Realm Of Empires on Mobile

Realm of Empires is a very popular, Multiplayer Online Real Time Strategy Game, running successfully on Facebook having 25 realms. The game now has a mobile version too. Lets see how to access Realm Of Empires via mobile.

1st Step : Accessing Facebook on Mobile

In the address bar enter http://m.facebook.com

2nd Step : Login to Facebook 

Enter your email id and password to login

3rd Step : Accessing Realm Of Empires

Clicking on the icon in the left corner ( the icon with three horizontal lines) displays a panel in the left

4th Step : Search Realm Of Empires 

At the top of the panel in the left, there is search bar just above your name .
Enter Realm Of Empires in the search bar
From the list displayed select Realm Of Empires App

OR
You can select Realm of Empires from the panel in the left

5th Step : Select Realm - Login to Realm Of Empires 

WORK from HOME ! Suspicions ! Questions ! Raised Eyebrows !!

Last few weeks I have been juggling between working, traveling, meeting people, visiting friends, family, extended family. Everywhere I went, there were a few questions that every individual wanted to know. The amazing part was, the questions were all similar. The expressions on their faces changed from REALLY ! NOT believable ! Suspicion ! How is that possible ?  Well... I left it to them to ruminate our discussion :)

Why can't people understand there are jobs beyond being a doctor, professor or working in an MNC ? So, here it is, how I am put under the GUN -

1st Bullet fired...........What do you really do ?

Automatically I smile and almost grinning ear to ear, I say, I work as a tester, very well knowing this is not going to be accepted with open arms. Once a friend of mine had the cheek to say, "AH ! now i know why you smell so nice- You are a perfume tester." Another one shot, may be a food tester, she cooks well too. Some of them want to seriously know about my work. I go ahead telling them all about testing websites. Most of them think this is just a recreation with no stability. I have failed to explain them Errr..it's real work. I don’t do this for fun or entertainment, this is what I live, love, work, breathe!! Surprisingly, I still get asked in social gatherings - SO, what do you do now? Working ? Did you find some stable job ? !! Everyone is ready with references ! Well... I take it as their affection for me.

     2nd Bullet fired by people who have an idea what i do.....What is the need of working in a start up ? Why put in so much effort, time and hard work ? Get a stable and respectable job in some MNC, you will get paid so well!!

           How to make people understand this simple fact- its NOT all about money, status, position. I survive on adrenaline rush, the feeling of missing a heart beat before every new release, the excitement of feedback , highs and lows, chasing deadlines every other day and doing the seemingly impossible tasks?! EVERY DAY is an achievement. Yes, I can get a “stable, cushy” job in an MNC, but that is not what I would enjoy. I want to face challenges every day. I want to learn ,know and try a new thing every day. The sheer routine in an MNC, of being given one particular job, day after day will drive me up the wall.

3rd Bullet........... Experimenting is a good thing, trying new things is good- But for how long ? When will you settle down ?

Err...Do I look unsettled ? 'Settle down' - what does that actually mean ? OK, i don't have a job like your daughter in IBM, but I am very much settled. I love my job. I don't get time. It is not something I do to FILL IN GAPS of the time i have. Working from HOME does NOT make the job any less powerful and it makes no difference working in small company. You REALLY want to learn and progress, work in a start up !! It's true, I just need an internet connection and a device to do my work. Isn't it amazing ! Well, it appears more unbelievable I guess.

4th Bullet shot by suspicious people who are on the internet and have a good idea of the work i do. Without looking up from their mobiles, with glasses resting half way on their nose - they say with a gruff voice - The world out there is BAD for women. Is it not difficult to manage people on internet ? 

     Yes, it is not a cake walk. Specially when you have to deal with a new set of people. Out of 10 people 8 have tested my boundaries. Acceptance is low. But, that does not mean I will sit and sulk. Should I stop trying ? Should I just give up ? In my experience over the years , I have had great working relationship with my male bosses, colleagues, clients.  At the end of the day - EVERYONE respects a professional. Just focusing on what the work is and getting it done puts everyone at ease. The thumb rule of keeping quiet and not letting yourself loose at work place works very well on the internet too for women ! In fact, I have also been told to have fun sometimes :)

5th Bullet.....After they see, I have not given up..... Will this kind of a job keep you happy always ?

