Tuesday, January 13, 2009

GXC Wiki

Hey guys,

Garrett, Xerxes and I have been playing with a GXC wiki for a couple of days now. It's basically (or will be :D) a repository/playhouse of all things GXC; stories of legendary games (*cough*GXCTheOffice*cough*), player profiles, a collection of the sayings of Alexander the Hyena etc.

For later reference, the site is http://www.donnael.com/GXCWiki

Definitely come check it out, and it would be wonderful if people contributed even just a couple of words to the effort. Sorry about the walls, though - the paint is not quite dry :)

- Emmanuel.

Mad respect to Garrett for creating the wiki and hosting it on his site :).

Update: you can edit the wiki after a quick sign up with the site: click the "log in/create account" link in the top right corner.


Lightning GXC: Weekly Roundup!

Congratulations to the following teams and their commanders for dominating the maps!

MONDAY

Tostitos
in the Rhyming Chips in the Midwest! game

Cdr. An-Shih Lee '09

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TUESDAY

Argon
in the Noble Gases in the Cafeteria! game

Cdr. Tim Trickel '10
Cdr. Lauren Altschuh '07

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WEDNESDAY

Lamborghini in the Italian Cars in Europe! game

Cdr. Zachary Humerick '10

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THURSDAY

Bumblebee in the Autobots in India! game

Cdr. Jous Javier
Cdr. Tim Ehrlich '11
Cdr. Katie Tooma '07

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FRIDAY


Justice in the Shakespeare's Ages of Man! game

Cdr. Stef Cheung '08

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SATURDAY

In Which Piglet Is Entirely Surrounded By Water in the Actual Chapter Names in "Winnie-the-Pooh" by A. A. Milne game

Cdr. Chad Kimes '08
Cdr. John Pole '11


Toyota in the Japanese Cars in Springfield! game

Cdr. Angel Hudgins '11
Cdr. James Tabush '10

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SUNDAY

Daisy in the The Great Gatsby on the Internet! game

Cdr. Malcolm Young
Cdr. Erin Ingalls '10

Cdr. Kim Feeney '09
Cdr. Matthew Chauncey '12
Cdr. Mike Campbell '09
Cdr. Chris Bauer '12
Cdr. Brian Wright '10
Cdr. Chris Thomas
Cdr. Leah Hostler '09


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WORLD DOMINATION SUNDAY

Congratulations to the Red team for winning the first WORLD DOMINATION SUNDAY game!

They accomplished this feat under the worthy leadership of:

Cdr. Kevin Modrak '13
Cdr. Peter W. '10

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Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Announcing: WORLD DOMINATION SUNDAY!

Have you ever had the nagging suspicion that you could do a better job at the whole "world domination" thing? Granted, Hannibal and Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan were military geniuses, but you can't seem to shake the feeling that if you were in their sandals you would, you know . . . FAIL a little less . . .

Announcing World Domination Sunday!

GXC's first World Map comes to you as a lightning game this and every Sunday, at 9pm EST! In many ways this is the ultimate GXC challenge; the promise of global conquest under the grueling stresses of lightning game rules every single week with 60 territories up for grabs by 5 teams with random player placement. Throw in the 16 ocean hopping territory connections and you wonder whether this thing shouldn't come with an ESRB age restriction and health warning . . .

First game Sunday 11th January. Join here. Bring a priest. Someone could get hurt.

Journey to the Center of GXC aka Cracked (A Love Story of Romance & Adventure, Maybe)

Emma Elfeirr hit on a novel way for you guys to chart your adventures through GXC - via neverending fanfiction. The first installment is below, but anyone can contribute to subsequent episodes. Updates will come as fast as there are submissions (send submissions to emmanuel@gocrosscampus.com), and the winning installments will be chosen by a panel of esteemed Nobel laureates and Pulitzer prize winners (namely, Alexander the Hyena and I). Alex and I have created this handy checklist to help give you an idea of what a successful submission will look like:

1.
Are you a hyena?

GREAT!

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EPISODE ONE (by Emma Elfeirr)

If you're reading this, it means I've found my way into the blog. You see, a few turns ago, while I was sitting at my laptop, minding my own business and just energizing in my games, everything started shaking suddenly. My computer screen started getting brighter and brighter, and everything around me started spinning. I panicked and tried to get away, but my hands wouldn't get off of my keyboard. What's worse, is that they started getting pulled straight toward the screen! I used every bit of strength I had (although, mind you, I was losing it fast as I became dizzier and dizzier) to try to pull my hands away, but it was a losing battle for me.

The moment my fingers touched the screen, I was amazed at how cool it felt. I had been expecting burning heat, not the strange cool, plasma-like feel it seemed to have to it. The feel of the screen caught me so off guard, I stopped fighting back for a second. In that short second, my feet were ripped from the ground as my entire body went straight into my computer screen. Everything was bright light. I was too dizzy to stand any more, so before getting a chance for my eyes to adjust and see where I was, I just passed out.

