19
Feb
A fantasy and fiction short story or a short story based on creative imagination in general, should undeniably possess one and only important literary skill. To distinguish and highlight natural through the metaphysical or supernatural, realism through the epic exaggeration, bravery and light through an atmospheric description of terror and darkness. And vice versa, with the same amount of flair and convenience. No, the skills described are not many, the talent in doing so should be one and the same. In written and spoken storytelling, the starting point and the final destination are not as important as the narrative path itself, the way and the right dose of writing chemistry to transform text to an imaginary journey.
Opposite Hemisphere anthology series matures with each and every new story. It’s authors are gathered for the 3rd time and present their creative work in an anthology whose main purpose, is to be able to successfully transcribe inspirations from a portion of people who claim and continuously prove their love for imagination, mystery and fantasy in all objective forms. All stories appearing in the third issue’s pages, have their own respectable history. Coming from writers on a new, fresh start with admirable results and an appetite for experimentation and continuous improvement. Skilled efforts have stepped in our anthology, enriched and refined with new ideas and concepts. Stories from veteran pens embrace the project, adding to the anthology’s quality and ‘literary gravity’. It is a colorful and multi-shaped trip in so many imaginative and real feelings, moments, people, ventures, locations, seasons and senses.
The international journal of The Inclusive Museum addresses a basic question: How can a museum institution become more inclusive, comprehensive, complete? The journal hosts publications from academics, curators, museums and public officials, cultural institutions and students involved in research on the subject. In this journal, Dr Niki Nikonanou and PhD student Fotini Venieri, University of Thessaly Greece, made us feel proud, creating a case study for Gamecraft‘s experience with live role-playing in Greek museums, presenting a role playing team designing and implementing LARPs for eight consecutive years (first pilot live role playing game in 2007) and our true role in bringing LARP (Live Action Role Playing) in Greek reality. We would like to thank them for a great honour and congratulate them on the importance and quality of their publication.
http://onmuseums.com/publications/journal
http://ijz.cgpublisher.com/product/pub.177/prod.285
25
Dec
Gamecraft is a creative team dealing with the design and implementation of interactive and role playing games, creating recreational and educational activities based on almost any theme or subject for the last six years (since August 2009). Along the way, we feel that it is our duty for our friends and the community we all live in, to dedicate a number of our events for charitable purposes. For that reason, Gamecraft’s ‘MYSTERY NIGHTS’ role playing-murder mystery game we all loved and in cooperation with OXYGONO and METAIXMIO publications, offered crime fiction books at the Center of Addiction Treatment (KETHEA) KETHEA ITHACA and KETHEA PROMETHEUS. In both cases, the books will be given to the respective institutions, enriching their already existing library.
Both institutions rejoiced and thanked us for the bid. This action proved that there are moments worth every effort to multiply smiles among us. We want to thank all MYSTERY NIGHTS players for their contribution –through their participation- in these sessions, a sign that we can still work as a team and care for our fellow human beings.
Mystery is a part of all good things. Even virtue or beauty is mysterious.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
http://www.kethea.gr/en-us/home.aspx
THE MUSEUM
The foundation purpose for the Olympic Museum of Thessaloniki was to reflect the sporting history of the country, by filling the vacuity and absence of similar athletic museums in Greece. At the same time, the basic intention was to create a vivid place, where all the museum’s information will provide a strong motivation for the public to understand, participate and appreciate all aspects of athletism (physical training, health, mental balance, history). Specifically, the Olympic Museum’s goal is the preservation of our sporting heritage and the promotion of the cultural side of all sports. These goals are met in practice through exhibitions, presentations, educational programmes and other interesting events.
For 2014, Gamecraft has designed and implemented a Role Playing Game about the history and values of the Olympic Games in co-operation with the Olympic Museum of Thessaloniki. The ‘Immortal Travelers’ edu-LARP is performed in groups of 16-20 participants, stands as an educational program, providing useful information of the Olympic Games timeline by focusing on the institution’s good and bad historical moments.
