Like in any other storytelling media, a common mechanic is to have the main character be a fish out of water. A stranger in a strange land. A victim of the timey-wimey ball. It’s a great way to associate the player with the character they are playing – when the game starts, both have the same amount of knowledge about the game world.

In the following ten games, you play as a character transported to a new world. Can you name the games – and even better, can you name the worlds they are sent to?

1. A scientist working with a particle accelerator is suddenly transported to a brutally dangerous, alien world. He is captured by one alien race and escapes by befriending another.

2. A humble roadie is sent into a world where every heavy metal album cover has come to life and gone to war.

3. A patron of a renaissance fair is suddenly thrust into a classical fantasy world where his moral decisions become incredibly important.

4. A young boy and his friends are drawn through a magical book into a fantasy world where they must become mercenary soldiers while trying to find each other and find a way home.

5. Three astronauts – a soldier, an archaeologist and a reporter – are zapped through time and space to an alien world. They must fix broken alien technology, learn about the culture, and fight the temptation of immortality in order to get home.

6. A young boy uses crazy technology to travel to another world dominated by shadow creatures in order to save his dog. Or does he?

7. After its mothership is destroyed, a spacecraft scrambles away…only to be trapped in space warped by someone.

8. A young woman, born of a world of technology, accidentally transports herself to a parallel world of magic. She is then tasked with bringing balance back to both worlds.

9. You find a book with odd pictures, which transports you to a strange island. Other books lead to other worlds, and only by unraveling the secrets of the books and their authors can you get home.

10. A comic book artist, working late one night, has his current artwork struck by lightning. This causes him to trade places with the villain of his comic, who then spends the rest of the game drawing enemies for the artist to fight.

Good luck! If you win I promise I won’t cast my next experimental teleport spell anywhere near you. Or think about you while casting it. Wait…

In a lot of games, the PCs trade in their carts, donkeys or cars for large, sleek vessels worthy of the only important people in the world.

Here is a list of ten vessels. In which games are the players fighting in, on, over, or with the following ships?

1. The Skybreaker

2. The Zinderneuf

3. The Normandy

4. The Highwind

5. The Wall Cloud

6. The Ishimura

7. The Daedalus

8. The Rickenbacker

9. The Eidolon

10. The Borealis

Good luck! If you win, I’ll name the first yacht I buy in your honor.

Here we go again!

Eight games. One thousand twenty four pixels from each. One guesser – you. Hardly seems fair.

Know what will cheer me up? A Name That Game!

Sometimes in a game, there’s a place where all the moving and shaking happens. This place has the best nightclubs, the most plot leads and the richest trading opportunities. Exception: if the whole game is set in one city, it’s obviously the seat of power and thus isn’t on this list.

So here are ten “seats of power”. Can you name each game they are from?

1. The Citadel

2. Muirthemne

3. Starport

4. Skara Brae

5. Denerim

6. The City

7. Hephaestus (note: actually a district in a larger city, but this is where the leaders hung out)

8. Vivec

9. Detroit

10. The Hub

Good luck and have fun! If you win, I’ll invite you to live in this incredible undeground city I’m making out of an old salt mine and a bunch of school busses.

UPDATE:

The game, which we have already established is an Origin game, is currently free on the GOG.com website. I still will not accept an answer unless you can tell me why I took the photo.

And since I’ve got at least one Facebook friend who actually worked on the game in question, I’m going to be disappointed if no one gets it.

Jeff Dee, I am looking in your direction!

Time for Name That Game 87!

Last time I was in Austin, I took this included picture. Can anyone tell me what game inspired me to do this? It’s not enough to name the game; you need to tell me why the picture is significant in order to win.

And I’ll give you a hint – it’s an Origin game.

For every authoritarian system you find in video games, there will also be another group devoted to its overthrow. Sometimes these are oh-so-creatively called the “Resistance” or the “Rebellion” or whatnot. But sometimes these groups have actual names that sometimes actually mean something.

Here are eight groups dedicated to sticking it to the man. Can you name the games they came from? And better yet, can you name the “man” they are trying to stick it to?

1. Northwest Secessionist Forces

2. AVALANCHE

3. Red Faction

4. Carrion Crow

5. Sons of Korhal

6. John Brown’s Army

7. The Woodsie Folk

8. The Laytonites

Good luck! If you win, I promise that simply imprison you when I catch you instead of having you executed.

