REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES
This chapter contains the
review of related literature and related studies that contains relevant and
useful information related in conducting and conceptualizing this study.
Related Literatures
2D, 3D and 2.5D Games
The gaming
industry of today has reached new heights and successes over the past years. It
truly had become a powerhouse industry and it sure would be for the coming
years. With so much to choose from gamers of all sorts enjoy games through
different platforms and kinds from 2D to the 3D games that now dominate the
market and the concept of 2.5D games, a cross between 2D and 3D which are also
being adapted now by many games.
With the advent of 3D games, 2D games may seem dated and
obsolete but according to one of IGN.com’s bloggers in his blog post 2D Gaming Isn’t …(IGN,2011) nowadays 3D
games may be the leading platform in consoles but 2D games still appeal to
consoles like PSP and Nintendo. 2D games
never really disappeared; as a matter of fact it allows game developers to
preserve such game concept and apply modifications and features that would
satisfy gamers of nowadays and also improve the quality 2D games itself.
Amir Sharar
also cited in his blog article Flashback: Why 2D… (Sharar,2010) ten reasons why 2D game
development should still be considered in the future and what 2D games would be
when developers would consider developing so. The reasons are as
follows:
· 2D game development is cheaper than
3D game development
·
The graphical processing
power will favor 2D games and will give it a more dynamic look and would allow
artists to create more movements for characters.
· Using of shaders to add depth and realism to 2D images
·
Widescreen High
Definition TVs are great for 2D games because it would allow players to see
whole game environment further since HDTV’s can allow 16:9 resolution
·
Next generation
processing power benefits 2D physics and AI allowing objects to move as freely
as possible and AI characters to be more unpredictable and capable as well.
· Return to real time audio synthesis
·
Benefits of
being online, which may add a 2D game’s longevity and interest gamers.
· 2D games might mean less bandwidth if
implemented online
· Current controllers may improve 2D
gameplay
· 2D games may be an acceptable risk in
the industry because they can appeal to players who want easier gameplay and
less mature graphics compared to 3D.
With the
aforementioned statements to consider, 2D gaming still seems to be fit when it
comes to market value and quality. But according to Screwattack.com 2D vs. 3D…(Screwattack.com,2012) 2D games has its disadvantages
that players do not want to experience themselves .That being said 3D games
would seem more appealing to gamers since these games are visually more enhanced
and well defined compared to 2D games.3D games also cater more genres and
provides players the whole view of the game environment. But 3D games take
longer time to develop and not to mention its control problems especially its
camera functions since 3D games deal with multiple camera angles.
But today’s game seem to have used
both 3D and 2D perspectives. The emergence of 2.5D games allowed gamers to
enjoy both the concepts of a 3D game and a 2D game as well. As defined by an article written by Julian Robert entitled 2D Game Development… (Robert,2012) 2.5D
games are kind of games wherein the
3D objects and elements lie on a 2D plane. According to an article written by
Alec Barrett, The 2.5D Revolution
(Barrett,2009) 2.5D games apparently are games that are made in 3D
construct set in a single view are proven to be an effective platform because
some game genres are simply not suited for 3D. Games that are considered 2.5D are Crash Bandicoot: The Huge
Adventure, Doom, Viewtiful Joe and Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project 2.5D Games(GiantBomb.com,n.d).
Benefits of Gaming
Jane
McGonigal, author of the book “Reality is
Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Change the World” said in an
interview Could Gaming be… (National
Public Radio, 2011) “Well, games seem to tap into the psychological state
called eustress, or positive stress. You know, normally we think about stress
as very negative. It makes us anxious or frustrated or burnt out. But it turns
out that if we have chosen a goal for ourselves and if we feel in control of
the work that we're doing, that stress is experienced very positively”. She also stated that “Games are doing a
better job of provoking our most powerful, positive emotions, and also helping
us build up remarkable social relationships that cannot only improve our real
lives but also potentially help us change the real world. However McGonigal
still encourages everyone to play games due to its convincing benefits but also
insists that people should only play on controlled number of hours.
