Sunday, 27 November 2011

THE FIBONACCI SEQUENCE

The Fibonacci sequence
The Golden spiral should be created drawing circular arcs connecting the opposite corners of the squares in the Fibonacci multi square tiling. In fact, this should be considered an "approximate "golden spiral. As you can see here, the black spiral used on this drawing with a continues curvature, since the circular arcs give us some discontinuity perception. Anyway, this is to another rough approximation to a true golden logarithmic spiral using the illustrator Bezier curves.

The Rule of Thirds

Most standard-sized canvases have a length, the width ratio of between 1.2 and 1.4 to 1 somewhat shorter than the ideal golden ratio of 1.618: 1. A 12 x 16 canvas, for instance, is 1.33. 1. on these formats, the "sweet spot" (shown below in red) fall very close to the lines dividing the sides into thirds (shown in blue). This has led to a simplification of the golden ratio principle, known as the Rule of Thirds, which approximates the "sweet spot" by dividing each edge of the canvas into thirds.

I understand the Rule, a simplified version of the golden mean, where the frame is divided into nine sections and the points that naturally, attracts interest of the viewer, this is where the intersections is the lines that cross each other. I have struggled somewhat with the "sweet spot" because there seem to be so many different understandings of it.

The Fibonacci series can be found in flower petals, seed heads, and leaf and branch arrangements on trees, even fallen ones, and the spirals can be found in shells fossilized or living, even vegetables like cauliflower, on butterflies wings, dolphins, the solar system. The list is endless and can just about be applied to anything even the human body.

I appreciate that the balance of these compositions looks attractive, although there is a lot of room for me to improvement. I found the theory of the "sweet spot" quite a task to grasp, however, translating that information into a photograph I found a little easier. Generally though this has been the most enjoyable section for me as I like pictures, and I think that I have probably spent far too long looking at all the ones out there. (Knott, D. R.)



Bibliography
Knott, D. R. (1996/2011, March Tuesday).
maths.surrey.ac.uk. Retrieved November sunday, 2011, from Fibonacci Numbers and the "sweet spot" : http://www.maths.surrey.ac.uk/hosted-sites/R.Knott/Fibonacci/

5 Franchise

Predator (1987) franchise 1

A spacecraft enters one of the Earth's rainforests, jettisons an alien space pod, which descends to Central America to hunt. Later at an operation's base in Guatemala, a Covert-Ops U.S. Special Forces Unit, led by Major Alan Schaefer, nicknamed “Dutch” he is ordered to rescue a cabinet minister.

Dutch and his team are mercenary’s, freelance for hire. They meet a CIA agent “Dillon” he is an old-time friend of “Dutch." On their way to find the rebel base somewhere in the middle of the dense forest, where the cabinet minister is supposedly being held. “Dutch” and his team come across the remains of an American military unit, headed by another friend of “Dutch” and his team, “Jim Harper." 

All his units had been killed, and their skin was stripped from their bodies, left hanging upside-down in a tree.The whole film franchise was a hit with sci-fi fans, but the first in this series. Predator (1987) was most memorable, for the creature was not seen for a lot of the time in the film; he was mostly cloaked, with this cool device.

This franchise went on to make four more films Predator 2 (1990), Aliens vs. Predator (2004), Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007), Predators (2010), being the last; followed by a list of novels, eleven in all.

Games also came out of the film franchise, there were thirty-eight officially licensed games across all major game consoles, and so for me this was most memorable. I played them, all, and I got much immersed in the games experience.



 
Alien (1979) franchise 2
This franchise also a big hit with sci-fi fans, it starts in space with the spaceship Nostromo, which wakes up all the crew from deep hyper sleep on their way back to earth. The ship is instructed to change cores after receiving an unknown signal from a derelict alien spacecraft.

The team lead by “sigourney weaver” Ellen Ripley enter the spaceship only to find they are not alone, the whole craft is filled with eggs from the aliens they objects, which releases a creature that attaches itself to the faces of their victims rendering them unconscious later, the creature which is classed as a “parasite”. 

They eventually die’s and fall off the face of the crewman, waking him up seemingly fine. Later it bursts out of the crewman’s chest and, after rapidly growing shedding its skin, then turning into an eight-foot creature, starts killing other members of the crew.

This franchise went on to make three more films, Aliens (1986), Alien 3 (1992), and Alien Resurrection (1997). There are also plans to make the film Prometheus in (2012), Filming began in March 2011, and Prometheus is scheduled to be released on June 8, 2012, directed by “Ridley Scott” one of the grates film directors of our time.

