Iterating Ancient Games:

After learning about a few different kinds of ancient games we were tasked with iterating these games to try to either improve or modernize the games.

Some of these games are the oldest records of games found and recorded, however there could be thousands that were lost to time, even the games we have now could have been played differently all around the world. My take from this is that the ancient games played back then, have them selves already been iterated in the process of understanding, because they may have been miss interpreted. they could be very different, or they could be perfectly accurate. This is something we learnt about when we had a visit to the British museum.

When iterating these games I found that although i could think of many different little things to do to the game, it still felt like the same game at the base, which is something that is carried through the years, games should have underlying mechanics and a base system that means that if the game is tweaked the game will still feel the same, it will still elicit the same emotions out of people, the same enjoyment and the same reason to want to play.

Through iterating the ancient game I chose, and hearing about the ancient games that other people chose to iterating i can easily see how these could both already been iterated versions of the games or be the exact game that was played when the game was invented. This is something that I find very interesting, the fact that people have an innate affinity for playing games. I also find it funny to think that in the year 2015 I am sitting at my computer playing games with friends and having a laugh, yet over 4000 years ago the Royal Game of Ur was being played by people, some of which could have been my age, and they could have been getting the same level of enjoyment out of it as i do my games now.

Even though game have changed drastically since then and no one could ever have imagined what they would become, what the world would become, they still hold the same values we learn about today, they offer a balanced game which can offer both skill and talent to win the game faster, it has the same fiero you get when completing or winning it. This is something i will always remember to take into account when making games in the future, that even over 4000 years ago people we designing games that had the same intentions of today, after you strip away the fancy graphics and the computers, and look right down at the core of the game, they are similar, but different. Where will games go next.