There are
also indications that games aid students in their studies. According to the Entertainment Software
Association Games: Improving Education
(ESA,2012) “researchers have found that video games have real potential as
next-generation learning tools. Games use new technologies to incorporate
principles crucial to human cognitive learning.” That is why the Department of
Education (United States) fund institutions that practices game development to
develop educational games, simulations , video games, virtual worlds and
avatars that would serve as learning tools. In fact a game app that aims to
reduce child obesity is already in the works as well as the game adaptation of
the CSI TV series wherein the players learn to examine crime scenes and evidences,
a game that aims to introduce to middle school children forensic sciences, also
the game Budget Hero 2.0, a game
where players learn to manage a nation’s budget.
Some people might assume that playing video games are not
good and almost always seen as an addiction but it cannot also be helped but
see the benefits it gives to gamers. “Gaming improves creativity,
decision-making and perception. The specific benefits are wide ranging, from
improved hand-eye coordination in surgeons to vision changes that boost night
driving ability” that is what the article of Robert Lee Hotz is trying to
suggest When Gaming is… (Hotz, 2012).
An article
written by Lea Lebrilla Top 5 Advantages…
(Lebrilla, 2010) suggests:
· Video games can be a new way of
teaching, in this manner video games are being used as a teaching tool and is
seen to help students improve academic skills and creative thinking.
· It helps improve hand to eye
coordination.
· Video games are also known to be used
as a tool in psychological therapy aiding patients to distract themselves from
pain and unwanted sensations by diverting their focus and getting them
entertained in video games.
· Since most video games are goal
oriented especially those games wherein the player is on a quest, it is
believed to help improve one’s creativity in thinking as well as improve
imagination.
· Video games can improve one’s problem
solving skills.
As some video
games are logical in nature such as puzzle games and strategy games, it helps
the player to enhance his/her critical thinking and sense of logic as he/she
would come up with methods on how he/she would solve a certain problem in
efficient and crafty ways. It is almost safe to say that the advantages of
gaming are somehow recognized especially here in the Philippines where internet
cafes are seen almost everywhere and the industry of game development are
young. According to Santa Rosa City,
Laguna’s website article Video Games are…
(Santarosa.com.ph ,n.d) video games instead of being one of the community’s
growing problems can be an opportunity, “First there is the indisputable fact
that the demands of game players and game designers have driven and paid for
many advances in computer technology, creating benefits to countless other
spheres of activity. Though all these claims also suggest to play games on
moderation and still keep track of time, gaming has proven to people that when
appropriately practiced and responsibly done then it can be a productive
activity that would benefit many.
Filipino Video Game Trends
Patintero
Playtime
Zeenoh games
released and introduced Patintero Playtime in November of 2011. It is an IPhone
game app patterned to the traditional Patintero street game that most Filipinos
know how to play. Zeenoh purposely designed this app in order for Filipino
children who forgot to play the game and also for those who unfortunately
missed the chance of experiencing the game itself Patintero Playtime for…(GDAP, 2011). Patintero Playtime offers a
unique gameplay, though the rules of the original Patintero games apply power
ups and human vs. human play are some of its amusing features. With this to
consider, Filipinos are now more than ready to take on markets like the IPhone
app store and others alike.
Sipa Mobile App Game
Sipa
literally meaning “kick” in Filipino is one of Philippines’ many traditional
games. It involves an object which is made out of rubber and washer sometimes a
5 centavo coin and a piece of candy wrapper. The objective of the game is to
kick the object upwards as long as it takes without the object hitting the
ground, the one who kicks the object the longest time wins.
Since this
game is widely played by Filipinos in their childhood days the developers of
this game Team Buthchokoy were inspired to make “Sipa”, a mobile app to show
their love for the game itself and to cater their nationalistic efforts in
introducing Filipino culture to the global market. Sipa according to their main
website “The inspiration here is not just to develop a mobile game but to prove
and inspire other Filipinos that even with limited resources and know-how, one
can create something if you put your heart and soul for it” Every Filipino is…( Butchokoy.com, 2011).