This franchise also is linked to the Predator franchise; followed by a list of novel, ten novels, which make it one of the biggest for films and games. I personally own all the films of Predator and Aliens on blue-ray and watch them all the time. 




 
Lord of the Rings (2001) 3

This franchise holds a very personal significant to me as my uncle “Billy Ike” sister “June Ike” married the son “Gabriel Tolkien” in 1952. They lived in Blackminster in Worcestershire, and his father “J. R. R. Tolkien” started writing his autobiography in the garden of Blackminster, which inspired him because of its dutiful settings.

I had a personal interview with “Billy Ike” he gave me grate insight to the grate man, but dew to its nature, unfortunately there is a lot of info that is personal, so I cannot use it. But his other son “John Tolkien” became a priest after completing a university degree; he is named “Farther John” and left a great deal of money to the church, plus they have a fully sign Edition of the books a gifted from  “J. R. R. Tolkien”, they were the very first books printed.

Lord of the Rings (2001) franchise Directed by “Peter Jackson” The Lord of the Rings is an epic film trilogy, based on the three-volume book of the same name by English author “J. R. R. Tolkien”. The films are The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002) and The Return of the King (2003), a prequel is being made, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is a two-part film is expected to 
be released "around Christmas" 2011.

The game franchise started in 1982 with the game” The Hobbit” relisted on Sinclair 48k zx Spectrum.  They then spanned over 29 years, to give some of the most loved games of their time.


Call of Duty (2003) franchise 4

Call of Duty was a game based on the Arena engine and was released in2003. The game was developed by Infinity Ward. Based on World War2, and simulates the infantry and combined arms warfare. In September 2004 an expansion pack, Call of Duty: United Offensive, both produced by Activision, was a stunning game, developed by Gary Matter. Interactive, Pi Studios made a lot of contributions to the game.

Call of Duty 2 is a first-person shooter video game and sequel to t Call of Duty. It was developed by Infinity Ward, also published by Activision. This game was also set during World War II and had the perspectives of the soldiers in the Red Army, British and United States Army. It was released in 2005 for PC, 2006 for Mac OS X and in November 2005 for the Xbox 360. Other versions of the game were made for smaller things like phones.

Call of Duty 3 was also set off World War 2, this first-person shooter and was the third Call of Duty video game in the series. Released in (2006) this new game was to follow, American, Canadian, British, and French Resistance and the Polish armies after D-Day, and was not to be developed by Infinity Ward. The new developed of the third Call of Duty was (Treyarch)

 
Call of Duty: World at War was the fifth game of the series, and returns again to World War II released in  June  (2008) it was confirmed that the title would be Call of Duty World at War and would be set in the Pacific and Eastern front. In North America on November (2008) and November (2008) in Europe, June (2009) World at War has sold over 11 million copies. 

They when on to make Call of Duty Black Ops, Call of Duty Modern Warfare, Call of Duty Modern Warfare two, and in (2011) Call of Duty Modern Warfare three, the fourth of the series sold over 13 million copies.

I myself have played every one in the series, and have enjoyed the games immersiveness, but the next time they make one in the Call of Duty series it would be better to come out of world war two, and then take it into a new age, there is only so many angel you can do for this time period.



 
James Bond (1982 franchise 5

This is one of the best loved franchises which spans an impressive 29 year, and still very much alive (James Bond) hold a very deep interest for me, and one I hopes never runs dry. Ian Fleming wrote a whole list of novels, and portrayed Bond as a more gritty character, and Daniel Craig is filling this part true to his form, but one of the most loved James Bonds has to be “Sir Sean Connery."  

If you ask anyone to name one old bond 9/10 they will say “Sean Connery."
The game franchise the James Bond video game series didn't really take off till the release of Goldeneye 007 in (1997), which I had myself on the Nintendo 64 and still have today and still play.

There were nine Canceled James Bond 007 video games in all, they consisted of, Octopus, a racing version of Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies (The Mission Continues), The World Is Not Enough, 007 (Racing the Sequel), Phoenix Rising, Casino Royal, Goldeneye (Rogue Agent The Sequel), Risico.



Thursday, 17 November 2011

Fairy-tale games

Fairy tale games and what makes a fairy tale game, let's start with the name fairy tale the name doesn't automatically apply that there is fairy's in a game, so let's take a look at the name fairy tale. 

Where does it come from?

Fairy tale is a short narrative from the word folklore characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, for a conversation of a fairy tale with other kinds of stories such as myths, legends and fables. However, only a small number of stories refer to fairies.

The stories may, nevertheless, stand out on their own from other folks narratives, such as legends (which readily invoker’s belief in something that may or may not have happened) and explicit moral tales, including beast's fables.

