Monday, March 22, 2010
Friday, March 5, 2010
SL Adventures: Goth Club
Some of the characters at Nocturnia Designs' Club Zero. I love the outfits of the couple chained together in the back.
The DJ shows off her "crazy hair". I'm still not sure what to think.
Loving this dude's demonic style. There's my noob avatar dancing in the background. I do love listening to The Birthday Massacre, though.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
SL Caledon Oxbridge Village Exploration
While exploring the Caledon Oxbridge Village in Second Life, Linden Lab’s 3D virtual world, I noticed a few patterns. Since Oxbridge Village is part of the Independent State of Caledon, a series of Estate Sims following a “steampunk” theme, the scenery and design for each of these in-world settlements adhere loosely to both steam-powered scientific and technological breakthroughs as well as a 19th century Victorian flavor. Going into the world, I was initially looking to see how well the Victorian theme was implemented as well as the sci-fi, fantastical technology theme. I noted that Oxbridge Village successfully created a convincing atmosphere of a living world, blending both these themes by including transportation and historically accurate architecture, clothes, and behavior. The village’s structure additionally supported an emphasis on commerce.
> Period and Steampowered Transportation:
A stone bridge linked this island to Caledon Caer Firnas, with a steam locomotive train running along the tracks. I also found a flying airplane and saw an airship in the distance over the adjacent SteamSkyCity.
> Architecture and Scenery:
Island is scenic, deserted and removed, only connected to the next town via the train. Colonial style houses lined the streets almost like a southern town, though most of the residences were empty or had shops on the inside. Houses were largely unfurnished but outfitted with well matched and subtly elegant floorboards, tiles, oriental rugs and floral/geometric wallpapers. Other features included clearly marked shops. Architecture is gorgeous and spot on- mix of elegant colonial and romantic Victorian style houses and more industrial looking equipment such as 2 factory looking buildings (that were clothing shops on the inside), and steam generators (large copper looking protrusions from the ground).
Other buildings included whimsical Dodo Redux, an elegantly furnished restaurant/bar with places to sit, and 1 observatory type place with clocks, moving solar system models, and an open roof to view the night sky.
I also saw what seemed to be a university, and interestingly enough on the inside consisted of a series of rooms interlinked by passageways and teleporters that displayed bulletin boards with information for visitors. For example, the “College of Comunication” room held 10 bulletin boards outlining proper etiquette, just like in the real Victorian era: no begging, friendship regulations, courtesy regulations, region ratings/avoiding sexual behavior, use of weapons, privately owned properties, community standards- “we hold ourselves to a higher standard of manners”, and says “period clothing and behavior are encouraged and welcomed". Bulletin boards in other rooms concern a tutorial on chatting in SL (10 bulletin boards in first room) and a Dodo bird museum exibit, though it didn’t really have too much information past noting the dodo bird is “known for his handsome tail and sparkling conversation”, which I witnessed firsthand when the stuffed bird talked to me, repeated what I said, and gave me a kiss when I asked nicely. The“colleges” or sections of the university, are separated by category relating to the bulletin boards in each to teach the user something about camera control or basic movement in Second Life. Example- there was a bulletin board that would instruct you to fly up to a whale skeleton, and type in the word engraved there to receive a prize.
Natural scenery is notable: Weeping willows drooping over roads, cobbled roads, night/day cycles show a gorgeous sunset, 1 park with a brook, 1 private garden with fountains, benches, flowers and trellises.
Although I didn't see any steampunk attired inhabitants while I was on the island (besides 1 woman that stayed for 2 minutes dressed in jeans and a t shirt), the scope of the Caledon world was suggested in the variety of products displayed at all the shops. A big, Victorian style house that looked like a residence but was a shop on the inside was selling couple’s poses and romantic and cosy furniture. The Steampunk Emporium sold furnishings, crudely technological accessories, clothing such as top hats, steampunk firearms, and even textures for building houses. Alice in Caledon advertised ladies' apparel and dresses, as well as 2 other shops devoted to womens' wear too (I didn't find any shops devoted entirely to menswear). Another more modern looking brick building held a Caledon Oxbridge Fencing game inside, though I saw no combatants. Inside 2 factories, I found clothes for sale as well as everything from top hats and pocket watches to books, furniture, an air krakken, kites, a carousel: smaller items cost 100-400 linden dollars usually, with larger animated items like the kraken priced at 1000 or over.
One thing I found interesting was how the SL prices didn't seem to correspond to real world prices or values at all. For example, a gun with many bullet animations from the Steampunk Emporium is priced at 200-400 LD, the same price as an entire airship. Something strange I found was an advertisement for Na'vi avatars based on the characters from Jame Cameron's AVATAR movie- I didn't think this fit with the Victorian theme though it was loosely sci fi.
Leading off from the main circle around the central park of the town, I found The Markets on Thistle Hill, a circle of vending stands and buildings that were clearly shops: Circle of 10 shops; 3 were spaces for rent, 1 selling classic elegant jewelry, 1 selling toys and office items, all Victorian styled; 1 selling valentine’s day type things; 1 selling period dress; some selling Victorian furniture.
> Period and Steampowered Transportation:
The village was laid out in a loose grid surrounding the central park and gazebo. Cobbled streets branched off in all four directions, with shops and houses situated along them. Streets were marked with lampposts and street names. 2 or 3 stagecoaches were there to carry passengers in a fixed route along the streets! How quaint.
A stone bridge linked this island to Caledon Caer Firnas, with a steam locomotive train running along the tracks. I also found a flying airplane and saw an airship in the distance over the adjacent SteamSkyCity.
> Architecture and Scenery:
Island is scenic, deserted and removed, only connected to the next town via the train. Colonial style houses lined the streets almost like a southern town, though most of the residences were empty or had shops on the inside. Houses were largely unfurnished but outfitted with well matched and subtly elegant floorboards, tiles, oriental rugs and floral/geometric wallpapers. Other features included clearly marked shops. Architecture is gorgeous and spot on- mix of elegant colonial and romantic Victorian style houses and more industrial looking equipment such as 2 factory looking buildings (that were clothing shops on the inside), and steam generators (large copper looking protrusions from the ground).
Other buildings included whimsical Dodo Redux, an elegantly furnished restaurant/bar with places to sit, and 1 observatory type place with clocks, moving solar system models, and an open roof to view the night sky.
I also saw what seemed to be a university, and interestingly enough on the inside consisted of a series of rooms interlinked by passageways and teleporters that displayed bulletin boards with information for visitors. For example, the “College of Comunication” room held 10 bulletin boards outlining proper etiquette, just like in the real Victorian era: no begging, friendship regulations, courtesy regulations, region ratings/avoiding sexual behavior, use of weapons, privately owned properties, community standards- “we hold ourselves to a higher standard of manners”, and says “period clothing and behavior are encouraged and welcomed". Bulletin boards in other rooms concern a tutorial on chatting in SL (10 bulletin boards in first room) and a Dodo bird museum exibit, though it didn’t really have too much information past noting the dodo bird is “known for his handsome tail and sparkling conversation”, which I witnessed firsthand when the stuffed bird talked to me, repeated what I said, and gave me a kiss when I asked nicely. The“colleges” or sections of the university, are separated by category relating to the bulletin boards in each to teach the user something about camera control or basic movement in Second Life. Example- there was a bulletin board that would instruct you to fly up to a whale skeleton, and type in the word engraved there to receive a prize.
Natural scenery is notable: Weeping willows drooping over roads, cobbled roads, night/day cycles show a gorgeous sunset, 1 park with a brook, 1 private garden with fountains, benches, flowers and trellises.
