Game Development Reference
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looking at what it means to be a person versus what it means to be a cyborg, as
examining player interaction becomes a key attribute both of the shows and of
the games. 33
Playing human, playing Cylon
he Spime ofers us a technological metaphor for understanding the interactive
relationship between the paratextual board game, the cult media world, and the
game player. Speciically in terms of the two Battlestar Galactica shows and their
paratextual board games, this relationship can be seen in two related areas: player
interaction as a style of game play that relects the characters of the shows, and
memory as a game mechanic that exposes the relationship between the game
system and the human player.
Like he Walking Dead: he Board Game , the BSG78 game relies heavily
on competition as player interaction. Players not only race to try to reach
the damaged Cylon Raider, but also engage in simulated ireights and forced
landings in order to take the Raider from each other. his combative player
engagement is ironic given the background of the game itself, which describes
the combat within the diegetic world of the game as simulated based on the
cooperation of the characters (the game is thus a double simulation, as the actions
players take simulate the actions that the characters take, which themselves are
simulated). hat is, the nameless Viper pilots within the diegetic world of the
game are supposedly on the same “side” in the war with the Cylons (they are all
from Galactica ) but are ordered to, as the rules state, “ simulate actual combat
conditions.” 34 he mission that appears to be a practice run becomes competitive.
hus, instead of ighting the evil Cylons, players must ight their supposedly
cooperative fellow humans.
One way that absence of cooperation among players makes a connection
between the cult world of BSG78 and the game itself is through the three types
of action cards players can use. hroughout the game, players face of against
each other by spinning a spinner and moving that number of spaces. However,
players have nine cards at their disposal to use in any way they see it: three
“turbo thrust” cards, three “force ield” cards, and three “laser torpedo” cards.
hese cards roughly match the three abilities that Viper pilots have in the
original Battlestar Galactica television series, indicated by the three buttons on
the Viper's yoke (Figure 4.3).
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