Fairy tales of old were originally intended for the adult audience as well as children, but were more associated with a childlike state, the definition that marked the works as fairy tales, should be taken as it differentiates between fairy tales and animal tales on the grounds that many tales contained both fantastic elements and creachers.

So fairy tale games invoke the imagination of unreal worlds and faraway lands of magical princesses, and giant Dragons a world without boundaries where anything can happen, where characters can be anything that your mind can conceive, from Glass Mountains to Ice Castles and mythical creatures, are all contained within fairy tale games.

Just that one word can conjure up a mind of ideas for games, the list could be endless. For example, most of today's games could be considered fairy tale games like the game crash bandicoot is a mythical creature, the game Lord of the rings, planet 51, the game Halo, to name but a few so anything with creatures that don't exist in a made-up game world that does not exist could all be considered fairy tale games places that dreams are made of.

Coherent World's VS Incoherent stories

Coherent worlds, to an understanding of what makes it coherent, to the characters that inhabit the world. To give its structure, but isn't structure of the world, the same as a characters structure. For example, character is the structure and structure is a character. One will not work without the other; four you must have main coherent story and coherent characters to have a coherent world. (Design, S.)

Characterization and true character the nature of the beast, and that the true character comes from within, this is true for characters within games. The true inner character is only realized when fraught with danger, or put into a situation where there may be no escape.

This is where the true character is found by giving it a sense of being or artificial intelligence almost; by the player taking on the personality of the characters in the story, when he is truly immersed within the game and its Coherent world. The only control is what we project from ourselves into our characters or coherent worlds, we have made. (Eladhari, C. A.)

The understanding of what makes it work. For what our players of games really looking for, to get so immersed in the story, with their true inner character, that they don't want to leave the world you have made. A story world so intense it takes your breath away; it gives you a world with purpose. This would be the next generation of coherent worlds and without a meaningful story will be far beyond our reach, for as players, we would be the characters within them.

When making a coherent world, there is always something missing from today’s games, a deep story line within the world, for in most games this is lost. For example, I have picked two games L.A. Noire, and Heavy Rain, to give what I am writing about meaning. I will start with heavy rain and the characters that inhabit this coherent world. (Costikyan, G.)

Quantic dream's Games Company, breaks new ground with a whole new genre with this action game; the world of heavy rain, with cinematic gaming you get to really dive into the characters you see through the eyes of the four main characters that are on their own unique missions within their coherent worlds, I will look at just three of them. Heavy Rain was set in Philadelphia, 2011. (Joel E. Fischer, I. L.)


Ethan Mars: the protagonist of the game, he has a wife and two children then later he becomes divorced and his younger son Sean is kidnapped by the origami killer the antagonist of the game, Ethan is suffering from deep depression, and a fear of crowds, and blackouts that last for several hours. “So far so good a deep story to draw in the player”. While at a park with Shaun, Ethan has another blackout, and wakes to find Shaun missing.

So when he blacked out and then wakes up, he not in the park, he is somewhere else in the city, it never shows you in the game how he gets to that point. Incoherent point one. Later he checks into motel to avoid the media. He receives a letter that directs him to a locker, and finds a shoebox containing a mobile phone, a handgun, and five origami figures.

The mobile from the shoebox instructs him to complete a set of trials written on each origami figure to display the lengths he is prepared to go to in order to save Shaun, with five trials increasing risk as they proceed, from subjecting himself to physical pain and electrocution, cutting off part of his finger, and killing a man, and drinking poison.

So from here I will explain why this does not work as a coherent world story. For example he is now checked into motel, so at this Point nobody knows where he is, so where did the letter come from under his door. Point two.

Apart from the Killer contacting him by the mobile phone he finds in the shoebox telling him to subject himself to all this pain, nowhere in the story does it state that killer can see him. Point four. So let's take one part of his tasks, cutting off part of his finger.

So he is presented with option A an option B, if he doesn't cut his finger his son dies, if he cuts off his finger his son lives. Now if the killer cannot see him, why not present in with option C, pretend to cut your finger off, this would make more sense and make it more coherent story, as it would be in the real world, because you just wouldn't do what someone tells you to do, it is against human nature to inflict harm on oneself, unless you are deeply disturbed.

So this is where the character in the coherent worlds intelligence and logic breakdown for him to have to make that irrational choice, and how does he know his son is still alive, hence chaos for the player playing the game, point five.

