GAME 100 EXPLORING GAME WORLDS – VIDEOGAME IN-CLASS APPRAISAL TEMPLATE
Student Name___________Daniel Zamora__________
Today’s Date____________January 29, 2010___________
Game Title Examined_________Donkey Kong_______________
Year of Publication_________________1981________
Game Publisher_________Nintendo____________
Game Developer __________Nintendo_________________
Game Genre (e.g. shoot-em-up, racing, sports, puzzle, MMORPG, ‘sandbox’, music sequence following game (e.g. DDR, guitar hero)
Platform
Type of game ‘world’ or environment (e.g. flat environment, puzzle/maze space, 3D world?)
Flat enviroment
Perspective taken by player (e.g first person, third person perspective, top down, isometric) in relation to main player controlled character.
Side Scroller
Gameplay – what does the player have to do?
The player has to save the princess from the gorilla, while avoiding barrels and fire balls.
Is the gameplay intuitive? (i.e. is it easy to understand what to do without instructions?) describe.
It's pretty self explanatory. You jump over things that can kill you, and you push your character in the direction that gets you to the princess
Is the gameplay patterned (game does the same thing over & over) or is it random (happens differently every time?)
From what I see the barrels and fireballs have a pattern that they follow. You can handle every level in a few different ways, especially later on when you reach the elevators.
What does the type of graphic approach used as well as the audio tell you about the limits of the technology at the time the game was published?
I can definitely tell by the graphics that this game was made in the 1980s. The visuals and audio were as good as they could be considering the time and technology
Describe your views about the game from the point of view of
a. ease of play
Maybe it's just because I havent played Donkey Kong in a long time, but I gave up trying to beat the first level after dying 3 times. i felt as if jumpman (mario) was moving slower than usual, or at least not being able to jump as high as I remember. (always gotta blame the lag)
b. enjoyability
I got over the game pretty quick. I know that it has a lot of history with gamers, but I wouldnt see myself playing donkey kong for a long period of time
c) level of engagement/immersion
Because i gave up on the game really quick, I wasnt able to get that immersed into it
Had you played this game prior to this time? If so, when?
Yes, Ive played it a couple of times before maybe 8 years ago
Describe other games it reminds you of. How does it do this?
It reminds me of Donkey Kong and Mario, probably because they go off to have their own series of games
Friday, January 29, 2010
Game Appraisal 2 Sonic the Hedgehog
GAME 100 EXPLORING GAME WORLDS – VIDEOGAME IN-CLASS APPRAISAL TEMPLATE
Student Name___________Daniel Zamora__________
Today’s Date____________January 29, 2010___________
Game Title Examined_________Sonic the Hedgehog_______________
Year of Publication_________________1991________
Game Publisher_________Sega____________
Game Developer __________Sonic Team_________________
Game Genre (e.g. shoot-em-up, racing, sports, puzzle, MMORPG, ‘sandbox’, music sequence following game (e.g. DDR, guitar hero)
Platform
Type of game ‘world’ or environment (e.g. flat environment, puzzle/maze space, 3D world?)
Flat enviroment
Perspective taken by player (e.g first person, third person perspective, top down, isometric) in relation to main player controlled character.
Side Scroller
Gameplay – what does the player have to do?
The player has to get from one point of the map to the other and collect as many gold rings as he can.
Is the gameplay intuitive? (i.e. is it easy to understand what to do without instructions?) describe.
Definitely. I see the game as seeing how fast you can go without losing rings. If only Sega would learn that thats what players loved about the Sonic series, instead of the latest batch of crappy sonic games that theyve had over the past few years
Is the gameplay patterned (game does the same thing over & over) or is it random (happens differently every time?)
Even though the enemies might spawn in the same place every time, there are always multiple ways to get from A to B. In other words, I can play the same level 5 times and probably find a unique path to get to the end each time
What does the type of graphic approach used as well as the audio tell you about the limits of the technology at the time the game was published?