     This made me think a little. And I said - My journey is fulfilling. I cannot think of any other way to of being more happy. This is what I live and breathe. I am passionate about every single new creation, testing it, making it better. It's like putting life into something and presenting it to the world.

THIS IS WHAT that KEEPS ME HAPPY amongst the many others these days

       The beautiful MOBILE VERSION of Realm of Empires in its nascent stage !

  

How to divide ?

In a recent experience at work, I was unable to express my feelings when an issue came up about dividing work. At any work place, work is usually divided so that everyone shares the responsibility and their is an effective output. Even at home, children are encouraged to do their work, while elders contribute to running the house. It's basically a team work.

 Ah ! YES.. it's team work.  In team work, there are NO boundaries. It is SHARING of work. It is NOT who gets to do what work. It is the final outcome that matters. Being in small team, we ALL have been contributing to almost everything that comes our way, as long as one has the skill and experience to do it. AND we have ALL been HAPPY and CONTENDED. Happiness is a beautiful word and the ONLY thing that makes life meaningful.

I love telling stories...I will keep it short....So here it goes...
I had a class of about 30 students some years back. One day, I thought of giving them a treat. When they entered the class, 15 alternate desks had a box of  Pizza. As the students entered the class, the aroma made them all say WOW !!!

Some were very happy to see the box on their desk, while others looked at me with curious eyes.
My impatient student could not hold his tongue and asked, " Why only some students have this wonderfully smelling box. And what has to be done."

My little curious student had already opened the box and blurted," It has a Pizza divided into two. One half is small and the other is big."

And the little whiny student said, " This is partiality. All of us don't have it."


By now the class had settled. I said , " ALL of you can have the pizza BUT it has to be SHARED, dividing it between the two of you.Each box is for two students"

Everyone NOT having the box beamed at the thought of getting the share. In a minute, everyone had teamed with another and were enjoying the treat.....

Arrr.....I could hear  Miss Grumble mutter something under her breath, " This greedy boy, ate the BIGGER piece."

And ofcourse, Mr. Angry was shouting, " What was the need to give unequal pieces. Now who will get what."

Miss contended asked her clever friend to eat whatever he wanted , meanwhile she would do her Math Assignment. The clever friend ate the bigger half of the two pieces and even took chunk from the smaller piece, keeping it in his lunch box to be eaten later. ishhhh.... little did the clever student know that  Miss  contended knew it all but would not be bothered.

Mr. Diplomat said to his partner," What's there to divide, we are friends... let's eat whatever we can." And he ate so fast, almost gobbling that the relaxed guy just got a mouthful. Well... this is what is called a healthy , foody competition, I guess.

I could not hold my smile when I saw Mr. Calculative measuring the Pizza pieces with scale and cutting out a chunk of bigger pizza and adding it to the smaller one, equally distributing between the two.

Ah... the scientific student looked up at me and asked , which piece would be healthy ? The bigger or smaller ? The bigger piece has vegetables but a lot of cheese too.... I think, the smaller piece is healthier and ate it.

And my Miss sweet and Mr. Sharing came over to me. Miss Sweet smiled and said," Mr. Share has decided that we should share the bigger piece with you, so that both of us get an equal share. " he he...I patted them both.

I was observing each pair and after a while, I called Miss Amiable and Mr. Happy in front of the classroom and asked, " Will you please share how did you both distribute and eat the Pizza pieces. "

Both gave a puzzled looked at me and then the to the class. What they said puzzled the class even more. They said, " We don't know. We just ate."

Miss truthful got up and said, " You guys are lying. We all have been bickering and fighting and trying to find a solution , as to - How to divide the unequal pizza pieces equally."


Mr. Happy said, " I did not even notice there were two pieces. Miss Amiable did you?"
Miss Amiable said," I saw two pieces but did not notice they were unequal. We were happy with the thought that we got a Pizza and have enjoyed it completely. Infact, a little is still there. Would anyone want to have it."