Scott Shelby: the classic Private eye and protagonist number two; he is also the antagonist of the game, he's is the origami killer. But in the game he has been on the hunt for the origami killer from long while, to get himself before he kills his next victim, so here's a classic Psycho character, so the game story world would be incoherent for him, because he is mad... Maybe giving the character 
Scott Shelby a few more subtle hints to the characters state of mind would of enhanced his background story.

Furthermore, visiting his old victims’ parents for information, to obtain several items that relate to him the Origami Killer, this was not apparent in the games unfolding story.
The character's whole story plot is; he’s the killer, collecting evidence and destroying it, also killing children to try to get their parents to do what his father couldn't do, to save their children.

The Origami Killer as a child, having lost his twin brother John in the same way he kills his victims, by drowning them in rain water. So he lives in a coherent world in a bad incoherent story. Point six.

Norman Jayden: The steely FBI agent protagonists number three. In the game, he has a pair of special glasses. He sees evidence with, on any surface; and on the ground; the whole story is set in a concrete jungle of Philadelphia, with persistent rain fall. It just would not work for real, as third is no evidence outside to find. The rain would wash it all away. This is where his story got incoherent for this character. Point seven.

Although the game heavy rain has done its best, giving you a coherent world, there are seven points of the game that are incoherent.  With the characters, they have multiple choices and possible endings, but they still lacked intelligence to make their characters since of a rational choice, as it would be in real life.

So this would always be the character's flaws. Illogical and irrational decisions making, this would not up to a point, help them on their quest within a really coherent world. Point eight.

Coherent worlds are structured in a way that they have to follow certain paths to function, and these parts are set by the creator to function in this way, same as the characters that inhabit them. Moreover, they can never be more than games.

For example, a game world or a character is given life with lines of well formulated code. This code is then translated via the computers' operating system to be the desired world. The same would go for characters, or any inhabitants of that world. So with this code in place the structure would be coherent in the very world that is formed around them; harmonious. (Design, S)

Now we come to game two, L.A. Noire both very similar games but worlds apart in story and coherent structure, which gives an outstanding all-round game and story performance.

L.A. Noire is set in Los Angeles in 1947 and challenges. Cole Phelps, controlling a Los Angeles Police Department, to solve a range of cases across five crime districts. Cole Phelps must investigate crime scenes for clues, follow up leads, and interrogate suspects, and the players' success at these activities will impact how much of the cases' stories are revealed.

As the title suggests, the game draws heavily from both plot and aesthetic elements stylistic films from the 1940s and the 1950s that shared visual often shot in black and white with low-key lighting giving it a touch of realism for this game period.

The game uses a distinctive style of coloring to give it that movie visual style of film, including an option to play it in black-and-white. The post-war setting is the backdrop for plot elements that reference the detective films of the 40s pushing elements of corruption and drugs, with a good jazz soundtrack.

As well as Depth of a newly developed technology for the film and video game industries called Motion Scan, where actors are recorded by surrounding cameras up to 32 at once, to capture the facial expressions, of every character from every possible angle. This technology is central to the game's intelligent, interrogation mechanic. Cole Phelps must question the suspects to get reactions to each questioning, put to them judge their reaction to whether they are lying or not.

The game takes place in Los Angeles in 1947, a city of glamour, where crime and corruption are in full swing. The player takes the role of Police Officer Cole Phelps, and as you progress through the game, he moved up to detective of homicide.

The game starts and following his career as he advances through the department and on to Traffic Homicide, on advancement through the department, this gets a new partner to help Cole Phelps on his investigations.

After each case, Cole Phelps will receive a rating of 1-5 stars depending on their investigation performance, for interrogations, and looking for clues. When looking at an area for clues to the crime, sometime Cole Phelps can also find newspapers, the newspaper gives access to a short cinematic clip that covers a part of the game this may be a flashback to Cole Phelps war memories.


The game is a blend of investigative elements of crime solving, and mysteries with fast-action sequences, including chasing suspects on foot to fast action car chases, with some good one-on-one fistfights but good old 1940s brawl, first-rate shootouts with suspects and villains with an addictive storyline.

Mole Phelps can work on optional side missions Street Crimes and robberies. Cole Phelps can travel on foot, as well as in various vehicles. Cole Phelps also has a good supply of detective clothing available to him. In addition, you will get four more down-loadable ones. The clothing he wears is equipped with special abilities, such as increased damage protection, and increased aim ability when firing a gun.

L.A. Noire takes place after the end of World War II, following Phelps as a detective who is haunted by his actions in the war. Phelps came upon a large cave that he suspected that it is holding Japanese soldiers, and he uses a flamethrower he borrows from another squad in order to clear it when the flamethrower showed up, he advanced upon the cave and burned it out.

