[game_edu] Where Story, Play, & Community Meet

[Corvus Elrod]

Please pardon a bit of self promotion and skip to the next thread the moment
this isn't of interest to you (or if you're seeing this on multiple lists!).

As many of you on the list might already be aware, most of my professional
focus is on how game mechanics generate meaning and how the internalization
of that meaning directly correlates the act of play with the understanding
of story in the minds of the agent. Unsurprisingly, there's not a lot of
money in the industry for non-academics to put their pet theories to the
test by designing videogames that don't conform to the prevailing notions of
commercially successful game design!

So over the last several years, I've begun to shift my attention to our
roots--board games, playground games, theater games, and other performative,
rules-based play that are common among many communities.

The direct result of this exploration is Bhaloidam, an independently
published tabletop storytelling platform. Bhaloidam uses personal game
boards, called Lifewheels, to represent your character within a storyworld
and her interactions with the world are mapped by moving tokens about the
Lifewheel, representing the energy that flows through her as she and the
storyworld exert their influence upon one another. Bhaloidam is expressly
designed to allow deeply personal experiences through character-driven
stories.

I've already had interest from a couple of people who want to use Bhaloidam
in ways that I find very encouraging. A teacher friend-of-a-friend hopes to
use it to teach her students with "developmental difficulties" how to
recognize social cues and practice appropriate responses. A writer friend
wants to use it to help generate plots for his interactive fiction projects.
I, personally, hope to use it with young at-risk communities to help kids
explore action and consequence in a safe environment. And, of course, a lot
of people are eager to use it for its intended purpose--spinning stories
with their community.

If this sounds even remotely interesting to you, either for your own
personal exploration or merely as a worthwhile pursuit, please visit
our Kickstarter
project<http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/corvuse/bhaloidam-an-indie-tabletop-storytelling-game>
and
watching the introductory video (also available with closed captions on
Youtube <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNQ_fdQakEo>). Then if you, or
someone you know, would like to directly support our efforts, please pledge
and pre-order your copy today. Only if we reach our funding goal by November
1st will your credit card be charged.

And, of course, if you have any comments or questions you'd like me to
address, please ask them! I'm eager to see what people make of Bhaloidam.

-- 
Corvus Elrod, Zakelro!
http://zakelro.com
Help us Kickstart Bhaloidam today! http://kck.st/pSZXR1
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