This brought tears in my eyes. Little kids, may not have understood, so I explained to them. This is how life is. In life, you will always have to work in teams, share your things, divide your workload. If you are happy and amiable not only will you enjoy whatever you are doing, just like Mr Happy and Miss Amiable but with time you will NOT even know what you are eating or which work has to be done by whom. Your only aim would be to have a productive output. In life, there should not be what I am supposed to do and what you should be doing. It is "A team effort" that always wins.

Signing off on that note.... And if you wanna try out this kind of team work, you should be playing Realm Of Empires, a unique , online, real time strategy game.

THE GDC 2012 , excerpts

Games Developer Conference, 2012 

John Romero To Prospective Indie Devs: What Are You Waiting For?

In the GDC 2012 Panel "Back To The Garage: The Return of Indie Development" discussion panel with Tim Sweeney (Gears of War), Jordan Mechner (Prince of Persia), Markus "Notch" Persson (Minecraft), and Adam Saltsman (Canabalt).

 

If your team isn't big enough to make complex games so companies like Zynga couldn't rapidly clone, it was suggested putting as much work into doing PR for your game as you do making it to take ownership of the idea publicly.

 

Don't be afraid to piss off your players

 Spry Fox Games CEO David Edery in his GDC 2012 post-mortem says

"When you have a game with an existing population, and you're not reaching the level of success you want, you need to be willing to make radical changes."

 

 

How designers can increase innovation in their games

Spry Fox's Daniel Cook says, "Iterate with the willingness to change direction. Milestones are the enemy of innovation. In real invention the goals change."

 

How to see games as sets of interesting decisions

 Civilization series creator Sid Meier says, "It's the combination of this wonderful fantasy world that you create and the interesting decisions that the player gets to make in that world that really is the sum total of the quality of your game."

 

10 indies, 10 ways to think outside the box 

 

 

 Eliss and Faraway creator Steph Thirion says,"We should have tools that make us more productive; that make us happier… that we have control on, that we improve, and no one else knows better what these tools should look like than us.A movement like that must come from us." 

 

Mikengreg's Mike Boxleiter spoke up about some of the "drama" circulating the IGF — he disputes the common idea that the IGF "makes" stars, in the wake of the narrative arc presented by Indie Game: The Movie. "The only reason that Fez is anything is because the [people on that project]… didn't give up for five fucking years. That is what makes you a superstar. It's giving everything that you have, every day."  

 

 

Rob Jagnow of Lazy 8 made Extrasolar, said "You innovate and you get cloned; you fail to innovate and you get ignored,". So what can indies do? They can innovate in form, in ways that will be protected by copyright and set the games apart from competitors. Aesthetic, story and characters aren't steal-able and make games stand out. Another solution is to take giant risks — high risk design behaviors tend to set products far apart from the idea-stealers and static market leaders.

 

Antichamber creator Alex Bruce shared "The desire to always make the most of whatever situation I'm in and not talk myself out of whatever opportunities before I've even tried... is the reason I'm here today." 

 

Crash Course in Games Writing

 

"Learn Better Game Writing in a Day," taught by LucasArts' Evan Skolnick.

"It's important to remember that you're a smaller piece of the overall puzzle, sitting 

alongside art, audio, and programming departments under a producer or creative director. 

People tell me they have a great story for a game," said Skolnick. "That's like going to a

movie studio and saying I have a great soundtrack." The key for any successful games 

writer is to work with all of these different departments to make sure that the story comes 

through in all different departments, from the people creating the environments and 

characters to the ones delivering the dialogue."

GDC: Making Indie Games Ain’t Easy 

In a panel called “Back to the Garage: The Return of Indie Game Development,”
Epic Games founder Tim Sweeney, Minecraft creator Markus “Notch” Persson, Doom creator John Romero, Canabalt cocreator Adam Saltsman and Prince of Persia creator Jordan Mechner discussed these hurdles.