Soon after the event, Phelps and his squad realized the cave was a makeshift hospital for innocent Japanese civilians. Moving on to become a private investigator for an insurance company called California Fire and Life, hoping to put the demons of the war to rest.

L.A. Noire has a lot more stories to offer, set in some good 1940s to 1950s backdrops at times fast paced a few weird twists that work very well. Everything about the game is coherent to the game characters that are in sync with the time period, and a vast improvement on heavy rain. 

Both games set in their worlds of law enforcement, and at the same time both very different. L.A. Noire takes the lead for its vast rooming environments, to its good stories and plots. Coherent, which means they gel, to be in sync with one another? Nevertheless, as I said from the start, they will never be more than games, who knows future games may vastly improve stories for both coherent characters and worlds, and Coherence is a powerful storytelling tool. (Project, T. G.)
 

Bibliography



Andrew's. (2011, November Wednesday). The Sword and Laser discussion. Retrieved November Monday, 2011, from good reads: http://www.goodreads.com/group/comments/4170.The_Sword_and_Laser?user_id=5610673-andrew

Costikyan, G. (2000/2001, January Friday). Where Stories End and Games Begin, 1.0. (G. Costikyan, Editor) Retrieved November Thursday, 2011, from gamnstry: http://www.costik.com/gamnstry.html

Dark, F. (2011, may Thursday). wayrun. Retrieved November Thursday, 2011, from is it possible for a fighting game to have a coherent story: http://8wayrun.com/threads/is-it-possible-for-a-fighting-game-to-have-a-coherent-story.7151/

Design, S. (2011, July Thursday). Using Details to Craft a Coherent Game World. Retrieved November Monday, 2011, from RGPWatch: http://www.rpgwatch.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14351

Eladhari, C. A. (2000). “Causal Normalisation: A Methodology for Coherent Story Logic Design in Computer Role-Playing Games”. Retrieved November Tuesday, 2011, from PDF: http://www.tii.se/zerogame/pdfs/CausalNormalisation.pdf

Joel E. Fischer, I. L. (2006). Evaluation of Cross media Gaming Experiences in Epidemic Menace. Retrieved November Monday, 2011, from PDF: http://www.mrl.nott.ac.uk/~jef/Fischer,Lindt,Stenros07_EM_Evaluation_final_draft.pdf

Project, T. G. (2010, January). Game Research for Training and Entertainment. Retrieved November Monday, 2011, from PDF: http://gate.gameresearch.nl/UserFiles/File/control/Control_Magazine010110.pdf





 Coherent World follow up



With a rise in popularity of games such as RPGs, the roll-playing, 3rd and 1st person shooters across multiple and very distinct genres, there are many significant challenges in the creation of the believable world and for their inheritance of player characters to interact in ancient and modern time periods. Religions or to other world's types that may be different. However, creating a believable world, that is very important for players to get immersed into games. Especially in this modern age, people have come to expect a true and gritty realism of the post events of past years of this world. (Nutt, C) (dayrinni)

1 start deciding, whether your world will share make-believe, history or with really historical events. If it does share fax of history, decide where it will diverge, to extend from a common point or in different directions; and why, they are doing this.

2 your world will have Geography, which doesn't seem important at first, but it tends to be shaped over long periods of history. It will define the boundaries of your world. And what shapes the understand of its continuous challengers and changes in cultural and behavior of its people. To which city's folk may be seafaring or are they landlocked? Which people were the first to receive foreigners to their shores? And why are they there? (Weir, D)

4 Create your world Bible, with all the important events, historical facts and characters. Who are the biggest players, of your world when it was created? Alternatively, was it an alien race that just simply died out threw lack of intelligence. Creating style or naming your world. Will everyone have names like Gandalf or Strider? Alternatively, will they be named Smith, Jones and Tucker? What sort of life forms are they?

5 Then Decide who your characters are, that enter the world as players who will they be. Are they natives to this land or travellers from a distant one? Decide what sort of characters they meet, and who those characters are. Dos their actions help shape their history or culture? (iKiller)

6 decide on what their focus is, or what they believe in, within your world. Decide why each culture exists, and who the members are within the groups. Who are their leaders? What are their ambitions for their people, what rules will they follow? Creating big events in your world. Decide what big events will interact with your world and at what time. What these events will do and how they will shape your Earth?