> Commerce:
Although I didn't see any steampunk attired inhabitants while I was on the island (besides 1 woman that stayed for 2 minutes dressed in jeans and a t shirt), the scope of the Caledon world was suggested in the variety of products displayed at all the shops. A big, Victorian style house that looked like a residence but was a shop on the inside was selling couple’s poses and romantic and cosy furniture. The Steampunk Emporium sold furnishings, crudely technological accessories, clothing such as top hats, steampunk firearms, and even textures for building houses. Alice in Caledon advertised ladies' apparel and dresses, as well as 2 other shops devoted to womens' wear too (I didn't find any shops devoted entirely to menswear). Another more modern looking brick building held a Caledon Oxbridge Fencing game inside, though I saw no combatants. Inside 2 factories, I found clothes for sale as well as everything from top hats and pocket watches to books, furniture, an air krakken, kites, a carousel: smaller items cost 100-400 linden dollars usually, with larger animated items like the kraken priced at 1000 or over.
One thing I found interesting was how the SL prices didn't seem to correspond to real world prices or values at all. For example, a gun with many bullet animations from the Steampunk Emporium is priced at 200-400 LD, the same price as an entire airship. Something strange I found was an advertisement for Na'vi avatars based on the characters from Jame Cameron's AVATAR movie- I didn't think this fit with the Victorian theme though it was loosely sci fi.
Leading off from the main circle around the central park of the town, I found The Markets on Thistle Hill, a circle of vending stands and buildings that were clearly shops: Circle of 10 shops; 3 were spaces for rent, 1 selling classic elegant jewelry, 1 selling toys and office items, all Victorian styled; 1 selling valentine’s day type things; 1 selling period dress; some selling Victorian furniture.
Later, I attended a krakken event on the Caledon Caer Firnas island, but when I arrived, I watched the 5 people there engaging in a shooting range competition instead and I didn't see the krakken. At least I got a free rifle out of it! As one might expect, the people I saw and talked to spoke formally, like one might expect someone in the Victorian era to speak; 1 was dressed in a more technological, grungy steampunk outfit while the rest were sporting more Victorian outfits. This also gave me a chance to witness more themed vehicles- a steam powered large "walker" and a mini airship someone's avatar was riding in.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Qualitative Research: A first look at Second Life
Although I'm no stranger to the popular online virtual world Second Life, delving deeper into the imaginative and complex subcultures that thrive in the digital realm will be a new experience for me. In order to feel comfortable enough studying communities I find there, I'll need to feel comfortable in my own digital skin.
In Second Life, the avatar you control reflects your individuality and presents an image of you to everyone you meet and interact with. When I first joined SL, I was dissatisfied with my avatar- even after tweaking and playing with the settings to alter your avatar's default body shape and facial features, a new user is still left with a basic looking character. After becoming comfortable using the interface for movement and growing accustomed to navigating my inventory, I found a few other items for my avatar. I outfitted her with some less blocky looking flowing hair more suited to my style, and a few accessories including a bass guitar. I also used SL's building/object creation feature to create a rudimentary lightsaber just for experimentation's sake that didn't end up looking too shabby, although now my avatar looks like a rogue Jedi that just escaped from some rock concert on Coruscant or a grungy cantina bar.
As I explore more communities and regions in SL, I plan to pick up more realistic and attractive looking skins and faces and outfits to further customize my avatar.
Why yes, I am on a pirate ship.
In Second Life, the avatar you control reflects your individuality and presents an image of you to everyone you meet and interact with. When I first joined SL, I was dissatisfied with my avatar- even after tweaking and playing with the settings to alter your avatar's default body shape and facial features, a new user is still left with a basic looking character. After becoming comfortable using the interface for movement and growing accustomed to navigating my inventory, I found a few other items for my avatar. I outfitted her with some less blocky looking flowing hair more suited to my style, and a few accessories including a bass guitar. I also used SL's building/object creation feature to create a rudimentary lightsaber just for experimentation's sake that didn't end up looking too shabby, although now my avatar looks like a rogue Jedi that just escaped from some rock concert on Coruscant or a grungy cantina bar.
As I explore more communities and regions in SL, I plan to pick up more realistic and attractive looking skins and faces and outfits to further customize my avatar.
Why yes, I am on a pirate ship.
Friday, December 18, 2009
My Final Game Analysis Walkthrough: Sushi Samurai
I put my own knowledge of game design to work to create Sushi Samurai, the small, action/adventure platforming game I created in GameMaker 7 for my final project. After hours of painstaking work and planning, frustrating programming, and often disappointing setbacks, I now have an idea of what it's actually like to produce the games we play. Lackluster content and buggy mechanics aside, I think the most successful aspect of my game is the overall story and concept.
My game aesthetic takes the traditionally cutesy, quirky concept of animate sushi with a darker, grittier feel of more mature action and fighting games; while the environments look about as semi realistic as 2D platforms on a gridded-out object placement system could look, the idea of the game is to navigate through the mossy stones and mountain precipices to collect sushi ingredients. The otherwise muscular, mean-looking samurai hero is dressed in ironically hot pink and neon green armor, lending a charming look to the game.
The monsters are clearly sushi rolls, although they certainly look evil and menacing with bugged out eyes and gaping mouths of sharp teeth. The Dragon Roll boss monster is only slightly more frightening than his smaller minions, with the addition of taloned limbs and the ability to breathe dangerous, fiery projectiles at the hero.
While the story is basic, unfolding through only two levels, it makes sense in the context of the story and drives the action. Text alerts substituting for cutscenes speak to the player as if they were the samurai hero, informing you that you must climb the mountain to return pieces of cursed sushi to the mighty Dragon Roll, a huge sushi roll currently possessed by an evil spirit that has killed your father, a master sushi chef, and is holding his spirit hostage. Once the player collects all the sushi pieces, they are prompted to defeat the monster before entering the final level, where they must dodge fireballs the Dragon Roll spews around the cave and hit him 10 times to defeat him and avenge the hero's father.
Although I'm proud of the overall result of my game, I wish I could have fixed a lot of problems I didn't get to as a result of time constraints and the confusing, often unpredictable and fineckey GameMaker software. The two levels are short and lacking content, and I'd initially planned to include some other pickups to enrich gameplay; there might be some health boosters, or pickups that would make the player temporarily invincible, as well as an extra costume for the hero or a ranged weapon even that would serve as milestone rewards to keep the player interested. I had also wanted to add more complex levels, complete with ladders to climb, keys to get, traps to avoid, and doors to extra areas to open.
I also wanted to add more sprite animations to further characterize the hero and the sushi enemies; I had actually made animated gifs of a walk cycle and an action of the samurai swinging his sword, but I could only include 1 image for the fight sequence; for some reason my game would freeze when more than a single frame of an image was included as the sprite, even though I had included an action for the fighting hero object to turn back into the default hero object after the animation had ended. I had also intended for the sushi minions to have zombie walks and attack animations, although this didn't work out, and my attempted "AI" system (would pace along paths, sense the presence of the hero when he got close enough to attack him, and follow him after that) for the enemies seemed to crash my game and cause glitches.
In the end, I had to simplify some of the grander ideas I had initially had for my game. It was certainly an experience though.
And here it is:
http://www.yoyogames.com/games/106293-samurai-sushi
My game aesthetic takes the traditionally cutesy, quirky concept of animate sushi with a darker, grittier feel of more mature action and fighting games; while the environments look about as semi realistic as 2D platforms on a gridded-out object placement system could look, the idea of the game is to navigate through the mossy stones and mountain precipices to collect sushi ingredients. The otherwise muscular, mean-looking samurai hero is dressed in ironically hot pink and neon green armor, lending a charming look to the game.