 Sometimes a developer can’t do anything about the rampant plagiarism of ideas in the indie space, argued Semi Secret co-founder Adam Saltsman, a creator of the one-button indie hit Canabalt. Saltsman suggested that focusing on crafting “a secret sauce” for your game that cannot be easily replicated might be a way to combat cloners.Even once you have the financial resources to bring your indie game to life, spreading the word about what you’ve created can be just as challenging.“Building relationships with distributors and press is really critical,” said Epic’s Sweeney.

The panelists said that even if your indie game goes on to become a success, staying creatively motivated is crucial.

 

 GDC: Why Smartphone Games Are Socially Awkward

Roque said that games that lack Facebook integration could end up generating more interesting and viral Facebook posts.

The hit game Temple Run lets you automatically create a text-only tweet bragging about your high score, Devine said. But she discovered it through a screenshot of a high score that a friend took manually and uploaded to Facebook. 

This, she said, grabbed her attention more because it had a personal touch: “It’s the actual person themselves posting that picture, not like FarmVille posting it,” she said.

 

Tapping the collective creativity of your team

Radical Entertainment’s Marcin Chady packed a whole hours’ worth of information into his 25-minute talk

There is a paradox at the heart of game development, Chady said, with team members expected to be passionate about all aspects of games and game design. However, once they land in their role individuals tend to become highly specialized, with little impact on other aspects of the game.With the goals of retaining independent creative decision making while also helping team members make informed assessments of new ideas, give a home to suggestions and engage QA teams more in the game-making process

 

Education Summit talk at the 2012 Game Developers Conference

Infocom and LucasArts veteran Brian Moriarty outlined some key principles of game design education, arguing that the best way to teach students is to force them to figure it out on their own.His strategy is "hurling students into the crucible of game design."
"Perlenspiel engine demonstrated how hard students will work if they are playfully and firmly challenged."

 

GDC 2012: One size doesn't fit all in Asia Pacific - PopCap

"There are much higher monetization rates [than in the U.S.]," Ryan said. Monetization of social and online games is significantly higher in Japan with ARPU [average revenue per user] that can be around two to five times greater when compared to U.S. games.There are other notable differences, between Chinese social games and those in the U.S. For example, "gifting" isn't as popular as a retention incentive. And In China, players respond to, expect, and are willing to pay for in-game advantages. In the U.S., players tend more to pay for self-expression such as virtual accessories for avatars.

 

 

For Game Developers and Mathematic freaks ONLY

The Battle Simulator - A MASTERPIECE !

If i had a way, i would put this in the gallery of GDC ! This is not one of Da Vinci's creation, nor does it have a visible Monalisa smile. You may not be able to relate the golden rectangle ratio also, in this table which mathematicians found in the Monalisa creation. BUT, if you dig deep inside, understand it , you will definitely not miss the smile on your face.

So, what is this ? This is THE BATTLE SIMULATOR of  a unique MMORPG, Realm Of Empires. Just to give a brief, the game is about building villages, recruiting troops, attacking other players to get their villages to build an empire. Playing blind in real life or in a game usually turns into a disaster. So, the village to be attacked is spied, to see the troop level and accordingly, attacks are sent to clear the village.

To know about the outcome of the battle even before the battle goes through, it is very essential for forward planning. This Battle simulator knows it ALL. So, what does it calculate ?

 It takes the attacks strength of the troops compares with the defense strength of the troops and gives the results. Sounds so simple ? Look into it deeper and you will find 100's of permutation and combinations calculated in a split second

The Mathematical, logical,  ZONE
The Various factors on which calculation is done.
- The 8 different types attacking troops that could be sent alone or in combinations.
- The various combinations of defending troops
- Take into account if the village has defense bonus
- Take into account if the attacker has attack bonus activated
- Take into account if the defender has defense bonus activated
- Take into account if the defender has completed the research to get its bonus

- The RAMS target the WALL of  the defending village. The result of the remains of the wall is calculated.











- The TREBS can target and pull down any building of the defender. Again, there are 12 different options to choose from. And these 12 different options have different levels that can be targeted. Wow!!