Sipa also
features different levels that show different landmarks found in the Philippine
like the Luneta, University of the Philippines, Quiapo Church and Mt. Pulag.
The game was featured in both television and on multiple sites and blogs,
according to an interview by Tj Manotoc in TV Patrol one of Team Butchokoy’s
leader Dale David “We developed this game most probably for them to be
encouraged to play Sipa in the streets even sometimes(translated)” Larong ‘sipa’ patok…(ABS CBN News, 2012).
Sipa is currently available in Apple’s App Store and in the Android Market as
well.
Tongits Game
Tongits is a card game that originated in the
Philippines. It involves players to pair up cards according to suites, the
objective of the game is to take turns drawing a card from a deck and releasing
a card from a player’s hand until the player’s hand is empty. Since the advent
of Poker app games on Facebook, developers reach out to Filipinos and made
Tongits Wars. There is also Tongits game available on Adobe Air which was
developed by Rico Zuñiga. The game can be downloaded as a trial version and is
available for $15 for unlimited play. Zuñiga also made the same game using C++
and is playable on mobile phones according to Zuñiga An Open
Source…( Zuñiga,2011) “The
biggest problem during those times was, you guessed it right, device
fragmentation. Developers had to deal with different screen resolutions”. Even
though the mobile game did not quite sell it led him eventually to develop
Tongits in Adobe Air which became popular and sold to fans of the game.
Filipino made Games
Video games have already captivated Filipinos. From
online games down to LAN games it truly caught the attention of Filipino
gamers. But it’s not just the gamers who are trying to make a name from
themselves, but also developers as well. Mon Macutay in his blog article Pinoy-made Video… (Macutay, 2007)
mentioned 2 games that are made by Filipino game developers. Anito: Defend a
Land Enraged was released by Anino Games is an RPG game for PC and features 16th
century Asia as its setting. The game won 2004 Role Playing Game of the Year in
the 2004 Independent Games Festival. Another game that was developed by
Filipinos was Terra Wars: NY Invasion released Ladyluck Digital Media. It is a
first person shooter game that involves aliens as enemies. Unfortunately
however for Terra Wars IGN had given them a 2 out of 10 review, according to
IGN Terra Wars:…(Bitton, 2006) “Terra
Wars is simply the latest addition to the horde of generic first person
shooters available on the market today. Even though Terra Wars did not quite
work for Ladyluck Digital Media but through the years they eventually worked
with clients such as Activision, Ubisoft , Sony, EA and many more proving that
Filipinos has already reached its potential in the field of game
development.
Preservation of
Traditional Filipino Games
Every country has its own traditional
game. These are games that originate from a country’s rich cultural heritage
and are passed down from one generation to another. These games are also
critical because these games eventually give them the sense of nationalism and
be an essential part of one’s childhood. But some these games through time are
being left out and worse forgotten. “Most of the traditional games and sports,
expressions of indigenous cultures and ways of life contributing to the common
identity of humanity, have already disappeared and those that are surviving are
threatened of imminent disappearance and extinction under the combined effect
of globalization and harmonization of the rich diversity of world sport
heritage” says UNESCO on their article Traditional
Sports and… (UNESCO, n.d.) .
Vera
Misurcova believes that “Every
game represents a certain content expressed in a fixed stabilized form. The
themes of games encompass different phenomena from the nature as well as social
life, most frequently from human work and entertainment” Implementation of Children’s… (Misurcova, n.d.). She believes that
traditional games are essential to a child’s growth and well-being and sense of
nationalism as well she stated that “children become first of all acquainted
with the culture of their own nation and only in consequence they have the
chance of coming into contact with other cultures in a suitable selection”.