A lot of people these days do not believe that better story will make for better games. In fact, that it will do the complete opposite. They are looking for better integrated stories that help the games along fast, so the action does not stop. (Andrew) (Costikyan, G)

 

Bibliography

Andrew. (2011, september sunday). The Sword and Laser The Sword and Laser discussion. Retrieved november munday, 2011, from goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/655231-games-as-storytelling
Costikyan, G. (2000/2001/2009, August 05 Wednesday). Where Stories End and Games Begin. Retrieved November 15 Tuesday, 2011, from http://www.costik.com/gamnstry.html
dayrinni. (2011, October Monday). What Makes A Good Game – Immersion. Retrieved November tuesday, 2011, from space secter: http://www.spacesector.com/blog/2011/10/what-makes-a-good-game-immersion/
iKiller. (2009, april 24). Top 5 Most Believable Game Worlds. Retrieved November Tuesday, 2011, from lurpin: http://www.lurpin.com/2009/04/24/top-5-most-believable-game-worlds/
Nutt, C. (2008, August 18th Monday). Building Believable Worlds: Yannis Mallat On Production At Ubisoft. Retrieved November Tuesday, 2011, from GAMASUTRA: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3763/building_believable_worlds_yannis_.php
Weir, D. (2011, November 11 Friday). CastleVille is Zynga's "Believable Fantasy World in a Social Space". Retrieved November Tuesday, 2011, from 7x7SF: http://www.7x7.com/tech-gadgets/castleville-zyngas-believable-fantasy-world-social-space








Sunday, 13 November 2011

Game Artwork and Assets

 


Game Story

My story starts in 1962 with Mr. Archibald j Watkins Professor and renowned archaeologist, who on his, many trips find an old undiscovered tomb in the desert of a legendary creature Anubis. Ten years later he and his colleagues have built an oil pumping station to disguise their activities; with twelve more renowned archaeologists, they set out to find the creature's secrets. 

Little did they know this would set dark things in motion, and something’s are never meant to be disturbed, and the blue crystal was one of them…On opening the first level of the tomb, they set up a small office and laboratory, for Mr. Archibald J Watkins. The office was for Mr. Evans J Piper, security guard and longtime friend of Mr. Watkins.

As the new archaeologists arrived at the secret location 138 miles south-west of Luxor in Egypt, they all met with Mr. Watkins in command of the facility and team leader for what was sure to become an epic fined.

There were twelve archaeologists all top in their field, not including Mr. Watkins, ten extra lab assistants to help with the preliminary reports on finds. Jumping forward six years they have reached the twelfth level of the tomb; the most exciting day for all concerned; but more so for Mr. Watkins, he could only dream of what they would find on entering the tomb.

Each of the twelve archaeologists was given a level; but Mr. Watkins was in command, and all finds had to be run through him. Opening to the twelfth level it was a glorious day; the room was filled with riches, and the creature they only thought was legendary was real. A large sarcophagus about eight feet in length and gold embroidered; he truly was a magnificent.

Creature, to Mr. Watkins and the team, but there was something they didn't expect. A blue light emanated from inside. They quickly transported the sarcophagus to the main lab; on the 12th floor where they began to examine it. On opening, they discovered there was nobody in the sarcophagus just a blue crystal about the size of a man's fist, with a strange blue glow. Mr. Watkins and the team carefully removed the crystal and placed it inside a protective case.


He thanked the archaeologists and left them to examine the rest of the tomb. Mr. Piper; Mr. Watkins quickly retired back to the laboratory on the first floor, where he began examining the crystal with Mr. Piper on guard; as this was truly an epic find. After two or three hours, Mr. Watkins noticed something strange, as the crystal laid on top of a photograph on the table.

He noticed looking through the crystal at the photo. It had taken tall of the Colour and turned it into a blueprint. This was strange indeed. This needed more investigation, he held the crystal up to his eyes and looked at the room, and the room was also looking like a blueprint, but even stranger was the fact that he could see a small hidden room which had not been noticed previously.

He took the crystal and laid it back on the table. A fantastic idea came to him. He would get his diamond cutter and take two small pieces of the crystal to turn into glasses; just to see if what he was seeing was real.
After a while, maybe two or three days, he had finally made the blue crystal into glasses. Calling Mr. Piper into the room, he showed him the glasses.

Mr. Piper was amazed; as he put the glasses on everything in the room went blue, items of furniture looked as if they were made of chalk, just white lines, as if you were looking at a blueprint. Not only, this, but it also gave him measurements, of specific items in the room. He looked at a chair; it told him the height of the chair the width, and what it was made of. This was amazing to him, on taking off the glasses; giving them back to Mr. Watkins he said, “how this can be?” Mr. Watkins replied “I'm not sure but this is truly an epic find." The applications for these glasses could be vast.