- The result of ONLY spy attack.The higher the ratio of the number of spies in the village to the number of spies attacking, the higher the chance that the defender will see the attack coming, the higher the chance he will find out who sent the spies, and the lower the chance the attacking spies will be successful in getting information about the target village. Attacking spies can only be killed by defending spies.

 DESERTION occurs when sending a small attack over a long distance.
The longer the distance the more troops you will lose to desertion.
You can prevent any desertion by increasing the number of troops you send in an attack, or including a governor with the attack.



BATTLE HANDICAP is used to balance battles Strong players attacking weaker ones do so with a handicap.

Handicap is based on the ratio of points of the players and you can calculate it here.The points of player can be updated easily



 Not only does the tool calculate, it has been provided with features to make it easy to use.

- Option to insert troops from a particular village as attacking/ defending
- Option to insert troops from all the villages as attacking/defending
- Option to copy the remaining defending troops as defending troops.
- There are options to copy the report directly in the battle simulator, making it easier to populate the battle simulator to calculate results.

Realm Of Empires

The BEAUTY of this masterpiece can be experienced ONLY when you use it. I have not known anyone who could decipher the mathematics, the logic and the intricately woven code in it, besides the creators.In my experience of using this tool, i still learn and understand something new about it. I think, i can only boast of not having any bugs. Anyone up to the challenge of understanding this beauty and test it ?

The Oscars !

Oscar the Knight

I have always been intrigued by this magnificent statuette, made of gold-plated britannium on a black metal base, it is 13.5 in (34 cm) tall, weighs 8.5 lb (3.85 kg) and depicts a knight rendered in Art Deco style holding a crusader's sword standing on a reel of film with five spokes. The five spokes each represent the original branches of the Academy: Actors, Writers, Directors, Producers, and Technicians. What is the significance or the idea of having a statue as this for The Academy Awards ? How does a NUDE KNIGHT, covering his modesty with a SWORD, fit in?

For instance, the APPLE symbol, i have always thought it as the forbidden fruit. And, everyone would like to have it. And APPLE products have carved a niche place, desired by many !


While there is no harm in dreaming about the red carpet and flowing gowns with a speech ready, to hold this honor- one has to put in some effort to make the dream come true too. But, how to make this dream true ? Not in my wildest of dreams i can imagine myself to be there even by the age of 82 like Christopher Plummer, who won for his role as an elderly widower who comes out as gay in 'Beginners.' Standing Ovation for his achievement !

OK, back to my dreams. Looking at the statue, it definitely gives me an idea to have a slightly altered form. Oscars, please don't sue me. I am just imagining. A knight rendered in Art Deco style holding a crusader's sword in one hand as it is now.While the other hand holding a pen. And this would be for the players of Realm of  Empires, a medieval-themed Massively Multiplayer Online Real-Time Strategy Game - MMORTG.

You start with a small village, grow it into a mighty fortress, struggling to dominate the realm playing with and against real people. It's a game of DIPLOMACY, STRATEGY and WAR. A unique game for people, inspiring them to be great leaders!

This statue with a sword and a pen describes the core concept of the game ! The GOLD plated statue depicts the magnificence of  great leaders who have the attitude to bring people together, to overcome any situation and WIN. To achieve this, two strategies are adopted. The SOFT POWER or/and the HARD POWER.

Proposed design of the sword at one end having a pen at the other end

THE SOFT POWER : The use of PEN i.e initiate diplomacy. Try to resolve the situation with talks, communication - even if it means compromising sometimes, to maintain peace. The world needs leaders who can bring people together and make this world a better place to live in.

THE HARD POWER : Well, there are situations when things just don't work out ONLY with the pen. Now, is the time to lift the SWORD !
But, always remember the statue. When you lift the sword it bares you completely.The magnificence of the statuette is completely gone. Now stands a man exposed. Not a worthy site ! Wars, only cause destruction leaving people bare and exposed.

This unique game Realm Of Empires, essentially teaches you to maintain a balance between your WORDS and SWORD to achieve success. So, i guess we have the RoEscar awards ready. Just waiting for the design of the proposed statuette to be approved :)

Realm Of Empires

Life's greatest lesson - Experience through Game Mechanics

EXPAND YOUR VISION !