When I woke up, I kept my eyes shut tight. I must have been dreaming. It was all just some crazy dream induced by my new sleep meds. My doctor had warned me that could be a side effect. I didn't want to open my eyes and find out it was real. But how could it be real? I told myself. There was no way that could have been real. Of course it was a dream! Convinced of such, I opened my eyes.

"Where's the colon!?" was the first thing I said. Instead of being worried about something important like, say, the fact that I was currently standing on the Star Wars GXC game, my first thought, of course, was about punctuation. "Star Wars A New Game" just didn't look right. It needs the colon! I walked down to Game Chat and saw I wasn't the only one upset about the lack of colon in the game.

The distraction didn't last long though. Pretty soon, I was much more concerned about how in the world I was standing on the Star Wars game. Maybe I was still dreaming. I knew I wasn't though. It felt way too real to be a dream. Somehow, I don't know how, I got sucked straight into GXC. It had been days too, as 3 turns had passed since that fateful turn when I got sucked in through my computer. Clueless as to how I got in, I still can't figure out how to get out. So, with this post, I ask you for help. I'm going to post all of what happens here inside GXC, and perhaps you can find a way to get me out. Perhaps there are clues hidden within the days I've spent inside here. Only you can help me get out of here alive!


Monday, January 5, 2009

Lightning GXC: Weekly Roundup!

Congratulations to the following teams and their commanders for dominating the maps!

MONDAY

The Thundercats in the 80s cartoons in Europe! game

Cdr. Andy Webb '10
Cdr. Emma Elfeirr '13
Cdr. Andrew Montoya '12
Cdr. Cid Campeador '08
Cdr. phillip morrin '08
Cdr. Sean Murphy '12

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No matches on TUESDAY and WEDNESDAY

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THURSDAY

Angels We Have Heard on High in the Christmas Carols on Mars! game

Cdr. Anna Fung '11

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FRIDAY

Barricade in the Decepticons in the Midwest! game

Cdr. Chad Kimes '08

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SATURDAY

The Tuba in the Brass Instruments in the Eastern America! game

Cdr. Chad Kimes '08


Wrath in the Seven Deadly Sins in Washington DC! game

Cdr. Leif Jahn '12

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SUNDAY

Matthew in the Apostles on the Internet! game

Cdr. Jeff Witman '08

* The Interwebs! in the Old Testament in Disney World! game

* game stall, so no winner (Leviticus with most territories by game "end").

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Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Ready, aim, aim, aim, aim . . .

It is three weeks into the campaign. After days of delicate maneuvering and pained diplomacy, you finally have your enemy in your crosshairs. Ever arrogant, they charge through your defenses - right where you want them! - and the trap SNAPS shut. Congratulations! Weeks of trench warfare have just paid off, and you can now blaze, godlike, towards glory and VICTORY!

This is every tactician's fantasy.

Grand strategy allows for thrilling drama - everyone loves to see a well thought out plan come to fruition. But how do wars of attrition actually play out on a digital battlefield like GXC?

After multis, a stalled game is probably the most damaging thing that can happen to team morale. To be fair, no game is ever really "stalled". Despite the seemingly static map, Commanders are always furiously working backstage to wrangle a satisfactory outcome for their team. There are, however, unfortunate consequences to this.

First comes the boredom. Troops energize less frequently. Compliance plummets.

Then comes the cabin fever. The chat rooms are stuffy and the tension is so taut it sets your teeth on edge. Previously likable teammates suddenly turn nasty. Even in the best run teams, impeachment polls begin popping up with alarming frequency. People become impatient and launch individual forays...just for the lolz. But then they get spy polled. And then they get pissed. Loudly.

Pretty soon the kids are spending fifteen hours in bed rereading Animorphs, Marge won't get off the phone, the Swedish exchange student runs up a credit card bill large enough to fund a small military coup and the cats won't quit keeping you up at night and it's all MADNESS. The MADNESS never stops. IT JUST NEVER STOPS!!

. . . these things happen.

It's also impossible to assign blame, because Commanders really do believe they are acting in the best interest of their teams when they play it slow. Players, however, also cannot be faulted for expecting a bit more ACTION. The game, after all, is meant to be FUN.

Perhaps it is enough that Commanders simply keep in mind that even the most brilliant strategies might backfire if they take too long to effect.

Anyone have any ideas how to prevent games from stalling, or at least make the slow moments more bearable? I know a guy with a banjo...

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

GXC Press: Teambuilding 2.0

Title: Teambuilding 2.0

Source: The Bumblebee

About: GoCrossOffice

Excerpt:

"GoCrossOffice integrate both virtual and physical elements into their team games. I am sure GCO are not the only player in this space as it looks like a very promising future market area. The GCO website references a number of independent research reports on the use of gaming for non-educational purposes by IBM, and Forrester."