Quote: Original post by Trapper Zoid
Is it acceptable to use a logo as the Emblem, if it is integrated heavily into the graphical layout? For example, if the game was a competition, or the player was part of some organisation, the logo would be plastered on every available surface, but the gameplay doesn't revolve around the Emblem itself, more about what the Emblem stands for (i.e. the competition or organisation).

You mean like Q3TA or Unreal Tournament? You /might/ be able to pull it off, but you'd be walking a very fine line. The 'competition' becomes the game story, even if it's that story is not really relevant to gameplay.

Would national flags be considered usable as emblems? In the sense that I think it ties in nicely with the European theme and could possibly integrate quite nicely into gameplay too, or is that taking the definition of 'emblem' a little too far?

Cheers,

Steve

Quote: Original post by superpig
You mean like Q3TA or Unreal Tournament? You /might/ be able to pull it off, but you'd be walking a very fine line. The 'competition' becomes the game story, even if it's that story is not really relevant to gameplay.

I guess that's a "maybe", so if I go down that route I'd better integrate the Emblem a bit better.

Would it help if the Emblem was more like the Pokeball in Pokemon, or the knight in chess, which is both a symbol of the competition and part of the gameplay?

I'm surprised no one has directly asked the question, so I will. Since one element is Europe, and another element is Emblem, let's clear up the obvious: the Nazi swatzika. I'm not asking so much about if it counts as an emblem or not (I know it does if properly integrated into the gameplay), but rather, does it violate any of the rules of the competition? I know there are some issues related to the use of the swatzika (and Nazis in general) in parts of Europe... can we get a clear answer on whether the swatzika could be the emblem in question?

Quote: Original post by Simagery
I'm surprised no one has directly asked the question, so I will. Since one element is Europe, and another element is Emblem, let's clear up the obvious: the Nazi swatzika. I'm not asking so much about if it counts as an emblem or not (I know it does if properly integrated into the gameplay), but rather, does it violate any of the rules of the competition? I know there are some issues related to the use of the swatzika (and Nazis in general) in parts of Europe... can we get a clear answer on whether the swatzika could be the emblem in question?

You can use the Swastika - or any other politically-sensitive emblem - provided you treat it with respect. I will disqualify anyone who submits a piece of neo-nazi propaganda, and I will disqualify anyone who submits nothing but a big holocaust joke. But if people want to explore ideas such as life as a Nazi soldier, or the story of Hitler's rise to power, then that's most likely OK.

(To some extent, Nazi propaganda may be unavoidable when dealing with that kind of subject matter; use it if you must, but be sure to balance it out very carefully. I won't disqualify somebody because they use a few Nazi recruitment posters to decorate their Berlin, but I will take issue with games that reward the player for killing as many jews as possible).

Quote: Original post by superpig

Quote: Original post by Simagery
I'm surprised no one has directly asked the question, so I will. Since one element is Europe, and another element is Emblem, let's clear up the obvious: the Nazi swatzika. I'm not asking so much about if it counts as an emblem or not (I know it does if properly integrated into the gameplay), but rather, does it violate any of the rules of the competition? I know there are some issues related to the use of the swatzika (and Nazis in general) in parts of Europe... can we get a clear answer on whether the swatzika could be the emblem in question?

You can use the Swastika - or any other politically-sensitive emblem - provided you treat it with respect. I will disqualify anyone who submits a piece of neo-nazi propaganda, and I will disqualify anyone who submits nothing but a big holocaust joke. But if people want to explore ideas such as life as a Nazi soldier, or the story of Hitler's rise to power, then that's most likely OK.

(To some extent, Nazi propaganda may be unavoidable when dealing with that kind of subject matter; use it if you must, but be sure to balance it out very carefully. I won't disqualify somebody because they use a few Nazi recruitment posters to decorate their Berlin, but I will take issue with games that reward the player for killing as many jews as possible).

Damn it, looks like I have to start all over...

Did the original WoldenStein have you killing Nazis? Is that style Ok?

Just out of interest: how many people are actually planning on doing a WWII based game? I've noticed a lot of war flavoured titles being given to projects, but surely given the history of three millenia or more of warfare in Europe (and countless millenia stretching out into the future) there's a bunch of other time periods to choose from, right?

Quote: Original post by CTar
Does the emblem have to be a fixed one? Would it be ok to allow the user to design it himself (at the start of the game) and then use that emblem in the game?

I'd like to know the answer to this question too, as some of the ideas I've deciding between involve a choice of flags or coat-of-arms, and it would be nice to allow the player to choose between them (or make their own).

Well, despite my title - "The Smiley Wars", my game is not set in world war anything.

The main emblem for my game, obviously enough, looks like :-)

Think of it as sort of the bastard offspring of Risk and M.U.L.E.

The overall goal is to arrive at a united, happy Europe.

Gameplay is going to go somewhat like risk, with assorted armies of emoticons. To replenish one's stocks, there will be a production/auction phase, with the neutral territories participating to add to their defensive armies.

Three teams - :-), :-( and :-|, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, and bonuses for using the appropriate type of army unit (which also cooresponds to :-), :-( and :-| ) In the end though, the net goal is to have an overwhelmingly happy Europe, which means hordes of smileys.

Winning battles results in happier population, so a move from frowns to smileys will take place automatically. Losing does the opposite.

Does this sound like it's going to meet the 4E's? It's placed in Europe, it's got a definate emblem that everyone knows, and that is critical to winning the game, The emotional factor is there, and the bidding/production phase covers the economic area.

Cheers from Ottawa.
Dan
Nogotogames.com

Nearly forgot - what's being produced and bid upon? Why smiley parts of course - one of the following characters ":-)|(". Obviously eyes and noses are going to be cheaper than mouths...

Cheers,
Dan.
Nogotogames.com