Modernization really had taken its
toll in countries especially in a growing country like the Philippines therefore
compromising the trend in playing traditional games. According to the article
by Gerard Anthony Naval Philippines try
to… (Naval, 2007). Instead of the
typical “larong pinoy” games that children are expected to play children
instead are seen in internet cafes or in their homes playing digital games.
There is indeed a need for the Filipino children to engage in these games once
again not only to remind them or their cultural heritage but also to help them
improve physically and psychologically. “Nowadays, kids do not engage in
outdoor Filipino games as much as the older generation used to. “The kids of
today need to spend time in playing such games as this not only preserved our
cultural heritage but also helps children develop their physical and psychological
skills”, Philippines try to… (Naval, 2007) claims Dean Hercules
Callanta of the University of the Philippines College of Human Kinetics.
Aside from the aforementioned claims
there is a non-government organization that aims to preserve Filipino culture
and arts and that is the Magna Kultura. Spearheaded by Dickie Aguado he
believes that “The proper approach in re-institutionalizing the games of our
heritage back in the mainstream of society is to create a ‘school’ for teaching
the way each and every game are played. The passing on of the tradition
of play must be formalized in a fun way among the new Filipino youth.
After learning the proper way to play it, they can enjoy it with their
peers in school or in their neighborhood communities.” Keeping the Tradtional…(Aguado, 2011).
An article written by ABS-CBN news
features Kabataan Party List representative Rep. Raymond Palatino being
convinced that the Filipino youth are being urged by the commercial market to
pursue western products and cultural practices. “This inevitably affects the
existence of our very own Philippine games and sports, now considered by many
as dying cultural legacies. It will be an utter loss if these Pinoy games will
be completely gone in the future” Youth
Group push... (ABS CBN News, 2011). That is why Kabataan Party list
launched “Larong Pinoy” drive that aims to hold mini leagues for traditional
Filipino games in small communities in order to boost its popularity among the
youth.
Traditional Filipino games may have
been forgotten and left behind by some due to the support they give to modern
day games, products and culture but with the efforts of non-government
organizations and other concerned citizens, preservation of such games can
truly be achieved and may as well still be passed down in the generations to
come.
Tumbang Preso
Overview
Tumbang Preso is a traditional Filipino outdoor
game that is played by young Filipinos with flip-flops and empty cans on the
streets, vacant lots or on basketball courts. There are different claims on
where Tumbang Preso really did
originate, according to a group of students from Malayan Colleges Laguna on
their short audio visual presentation regarding Tumbang Preso “It is said that this game is originated from the
Scottish game called King of the Can
” Traditional Filipino Games(De los Reyes
et al, 2012 ). But Gonzales,et al on their book MAPEH in Action I that the Tumbang Preso game is handed down to us
by the Chinese.
Though there may still be clarifications to be made
with regards to its true origin it is pretty clear though that Tumbang Preso is a game that involves
the use of flip-flops as projectile, the empty can as a target and the elements
of a tagging game that enables its players to chase each other around.
According to Dru Bramlett’s short documentation on Tumbang Preso “Tumbang Preso is a street game usually played in the
Philippines. It takes elements from tag and dodgeball to teach kids agility and
strategic thinking” Tumbang
Preso(Bramlett, 2010). PIGSSAI or the Philippine Indigenous Games and
Sports Savers Association Inc. stated that “The
principle involved is to hit and knock down the milk can with the
"pamato," and for the IT to put back the can inside a small circle a
few meters away from the toe-line. When a player is tag while re-covering his
pamato, he becomes the IT.” Tumbang Preso
(PIGSSAI, 2005).
Rules and Gameplay
There are a number of rules that are being presented
by different authors and institutions. Northern Illinois University is one of
those institutions that conducted a study on Southeast Asian culture including
Philippines’ traditional games. On their study Mga Larong Pilipino (Northern Illinois University, n.d) they stated
that Tumbang Preso should provide a
large throw away object preferably a flip-flop or a shoe called “pamato”. It
can be played by 5-10 or more players and can either be played outdoors or in a
gymnasium. According to them on a typical Tumbang
Preso :
· A player is chosen as the prisoner, guarding
the empty tin or container.
