and Dungeons and Dragons. The visual and storyline tropes that most of us bring with us as cultural baggage are… all but forgotten ancestral memories, thrown off, on purpose, too cumbersome to be of any use.” In t...

 Topic, Topology, and Topography in Critical Theory

In practice, critical theorists use these concepts to: Topic: Identify and critique the central themes and issues in various discourses, questioning what is considered important or relevant and why. Topology: Analyze the networks and relationships within social structures to reveal how power and influence are distributed and maintained. Topography: Map and describe the socio-cultural landscape to expose the underlying forces that shape it, often highlighting issues of power, inequality, a...

 Use of an Umpire to Hide Troop Movements in a War Game

Three maps should be provided, either in separate rooms or separated from each other by screens: one for each player, and one in the centre for the Umpire.* Each Commander and his subordinates will be allowed access only to their own map, the Umpire and his assistants moving from one side to the other. [...] Whenever any portion of OIK; of the opposing forces comes within the view of the other, the corresponding blocks of the former must be placed on the map of the latter and rice ver...

 The Importance of Web Topology

Web topology contains more complexity than simple linear chains. In this section, we will discuss attempts to measure the global structure of the Web, and how individual webpages fit into that context. Are there interesting representations that define or suggest important properties? For example, might it be possible to map knowledge on theWeb? Such a map might allow the possibility of understanding online communities, or to engage in 'plume tracing' - following a meme, or idea, or rumour, or...