At it's time, the speed and graphics of the game were impressive. The audio in terms of its technology is similar to any other game that came in the early 90s
Describe your views about the game from the point of view of
a. ease of play
Like most games, the beginning levels can be easy. Sonic can't die as long as he has 1 ring, so that helps with its ease to play at the beginning. In later levels though, water can drown you no matter how many rings you have, and that adds a certain level of difficulty to the game because not only do you have to run fast through these parts, but also make sure your accurate when you jump on objects or at avoiding enemies that will slow you down
b. enjoyability
Ive never played any Sonic game from beginning to end, mostly because I get tired of not being able to pass those water levels. Most of the time youre concentrating on running as fast as possible and not dying, which i suppose can get repetitive for some people
c) level of engagement/immersion
I for some reason cant get that engaged into sonic, maybe because half the time i have no idea where im going (other than running to the right towards the goal)
Had you played this game prior to this time? If so, when?
Yes, I played it on the Sega Genesis when I was around 7ish
Describe other games it reminds you of. How does it do this?
Its obvious that it tries to compete with the other popular side scroller at the time, Mario. Other than that, on the top of my head I can't think of any other game that has the character running super fast, but there are games that try to mimic the feeling of moving really fast. An example of that would be Capcom's new game «Dark Void» which has the main character using a jetpack and being able to fly through the air.
Student Name___________Daniel Zamora__________
Today’s Date____________January 29, 2010___________
Game Title Examined_________Sonic the Hedgehog_______________
Year of Publication_________________1991________
Game Publisher_________Sega____________
Game Developer __________Sonic Team_________________
Game Genre (e.g. shoot-em-up, racing, sports, puzzle, MMORPG, ‘sandbox’, music sequence following game (e.g. DDR, guitar hero)
Platform
Type of game ‘world’ or environment (e.g. flat environment, puzzle/maze space, 3D world?)
Flat enviroment
Perspective taken by player (e.g first person, third person perspective, top down, isometric) in relation to main player controlled character.
Side Scroller
Gameplay – what does the player have to do?
The player has to get from one point of the map to the other and collect as many gold rings as he can.
Is the gameplay intuitive? (i.e. is it easy to understand what to do without instructions?) describe.
Definitely. I see the game as seeing how fast you can go without losing rings. If only Sega would learn that thats what players loved about the Sonic series, instead of the latest batch of crappy sonic games that theyve had over the past few years
Is the gameplay patterned (game does the same thing over & over) or is it random (happens differently every time?)
Even though the enemies might spawn in the same place every time, there are always multiple ways to get from A to B. In other words, I can play the same level 5 times and probably find a unique path to get to the end each time
What does the type of graphic approach used as well as the audio tell you about the limits of the technology at the time the game was published?
At it's time, the speed and graphics of the game were impressive. The audio in terms of its technology is similar to any other game that came in the early 90s
Describe your views about the game from the point of view of
a. ease of play
Like most games, the beginning levels can be easy. Sonic can't die as long as he has 1 ring, so that helps with its ease to play at the beginning. In later levels though, water can drown you no matter how many rings you have, and that adds a certain level of difficulty to the game because not only do you have to run fast through these parts, but also make sure your accurate when you jump on objects or at avoiding enemies that will slow you down
b. enjoyability
Ive never played any Sonic game from beginning to end, mostly because I get tired of not being able to pass those water levels. Most of the time youre concentrating on running as fast as possible and not dying, which i suppose can get repetitive for some people
c) level of engagement/immersion
I for some reason cant get that engaged into sonic, maybe because half the time i have no idea where im going (other than running to the right towards the goal)
Had you played this game prior to this time? If so, when?
Yes, I played it on the Sega Genesis when I was around 7ish
Describe other games it reminds you of. How does it do this?
Its obvious that it tries to compete with the other popular side scroller at the time, Mario. Other than that, on the top of my head I can't think of any other game that has the character running super fast, but there are games that try to mimic the feeling of moving really fast. An example of that would be Capcom's new game «Dark Void» which has the main character using a jetpack and being able to fly through the air.
Appraisal Template 1 Super Mario Bros 3
GAME 100 EXPLORING GAME WORLDS – VIDEOGAME IN-CLASS APPRAISAL TEMPLATE
Student Name___________Daniel Zamora__________
Today’s Date____________January 29, 2010___________
Game Title Examined_________Super Mario Bros 3_______________
Year of Publication_________________originally 1988 in Japan________
Game Publisher__________Nintendo____________
Game Developer __________Nintendo_________________
Game Genre (e.g. shoot-em-up, racing, sports, puzzle, MMORPG, ‘sandbox’, music sequence following game (e.g. DDR, guitar hero)
Platform
Type of game ‘world’ or environment (e.g. flat environment, puzzle/maze space, 3D world?)