· The other players stand at the throwing line
· They take turns throwing their “pamato” at
the empty tin. Everybody will try to knock the tin down.
· As soon as the can is knocked down, the
prisoner must put back the can in an upright position before he can tag any of
the players attempting to recover their “pamato”
· The prisoner then can tag the players while
recovering their “pamato” within the allowed line only.
·
After each throw, a player must recover his
“pamato”. Should he be tagged by the prisoner before he reaches the throwing
line he becomes the prisoner in the next game.
Dru Bramlett in her short documentation Tumbang Preso a.k.a… (Bramlett, 2010)
states that Tumbang Preso is played by 9 players or less and stated the
following rules:
· Begin by drawing a circle on the
ground and a straight barrier line
about 20 ft. away. All players will throw their pamato towards the
circle. Those who throw the pamato too far or not far enough will repeat until
one person is left. This person is “It”
· The “It” will guard a milk can in the
aforementioned circle while the other players will attempt to knock it over
with their pamato from the barrier line.
· Players after throwing their pamato
will have to retrieve it without getting tagged.
· If the milk can is standing. The “It”
can tag anyone attempting to retrieve their shoe only if the can is standing
upright in the circle.
· If a player hits the milk can &
pushes it out of the circle, but it doesn’t fall over , other players may
proceed in throwing their pamato at it until it does fall over. It makes no
difference if you knock it over within the circle. However the “It” must place
the pamato back in the circle in order to tag anyone once it falls.
· Once a player is tagged. They become
the new “It”.
The
aforementioned rules are from the observations and study of foreign individuals
that took interest in the game itself but there are also established rules as
well in the Philippines where Tumang
Preso originated. A non-government
organization called PIGSSAI or the Philippine Indigenous Games and Sports
Savers Association Inc., “is an all-volunteer, SEC registered, non-governmental
organization (NGO), dedicated to the preservation, revival, enhancement and
promotion of all Philippine Indigenous Games and Sports, particularly Filipino
Martial Arts and the Traditional Native Games.” PIGGSAI(Wikibin.org, n.d.). PIGSSAI have provided the following
rules for the game Tumbang Preso, Tumbang
Preso(PIGSSAI,2005):
· An IT, the one to guard the milk can is
chosen by throwing the "pamato" to the toe line by all the players.
Whoever player whose "pamato" is farthest from the toe-line is the
IT.
·
The hitters will line up at the back of the
toe-line and at the sign of the IT, game is started.
·
The "pamato" must be retrieved
immediately once the can is knocked down, otherwise once the IT has placed the
can inside the circle, the one tagged becomes the IT.
·
When the can is hit and went off the circle
but remains standing, the IT has the right to tag the hitter once the hitter
leaves the toe-line.
·
The can maybe kicked or knocked down under
situation No. 4.
·
If a hitter is not able to retrieve his
"pamato," the others can save him by hitting the can.
Aside
from PIGSSAI, Tumbang Preso rules are
also established in textbooks. Gonzales, et al. in their textbook MAPEH in
Action I stated 7 rules for Tumbang Preso
Tumbang Preso (Gonzales et al., 2008):
· Select the “It” or defender to act as the
guard of the can.
· Position the can in the center of the game
area or home base.
· The “It” will chase & tag anyone of the
players.
· When a player is tagged while the can is
still in upright position, that player becomes the new “It”
· The rest of the players then must see to it
that the can is always knocked down by kicking or hitting it with the pamato.
· The “It” must always put back the can in an
upright position until he/she can tag a player who will become the new “It”.
Though
rules of the game may appear different in some aspects it is pretty clear that
a genuine Tumbang Preso game involves
a defensive and offensive gameplay involving multiple players that require
strategy, agility and quick decision making skills.