The monsters are clearly sushi rolls, although they certainly look evil and menacing with bugged out eyes and gaping mouths of sharp teeth. The Dragon Roll boss monster is only slightly more frightening than his smaller minions, with the addition of taloned limbs and the ability to breathe dangerous, fiery projectiles at the hero.
While the story is basic, unfolding through only two levels, it makes sense in the context of the story and drives the action. Text alerts substituting for cutscenes speak to the player as if they were the samurai hero, informing you that you must climb the mountain to return pieces of cursed sushi to the mighty Dragon Roll, a huge sushi roll currently possessed by an evil spirit that has killed your father, a master sushi chef, and is holding his spirit hostage. Once the player collects all the sushi pieces, they are prompted to defeat the monster before entering the final level, where they must dodge fireballs the Dragon Roll spews around the cave and hit him 10 times to defeat him and avenge the hero's father.
Although I'm proud of the overall result of my game, I wish I could have fixed a lot of problems I didn't get to as a result of time constraints and the confusing, often unpredictable and fineckey GameMaker software. The two levels are short and lacking content, and I'd initially planned to include some other pickups to enrich gameplay; there might be some health boosters, or pickups that would make the player temporarily invincible, as well as an extra costume for the hero or a ranged weapon even that would serve as milestone rewards to keep the player interested. I had also wanted to add more complex levels, complete with ladders to climb, keys to get, traps to avoid, and doors to extra areas to open.
I also wanted to add more sprite animations to further characterize the hero and the sushi enemies; I had actually made animated gifs of a walk cycle and an action of the samurai swinging his sword, but I could only include 1 image for the fight sequence; for some reason my game would freeze when more than a single frame of an image was included as the sprite, even though I had included an action for the fighting hero object to turn back into the default hero object after the animation had ended. I had also intended for the sushi minions to have zombie walks and attack animations, although this didn't work out, and my attempted "AI" system (would pace along paths, sense the presence of the hero when he got close enough to attack him, and follow him after that) for the enemies seemed to crash my game and cause glitches.
In the end, I had to simplify some of the grander ideas I had initially had for my game. It was certainly an experience though.
And here it is:
http://www.yoyogames.com/games/106293-samurai-sushi
Walkthrough: Medieval II: Total War
In his walkthrough of Medieval II: Total War for the PC, Ethan demonstrated the sheer scale and complexity of the massive turn-based strategy game. The game even begins with an ambient introductory cutscene to set the historical scene before showing the player a series of menus where they can choose different campaigns and game modes to play through, and different factions, each with their own unique military units, strengths, and weaknesses play as.
The game's basic resource management and conquest goals are the same as similar, smaller-scale games like Age of Empires, Civilization, or Age of Mythology, although these are much more involved and it can take days or weeks to finish a single game. The interface is suited to display all the necessary information the player needs to run their empire by compactly grouping stats, indicators, scores, and units into sidebars or pop-out menus; players balance everything from their income, public order, religion, population growth, and politics, to trade, and even marriage. The player occasionally receives tidbits of historical information or period quotes relevant to the current actions they're taking or resources they're managing to enrich the believability and immersiveness of the game. Voiceovers and other audio cues even have regionally appropriate accents.
The interface impressively accomodates the flood of information the player receives to make it more manageable, allowing the to zoom in on and pan around around their map environment. When zoomed out, military units on the weather-correct map are represented by banners instead of individual figures, although the player isn't left out of the close up battle action at all; in battle mode, the player is treated to a closer cutscene of authentic looking soldiers that are a step up from the usual "cookie-cutter" men. The user can direct their units to use various strategies to win the battle, though the player does have the option of letting the computer automatically determine which side would win, albeit only based on numbers for the sake of saving time.
In this case, its greatest strength is also its greatest weakness: Although the huge scale makes it very challenging, there is certainly no obvious shortage of content and replay value, and that's not even including the multiplayer option or expansion packs.
The game's basic resource management and conquest goals are the same as similar, smaller-scale games like Age of Empires, Civilization, or Age of Mythology, although these are much more involved and it can take days or weeks to finish a single game. The interface is suited to display all the necessary information the player needs to run their empire by compactly grouping stats, indicators, scores, and units into sidebars or pop-out menus; players balance everything from their income, public order, religion, population growth, and politics, to trade, and even marriage. The player occasionally receives tidbits of historical information or period quotes relevant to the current actions they're taking or resources they're managing to enrich the believability and immersiveness of the game. Voiceovers and other audio cues even have regionally appropriate accents.
The interface impressively accomodates the flood of information the player receives to make it more manageable, allowing the to zoom in on and pan around around their map environment. When zoomed out, military units on the weather-correct map are represented by banners instead of individual figures, although the player isn't left out of the close up battle action at all; in battle mode, the player is treated to a closer cutscene of authentic looking soldiers that are a step up from the usual "cookie-cutter" men. The user can direct their units to use various strategies to win the battle, though the player does have the option of letting the computer automatically determine which side would win, albeit only based on numbers for the sake of saving time.
In this case, its greatest strength is also its greatest weakness: Although the huge scale makes it very challenging, there is certainly no obvious shortage of content and replay value, and that's not even including the multiplayer option or expansion packs.
Walkthrough VII: Ghostbusters
The main strength of the design for Ghostbusters for the Xbox was how well it complemented the movies; the game environments stayed true to the movies, followed some of the same storylines with the same characters, and tied up loose ends from the series. The original actors voiced their videogame counterparts, the music effectively captures the creepy atmospheres, and even some of the movie enemies show up.
The rich environments make up for the linear gameplay plot; the player can otherwise occupy themselves with sidequests, finding artifacts, unlock achievements, and exploring extensive areas like the firestation where character development actually occurs as a result of spending time "getting to know" the characters in your player's squad more. Nearly everything in the environments contain destructibiles and can be damaged- you can burn walls, explode clocks, topple carts, destroy tables, and interact with certain objects that shimmer to give you a hint.
The interface also contributed to the cinematic, first-person interactive effect since there were no onscreen indicators. The player's health is displayed on the ghostbusters pack on their character's back, ghost readings and menus pop up on the onscreen "PKE meter", and fellow Ghostbusters provide all the audio hints the player would need.
The rich environments make up for the linear gameplay plot; the player can otherwise occupy themselves with sidequests, finding artifacts, unlock achievements, and exploring extensive areas like the firestation where character development actually occurs as a result of spending time "getting to know" the characters in your player's squad more. Nearly everything in the environments contain destructibiles and can be damaged- you can burn walls, explode clocks, topple carts, destroy tables, and interact with certain objects that shimmer to give you a hint.
The interface also contributed to the cinematic, first-person interactive effect since there were no onscreen indicators. The player's health is displayed on the ghostbusters pack on their character's back, ghost readings and menus pop up on the onscreen "PKE meter", and fellow Ghostbusters provide all the audio hints the player would need.
Walkthrough VI: Plants vs. Zombies
Greg covered Capcom’s Plants vs. Zombies game, stressing the casual aspect of the downloadable cartoony game. Gameplay is simple though challenging enough to be engaging, easy to pick up, the levels are short enough for someone to play for a few minutes at a time in between their busy schedule.
The silly, whimsical characterization, and the unique style of the action and arcade style game is eye-catching to new and seasoned gamers alike. Even though the goal of defending one’s property against the advancing undead with garden plants was simple enough, it had replayability; the game includes survival mode, mini games, puzzles, and an adventure mode to unlock more content in. You can also take care of your Zen garden, which gives you coins to spend these at Crazy Dave’s shop to get plant upgrades and garden accessories.