Immortal Travelers
It is the year 2096, just before the Olympic Games in Athens, 200 years after the opening of the Olympic Games modern era. The Committee of the Immortals in its effort to restore the fragile world peace, undertakes a mission to remind heads of state about the values of Olympism. The only way to achieve this, is through a time trip. Will they be able to bring the Olympic Truce to task and save our planet from the impending war?
Thessalloniki Olympic Museum Website
19
Oct
LARP Census is a global effort for the registration of all Live Action Role Playing Games (L.A.R.P) made worldwide. This includes roles, innovations, preferences and contributions of designers, players and all coefficients of a L.A.R.P. The effort will serve as the basis for any future research in an academic or other professed level, being a free open source database with information that can be used to account and enrich their quality. In this effort, Gamecraft is the representative of Greece’s contribution (translation and editing of the Greek language) so that the census can be conducted for all Greek LARP experiences in individual and group level. The choice of the LARP Census management team makes us proud, honored and rewards our extrovert orientation.
Gamecraft announces a new cooperation with British company Huntzz founded by brothers Charles and Edward Wiles, based on the homonymous digital platform Huntzz dealing with treasure hunts in sites of historic, cultural, tourist and special interest such as museums, archaeological sites, historic sites and even entire cities!
Huntzz is an iOS/Android app with real-world treasure (scavenger) hunts and tour guides in one that also allows any individual, location or organisation to create and share their own hunt anywhere in the world!
Especially for Thessaloniki:
…This is a walk through 23 centuries of history and culture, in a living and colourful city, where many ethnic and religious communities lived and prospered throughout the years. A city with influences and achievements from diverse people of the Eastern and Western civilization. A crossroad of stories, experiences and events. A city with an abundance of monuments that reflect historic importance, dating from antiquity to modern times. A place for a hunt of knowledge, a hunt for humanity’s essential values…
The application offers a digital map (via the Google maps platform) and directs the player in characteristic locations. There, a riddle is presented and the right answer is requested through search and observation. Earn ‘gold coins’ for answering correctly and use a few of them for a small hint, on the next tough question. Search the next location, find the answer and open the chest with your reward scroll! Read it to learn the history of the monument you just deciphered! A game of thrills and a cognitive walk at the same time!
BBC Click is the BBC’s flagship technology program for which presenter Kate Russell regularly reviews the latest apps and websites. Here she talks about the Huntzz scavenger hunt app:
Huntzz App is available in:
App Store: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/huntz…
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/de…
20
Sep
The 19th Byzantine Antiquities Service located at Trikala county (Geographical district of Thessaly) in cooperation with Gamecraft and during the European Heritage Days 2013 weekend (28-29 September 2013), will hold a Live Action Role Playing game, inside the Byzantine castle of Trikala, on September 28th 2013. The goal is to create an interactive scenario, in which guests as participants, are involved in an adventurous story taking place inside the castle, in several spots of interest, offering not only historical information but also details about the castle’s use and operation during the Byzantine period.
By using the technique of LARP gaming and with the help of a narrator, who will play the role of a virtual tour-guide, players are requested to intervene in an interactive storyline thus trying to affect the final outcome in their favor.
LARP Game ‘The theft’
The players caravan has just arrived at the castle. It’s late afternoon and a dark veil covers everything, making it very difficult to access the road for Thessaloniki. The decision to spend the night there, is imperative. It is worth noting that a castle offers all kinds of utilities for a caravan like shelter, food and trading with street dealers to buy goods or craftsmen to carry out repairs. The team will rest to remain on track for Thessaloniki tomorrow. In the early hours of next morning, players are faced with a detachment of the castle’s garrison, approaching and unfairly blaming them for stealing a chest filled with gold pieces. The chief of garrison has ordered a lockdown and they have to prove their innocence till nightfall. Time and circumstances are not on their side…
For the second straight year, OXYGONO opens its doors to welcome the schools of Thessaloniki and the surrounding counties, with a series of training and educational programs, especially designed by his associates, aimed at school groups of preschool, primary and secondary education. The educational programs will be conducted on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 10 am to 2 pm. The school teams attending these new programs will receive a certification of attendance related to the theme of the program and books from METAICHMIO publications to enrich their private library.
