DVD Studio Pro 3: In the Studio

Chapter 8. Games and Easter Eggs

In this chapter

DVD Games

Easter Eggs

This chapter includes some of the lightest themes, but also the heaviest use of DVDs. (Isn't that always true of computer games?) We'll look at adding fun, interactive elements to your DVD projects with some tutorials, Easter eggs, and outright games.

DVD Games

With scripting at your command, you can create some remarkably interactive games on DVDs. You can make simple "choose your path" stories or intricate treasure hunts that track a viewer through complex and interesting menus or video clips.

For the games we'll develop in this chapter, we're going to concentrate on features you've already seen in previous chapters. We want to show you how to use those features in unique ways to accomplish some spiffy projects. In the "Easter Eggs" section, we'll introduce a few new concepts that lend that "next-level" feel to your DVDs.

Teaching Go

Go is an ancient Chinese game that is enjoying a renaissance throughout Asia. Its rules are remarkably simple, but mastering play takes a lifetime and even then leaves room for learning. Basically you and your opponent take turns placing stones on a board (see Figure 8-1). There's obviously more to it, but that's really the crux of play. If your opponent surrounds your stones with his stones, he can take your stones. You keep going until the game is, well, over. (It's usually obvious when the game is over, but not always obvious who won.) You can find more on Go at http://senseis.xmp.net/ ...