The silly, whimsical characterization, and the unique style of the action and arcade style game is eye-catching to new and seasoned gamers alike. Even though the goal of defending one’s property against the advancing undead with garden plants was simple enough, it had replayability; the game includes survival mode, mini games, puzzles, and an adventure mode to unlock more content in. You can also take care of your Zen garden, which gives you coins to spend these at Crazy Dave’s shop to get plant upgrades and garden accessories.
Walkthrough V: Age of Empires II
As is the case with most resource-management based titles, the real-time Age of Empires II offers a complex array of choice-driven gameplay. First, the player chooses from different civilizations to play as, each with their own unique strengths and military units (ex. gunpowder for the Spanish, camel cavalry for the Saracens, superior ships for the Vikings, and slow but powerful elephants for the Persians). The game also allows you to customize its settings, difficulty level, and maps.
The basic plot/setup for the game is similar to all Age of Empires and Age of Mythology titles- the player must build their civilization as they progress through the ages, and each new age reached allows you to research more upgrades, build new buildings, and produce and equip new units with which to explore and conquer the other nations on the map. The concept is more casual and less time consuming than Medieval Total War, for example, and most games can be finished within an hour or two.
Some features make the semi-large scale of the game easier to manage, starting with the aerial isometric view to give a clear look at the sprawling map, while giving enough visual information as to what the player's units and buildings are doing. Features like "idle villager" and the outlines showing when units are hidden behind trees or a building allow the player to easily locate all of the people they control. The interface itself is a compact, graphically themed frame that holds allthe necessary resource supply numbers (Ex. food, wood, and gold), and health statuses and military formation options for a player's selected units. Historical facts are incorporated into the gameplay to further enrich the action.
More goal content comes into play in the form of winnable achievements and different goals to try and meet (time, conquest, wealth, trade, capturing of relics, and the building of expensive Wonders). The player can also choose to follow specific capaigns that follow the rough backstories of some of the included characters.
The basic plot/setup for the game is similar to all Age of Empires and Age of Mythology titles- the player must build their civilization as they progress through the ages, and each new age reached allows you to research more upgrades, build new buildings, and produce and equip new units with which to explore and conquer the other nations on the map. The concept is more casual and less time consuming than Medieval Total War, for example, and most games can be finished within an hour or two.
Some features make the semi-large scale of the game easier to manage, starting with the aerial isometric view to give a clear look at the sprawling map, while giving enough visual information as to what the player's units and buildings are doing. Features like "idle villager" and the outlines showing when units are hidden behind trees or a building allow the player to easily locate all of the people they control. The interface itself is a compact, graphically themed frame that holds allthe necessary resource supply numbers (Ex. food, wood, and gold), and health statuses and military formation options for a player's selected units. Historical facts are incorporated into the gameplay to further enrich the action.
More goal content comes into play in the form of winnable achievements and different goals to try and meet (time, conquest, wealth, trade, capturing of relics, and the building of expensive Wonders). The player can also choose to follow specific capaigns that follow the rough backstories of some of the included characters.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Game Analysis Walkthrough IV: Bad Company
Zach focused on the immense level of destructibility in Battlefield: Bad Company for the xbox. The player can destroy almost everything in sight, causing satisfying sandbox style lasting damage to the environment; the player can do everything from knifing through a door, exploding barrels or a port-o-potty, shooting holes in walls and roofs, leveling trees and lightpoles in a tank, and setting fire to vehicles. Even enemies you've already killed will still be dead if you restart the level from your last checkpoint.
Other plusses of the game are the immersive interface and driving gameplay. The onscreen indicators are very limited and minimal- a 3D map in the corner is helpful for helping the player find their location , and the amount of ammunition and health is displayed discreetly in the corner of the screen. When the player is taking damage, the screen turns gray and red to let them know they're under attack and are losing health. The first person shooter graphics are realistic and the customizable weapon kits and collectibles further drive gameplay.
A few failings of the game though, are little weak points that take you out of the action- the story about a military squad chasing a gold shipment into a neutral country, thereby causing a conflict is vague, and dubious. The characters are cheesily comedic, and the "health" system is unbelievable since it seems you can instantly heal yourself after some gunshot wounds by injecting yourself with adrenaline. Sometimes, the character movements are too stiff or don't quite flow smoothly with the environment (ex. walking speed is the same on land as it is when you wade through water).
Other plusses of the game are the immersive interface and driving gameplay. The onscreen indicators are very limited and minimal- a 3D map in the corner is helpful for helping the player find their location , and the amount of ammunition and health is displayed discreetly in the corner of the screen. When the player is taking damage, the screen turns gray and red to let them know they're under attack and are losing health. The first person shooter graphics are realistic and the customizable weapon kits and collectibles further drive gameplay.
A few failings of the game though, are little weak points that take you out of the action- the story about a military squad chasing a gold shipment into a neutral country, thereby causing a conflict is vague, and dubious. The characters are cheesily comedic, and the "health" system is unbelievable since it seems you can instantly heal yourself after some gunshot wounds by injecting yourself with adrenaline. Sometimes, the character movements are too stiff or don't quite flow smoothly with the environment (ex. walking speed is the same on land as it is when you wade through water).
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
My Game Walkthrough: Mirror's Edge
For my walkthrough, I analyzed Mirror's Edge, developed EA Digital Illusions CE, powered by the Unreal Engine 3, and released in November 2008 for the Xbox360 and PS3. The game is a single player, first person-view action/adventure, mostly platformer game with sections of fighting and shooting. The player follows the path of Faith, a member of a system of "runners" who physically carry information through a semi-futuristic city that's been otherwise oppressed and kept under close surveillance by a totalitarian regime. The main strength and novelty of the game in my opinion, was the realistic and unique first-person interface.
The player guides Faith fluidly through the game environments by executing time-sensitive combinations of wall runs, wall tacks, jumps, rolls, slides, and other parkour-style acrobatics; the interactivity with the environments is similar to the Prince of Persia games, where there are many areas to freely interact with in different ways, although there's really only one "right" path to follow. There are no distracting indicators on the screen with the exception of a center reference point (that turns into a crosshairs when holding a firearm), creating a more immersive environment that really allows the player to feel like they themselves are in on the action. While the player can't directly see their character, Faith's presence is represented by glimpses of her arms and legs when she reaches for objects, climbs up on platforms, curls in on herself to roll safely from a high jump, or lashes out to punch an enemy.
The game plays through more like a chaptered story than a series of score or performance-based checkpoints, so there are no extra stats to monitor onscreen. There's not even a health bar, although Faith will grunt and the screen will flash red when she sustains a minor injury. If she's taking fire, the screen will flash red and show blood splatters, eventually dimming to black and white as her health fades and she dies. Most of the challenge in the game comes from timing your moves and manuvers correctly, which is paramount to navigating the environment- if you're too slow, you'll often quickly get shot by the authorities (AKA "blues") and the helicopters that follow you closely during chase sequences. If Faith doesn't have enough momentum, or is angled a little bit off from her target, she won't be able to jump or wall run to a far platform or reach a high-up pipe.
