tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14856978.post113771181492745387..comments2024-03-28T05:12:10.477-07:00Comments on Gone Gaming: A Theory of Computerized Board Game DesignColdfoothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11636345146138362966noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14856978.post-1142448737765822102006-03-15T10:52:00.000-08:002006-03-15T10:52:00.000-08:00Thanks for the reminder about including variants, ...Thanks for the reminder about including variants, Mark. I agree that's a great add.<BR/><BR/>As for "cheating" AI, I do like your explanation of including it as "handicapping". Generally, as long as something is explicit (like the extra meeple or block you suggest) I'm totally OK with it.<BR/><BR/>Iron Dragon could have included an AI mercy rule where an AI that got stuck gets $X million on any turn in which it can't do anything else. Ticket to Ride could give its AIs a bit of track at start.<BR/><BR/>I don't like cheating where you can't see what's going on, because then you can end up with incorrect ideas about how the game actually works.Shannon Appelclinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10454937577535623129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14856978.post-1142352992038456882006-03-14T08:16:00.000-08:002006-03-14T08:16:00.000-08:00A very interesting article. I have one more sugges...A very interesting article. I have one more suggestion (which came from your earlier article with mini-reviews), and a question.<BR/><BR/>First, I'd like to suggest that computerized versions of boardgames offer variable maps, setups, decks-of-dice, or other options that increase the experimentation, customization, and replayability of the game. This is a distinct advantage of the computerized format over the physical one. In the earlier article you pointed out how Samurai and Ticket To Ride have gameplay options that don't exist in their physical versions, while Carcassonne and Puerto Rico at least offer the game expansions as options. <BR/><BR/>The question has to do with AI. Like you--even more so--I have no idea what goes into programming a skilled AI. I assume it's difficult, especially the optimization required to make the game move quickly. So what do you think of an AI that "cheats." That's a word sure to provoke a reaction, but I suppose a better one is handicapping. If the computer opponents in El Grande could be given a bonus block every turn, or a Carcassonne opponent gets one more meeple? Those two suggestions happen to simply be extra resources given to the computer opponent, something that's visible and a lot easier to take than actually breaking the tile-placement rules, for example.<BR/><BR/>Sure, a simply better AI playing under all of the same restrictions is best of all, but where that's not possible, I'd love to have some tweakable way of handicapping the game. (He said, struggling to find a way to keep co-op Star Wars Battlefront 2 with his son challenging!)Mark Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17888183222821971413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14856978.post-1142010195019262392006-03-10T09:03:00.000-08:002006-03-10T09:03:00.000-08:00Agreed. A fine example of the right way to do that...Agreed. A fine example of the right way to do that sort of thing, with lots of line breaks and graphics included.Shannon Appelclinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10454937577535623129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14856978.post-1141960501545996292006-03-09T19:15:00.000-08:002006-03-09T19:15:00.000-08:00The game logs for Hansa, on MaBiWeb, are terrific....The game logs for Hansa, on MaBiWeb, are terrific. Here's an example:<BR/><BR/>http://gesserit.net/chris/mabiweblog.htmlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com