Mr. Watkins on putting on the glasses himself, looking at Mr. Piper, he stepped back, a bit shocked Mr. Piper did not look like himself; but more like the creature Anubis. He quickly took them off, not knowing if what he was seeing was real. Suddenly, a strange feeling came over Mr. Watkins. There was something wrong; the crystal on the table had a more intense glow. 

Mr. Piper was drawn to it, as if something was influencing him. Mr. Watkins tried to stop him, but Mr. Piper pushed him to one side. “I must see the crystal.” He picked up the crystal in his hands; it felt warm and looked inviting. He stared into it, for what seemed like ages.

Then suddenly, it happened; the crystal started with a low hum, and slowly got louder. Mr. Piper seemed unaffected by the sound, but his eyes were white; as if the entire Color was drained from their bodies. Mr. Watkins fell to the floor, holding his ears, still wearing the glasses; the whole room was now glowing. Mr. Piper was levitating off the ground. His body twisting in torment, and the crystal was no longer in his hands, but seem to be floating in front of him.

A white mist was coming from his eyes, and going into the crystal. Mr. Watkins screamed. His ears were hurting. He tried to help his friend Mr. Piper, but he fell unconscious. Mr. Piper was no longer there, instead there was Anubis. He had taken his body; the crystal was now in his possession.

For some reason, Anubis could not touch Mr. Watkins. He seemed to have some sort of protection around him, as the creature bent down to take the glasses. A residual energy, threw him against the wall, Anubis let out a deftly cry. It sounded like a hundred tortured souls. He smashed through the laboratory door. Everybody in the vicinity heard this deafening howl. It threw chills up and down their spines.

Anubis began attacking everyone, ripping their souls from their bodies through their eyes, leaving their discarded carcasses on the floor, looking drawn and gaunt; not even looking human any more. Anubis worked his way down the twelve levels, killing people as he went.

He got to the last laboratory, and the twelfth archaeologist. As his soul was being drawn from his body into the crystal, it made another low-pitched hum, which got louder, until it made the very walls of the tomb shake, as if an earthquake had struck, suddenly the crystal shattered into 12 pieces.

Because Mr. Watkins had cut it, the crystal was flawed; no longer, the mighty weapon. The souls began pouring from the crystal. The archaeologist’s souls grabbed the pieces of the crystal, and disappeared. Anubis fell to his knees; weakened by the ordeal. The wall still shaking, suddenly the ceiling collapsed in the laboratory, trapping Anubis. Now, An eerie silence; flickering lights, it became dim.

Back on the first floor Mr. Watkins came round. For a moment, he was disorientated; quickly, he gained his senses. The glasses were still on him. The room was dark; everywhere, there was damaged, as if a tornado had ripped the place apart. Catching his breath, he stumbled to his feet, barely walking. Gathering the maps and journals, He crossed the room; heading for the security office.


He opened the large safe, taking from it a small chest. He placed all the items within it, including the glasses. Grabbing the keys to the main entrance, a heavy security door. How he was going to explain everything. No one would believe him. Heading for the entrance, suddenly he hears the deathly howls of Anubis. The door slowly opening, he looks back, seeing the creature; smashing threw desks and chairs heading for him.

The eyes of the creature piercing his mind like a nightmare; it was the most frightening sight he had ever seen. As the door was closing; the creature's fingertips grabbed the door. His heart was racing. The door closed… he smashed the security pad. It was done; now he must never speak of this again. All those missing people; his friend… Mr. Piper, the facility was a secret. He couldn't hide the giant pumping station, but no one must know of the tomb.

He was devastated, all the hard work for nothing. He must leave it all behind; he must forget…Many years later, Mr. Watkins works at Langdon City College; as a professor of game's art, where he hides the truth.

Mr. Watkins meets a student named Fred, de silver. He gets to know him quite well, as he is an amateur Egyptian archaeologist. So Mr. Watkins takes Fred under his wing.

In his lecture Professor, Watkins sets them a project brief, on making a game board. Fred is enthusiastic about the idea; with a head full of games. After the lecture, he goes to Mr. Watkins’ office to speak to him further of his ideas.

This is my idea for board game, Mr. Watkins. He looks of the board and recognizes instantly it is the map. There is a lump in his throat, his heart is racing fast, and he starts to sweat. He doesn't feel well, he tries to stand.


Halfway between his chair and the desk, his hand thumps down, he falls to the floor. Fred runs to his side, dropping the board. Mr. Watkins looks at him, “you don't know what you've done. Fred he looks puzzled, “I'm sorry I only took the map for an idea”.