Gamecraft will be playing 3 brand new edu-LARPs, especially designed for all school visits in OXYGONO
What is an edu-LARP?
Edu-larp has been defined as “any kind of pedagogical method that uses live action role-playing as a student activity directly connected to the pedagogical purpose of the teaching or therapy” (Hylthof, 2010). The underlying belief is that live action role-playing, as a specific form of playing, is a valuable means for educating in that it supports and facilitates both personal development and learning. The most apparent advantages of edu-larp in that respect are the high level of student activation, the strong empowerment of students and the fact that playing is a powerful method to engender an internal motivation for learning by focussing on gaming activities, making learning an implicit side-effect. In addition to that, edu-larp also positively influences the student-teacher relationship. As larp gains its momentum from the participation of every player, every participant – teacher and student alike – is important for the ongoing learning process. Thus, by making the teacher part of the game, he is brought closer to the students on a physical level, as well as on a personal and democratic level.
Our games at OXYGONO:
1) edu-LARP based on Ancient Greek History. ‘The collector’ is designed according to educational material taken from the book of Ancient Greek History, as it is being teached in primary schools all over the country.
2) edu-LARP based on Byzantine History. ‘Tracking down the Purple Code’ is designed according to educational material taken from the book of Byzantine History, as it is being teached in primary schools all over the country.
3) edu-LARP based on Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry, Technology. ‘Trapped’ is designed according to educational material taken from the books of all exact sciences, as they are being teached in primary schools all over the country.
14
Sep
The EHDs are organised every September. This year we will see more than 20 million people take advantage of free access to thousands of rarely opened sites and special events that characterize this joint initiative of the European Commission and the Council of Europe since 1999. This pan-European cultural Programme continues to grow year after year, despite recessions, proving in a concrete way the success of culture in promoting intercultural dialogue.
Official launch of the 2013 European Heritage Days programme and Communications Platform, Yerevan (Armenia), 29 August – 1 September 2013
One of the key planks of the Armenian Presidency of the Committee of Ministers is to encourage and promote European values through intercultural dialogue. This objective has been given a significant boost by the Armenian hosting of the ‘Launch event” of the European Heritage days Programme (EHDs), which will take place in Yerevan 29 August – 1 September. The launch will initiate the 2013 edition of EHDs when the 50 signatory countries to the European Cultural Convention, open their doors and put new cultural treasures on view and open up historic buildings, normally closed to the public. This year, the many thousands of events open to the public will reach an even greater audience and the Armenian launch is playing an instrumental role in this. In Yerevan a stunning new Portal, using the map of Europe as its homepage, will enable all EHDS events to be visible together for the first time. The Portal will “go live” in Yerevan and will provide a tool by which all Europeans can gain access to their diverse and splendid common European heritage.
Gamecraft announced an interplay with the Museum of Byzantine Culture in Thessaloniki. Our team is joining in the EHDs celebrations by playing a L.A.R.P titled ‘A true Byzantine mystery’ in the halls of MBC’s permanent exhibition, on September 29th, 2013. The game time is 120 minutes and the minimum age for taking part is 11 years. An acceptable (6-8) number of players could constitute a playing team. English speaking teams could also participate. We hope to see you soon as Byzantine citizens and have loads of fun together!!!
September begins with a lot of gaming design appetite and inspiration.
Gamecraft is a creative team working at the design and implementation of original and special events, based on modern and interesting techniques such as experiential education with live action role playing (edu-LARP) and indoor or outdoor interactive games. These techniques are enriched with elements of art such as theater, direction, and concepts from simple well known games that we all played in the past. The purpose of the group is to give every event, the fitting form and theme atmosphere. That can be accomplished by organizing an educational event, while implementing it, in an entertaining way.
The team was founded in August 2009, and within a very short period of time, we could present work samples in museums, archaeological sites and monuments of great educational interest. Members of our creative team specialize in role playing games, remain founding members of fantasy game or literature fan clubs and master relevant qualifications or training (museum educators or animators, students of theater schools or theater related studies, event organizers, cultural managers).