These limitations do help to make the gameplay as realistic and plausible as possible. For example, Faith runs slower and can't jump as high once she's picked up a pistol, can't jump or run at all when she's holding a shotgun, and often needs to shoot to break through thicker glass. With the exception of course of surviving extreme falls and multiple gunshot wounds when she has no armor to speak of, the limitations like the small window for executing moves sometimes gets to be annoying- On a couple occasions, I had to repeat a rather long sequence of platforming, fighting, then platforming again between the automatic save checkpoints in the game because of just one jump or wall run that was extremely hard to make if your timing was off at all. This wouldn't have frustrated me so much if there'd been an additional save checkpoint somewhere in between that action, so that I wouldn't have to start over every time I failed to make the jump, on one occasion, starting over INSIDE an elevator where I'd have to wait for it to reach the ground floor and then open before playing through. I also found it unnecessarily annoying how when I was trying to get my bearings of the surrounding rooftops sometimes, Faith just falls if you get too close to a ledge, she doesn't automatically dangle or recover herself.
Timing also comes into play during some of the mandatory fight sequences, which offers a refreshing challenge to the usual shoot-em-up setup. Since Faith is unarmed herself, you have to find a weapon or steal it from an enemy utilizing slow motion- Usually, enemies will be largely immune to kicking and punching, which might knock them back to give you breathing space for a moment, but won't kill them. The more heavily armored "blues" that chase you out of buildings in escape sequences can't even be deterred with pistol fire, thereby forcing the player to exit the level the way they're supposed to by finding alternate routes out, climbing up fountains, breaking through windows, climbing through ventilation shafts, and racing up stairs and hallways instead of trying to cheat and fight their way out of pursuit.
The audio and graphics were particularly essential to aiding gameplay, as red-colored objects offered a hint as to where to go next, and the "hint" B button usually pointed you in the right direction if you were lost- sometimes however, that just made it more confusing since it would be referring to a general, not an immediate course of action, which was increasingly unhelpful when you were unsure whether you could physically make or a jump or not and it actually pointed you AWAY from the platform you were supposed to reach next. Sound cues also clued you in on the action, since Faith herself is mostly characterized from what you see of her in the cartoon-styled cutscenes, her breathing, occasional cursing, and sound effects when she falls, gets shot, or pulls herself up onto a ledge; sometimes your boss would tell you to get going over the radio or inform you of what to do next, and the music would change from a majestic, thrilling tune to a faster pace when you were being chased or under fire.
While the mostly linear, largely homogeneous clean-looking environments aided the "need for speed", get-in-and-get-out dynamic of the navigation, I still would have liked some more content to enrich them. There weren't really any extra pickups besides bonus packs, and interaction with objects in the environment was limited besides platforming on select surfaces, turning the occasional crank, pressing switches, and opening doors. When using a gun, Faith can only fire at enemies- nothing else is destructible (even fallen enemies' dead bodies). Sometimes little pieces add dimension to the city, like a passing train, pigeons that scatter when you run through them, or scrolling advertisements on the screens in the elevators. For the most part, the city seems to be a ghost town with the exception of a few visible cars and passerby in the streets when you're on building tops.
The player guides Faith fluidly through the game environments by executing time-sensitive combinations of wall runs, wall tacks, jumps, rolls, slides, and other parkour-style acrobatics; the interactivity with the environments is similar to the Prince of Persia games, where there are many areas to freely interact with in different ways, although there's really only one "right" path to follow. There are no distracting indicators on the screen with the exception of a center reference point (that turns into a crosshairs when holding a firearm), creating a more immersive environment that really allows the player to feel like they themselves are in on the action. While the player can't directly see their character, Faith's presence is represented by glimpses of her arms and legs when she reaches for objects, climbs up on platforms, curls in on herself to roll safely from a high jump, or lashes out to punch an enemy.
The game plays through more like a chaptered story than a series of score or performance-based checkpoints, so there are no extra stats to monitor onscreen. There's not even a health bar, although Faith will grunt and the screen will flash red when she sustains a minor injury. If she's taking fire, the screen will flash red and show blood splatters, eventually dimming to black and white as her health fades and she dies. Most of the challenge in the game comes from timing your moves and manuvers correctly, which is paramount to navigating the environment- if you're too slow, you'll often quickly get shot by the authorities (AKA "blues") and the helicopters that follow you closely during chase sequences. If Faith doesn't have enough momentum, or is angled a little bit off from her target, she won't be able to jump or wall run to a far platform or reach a high-up pipe.
These limitations do help to make the gameplay as realistic and plausible as possible. For example, Faith runs slower and can't jump as high once she's picked up a pistol, can't jump or run at all when she's holding a shotgun, and often needs to shoot to break through thicker glass. With the exception of course of surviving extreme falls and multiple gunshot wounds when she has no armor to speak of, the limitations like the small window for executing moves sometimes gets to be annoying- On a couple occasions, I had to repeat a rather long sequence of platforming, fighting, then platforming again between the automatic save checkpoints in the game because of just one jump or wall run that was extremely hard to make if your timing was off at all. This wouldn't have frustrated me so much if there'd been an additional save checkpoint somewhere in between that action, so that I wouldn't have to start over every time I failed to make the jump, on one occasion, starting over INSIDE an elevator where I'd have to wait for it to reach the ground floor and then open before playing through. I also found it unnecessarily annoying how when I was trying to get my bearings of the surrounding rooftops sometimes, Faith just falls if you get too close to a ledge, she doesn't automatically dangle or recover herself.
Timing also comes into play during some of the mandatory fight sequences, which offers a refreshing challenge to the usual shoot-em-up setup. Since Faith is unarmed herself, you have to find a weapon or steal it from an enemy utilizing slow motion- Usually, enemies will be largely immune to kicking and punching, which might knock them back to give you breathing space for a moment, but won't kill them. The more heavily armored "blues" that chase you out of buildings in escape sequences can't even be deterred with pistol fire, thereby forcing the player to exit the level the way they're supposed to by finding alternate routes out, climbing up fountains, breaking through windows, climbing through ventilation shafts, and racing up stairs and hallways instead of trying to cheat and fight their way out of pursuit.
The audio and graphics were particularly essential to aiding gameplay, as red-colored objects offered a hint as to where to go next, and the "hint" B button usually pointed you in the right direction if you were lost- sometimes however, that just made it more confusing since it would be referring to a general, not an immediate course of action, which was increasingly unhelpful when you were unsure whether you could physically make or a jump or not and it actually pointed you AWAY from the platform you were supposed to reach next. Sound cues also clued you in on the action, since Faith herself is mostly characterized from what you see of her in the cartoon-styled cutscenes, her breathing, occasional cursing, and sound effects when she falls, gets shot, or pulls herself up onto a ledge; sometimes your boss would tell you to get going over the radio or inform you of what to do next, and the music would change from a majestic, thrilling tune to a faster pace when you were being chased or under fire.
While the mostly linear, largely homogeneous clean-looking environments aided the "need for speed", get-in-and-get-out dynamic of the navigation, I still would have liked some more content to enrich them. There weren't really any extra pickups besides bonus packs, and interaction with objects in the environment was limited besides platforming on select surfaces, turning the occasional crank, pressing switches, and opening doors. When using a gun, Faith can only fire at enemies- nothing else is destructible (even fallen enemies' dead bodies). Sometimes little pieces add dimension to the city, like a passing train, pigeons that scatter when you run through them, or scrolling advertisements on the screens in the elevators. For the most part, the city seems to be a ghost town with the exception of a few visible cars and passerby in the streets when you're on building tops.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Game Walkthrough Analyses III: Shadow of the Colossus
In Jesse's examination of 2005's Shadow of the Colossus for the PS2, he highlighted the game's content failings that offset the ambient environments and original story following Wander, a warrior who quests to save a princess, the 2005 release was initially praised for.