Mr. Watkins turns his head; he sees the chest, with a strange blue glow coming through the crack. “It’s my time now. Fred doesn’t speak. “It’s started." Fred asks, “what do you mean, what has started? “What are you talking about?

He still has the piece of paper in his pocket; he jams it in Fred's hand. Fred opens the piece of paper; He reads.
His arms fall to his lap, as his kneeling on the floor; next to Mr. Watkins.  “I don't understand” he says.  Mr. Watkins looks at Fred. “You have to help me. I need to put things right." “I’ve kept this to myself for far too long." “You need to know everything; I need to tell someone."


So he tells Fred the story, after he's finished Fred's eyes are wide, staring into nothingness not quite believing what he is hearing. “You must help me Fred; everything you need to know, is in the chest." “One thing you need to see for yourself; the blue crystal glasses, you must put them on."

Fred reaches into the chest, and takes them out. He is trembling. “Why” he asked. “You must collect my spirit." “What are you talking about?" “I’m dying." He said. Fred reluctantly put on the glasses. He is amazed; at what he sees, the whole room is turned into a blueprint. He sees a glow, emanating from Mr. Watkins chest.

With his last breath, Mr. Watkins says to Fred. “You need to be strong; you need to be focused, I need to know that I can rely on you to help me." “It’s going to take all your courage; and commitment." Fred agrees. Mr. Watkins dies. His soul leaves his body.

With the glasses, he quickly captures his soul, as the piece of paper told him. The light swirls; as the soul suddenly disappears into the crystal. The room gets brighter.
He looks at the items in the room, there are no more different colors, and the room has turned blue.  However, all the items have, measurements; and writing.

This is telling him what the items are, and their size. He quickly presses the button, and turns them off. He gently lays Mr. Watkins head on the floor; his eyes well up. “Sorry, I'm so sorry."

He quickly grabs a small chest, empties it into his backpack, and puts it on. He slowly opens the door. The secretary is not there. He quickly leaves, could this be my destiny; what I was meant to do? There’s one thing I must complete, the promised. His story begins…

On Fred arriving in Egypt, he is bushed, and must gather his thoughts. He finds a room for the night, in a little place in Luxor. The next day he gathers up supplies, and hires a jeep to go to the tombs location marked on the map. Armed with the contents of the chest he sets off, which seemed like hours; until he arrives at the location on the map.

The place looks old and deserted; a big fence surrounds the oil pumping station. On the main gate, is a sign no trespassing. He has the key to the gate. His eyes moved over the enormous structure, of the pumping station, how could know one have found this. It's standing nearly five stories high?


Each is about ten feet in height. It is old and rusty with the sounds of pieces of tin rattling; as sand rubs across the surface, squeaking noises as the structure moves in a slight in the stillness, glancing over he sees the door it is massive; he moves to unlock the main gate, and drives in. He opens the jeep door and steps out, to locks the gate behind him.

He finds a place out of site to put the jeep. It is starting to get dark, and he pitches his tent and makes a fire. After a good meal, he starts to read over some of the material from the chest, there are three keys.

One key to the main gate, one to the security door; but the locks smashed, and the other was a funny shape, like a stick with the diamond at the end of it. This must be the key to the secret door, which only Mr. Watkins knew about. This is how I get back into the tomb.


The first thing in the morning he awakes feeling refreshed. He must now begin the dangerous quest of recovering the crystal pieces. He doesn't know what to expect. Will it all work out? Alternatively, will all go wrong? One thing is sure he must do it. I promised. So with key in hand he finds the secret door it's at the rear of the structure, it's been buried by sand over many years, he has to dig for a short while, but finally, the door takes shape.

If you didn't know it was a door? You wouldn't know it was. He sees the keyhole, or what looks like one; he puts the strange shaped key in. There is a low thud, and a creaking, as the large bolts draw back from the locking mechanism. The door opens just a gap; with a hiss as if the structure was gasping for breath. The smell is unbelievable; it smells rotten and damp.

Fred he gulps; he feels sick. He finds a bit of flat metal on the floor; he uses it in the door crack. A movement it sounds scary; the door opens. He shines a torch in; it’s a corridor; 15 feet into the structure.

Then it goes off to the right of the main tunnel. He squeezes through the gap. Icy chills, on the back of his neck; It makes the hairs stand on end. He has a sense of foreboding; his mind is telling him to run, but his heart is full of courage. 

He must not leave the door open, for someone else to come in. Reluctantly, he shuts it. Relying only on a torch he has with him for the company; he makes his way down the corridor and here; this is where his long journey begins. From which he hopes he will return. Only Time will tell.