Existing Tumbang Preso Online Game
Sipa and Patintero already have existing game adaptations
as discussed in the previous review of this document regarding trends in
Filipino games. Tumbang Preso on the
other hand was already being made into a game playable online. Entitled
“Tumbang Preso” , the game is Flash based game that is playable online through
Kongregate.com and Muchgames.com both providing online Flash games to players.
According to the game’s details it was developed in August of 2007 and it is
developed by a Kongregate.com member with the username “halohalo”. The game
itself is still subject for reviews.
Though the game uses the concept of Tumbang Preso it still has a different gameplay compared to the
aforementioned reviews which indicates that Tumbang
Preso is a game that involves both throwing objects and tagging players
while running unlike on this game wherein the gameplay is similar to a
“whack-a-mole” game played in arcades only knocking objects by throwing
flip-flops . This game has the following objective and gameplay:
· There will be a number of holes in front of
the player. On those holes both a can and a tarsier will pop out.
· In order to proceed to the next level the
player must hit only the cans using the slippers on a given amount of time. A
can successfully hit is equivalent to a point but once the player hits tarsier
the player’s score will be deducted.
· If the player happens to hit the required
number of cans on a given amount of time then the player proceeds to the next
level but if the player fails to hit all the cans on a given time frame and the
player will be asked to try again
Unity 3D
Unity
3D is a game development software that is capable of developing games in 3D. It
caters programming languages such as UnityScript, C#, Boo and JavaScript that
most programmers find comfortable and easy to learn and master. Vervoort said
“Right out of the box you get a pile of useful assets, plus a Terrain Engine,
Physics Engine, Networking, and support for nearly every major file format
imaginable. Unity also supports 3D sound, lets you write your own Shaders (to
change the appearence of ingame objects), has multiple kinds of lighting (with
flares, halos, cookies, etc), and more.Unity definitely does not lack in the
features department” Unity 3D Unites
Code… (Vervoort, 2008). Unity 3D could also export games in different
platforms like Playstation, Xbox, Wii, Flash, Android, iOS and Windows.
Though
focused on developing 3D games, Unity is proven to also be an effective 2D game
engine. With a solid documentation and online support Unity 3D sure is a good
game engine for developers to use. Unity 3D may seem to only cater 3D games but
according to Ian Strandberg “Unity is not ideally suited to 2D games but it is
far from crippled and its flexible nature and modular architecture gives it
advantages you might not find in a 2D engine.” Why Choose Unity 3D – Part 2(Strandberg, n.d.) because Unity 3D
also has easy to learn sprite management features that 2D game developers may
find useful.
As for the
level of difficulty in learning the software Maria Korolov claims in her
article 5 Reasons to… (Korolov, 2011) that
“It’s simple to use. There are no confusing menus or keyboard commands or
other distractions.” and added that “Everything is mesh-based right from the
start. Objects and animations are more realistic — and there is a wealth of
material available, both free and commercial, in the form of mesh”. With the
mentioned statements above it may be as well conclusive that Unity 3D is one
versatile software and with the right knowledge and concept game developers and
designers can now easily jump to game development in no time.
Synthesis
With the
aforementioned reviews of related literature and related studies, the
researchers are convinced that the proposed research study which is to
implement a game adaptation of the traditional game Tumbang Preso will be implemented accordingly with the purpose of
instilling the game’s fundamentals and principles to the consciousness of its
players. Given that Unity 3D is free and has many technical features such as
its built -in physics engine, scripting/programming functions and modeling
functions that would cater the designing & development process of the game
especially the game is proposed to be in a 3D perspective, not to mention the
support features and tutorials that can be obtained from its main website and
on other known Unity 3D tutorial sites. Also the researchers are convinced that
this study will contribute to the preservation of traditional Filipino games
and the researchers also believe that this study may bring the advantages of
gaming mentioned in the related literatures regarding gaming and its benefits
since this study aims to instill the fundamentals of the game to the players in
way that the game itself would present Filipino characters, setting, storyline
and most of all gameplay which will be accurately based to the Tumbang Preso rules being reviewed in
this chapter.