Driving story and visually impressive cutscenes aside, the gameplay itself was lacking; the flow is largely linear, predictably alternating navigation/platforming phases with a short, boss battle sequence. The only enemies in the game are the 16 colossi, which steadily grow larger as the player progresses, although the difficulty level required to beat the creatures never seems to disproportionately offset the hero's available skills enough to offer a satisfying challenge. Although the game does succeed in requiring the player to use any new weapons or skills they've acquired to defeat each boss, once the player has figured out the specific strategy to exploit each monster's weakness, the actual fight becomes easy to win without ever dying.
Other features of the design also leave the player wanting, such as the simplistic environments, and other barriers to any sense of believable realism the otherwise visually immersive scenery offers. Wander's health regenerates over time which further decreases the risks to the player, there are no powerups, his horse has unlimited stamina, invisible barriers near cliffs or other hazards further make it impossible to kill yourself, and most of the map areas are redundant, empty space. Aside from an optional, object-hunting sidequest, there's little in the way of filler content, or even other NPC's to talk to, and the game in its entirety offers virtually no replay value.
Although it comprises no more than 6 or 8 hours of gameplay, Colossus' ambient visuals and stirring, dramatic soundtrack are redeeming. The cyclical structure of calm nagivation and action-packed fighting make it a refreshing take on the usually fast-paced action/adventure genre, and the hero does change overtime to reflect the story's progression. The game ends with a thrilling twist, as Wander absorbs the souls of all the colossi he's slain to save the princess, in turn becoming a giant beast himself to fight off the mortals that then turn against him.
Driving story and visually impressive cutscenes aside, the gameplay itself was lacking; the flow is largely linear, predictably alternating navigation/platforming phases with a short, boss battle sequence. The only enemies in the game are the 16 colossi, which steadily grow larger as the player progresses, although the difficulty level required to beat the creatures never seems to disproportionately offset the hero's available skills enough to offer a satisfying challenge. Although the game does succeed in requiring the player to use any new weapons or skills they've acquired to defeat each boss, once the player has figured out the specific strategy to exploit each monster's weakness, the actual fight becomes easy to win without ever dying.
Other features of the design also leave the player wanting, such as the simplistic environments, and other barriers to any sense of believable realism the otherwise visually immersive scenery offers. Wander's health regenerates over time which further decreases the risks to the player, there are no powerups, his horse has unlimited stamina, invisible barriers near cliffs or other hazards further make it impossible to kill yourself, and most of the map areas are redundant, empty space. Aside from an optional, object-hunting sidequest, there's little in the way of filler content, or even other NPC's to talk to, and the game in its entirety offers virtually no replay value.
Although it comprises no more than 6 or 8 hours of gameplay, Colossus' ambient visuals and stirring, dramatic soundtrack are redeeming. The cyclical structure of calm nagivation and action-packed fighting make it a refreshing take on the usually fast-paced action/adventure genre, and the hero does change overtime to reflect the story's progression. The game ends with a thrilling twist, as Wander absorbs the souls of all the colossi he's slain to save the princess, in turn becoming a giant beast himself to fight off the mortals that then turn against him.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Game Walkthrough Analyses: II
In his walkthrough for Batman: Arkham Asylum published by Rock Study, Chris outlined how the design excellently blended the compelling story with the various game mechanics. The underlying plotline of the Joker releasing all of Batman's enemies from Arkham Asylum for him to capture and defeat once more drives the action, and the story seems faithfully reproduced from the cartoon series, making it a joy for old and new fans alike to play.
The graphics are impressive, placing slightly stylized, yet realistic looking character models into a slew of dark, gritty, nonlinear environments. The combat system seamlessly incorporates time-sensitive button mashing with stunning, slow-motioned visuals of Batman's powerful kicks, punches, and chokeholds, and the Unreal and Chaos engines used in the design lend satisfying ragdoll effects to the enemies.
In addition to Batman's successively growing arsenal of deadly weapons, picked up as rewards throughout the game, the player is given access to a bunch of useful gear to help navigate dynamic levels; players can scale walls with a grappling hook or swoop down on unsuspecting baddies using Batman's cape-turned-glider, allowing the player to develop their own fighting tactics using their environment. The platforming is just as engaging as the fight sequences, often blending hand to hand combat, exploration, and the masked hero's stealthy side in detective mode, or when the player chooses to have Batman perform silent takedowns of his enemies instead of merely barging in, guns blazing so to speak (or in this case, fists?). Collectively, the wide range of options offered to interact with the game environments keep the action from ever being redundant, and maintain replay value even after the game has been beaten once.
The player character isn't static either, as Batman sports more visible cuts and bruises and picks up upgrades and different weapons as the game progresses. The game world is as successfully atmospheric as those in the Bioshock or Prince of Persia titles, and enriching sidequests such as the trail of clues left by the Riddler encourage the player to venture from the more linear, main plot sequence to explore the limits of their environment.
Conducive with the immersive setup, the actual gameplay experience is interrupted only by a loading screen, the occasional map, and verbal cues said by Batman himself to offer valuable hints as to what the next goal is to keep the player from getting lost or confused too often.
The graphics are impressive, placing slightly stylized, yet realistic looking character models into a slew of dark, gritty, nonlinear environments. The combat system seamlessly incorporates time-sensitive button mashing with stunning, slow-motioned visuals of Batman's powerful kicks, punches, and chokeholds, and the Unreal and Chaos engines used in the design lend satisfying ragdoll effects to the enemies.
In addition to Batman's successively growing arsenal of deadly weapons, picked up as rewards throughout the game, the player is given access to a bunch of useful gear to help navigate dynamic levels; players can scale walls with a grappling hook or swoop down on unsuspecting baddies using Batman's cape-turned-glider, allowing the player to develop their own fighting tactics using their environment. The platforming is just as engaging as the fight sequences, often blending hand to hand combat, exploration, and the masked hero's stealthy side in detective mode, or when the player chooses to have Batman perform silent takedowns of his enemies instead of merely barging in, guns blazing so to speak (or in this case, fists?). Collectively, the wide range of options offered to interact with the game environments keep the action from ever being redundant, and maintain replay value even after the game has been beaten once.
The player character isn't static either, as Batman sports more visible cuts and bruises and picks up upgrades and different weapons as the game progresses. The game world is as successfully atmospheric as those in the Bioshock or Prince of Persia titles, and enriching sidequests such as the trail of clues left by the Riddler encourage the player to venture from the more linear, main plot sequence to explore the limits of their environment.
Conducive with the immersive setup, the actual gameplay experience is interrupted only by a loading screen, the occasional map, and verbal cues said by Batman himself to offer valuable hints as to what the next goal is to keep the player from getting lost or confused too often.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Game Walkthrough Analyses: I
In his analysis of the Playstation 3 hit, God of War II, Jimmy focused on how the developers used the element of scale to effectively create an original, thrilling gameplay environment. Using perfectly picked examples of epic boss battles, and clips showcasing the game's seamlessly blended fighting and platforming, he demonstrated integrating extreme scale differences into GoW brought to life the mythology-based storyline and more than made up for the unusually short game length.
Kratos, the game's hero, uses the blades chained to his wrists not only for hacking and slashing, but to navigate his environment as he swings from one platform to another and scales walls like a mountain climber with an ice pick. This feature is particularly useful with the game's massive baddies, since Kratos must first attack his foes from lower ground before actually climbing up Atlas' monstrous hand to place the finishing move or slashing at the midsection of a Colossus before climbing up his arm.