Are you wearing Blinkers ? Have you limited your vision by CHOICE and have accepted it as destiny ?

One of the biggest things that we need to learn in life is the importance of expanding our vision in life.

This is an example from a leading game, Realm Of Empires, an online real time strategy game. You can almost play, the entire game, from the map. The MAP comes in various sizes varying from 7X7 to 45X45 ingame and a RoE mapper power tool which i prefer calling as the STRATEGIST TOOL.

 Let's analyze the 7X7 MAP. I call it the beginners guide. Its like having a glass of wine, just taking in the aroma, twirling it round and round- but not getting to taste it. So the 7X7 map, just gives you an idea of  the basic features. You can keep moving around to see the entire realm, each time by clicking on the side bars, twirling it round and round. The game can still be played but it is limiting. LIMITING ? Did i just say limiting? How can it be limiting when it allows you to play the game ? It is because you have limited your vision to a small part of a vast reality that is available to you. Your are ONLY believing in what is in front of your eyes and nothing beyond it. 

Understanding concepts

In this 7X7 map you can see only a few neighboring 15-16 villages of the 30000 villages. Analysis shows,players using only this map interact with the few around them. Usually, it is noted that success factor is not as fast as compared to players using 19X19 map, the LARGE MAP

 

Setting Goals for yourself

Let's see the benefit of 19X19 map. It gives you a larger view of the players around you. Gives you a clearer picture of who your clanmates are in green shields, your opponents in red shields.Performance of players using this map improves tremendously.

Setting Goals for the team

 

Looking further at the GIANT MAP which gives you 45X45 map. I have always believed that there is one characteristic that sets leaders apart and it's the ability to see possibilities that can be uncovered, having a logical foresight to broaden the scope of finding more opportunities. This is exactly what is aimed at, by giving this map.This map gives an expanded view, allowing you to make strategies, finding more opportunities for yourself as well as your team or clanmates. 

When you believe ONLY what your eyes see, then your vision is limited to a small part of a vast reality that is actually available to you. This limits your experience to a small part of a much larger potential that you are capable of. To expand your vision always look out for multiple paths available to you. Depending on what you allow yourself to know, you will learn and  grow, transforming your life.

Defining Your VISION to achieve the Mission !

Widen your prospective

Now, all these maps are available in the game and i call them the OPERATIONAL TOOLS. There is another tool to discuss strategies with your team, The RoE MAPPER - The STRATEGIST TOOL 

What is the need of strategic tool in a game or in any organization ? While operational perspective aims at achieving short term goals, strategic thinking helps in achieving the MISSION. Moving from a operational position to a strategic position sounds lucrative but is NOT easy. Often excellent performers, goal achievers fail when it comes to team management and taking strategic decisions. WHY ? because they have never exercised their strategic muscles ! 

This game aims to develop your strategic muscles, to prepare you for your real life ! 

Not only does it develop your social skills, broadening your perspective by dealing with people belonging to different cultures, traditions, standards but also prepares you to run an organization

• Identify what’s meaningful in the data. The data here is huge. The map shows you data of thousands of players. Filtering the unimportant is important
• Keep focused on what’s important and not be distracted by the huge visual content.
•  Build your thinking by practicing scenario planning. Practice the ‘What if’ scenario exercise. Go to Show campaign view under tools in the RoE Mapper. Basically it means, exploit the tools available. In the everchanging technological era, try out the latest technologies.
•  Have discussion with potential members of the team. Identify the benchmarks from current state to desired / future vision state. Communicate, communicate and communicate !
•  MOTIVATE the team to strive for those benchmarks.
• Revisit regularly and update the Mapper to see progress. Important for organizations for forward planning, removing the kinks , finding solutions to pitfalls on the way. ALWAYS remember, a good strategic leader is one who is unmovable towards the intent, but flexible in the path. Follow up is a MUST !

Success can come only when you take a risk to venture beyond the obvious boundaries !