- third place in the "industry" category, and
- the Made-in-Brunei Award.
August 11, 2010
Pasang Emas won awards
Pasang Emas won the following BICTA 2010 awards:
July 31, 2010
Official boost for Pasang Emas
The Authority for Info-communication Technology Industry of Brunei Darussalam (AITI) hosted a ceremony to hand over copies of Pasang Emas to the Ministry of Education.
Media coverage of the ceremony:
Our photographer was unusually negligent during the ceremony. After the ceremony, we had this photo taken of the three people who made Pasang Emas a reality: the initiator, the developer and the mentor.
Media coverage of the ceremony:
Our photographer was unusually negligent during the ceremony. After the ceremony, we had this photo taken of the three people who made Pasang Emas a reality: the initiator, the developer and the mentor.
July 27, 2010
Lilliputians play pasang too!
"Majlis Ilmu" is an annual event to commemorate the birthday of His Majesty the Sultan of Brunei.
This year, pasang was featured rather prominently in the exhibition gallery of Majlis Ilmu. Three different renditions of the game were exhibited. There were the usual,
the giant,
and the electronic.
There was also a luxurious board, placed high on an exhibition rack, away from naughty hands that might tarnish its beauty.
Another traditional game, congkak, was also exhibited.
On a pasang board, there is usually a square cup in the middle called "gadong".
The "gadong" is not really significant to the game. It is used to keep pieces, or, if you make it large, to restrain playful kids!
After successfully testing that unorthodox feature, the kids were released unharmed. By then they were subdued enough to give a good demonstration of the game.
They were playing against a pair of formidable opponents.
Visitors witnessed a fierce battle. Capture! Capture! No mercy!
After the throng of visitors subsided, two key people in the development of Pasang Emas posed in front of their baby.
And the four fighting kids were friends again.
This year, pasang was featured rather prominently in the exhibition gallery of Majlis Ilmu. Three different renditions of the game were exhibited. There were the usual,
the giant,
and the electronic.
There was also a luxurious board, placed high on an exhibition rack, away from naughty hands that might tarnish its beauty.
Another traditional game, congkak, was also exhibited.
On a pasang board, there is usually a square cup in the middle called "gadong".
The "gadong" is not really significant to the game. It is used to keep pieces, or, if you make it large, to restrain playful kids!
After successfully testing that unorthodox feature, the kids were released unharmed. By then they were subdued enough to give a good demonstration of the game.
They were playing against a pair of formidable opponents.
Visitors witnessed a fierce battle. Capture! Capture! No mercy!
After the throng of visitors subsided, two key people in the development of Pasang Emas posed in front of their baby.
And the four fighting kids were friends again.
July 8, 2010
Network play
Pasang Emas version 3.0.0 comes with a new feature. It is now possible to play against your friends across the network. Here is a screen shot of the network dialog:
The game server was running in the same computer from which I took the screen shot, thus the name "localhost" for the server. The server currently does not perform authentication, thus the missing entry box for password.
Five other players were already logged in. The three players with status "Waiting" were really netcat session. I used netcat to debug the game protocol and preserve my sanity. The two players with status "Playing" were actual Pasang Emas sessions running on separate computers in a lab.
The game server was running in the same computer from which I took the screen shot, thus the name "localhost" for the server. The server currently does not perform authentication, thus the missing entry box for password.
Five other players were already logged in. The three players with status "Waiting" were really netcat session. I used netcat to debug the game protocol and preserve my sanity. The two players with status "Playing" were actual Pasang Emas sessions running on separate computers in a lab.
May 24, 2010
How it really looks like
A primary school teacher posted this blog entry containing many pictures showing pasang boards the way they are traditionally made. Notice the "cup" in the middle of each board. This cup, called "gadong", plays no part in the game. The first player is supposed to accumulate her bounties in there, while the second player puts hers on the table. The game is in no way affected if this purely ornamental rule is not observed. In fact this cup actually blocks from view pieces near the centre.
When I learnt pasang, my mentor lent me a set with wooden pieces. I think that's the way they were traditionally made. But the bulky wooden pieces, which must have been a hassle to make, gave way to the more convenient and cute coat buttons, conveniently available at the nearest supermarket at a very affordable price. Two themes in an early version of Pasang Emas parodied this button-using trend. Notice in some of the pictures the use of red and bluish buttons for the kas. Red and blue combination is a convention introduced by Pasang Emas.
Jabatan Muzium-Muzium (Department of Museums) published reference cards showing traditional opening arrangements. You can see these cards in some of the pictures.
A secondary school posted this blog entry showing pictures of students learning pasang. Here again we can see the unmistakable traditional board dotted with tailor buttons. The man with the white cap must be the instructor. Indeed he must be. He is my pasang mentor.
When I learnt pasang, my mentor lent me a set with wooden pieces. I think that's the way they were traditionally made. But the bulky wooden pieces, which must have been a hassle to make, gave way to the more convenient and cute coat buttons, conveniently available at the nearest supermarket at a very affordable price. Two themes in an early version of Pasang Emas parodied this button-using trend. Notice in some of the pictures the use of red and bluish buttons for the kas. Red and blue combination is a convention introduced by Pasang Emas.
Jabatan Muzium-Muzium (Department of Museums) published reference cards showing traditional opening arrangements. You can see these cards in some of the pictures.