This evokes the same scaling aspect that made the Prince of Persia, or Legend of Zelda games such a pleasure to play- while the environments in GoW II seem more linear than the expansive Ocarina of Time map, or the elaborate, dynamic, interlinked rooms in Warrior Within, all of these games successfully immerse the player in organic, sprawling settings, easily viewable by cinematic camera angles. The God-sized GoW enemies specifically remind me of some of the boss battles in OoT and Twilight Princess (ex. giant Ganondorf, the lava dragon Volvagia, and the titanic Morpheel) as well as the trolls in WW, and the Hellish gladiator creature or the final battle with the evil, super-sized vizier the Prince faces in The Two Thrones.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Game Essentials Overview: Room for Improvement?
Even when failures don't easily come to mind when thinking of a game as enjoyable as these, there's always room for improvement. Besides the unavoidable slew of occasional bugs and glitches innately found in Twilight Princess and the Prince of Persia games, each have their fundamental design failings.
Twilight Princess alone is hard to find fault with, besides the storyline which is initially similar to its predecessors that may be just as easily redundant as it is familiarly enjoyable to fans of the older Ocarina of Time and other Zelda games.
The limited audio of the game are definitly notable though, since the various charcters throughout Hyrule still appear voiceless as all dialogue and explanations are presented in text form only. The deisngers could easily have employed that capability but for whatever reason chose not to accompany the updated graphics and extended scope of the game with new in-game dialogue and voiceover additions as well. Even the sound capability that Nintendo added to the Wii controller is also a design flaw in my opinion- the sound quality is poor and annoyingly tinny, and while the idea of having Link's yells, sword clashes, and certain sound cues like the melodic opening of a door come from the controllers itself might be good in theory, the actual implementation of it is ultimately distracting and detracts from the immersiveness of the game whenever the player hears half of the key sounds coming from their hands and not echoing from the room around them.
Additionally, the hearing impaired players might run into trouble during the few sections where sound is helpful or even essential to gameplay, for example when Link must follow the music through winding forest paths to find the Master Sword.
The motion-sensitive manual interface of the Wii is another feature with its own cons as well as pros; while the controllers allow more physical involvement and command over the myriad of items and long-range weapons than the Gamecube or N64 consoles could ever offer the Zelda franchise, it might make more sense and make gameplay more fun if the direction of the player's Wiimote motions actually corresponded with Link's swordstrokes.
Turning a critical eye to all three Prince of Persia titles , more flaws are naturally noticeable, perhaps in part because Ubisoft didn't quite have the option of following as popular a tried-and-true blueprint as Twilight Princess had to build off of. The Sands of Time that generated more than a little acclaim in its own right, was named Game of the Year in 2003, and is arguably the best designed title of the trilogy I've examined here, still leaves room for one or two improvements; the character models aren't exactly incredibly high polygon, although the textures and animations used do compensate for their limited realism. Besides that, the visuals are stunning, even by today's standards in my experience. The implicit challenge level of some boss battles could be questioned too, and the limited combat options definitely get repetitive after repeating the same 4 or 5 moves throughout the game.
Warrior Within elicited widespread criticism from many fans of the first game, namely for its sudden directional change and accompanying deviation from the more likeable, innocently arrogant Prince to make way for a darker, tougher, selfishly-motivated warrior. I enjoyed this game as much or more than the first one however, although I did notice a few new features that bothered me. Although the backtracking through previous environments perhaps was intended to be more immersive than the sometimes unnaturally linear gameplay of Sands, it pushed the explicit challenge of navigating the extensive environments with an entirely useless minimap menu to a level that was downright confusing and frustrating at times. The intentionally darker, almost obnoxiously moodier feel of the game overall would likely anger fans if they didn't take it as an entirely different game altogether, but even with such acceptance, the less-than stellar voice acting (Favorite line: "You BITCH!" Or was it "Who do you think you are??" - "I am the Prince of Persia!" No shit, Sherlock. Guess he still doesn't have a name) seemed cheesy and idiotic, a far cry from the charming banter in Sands of Time.
The Two Thrones seeks to combine the best of its two predecessors, returning to the simpler storyline and more linear gameplay of SoT with the visual vengeance and free-form combat system of WW. Its few flaws then, are naturally a decrease in breadth and content from the previous title, as well as more limited explicit and implicit challenges- it sought to replace the puzzles and strategy the first two titles possesed with more action and fighting, although even the exciting chariot races and boss battles seemed a little too easy.
Twilight Princess alone is hard to find fault with, besides the storyline which is initially similar to its predecessors that may be just as easily redundant as it is familiarly enjoyable to fans of the older Ocarina of Time and other Zelda games.
The limited audio of the game are definitly notable though, since the various charcters throughout Hyrule still appear voiceless as all dialogue and explanations are presented in text form only. The deisngers could easily have employed that capability but for whatever reason chose not to accompany the updated graphics and extended scope of the game with new in-game dialogue and voiceover additions as well. Even the sound capability that Nintendo added to the Wii controller is also a design flaw in my opinion- the sound quality is poor and annoyingly tinny, and while the idea of having Link's yells, sword clashes, and certain sound cues like the melodic opening of a door come from the controllers itself might be good in theory, the actual implementation of it is ultimately distracting and detracts from the immersiveness of the game whenever the player hears half of the key sounds coming from their hands and not echoing from the room around them.
Additionally, the hearing impaired players might run into trouble during the few sections where sound is helpful or even essential to gameplay, for example when Link must follow the music through winding forest paths to find the Master Sword.
The motion-sensitive manual interface of the Wii is another feature with its own cons as well as pros; while the controllers allow more physical involvement and command over the myriad of items and long-range weapons than the Gamecube or N64 consoles could ever offer the Zelda franchise, it might make more sense and make gameplay more fun if the direction of the player's Wiimote motions actually corresponded with Link's swordstrokes.
Turning a critical eye to all three Prince of Persia titles , more flaws are naturally noticeable, perhaps in part because Ubisoft didn't quite have the option of following as popular a tried-and-true blueprint as Twilight Princess had to build off of. The Sands of Time that generated more than a little acclaim in its own right, was named Game of the Year in 2003, and is arguably the best designed title of the trilogy I've examined here, still leaves room for one or two improvements; the character models aren't exactly incredibly high polygon, although the textures and animations used do compensate for their limited realism. Besides that, the visuals are stunning, even by today's standards in my experience. The implicit challenge level of some boss battles could be questioned too, and the limited combat options definitely get repetitive after repeating the same 4 or 5 moves throughout the game.
Warrior Within elicited widespread criticism from many fans of the first game, namely for its sudden directional change and accompanying deviation from the more likeable, innocently arrogant Prince to make way for a darker, tougher, selfishly-motivated warrior. I enjoyed this game as much or more than the first one however, although I did notice a few new features that bothered me. Although the backtracking through previous environments perhaps was intended to be more immersive than the sometimes unnaturally linear gameplay of Sands, it pushed the explicit challenge of navigating the extensive environments with an entirely useless minimap menu to a level that was downright confusing and frustrating at times. The intentionally darker, almost obnoxiously moodier feel of the game overall would likely anger fans if they didn't take it as an entirely different game altogether, but even with such acceptance, the less-than stellar voice acting (Favorite line: "You BITCH!" Or was it "Who do you think you are??" - "I am the Prince of Persia!" No shit, Sherlock. Guess he still doesn't have a name) seemed cheesy and idiotic, a far cry from the charming banter in Sands of Time.
The Two Thrones seeks to combine the best of its two predecessors, returning to the simpler storyline and more linear gameplay of SoT with the visual vengeance and free-form combat system of WW. Its few flaws then, are naturally a decrease in breadth and content from the previous title, as well as more limited explicit and implicit challenges- it sought to replace the puzzles and strategy the first two titles possesed with more action and fighting, although even the exciting chariot races and boss battles seemed a little too easy.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Game Essentials Overview: Success?
