[quote name='dangermoose' timestamp='1309308400' post='4828894']
Through a series of very fortunate events an associate of mine and I discovered a "board game" believed to have been played by the ancient Aztecs; a game thought to have been lost to antiquity.
Could you explain this? This claim seems pretty amazing to me.
Also, as for coding the game, I'd look into HTML5.
[/quote]
Be happy to. I appreciate your skepticism and the opportunity to explain. A dear friend of mine has been doing humanitarian work in Mexico and Central America for a number of years. I met him as a foreign exchange student from Brazil while he was studing something like anthropology or Latin American studies at SDSU. We exchange correspondence every so often, he to tell of his travels and I to tell him what life is like here since he left. Back in late 2004 he sent me an enthusiastic message about his experience in a small village in the Sierra Norte region of Mexico. Apparently their is a large population of Nahuatl
(descendants of the Aztecs) there. He had visited a small mercantile shop and eyed a unique adobe table with diamond-shaped impressions on it. The shopkeeper informed him it is
"Itzcoatl - a game played by generations of my people." At first, Andreo thought that this might be a version of
Patolli, (a well-known boardgame played by the Aztecs featured in some of the Aztec Codices) but the shopkeeper explained it is not Patolli. He and his family sat down with Andreo and he showed him stones used to play the game, and shared stories and legend about the game and their heritage. When Andreo asked why he had never seen nor heard anything about the game the shopkeeper smiled and said, "...there is much about our history not to know."
In his letter to me, Andreo explained that much of the Aztec ancient history was destroyed not just by the Conquistadores but by the leaders of the Aztecs themselves. In an ironic twist of fate the shopkeeper said to him that if there ever was any written account of this game, it was destroyed over 600 years ago, proabably by the Aztec leader for which the game is named, Itzcoatl
(he was the fourth ruler of the Aztecs who was instrumental in their rise to dominant power in Central America in the 15th century.) Any knowledge about Itzcoatl has simply been passed down from generation to generation. Unfortunately, when he asked how the game was played, the shopkeeper tried his best to explain the rules but no one in his family had actually played it. Much of the actual rules and gameplay has truly been lost to antiquity.
As an avid fan of all types of games (not just computer) I was highly intrigued by his letter and after numerous exchanges we proceeded to "realize" the game ourselves. We developed an interpretation of the original game which is exciting, fast-paced and downright fun to play. It also has a few great "spoilers" in it. The prototype of the board game has shown us the game is also extremely addictive as most people who have tried it want to play it over and over.
There is much more history and stories to tell but that will be tied into the marketing and further development when we actually go into serious production.
-Moose
