User:Junesun/Cantr II
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I started re-writing the page about Cantr II, but it got deleted before the re-write was even nearly finished. This page is for anybody who would like to continue the re-write in order to have better grounds for a later appeal.
Deleted content:
Contents |
[edit] Cantr II
| CantrII | |
|---|---|
 "Cantr logo" |
|
| Developer(s) | Jos Elkink |
| Publisher(s) | Jos Elkink |
| Release date(s) | 2002 |
| Genre(s) | Browser-based game Text-based MMORPG |
| Mode(s) | Multiplayer |
| Platform(s) | Web browser |
| Media | Internet |
| System requirements | Web browser, Internet connection |
| Input | Keyboard, Mouse |
Cantr II is a browser-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). It is unique among this large group of games because it was devised with the goal of simulating society. To its users, it is also a good place to role-play and practice foreign languages. Unlike many similar games, it is available in many langugaes (15 in total - see below for details), Polish and English being the most popular.
[edit] History
Cantr was created by Jos Elkink, a Dutch political scientist now living in Ireland. He and Sico van der Meer originally played this game using lego and converted it into a web game about 4 years ago. Since then, it has been continually under development. As of now, there are nearly 2000 active players.
[edit] Playing
[edit] Scenario/Setting
Cantr is set in an earth-like environment, even though the geography is completely different and the planet is never named. It is basically a big sea with many islands, some so large that hardly any character has ever been to all cities. 15 different language groups inhabit the world of Cantr. While they each have their own area, these areas are parts of one world and it is possible for language groups to meet, interact and communicate ideas. It is also still possible to discover new islands and new exotic resources.
Resources like wood and stone are found every continent, but there are also more than 200 others, less common ones. All resources exist on earth, none of them are alien or invented. Some resources need to be refined, for example hematite is used to make iron, iron can be refined to steel and steel is necessary to make a variety of tools, weapons, machines and vehicles. This invokes a general, simplified understanding of the composition and processes involved in making certain materials in the real world.
The technological level of development in Cantr is somewhat strange, since crowbars are about as sought-after as cars and motorcycles. In order to prevent characters getting killed without the player having any chance to react, there are no guns in Cantr and no weapons allow you to kill a character in one hit.
(to be continued later)
[edit] Interface & Accessibility
The interface of the game is in the traditional text-based style, which puts an emphasis on the depth of role-play and character development. These emphases become accessible with an understanding of the [http://www.cantr.net/mwiki/index.php/Game_Mechanics game mechanics]. In terms of game accessibility, Cantr can be used with [[text to speech]] programs for all activites except for sailing. The programmers work hard to increase the accessibility of the game.
[edit] Features
- Browser-based
- Runs on any OS
- Interface available in 15 languages, 13 languages available for playing
- No plugins required
- Free
- No possibility of acquiring in-game benefits by donating
- Only one account per player
- Play up to 15 characters
- Every character must have a unique personality
- Time spent on playing is restricted to 200 minutes per day per player
- Tick-based: the game advances every 3 hours
- No pre-defined roles for your character
- No pre-defined social system, economy or currency - these are developed completely in-game, by the characters
[edit] Language availability
Cantr has a large team of translators, who have currently translated much of the game into 15 different languges, a feature lacking in most other games of this type. Current translations are: Arabic, Chinese, [[Dutch language|Dutch]], English, Esperanto, French, German, [[Latin language|Latin]], Lithuanian, [[Polish language|Polish]], Portuguese, [[Russian language|Russian]], Spanish, [[Swedish language|Swedish]] and Turkish.
A player, regardless of where they live, can choose to create a character of any of the listed languages except currently Arabic and Latin (these require further translation first). The character is expected to speak only in the language chosen by the player, and the interface for that character will be in the chosen language, so it is required that a player has some grasp of it. This provides an excellent opportunity for players to practice and improve their language skills. Some players have even used the game and multi-lingual community to learn new languages.
Characters of different langugaes play in the same world. There are many instances where characters have met others using a different language, and under the rules of the game, these interactions take place without the aid of online translations, providing interesting scenarios.
[edit] Role-playing
In order to establish the ability to simulate society, roleplay by the characters is fundamental. In fact, Cantr is a hybrid between society simulator and roleplaying game.
[edit] Trends
Stolen Notes, Cantr's Official Webzine, regularly publishes an article on statistics and trends. Appropiate data values are gathered from within Cantr's world to better understand the social, political, economic, cultural and technological aspects of society in this simulation. This is then further discussed in Webzine articles to make analytical generalizations and critical evaluations on matters in various social science fields from economics to anthropology. It is not surprising then that a considerable amount of players are currently or were recently higher education students. Cantr provides for an innovative opportunity to take advantage of a sandbox in which the facets of civilization are recreated, expanded upon and perused.