In review, both Twilight Princess and Prince of Persia games successfully immerse the player in the game world and play experience by effectively implementing rules, challenges, level design, visuals, audio, and an excellent story and cast of characters.
Both games make sure to set enough limiting parameters and guiding rules so that the player isn't totally lost in figuring out what the point of the game is or how to play, while still leaving enough mystery and content for the player to explore on their own so that the player doesn't get bored quickly. Both are sure to clearly define victory conditions, such as defeating an enemy, completing a subquest, unlocking a door to access another level, or even ultimately killing the final baddie responsible for the protagonist's strife. They also make sure the player is aware of loss conditions, such as letting your health run out while fighting minions or evading traps, falling from a ledge, or allowing an enemy to capture or kill an ally.
Various goals are set to guide the player's actions and provide a challenge, including puzzle-solving, combat, exploration, and advancement. Challenges faced in each game are implicit and explicit, that is intentional and immediate or emergent through gameplay itself, which helps create a more interesting and varied play experience. Implicit challenges like defeating different enemies using a series of swordstrokes, acrobatics, and evasion tactics, or having to guide Link or the Prince through deadly traps or a winding dungeon are obviously entertaining in the first place, but having to figure out which passage leads to somewhere I've already been before, deciding which door I need to go through first, or realizing I need to use Link's iron boots to traverse the magnetic deposits on the walls and ceilings of the Goron Mines adds another element of fun and discovery.
The levels of each game seem for the most part to be expertly designed in my experience- I can't recall being bored by any particular part of either game, although I may have gotten frustrated by an especially confusing setting or tricky fight on more than one occasion; levels were geared towards accomplishing the current goal, and usually ideally balanced the time spent completing them with the amount of content found throughout them- I'd spend just about the number of minutes I had patience for completing a task or defeating an enemy, and just about the amount of effort I wanted to expend to find doors, hidden objects, powerups, and other bonuses in the levels before I lost interest. The settings were varied and interactive enough to convince me in the moment that it was real and significantly natural which accentuated the rich story and world of each game. It was up to me whether I wished to race through a series of cleverly integrated ropes, ladders, and platforms, slip past any enemies I didn't need to confront, and breeze through required quests/tasks to finish the level, or whether I wanted to take my time exploring environments, looking for hidden rewards in a cracked wall or treasure chest, talking to non-essential characters, completing subquests, and "playing" with my enemies using attractive but probably unnecessary fighting combos.
The visuals and audio of each game were also superb- The environments blended realistic textures and lighting with a more fantastical layout and ambiance. Although the Twilight Princess graphics were a little more stylized and less realistic than those for the Prince of Persia games, each created the sense that this was a living, breathing realm of its own. Painstaking details in each like the wandering cats and dogs in the streets of Hyrule Castle town or the weapons that can be picked up and used once a weapon rack has been smashed in any of the last two PoP games made each world all the more believable.
The original soundtracks for each added even more to the pleasantly complex gameplay, and there seemed to be realistic sounds for any event imaginable, such as the thud and resounding clanging when Link hits a bucket-headed training dummy with his sword, lights a torch, barks in wolf form at an opponent, or when the Prince cracks open a wall with his sword, pulls a rusty lever, or rolls over smooth flagstones. The voiceovers in the PoP games are decently executed and expressive as well, and help to enrich the story and the general mood of the game as well.
Both series are definitely notable for their memorable characters and compelling storylines, and while each utilized the age-old model of the Hero's Journey Joseph Campbell observed, neither plotline was boring or too cliche. The character development that emerges through the Prince and Farah's entertaining interactions in the SoT is distinctly charming, and the developers did a good job of evolving the Prince's more mature character to fit the changing feel of the following games. Twilight Princess Link is the same, quietly humble farmhand turned fierce and dedicated warrior he's always been, but he's still easy to identify with and sympathize with throughout the story.
Both games make sure to set enough limiting parameters and guiding rules so that the player isn't totally lost in figuring out what the point of the game is or how to play, while still leaving enough mystery and content for the player to explore on their own so that the player doesn't get bored quickly. Both are sure to clearly define victory conditions, such as defeating an enemy, completing a subquest, unlocking a door to access another level, or even ultimately killing the final baddie responsible for the protagonist's strife. They also make sure the player is aware of loss conditions, such as letting your health run out while fighting minions or evading traps, falling from a ledge, or allowing an enemy to capture or kill an ally.
Various goals are set to guide the player's actions and provide a challenge, including puzzle-solving, combat, exploration, and advancement. Challenges faced in each game are implicit and explicit, that is intentional and immediate or emergent through gameplay itself, which helps create a more interesting and varied play experience. Implicit challenges like defeating different enemies using a series of swordstrokes, acrobatics, and evasion tactics, or having to guide Link or the Prince through deadly traps or a winding dungeon are obviously entertaining in the first place, but having to figure out which passage leads to somewhere I've already been before, deciding which door I need to go through first, or realizing I need to use Link's iron boots to traverse the magnetic deposits on the walls and ceilings of the Goron Mines adds another element of fun and discovery.
The levels of each game seem for the most part to be expertly designed in my experience- I can't recall being bored by any particular part of either game, although I may have gotten frustrated by an especially confusing setting or tricky fight on more than one occasion; levels were geared towards accomplishing the current goal, and usually ideally balanced the time spent completing them with the amount of content found throughout them- I'd spend just about the number of minutes I had patience for completing a task or defeating an enemy, and just about the amount of effort I wanted to expend to find doors, hidden objects, powerups, and other bonuses in the levels before I lost interest. The settings were varied and interactive enough to convince me in the moment that it was real and significantly natural which accentuated the rich story and world of each game. It was up to me whether I wished to race through a series of cleverly integrated ropes, ladders, and platforms, slip past any enemies I didn't need to confront, and breeze through required quests/tasks to finish the level, or whether I wanted to take my time exploring environments, looking for hidden rewards in a cracked wall or treasure chest, talking to non-essential characters, completing subquests, and "playing" with my enemies using attractive but probably unnecessary fighting combos.
The visuals and audio of each game were also superb- The environments blended realistic textures and lighting with a more fantastical layout and ambiance. Although the Twilight Princess graphics were a little more stylized and less realistic than those for the Prince of Persia games, each created the sense that this was a living, breathing realm of its own. Painstaking details in each like the wandering cats and dogs in the streets of Hyrule Castle town or the weapons that can be picked up and used once a weapon rack has been smashed in any of the last two PoP games made each world all the more believable.
The original soundtracks for each added even more to the pleasantly complex gameplay, and there seemed to be realistic sounds for any event imaginable, such as the thud and resounding clanging when Link hits a bucket-headed training dummy with his sword, lights a torch, barks in wolf form at an opponent, or when the Prince cracks open a wall with his sword, pulls a rusty lever, or rolls over smooth flagstones. The voiceovers in the PoP games are decently executed and expressive as well, and help to enrich the story and the general mood of the game as well.
Both series are definitely notable for their memorable characters and compelling storylines, and while each utilized the age-old model of the Hero's Journey Joseph Campbell observed, neither plotline was boring or too cliche. The character development that emerges through the Prince and Farah's entertaining interactions in the SoT is distinctly charming, and the developers did a good job of evolving the Prince's more mature character to fit the changing feel of the following games. Twilight Princess Link is the same, quietly humble farmhand turned fierce and dedicated warrior he's always been, but he's still easy to identify with and sympathize with throughout the story.
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