Below you will find eight 32×32 images cropped from various games. Your mission? Identify the games. The stakes? Preventing World War 3. Your reward? Um…the satisfaction of knowing that you’re right.

Good luck! If you win, I promise to dedicate 1024 pixels from my next game in your honor.

It’s time once again for Name That Game!

Forgive me for this incredible digression, but in honor of the announcement of Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition, in this Name That Game you’ll be naming paper-and-pencil RPGs…based on their mechanics. For each system, I’ve provided the basic stats, the stat and skill range, how combat is resolved and how non-combat tasks are resolved. Can you, given this information, name the games?

1.
Stats: Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, Intelligence, Education, Social Standing
Stat Range: 2 to 12
Skill Range: 1 to 6

Basic Combat Resolution: 2d6 + Skill; must roll 8 or higher

Non-Combat Task Resolution: Varies a lot, but usually it’s 2d6 + Skill; must roll higher than GM-assigned target

2.
Stats: STR, DEX, CON, INT, WIS, CHA
Stat Range: 3 to 18
Skill Range: None

Basic Combat Resolution: 1d20 – target’s armor class; must roll equal to or higher than a number based on the character’s race, class and level

Non-Combat Task Resolution: There are non-combat tasks?

3.
Stats: STR, AGL, AWR, WIL, HLT, POW
Stat Range: 1 to 10
Skill Range: 1 to 10

Basic Combat Resolution: 2d10 < 11 - 2 * ( melee skill - enemy AGL ) Non-Combat Task Resolution: 2d10 < 11 - 2 * ( player skill - assigned difficulty ) 4. Stats: Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, Intelligence, Education, Social Standing Stat Range: 2 to 12 Skill Range: 1 to 6 Basic Combat Resolution: 2d6 + skill - enemy skill; must beat a number based on the difficulty of the attack; most attacks are considered routine tasks Non-Combat Task Resolution: 2d6 + skill - any time penalties - any risk penalty; must beat a number based on the overall difficulty of the task 5. Stats: ST, DX, IQ Stat Range: 8 to as high as the player can afford Skill Range: None, you either have a skill or you don't. Basic Combat Resolution: 3d6; must roll your own adjusted DX or less to succeed Non-Combat Task Resolution: 3d6; must roll your own IQ or less to succeed 6. Stats: STR, DEX, CON, BODY, INT, EGO, PRE, COM Stat Range: 1 to 20 Skill Range: 9 + ( Controlling Stat / 5 ) to as high as the player can afford Basic Combat Resolution: 3d6; must roll (11 + Attacker's Ofensive Combat Value - Defender's Defensive Combat Value) or less Non-Combat task resolution: 3d6, must roll your skill or less, modifiers can apply 7. Stats: B, Q, S, C, I, W, E, M, R Stat Range: 1 to 6 Skill Range: 1 to 6 Combat resolution: A difficulty for the attack is determined. The player then rolls the same number of six-sided dice as their skill level, adding dice from a "pool" based on their stats. If at least one die rolls the success number or higher, the attack hits. Non-Combat task resolution: The GM declares a "success" number. The player then rolls the same number of six-sided dice as their skill level. If at least one die rolls the success number or higher, the task succeeds. 8. Stats: ST, DX, IQ, HT Stat Range: 10 to as high as the player can afford Skill Range: 0 to as high as the player can afford Basic Combat Resolution: 3d6; must roll your weapon skill or less - enemy then can roll against a defensive skill to avoid the attack Non-Combat task Resolution: 3d6; must roll your skill or less, modifiers can be applied. Good luck! If you win, I promise not to cheat on my dice rolls the next time I GM a game you're playing in. Unless it would be funny.

Lots of games like to introduce a group of Guys In Charge – whether it be a corporation, police force or government. The Guys In Charge are powerful. They control everything. They can be overt or shadowy. And it’s almost always the fate of the protagonist to defeat them.

Here are 10 groups of authoritative administrations. Can you name the games they come from?

1. Shinra Corporation

2. Civil Protection

3. World Economic Consortium

4. EuroCorp

5. The Alpha Sections

6. Meggido

7. Majestic 12

8. Ultor Corporation

9. The Royal Family of Arulco

10. Cruiser Tetron

Good luck and have fun! If you win, I’ll paint the walls with your blood! Unless you don’t want me to. Your choice.

In today’s Name That Game, we are returning to images – but not complete screenshots.

Below you will find eight 32×32 (1024 pixel) images cropped from various games. Can you guess them all?

Click each image to view it in the original size if necessary.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.