A secondary school posted this blog entry showing pictures of students learning pasang. Here again we can see the unmistakable traditional board dotted with tailor buttons. The man with the white cap must be the instructor. Indeed he must be. He is my pasang mentor.
May 17, 2010
Create your own opening patterns
Pasang Emas version 2.1.0 has a new feature. It is now possible for players to create their own opening patterns. Clicking the menu item [Game | Custom Patterns] opens up the pattern editor.
The editor is so simple that I didn't bother to write a user guide for it. You may create as many patterns as you wish. Each pattern must consists of exactly 60 white pieces. To use the patterns simply click [Apply].
The screen shot below shows a game opening using a custom-made pattern.
Here are some patterns that I composed:
All of them, except the last two, have symmetrical 6x6 (overlapping) tiles. Some are "pairs" that use the same tiles but arranged differently. The first pattern also has a night-and-day symmetry where the pattern and the background form the same shape.
The editor is so simple that I didn't bother to write a user guide for it. You may create as many patterns as you wish. Each pattern must consists of exactly 60 white pieces. To use the patterns simply click [Apply].
The screen shot below shows a game opening using a custom-made pattern.
Here are some patterns that I composed:
All of them, except the last two, have symmetrical 6x6 (overlapping) tiles. Some are "pairs" that use the same tiles but arranged differently. The first pattern also has a night-and-day symmetry where the pattern and the background form the same shape.
May 10, 2010
Random patterns
Pasang Emas comes with 6 buttons to generate random patterns. The pattern generator behind these buttons is programmed to produce patterns with the same kinds of symmetries found in the traditional patterns, except for finer symmetries within 6x6 quadrants, though such symmetries may arise purely by chance. The generator is also programmed to produce other kinds of symmetries not found in the traditional patterns.
A technique employed by the generator that works rather well in composing pleasing patterns is to intentionally break an otherwise highly symmetrical arrangement.
The following are samples created by the pattern generator. Some are worthy rivals of the traditional patterns.
Square symmetry
The first pattern generator button is configured to produce patterns with 4 mirror axes, as shown in these samples:
The patterns in the first 2 rows have quadrants with 4 mirror axes. The ones in the first row are night-and-day arrangements where the pattern and its background form the same shape. The third row shows patterns having quadrants that are diagonally symmetrical. The fourth row shows patterns that almost belong to the first 2 rows, but their symmetries are broken in the centre. The last row lacks finer symmetries.
Night-and-day symmetry
The second button produces night-and-day patterns with a 4-fold symmetry. Here are some samples:
4-fold symmetry
The third button issues patterns with a 4-fold symmetry, such as these:
The first row shows patterns with quadrants having their own symmetries. The second row shows patterns that almost have mirror symmetries, but are broken.
Horizontal and vertical symmetry
None of the traditional patterns currently known to Pasang Emas have only horizontal and vertical mirror axes. The fourth button fills this gap, creating patterns such as these:
The patterns in the top row have symmetrical quadrants or symmetrical halves. The patterns in the middle row are almost diagonally symmetrical.
Diagonal symmetry
The fifth button composes diagonally symmetrical patterns, such as these:
In the first row, quadrants are translational images of each other. The second row shows patterns with broken horizontal and vertical symmetries.
2-fold symmetry
The sixth button produces 2-fold symmetrical patterns. A 2-fold symmetry is the least symmetrical arrangement that still fairly divides the playing pieces between the top and bottom halves of the board. Here are some samples:
The patterns in the top row have symmetrical quadrants or symmetrical halves. The second row exhibits patterns that almost have further symmetries.
A technique employed by the generator that works rather well in composing pleasing patterns is to intentionally break an otherwise highly symmetrical arrangement.
The following are samples created by the pattern generator. Some are worthy rivals of the traditional patterns.
Square symmetry
The first pattern generator button is configured to produce patterns with 4 mirror axes, as shown in these samples:
The patterns in the first 2 rows have quadrants with 4 mirror axes. The ones in the first row are night-and-day arrangements where the pattern and its background form the same shape. The third row shows patterns having quadrants that are diagonally symmetrical. The fourth row shows patterns that almost belong to the first 2 rows, but their symmetries are broken in the centre. The last row lacks finer symmetries.
Night-and-day symmetry
The second button produces night-and-day patterns with a 4-fold symmetry. Here are some samples:
4-fold symmetry
The third button issues patterns with a 4-fold symmetry, such as these:
The first row shows patterns with quadrants having their own symmetries. The second row shows patterns that almost have mirror symmetries, but are broken.
Horizontal and vertical symmetry
None of the traditional patterns currently known to Pasang Emas have only horizontal and vertical mirror axes. The fourth button fills this gap, creating patterns such as these:
The patterns in the top row have symmetrical quadrants or symmetrical halves. The patterns in the middle row are almost diagonally symmetrical.
Diagonal symmetry
The fifth button composes diagonally symmetrical patterns, such as these:
In the first row, quadrants are translational images of each other. The second row shows patterns with broken horizontal and vertical symmetries.
2-fold symmetry
The sixth button produces 2-fold symmetrical patterns. A 2-fold symmetry is the least symmetrical arrangement that still fairly divides the playing pieces between the top and bottom halves of the board. Here are some samples:
The patterns in the top row have symmetrical quadrants or symmetrical halves. The second row exhibits patterns that almost have further symmetries.
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