Kingdoms of Camelot (KoC) Part II: Adrenaline and Community

Hello World!

In yesterday’s blog I began an analysis of factors that made the fb game Kingdoms of Camelot effective.  If I’m to  include them in my book, The Game, I need to figure out how to adapt them and weave them into the experiences of the characters.  I covered numbers one and two, so shall move on from there.

1              KoC is seductive.

2              KoC is addictive.

3              KoC spikes adrenaline.  Not long into the game, I was attacked! Already seduced into believing I was talented, and addictively spending hours online, I played in a zoney glaze. Suddenly, WHAM! My carpenter friend had me defend my castle and I wiped out my attacker’s entire army. Bound to my city, I wanted nothing more than revenge!  I counterattacked, waited for my troops to arrive, then cheered and shared the victory (see #4.) One U.K. player described his city as “his baby,” and I understood his possessive devotion. Build it. Protect it.

4              KoC builds community.  The best protection for your investment is an alliance (up to 100 people.) Our alliance has a particularly enticing chat. A new member from a different alliance recently told us, “I like experiencing the people all around me.” In chat, I help others, speeding up their building and research by tiny increments.  If they are fb friends, I can help again on their fb post. We send virtual gifts on fb, and receive several chances per day at winning magic spells. Webs of connection spread.  We forge connections as we pass the time in chat. Online communities are quite compelling. I love meeting people without visual prejudices kicking in. So I support this alliance – and the idea of losing these friends one day is totally unacceptable.

Which brings me to the end of part II of this blog. The hardest part is ahead. How can I use this knowledge within my very different novel to make my real-life game work? I guess I’ll just have to wait until I can read what I write in part III!

To be continued . . .

Kingdoms of Camelot Part 1: Seduction and Addiction

Hello world!

Yesterday marked two months of involvement with Kings of Camelot. A good time to distill what I’ve learned and gained (and lost) so that I can somehow infuse it into my novel, The Game. The what-have-I-learned part is easier than the distilling, so, for the sake of my own sanity, I’ll start there.

1. KoC is seductive. Early on, I had to discover what was expected. A list of “quests” set my goals, and a “might” score increased as I messed around. As the might score increased, I began to earn higher ranks. By following quests and points and ranks, I trained myself to be a better and better player. And always, the little rewards and awards kept coming, making me feel smart and competent (whether or not that was true).
2. KoC is addictive. I’m reminded of training my late cat, Caspia. She occasionally stood on her hind legs in anticipation of a treat, so I encouraged the behavior, until she always stood for food. Then, I enticed her to stand for longer, and finally had her do a string of “tricks” to receive her goodie – chase me round and round the divider between the living room and kitchen, run to her indoor cat condo and climb to the highest level -- squishing her chubby belly through a tight passage (making us laugh), until she stood on hind legs at the tip top, five feet above the ground, in anticipation of her reward.

Similarly, KoC’s reinforcement schedule trained me to give over bigger and bigger chunks of time. There is a city to construct -- structures to build. They take a few seconds at first, and it’s a small inconvenience waiting for them to finish. But each one needs eight more upgrades to achieve full usefulness. Each level means a longer wait, and they begin to require resources that you need to gather. So you learn to wait longer. And longer. Soon, you are spending all day online. Trained exactly to the game’s demands as surely as Caspia atop her cat condo. 

With that lovely image, I think I’ll stop for today. But do check back for the next thrill-packed episode . . .

A New Year's Resolution about Gaming

Hell world!

     Where have I been? Good question. November just sped along until travel and holidays took over.  And December? Well, that is today's story.

     The Game, my novel, is about people and cultures. But the setting is a theme park with real-life gaming (instead of virtual). Many writers treat setting as a character. My wonderful reader’s group felt that the setting wasn’t as well developed as my other characters. 

     Consequently, just before Thanksgiving I started playing a virtual game as research.  I hoped to make the novel more attractive to gamers – and everyone else.I joined a game through Facebook called “Kingdoms of Camelot.” Within a week, I was totally addicted. Hooked. Mesmerized.  And the fascination has not worn off. (ç Understatement.)

     I became accustomed to building cities and alliances and attacking enemies, and was drawn into the community chat. I met wonderful people there.

     A gentle chiropractor in ND.

     A one-time-bad-boy carpenter, struggling to find work in the damaged economy of southern CA.

     A boy with stunning leadership skills.

     A cancer researcher in Sweden.  

     A lonely lover in East Java.

     Two Lebanese college students.

     An Australian contingent, including a Kiwi.

     Canadians, folks from the UK. People from all over the world. Relationships forming and growing.

All of which is wonderful. Superb, in fact. And similar in many ways to the community that forms in my book.. It all came together!

     Only, I need to regain control of my time.  Balance this wonderful new community with my need to work. So that’s what I’ll do.

     My first resolution of 2011.