[edit] Community structure
[edit] Administration
Cantr II Constitution
- The main governing body of Cantr II will be the Game Administration
Board, which will be accountable to the Game Administration Council.
- At least one member of the Game Administration Board should have
access to the game database and have knowledge of how to manage an SQL database.
- Both the Game Administration Council and the Game Administration
Board will take their decisions by simple majority vote, unless otherwise stated. If there is a deadlock in votes, the respective Chair decides.
- Members of the Game Administration Board are temporary members of the
Game Administration Council, unless a particular Game Administration Board member is already a Game Administration Council member, in which case this will continue to be a permanent membership.
- The Game Administration Council can overrule any decision made by the
Game Administration Board.
- Additions to and removals from staff positions are done by the Game
Administration Board. Positions in the Game Administration Council, the Game Administration Board, as Chair of any of the departments, or the position of Finance Officer, have to be approved by the Game Administration Council. Positions in the Game Administration Board need approval of an unanimous vote in the Game Administration Council.
- Membership of the Game Administration Board, Chair of a department,
and Personnel Officer should in general be mutually exclusive, unless the availability of suitable staff warrants otherwise.
- All staff members will have to work to preserve or stimulate: (1) the
unique character and original concept of Cantr II; (2) the professionalism in the approach of players; (3) the quality of the program code and the integrity of the game database; (4) the international fame and accessibility of the game.
- These bylaws can only be changed by the Game Administration Council.
Jos Elkink, Dublin, July 23, 2003 (amended March 1, 2006)
This Constitution is applied to the various departments that report to the Game Administration Board. These Departments include Communications, Languages, Marketing, Resources, Players, Programming and Administrative Support.
The Communications Department is responsible for assisting in the communications between staff and players, and among players themselves, outside the game. Members of this department will function as moderators on our public forums and chat channel. The department will also handle our suggestions and bugs gatekeeping functions, so make sure that ideas and bugs discussed among players reach staff in a clear, summarized manner. Additional tasks related to community relations and communications are being developed.
The Languages Department is responsible for all translations between English and other languages, which includes translating the website, correspondence, help pages, etc. The department also cooperates with the Marketing Department to help with advertisement on non-English sites by finding the sites and translating the texts from the Marketing Department.
The Marketing Department is department is responsible for marketing Cantr II to get more players and - to a lesser extent - for finding the funds to maintain the website.
The Players Department is responsible for managing the database of players on Cantr. Members are allowed to remove players upon request or unacceptable behaviour. Further duties will be assisting players that have questions about the game that cannot be put on the OOC mailinglist or when players have lost their password.
The Programming Department is responsible for adding to and maintaining the source code of Cantr II.
[edit] Users
As of August 8, 2006, there are a total of 1942 registered players using 8,233 characters in 15 languages. English and Polish are the main languages theatres; however, since the game world is interconnected, different languages come into contact, and thereby, understand the causes, happenings and effects of globalization in a microscopic study of the real world reality. Not all users realize Cantr for this tool, but rather recognize it as a place to apply and develop language and written communication skills.
[edit] Interaction outside the game
The game's community encompasses the far reaches of the globe, playing in fifteen different languages. This provides for a very diverse group of people to come together, usually with similar interests. Although the discussion on Cantr's various communication channels (forums, IRC) is usually friendly and informative, there is a Communications Department that oversees and maintains the media. A branch of this Department is also responsible for sparking further insightful thought and conversation by the publication of a regularly releasing Cantr Webzine, Stolen Notes.
[edit] Critical evaluation
[edit] Cantr as a society simulator
(Sociologist essays?)
[edit] Cantr as RPG
[edit] Cantr as a means to improve language skills
Cantr II offers users the opportunity, unique among role-playing games, to play any number of their 15 characters in any of the available languages. The number of languages available is continuously increasing and translations are constantly being updated until all aspects of the game are available in all languages. For those players already fluent in more than one language this enhances their game playing experience enabling them to experience different parts of the Cantr world and to interact with a larger number of locations and other players. For an even larger number of players, those learning a language, this feature offers them the option of using Cantr as an educational tool.
Players already familiar with the Cantr interface, game dynamics and mechanics and with a reasonable grasp of a foreign language can easily increase their vocabulary in the foreign language and improve their language skills. The slow-paced nature of the game means that it is ideally suited for this purpose since players who may be struggling to express themselves in a foreign language have the time to think about what they would like their character to do or say. Some players have characters in several different language areas and have dramatically improved their ability in a foreign language through playing the game.
The different language areas exist alongside each other in the same game world meaning that characters from one language area can often travel to another and interact with characters who do not speak their language. This offers players additional exposure to and knowledge of languages that they may not even actively be trying to learn.
