Sports

[Lavalamps]

I was watching the world cup today (go soccer!) and it got me thinking...
what about sports on Zalanthas?
All there really is is the Arena... as in, Gladiating.
I was thinking of maybe submitting some Zalanthan versions of sports...
but before I did, what does everyone think about sports?
Do they have a place in Zalanthas?

[Yokunama]

I was watching the world cup today (go soccer!) and it got me thinking...
what about sports on Zalanthas?
All there really is is the Arena... as in, Gladiating.
I was thinking of maybe submitting some Zalanthan versions of sports...
but before I did, what does everyone think about sports?
Do they have a place in Zalanthas?

Here are a few things I was able to think of.
Foot races
Wagon races
Arm wrestling
Drinking
Sparring
Hunting
Slaving
Bounty Hunting
Darts
Dice
Card Games

[Lavalamps]

I'm thinking more physical things. Playing cards doesnt really count.

Foot racing, yes, arm wrestling, yes, drinking, sorta, hunting, yes, sparring, similar to gladiating.

But what about sports more similar to ours... like kicking a tembo-bladder ball in a net?  

[Kelen]

I know what your saying. There's a lot of sports but you want something...larger.

I'm all for that. I think the closest thing we might have though would be some large scale arena match.

[Lavalamps]

Exactly!

[Cale_Knight]

Pretty much anything they did in ancient Greece.

Almost all sports were derivations of military arts. Wrestling,  javelin throwing, chariot racing, riding, boxing, the pankration, etc. Then you had stuff that wasn't specifically "military," like running, jumping, and the discus.

Any and all of the above could be and probably are considered sports in Zalanthas.

[Tlaloc]

I've been wanting to design a game based on the Rutger Hauer movie: Blood of Heros, and that precolumbian ballgame for Tuluk (Pak Curachek Arena, anyone?). Maybe I'll take that on as a project...I think it would be relatively easy to do, provided I can script up a ball-object.

[slipshod]

I doubt sports would be as common on Zalanthas where merely surviving is usually an extremely strenuous exhausting endeavor.  

The #1 sport on Zalanathas is Staying Alive.  Who wants to wear themselves out chasing after a ball when they spent the day before being chased by a raptor?  The only people on Zalanthas who would enjoy sports of this type might be the nobility... either playing themselves or watching their slaves play - but then that's what the arena is for.

I don't think the average commoner has time to play a game when their day is filled with activity which is necessary for their survival.  They would think of it as time and effort wasted.  Even hunting is not really a sport on Zalanthas, since most hunters need the game to feed/sustain themselves.

[Lavalamps]

Yes, but, most people have at least some free time.

Oh, and, Tlaloc, that precolumbian game was exactly what I was thinking!

[Kennath]

If we put in basketball elves wold always win...

-Ken

[Delirium]

If we put in basketball elves wold always win...

-Ken

The athletic, dreadlocked elf says, in allundean:
"Humans can't jump."

[Resurrect]

I agree with slipshod. It might give the nobility, especially northern nobility, something to do that would be both entertaining to others and fun for them. Form teams, orchestrate matches and tournaments. Appoint official bookies, things like that. And I agree, the pre-colombian soccerish sort of thing would be a good idea as a basis for the sport. Nobility might get painted as a little more famous to the commoners, which would also be a somewhat good thing. What noble wouldn't want a cheering throng of fans?

Could even call it the "noble pursuit."

[The7DeadlyVenomz]

If you base any sport on the accumulation of money, you can be sure that even the lowest commoner will be interested in playing it.

If, then, there is a sport that men play where they can make some money from winning, even little kids will be playing their little versions of it, hoping to one day be that guy who made 2500 sid in a year.

[John]

I'd really like to see hunting becoming a sport (and no, not just "e, e, e, e, e, kill mob"). But barring that, there is a sport where you have a rock and see which two people can throw it the farthest. But AFAIK the only thing that does is take strength into account. It makes it fairly predictable who'll win.

[marko]

Hunting is the sport of the elite in Tuluk.  Or rather, it used to be.  Sometimes PCs bring it back.

[Kelen]

Tlaloc, the pre-columbian ball-game looks pretty fitting. I like that idea, actually, alot. Are you serious about making a script for either of these in the distant future?

[Tlaloc]

Serious? Yes. Will it happen? I don't know.

When the stars are right, I suppose.

[marko]

I'll do what I can to align those stars to make them right Tlaloc.  I love the idea.  Will it coincide with the opening of the stadium?

[Anonymous]

Personally, I love the idea of sports games on Zalanthas - especially dog ball.

And Tuluk -totally- needs an arena.  Imagine:

Code Select Expand


the Allanaki says, in sirihish:
  "Whoa, there. You might not want to do that. The templars will throw you in the arena right fast for it."

the displaced Tuluki looks puzzled.

the displaced Tuluki thinks:
   "What's so bad about the arena? I can play football..."



I would think the biggest pause would be implementing the gameplay.  You could almost do Dogball now (just put a script on a gith skull and a stone counter), since it's little more than a fight where a game kind of breaks out (a little like hockey), but the combat system is so fast on Arm that games would never go for 100 stones, and there aren't any real movement penalties for being injured in combat that would ever really warrant a substitution.

But, as for any game: what are the rules, and how would you govern things like movement, scoring, and general gameplay, allow it to be portable, and still keep it fun to play and do?

I'd say that people who have ideas about how to implement a sport should post some ideas and hash it out.

Here's a rather primitive implementation:
http://amtgard.com:8080/jugging.html

[The7DeadlyVenomz]

Hunting is the sport of the elite in Tuluk.  Or rather, it used to be.  Sometimes PCs bring it back.

Adding to this, there could be a localized NPC with script that measures a taken animal's weight and gives or reserves a monetary or item prize for the PC who brings in the largest corpse.

For this to work, animals would have to be given a weight range.

This would do a couple of things for the game:
-facilitate and encourage less skinning in the field, which is convient but unrealistic for the amount of time it takes.
-encourage the use of a pack animal, as corpses can be packed since they are considered to be containers.
-cut down on so-called over-hunting in that area.

It is likely that a community dressing (which is the skinning and harvesting of animals) area would sprout up from this, and that's another manner in which PCs could experience opportunities for RP.

[Tlaloc]

Here's a rather primitive implementation:
http://amtgard.com:8080/jugging.html

FYI - that's one of the sources I have used for inspiration (which was taken almost directly from Blood of Heros). I've played the game...figure it can port nicely over to Armageddon. Of course, my ideas would expand and mash it more with the mesoamerican game, and/or give it more of a 'generic' set of rules (like Kruth), where the players can basically make up their own games.

Essentially, set up a place (and objects) where the physics of playing ball "work", and hand it over to you, the players, to come up with your own set of rules.

And Tuluk -totally- needs an arena. Imagine:

Tuluk has an arena. It just isn't finished/completed yet. Look around Tuluk. I imagine you'll find it. [/quote]

[Anonymous]

Tlaloc -

FWIW, I think it would be better for something like this to be somewhat portable in order to allow the players to establish a locale.

Allowing this to be played in the middle of the desert, just outside the gate, in the rinth, in the arena, or on some official playing field designated elsewhere within the city would add something by being flexible.

Although I would rather see them implemented separately to allow for something for "the commons" and something for "the city folk" to differentiate between the cities and between the cities and the desert.

Does that make sense?

But seriously - I'm game to help make this real any way I can. Totally cool.

[Anarchy]

I'd be willing to bet that in Nak' with all the dead bodies, you would find children kicking around heads. Primitive football. It is, after all how football came into our world.

Sick.

[Kennath]

Sick.

Are you a spam-bot?