Proposal for an Astrology-based digital, flat-screen board game
I first conceived this project in the mid 1990s when the technology was not yet able to produce it, and have subsequently suggested it as a joint project to a number of people. To date, nothing has eventuated and now the technology is up to speed I'd just love to see someone take the idea and run with it, as long as they gave me some credit for original conception.
Overview
This is a ‘next-generation’ board game that offers a valuable, empowering life tool and an entertainment center in one striking piece of equipment. It places the power of charting individual and group entity[1] astrological charts and casting horoscopes for any designated time, for one specific hour, a day or a lifetime into the user’s hands. It offers a complex and enriching entertainment, with games that can be as close to, or as different from real life as the players choose to make it.
The various games software available will require considerable creative and technological development, but the range of potential topics is as wide as life and the details are as rich as human imagination can make it. This provides huge ongoing games software development and publishing potential. It will also offer list of classic board and card games, eg. chess, snakes and ladders, monopoly, scrabble and oracle card games such as Tarot and the Sabian symbols. With the combination of a touchscreen, inbuilt directional mouse and hardware add-ons, the variety of games styles is virtually unlimited.
Hardware:
The unit is slim-line, comprising a surface protected flat touch-screen the size of a chessboard, set into a protective casing suitable to sit flat on the average coffee table. It could be offered in two sizes, the smaller might contain a battery and be the weight of an average laptop and so also portable.
The casing is strong and light, possibly anodized aluminum, with buttons and dials either set flush or, if necessarily raised, may be set into a decorative pattern, like studs or jewels. The casing is engraved with a uniquely stylized version of the Astrological signs, the star patterns of which are identified in tiny lights.
The display unit is a flat touch screen, covering a CPU of sufficient power to store the databases, make the complex calculations and run a range of functional programs and Astrological fantasy games as well as a range of the normal board and oracle card games.
The ports each of the four sides are set in to the lower edge of the sides, so that they disappear into the casing and sit flush with the table surface. These ports accommodate four players with hardware add-ons, such as a private strip screen, mini keypad, flash cards, speakers and earplugs and also may link the board to more powerful technology. Offsite player numbers might be extended by add-ons.
Screen display appearance
Being a digital display screen, it is capable of any visual effect possible through the software programs. It is desirable that the overall visual style be unique, consistent and striking. There may be a range of styles available to suit different decors, but the general look is ‘B’ beautiful, not too ornate, with simple lines and jewel-like colours.
Research would need to be conducted to identify the right level of visual stimulation, so that the board was clearly visible for an average range of capacities while sitting at a comfortable distance and the various icons were easily identifiable and not overly complex. [2] The board can also carry a sleep function with any number of wallpaper designs, making it an attractive piece of artwork when it is not in use.
Programs and Software
The core database program of the CPU contains an ephemeris for both southern and northern hemisphere’s astronomical and astrological data, and capacity to produce astrological charts. These would be accessible in a number of pre-set levels of required richness and expertise, from generalist information on trends to complex interactions, from today’s popular stars to an individual life forecast, from calculating one individual’s data to the interplay of a combination of players, all with unique horoscopes.
The database and core program should be able to calculate and cast a chart from any given birth time and place. From any given chart, and/or any number of charts, this program is able to calculate the various interplays of both the prevailing astrological conditions within one chart and its designated time and the interplays between any number of other designated charts.
As a functional tool, it might be used to chart and store real or fictional individual/s personal charts and be able to access and forecast horoscopes for any particular day or time cast their and/or other’s horoscopes for particular events, appointments or certain days for any time, day, week or year/s.
As an entertainment tool, users can provide their own data for a character, or create hypothetical horoscopes for the role/s they assume in the various games. The players will develop complex planning and prophesying capacities, both within the interplay between their own character and the others within in the various games’ scenarios.
These offer almost endless possibilities for known and unknown factors, all still moderated by the randomized element of fortune. The charts will be guiding principles that influence how the fortunes of those characters interact, both with each other and within the scenarios of the games.
There are bonus and default cards that can aid options or impose sanctions, somewhat similar to the Monopoly board game design. These are gained a certain predetermined junctures in the game, for instance, at a given point in a quest game a player might draw a card that allows them to cast their character’s horoscope for an event in the immediate future, which also brings benefits and constraints. Bonus cards provide icons of power or advantage, penalty directives will mark the loss thereof or designate a task. These become more complex when related to the character’s chart, as some may be more or less compatible with other characters’ ranges of capacities.
In quest-type games, each character will have its own astrologically determined repertoire of attributes and constraints, for which the player can either use their own data or invent a birth date for.
For example, in a ‘quest’ role play with four players, each will have chosen from a variety of roles that belong within the story line. Those not chosen by players are randomly assigned a horoscope generated by the program and behave according to that – this can be a known or unknown quantity. When a character reaches a fork in the road that requires a choice, they roll the digital dice and draw a card that tells them to take the right fork and meet with a ‘test of physical strength’ or take the left and a ‘test of honour’ will find them.
Project development team: the creative directors
· The Conceptual Director is the overall creative coordinator and arbiter for the directorial team, networking between Directors and chairing all meetings and proceedings. They negotiate where consensus is practicable and have the casting vote where dissent occurs.
· The Astrology Director provides the Astronomical, Astrological and philosophical data and creates and allocates characteristics to the elements and factors of the Astrological effects of the various multiple combinations. This role is the creative author of the related astrological characteristics and advises on the outcomes of interactions between these.
These roles are proposed as being in a creative, overseeing capacity on team-based projects
· The CPU Design and Program Director This role requires high-level hardware and program design skills as they will design the CPU programs and oversee the software development.
· The Games Director This role designs and coordinates the design and development of game scenarios. Since this aspect of the process is likely to engage a sub-level team project, they will network and oversee this team. They work closely with both the Astrology Director and the Program Director.
· The Animation Director This role designs and creates the visual appearance of the games, including the icons and animation. Similarly to the Games Director, this part of the project is likely to engage a sub-level team of designers and animators, so they will network and oversee that team. They work most closely with the Astrology Director and the Games Director.
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