Flat enviroment
Perspective taken by player (e.g first person, third person perspective, top down, isometric) in relation to main player controlled character.
Side Scroller
Gameplay – what does the player have to do?
The goal of the player is to save the princess by reaching the castle, even though shes always «in another castle». Along the way you try to collect as many coins as possible to earn rewards and you also have to avoid dying by the multiple enemies of the Mushroom Kingdom
Is the gameplay intuitive? (i.e. is it easy to understand what to do without instructions?) describe.
I think so, but probably because I've been playing Mario since I can remember. When the New Super Mario Bros Wii came out, i was able to quickly adjust to the controls because it was just like all other Mario games. Another thing that helps in it's understanding is that fact that you only use the control pad and two buttons
Is the gameplay patterned (game does the same thing over & over) or is it random (happens differently every time?)
In each level, the game will do the same thing over and over. Enemies will move and spawn in a pattern.
What does the type of graphic approach used as well as the audio tell you about the limits of the technology at the time the game was published?
First of all it tells me that this game was made before the dawn of the 3D games that would start coming out in the decade that followed. The audio, although old sounding now, brings back thoughts of nostalgia.
Describe your views about the game from the point of view of
a. ease of play
The first levels can be very easy, but as you move on to more castles and different worlds, the level of difficulty increases.
b. enjoyability
Ive always enjoyed playing Mario, the main reason being that I love to overcome all the obstacles that they throw at me in order to reach the flag at the end of each level
c) level of engagement/immersion
After playing the game for a few minutes, you forget that most of the enemies that your'e fighting are turtles and mushrooms. Therefore, ive been immersed into the game because it just seems normal
Had you played this game prior to this time? If so, when?
Yes, I played it when I was around 5 on the NES
Describe other games it reminds you of. How does it do this?
Theres been many examples of side scrollers, but a more recent example which involves similar looking enemies but a different goal is Braid on the Xbox 360
Student Name___________Daniel Zamora__________
Today’s Date____________January 29, 2010___________
Game Title Examined_________Super Mario Bros 3_______________
Year of Publication_________________originally 1988 in Japan________
Game Publisher__________Nintendo____________
Game Developer __________Nintendo_________________
Game Genre (e.g. shoot-em-up, racing, sports, puzzle, MMORPG, ‘sandbox’, music sequence following game (e.g. DDR, guitar hero)
Platform
Type of game ‘world’ or environment (e.g. flat environment, puzzle/maze space, 3D world?)
Flat enviroment
Perspective taken by player (e.g first person, third person perspective, top down, isometric) in relation to main player controlled character.
Side Scroller
Gameplay – what does the player have to do?
The goal of the player is to save the princess by reaching the castle, even though shes always «in another castle». Along the way you try to collect as many coins as possible to earn rewards and you also have to avoid dying by the multiple enemies of the Mushroom Kingdom
Is the gameplay intuitive? (i.e. is it easy to understand what to do without instructions?) describe.
I think so, but probably because I've been playing Mario since I can remember. When the New Super Mario Bros Wii came out, i was able to quickly adjust to the controls because it was just like all other Mario games. Another thing that helps in it's understanding is that fact that you only use the control pad and two buttons
Is the gameplay patterned (game does the same thing over & over) or is it random (happens differently every time?)
In each level, the game will do the same thing over and over. Enemies will move and spawn in a pattern.
What does the type of graphic approach used as well as the audio tell you about the limits of the technology at the time the game was published?
First of all it tells me that this game was made before the dawn of the 3D games that would start coming out in the decade that followed. The audio, although old sounding now, brings back thoughts of nostalgia.
Describe your views about the game from the point of view of
a. ease of play
The first levels can be very easy, but as you move on to more castles and different worlds, the level of difficulty increases.
b. enjoyability
Ive always enjoyed playing Mario, the main reason being that I love to overcome all the obstacles that they throw at me in order to reach the flag at the end of each level
c) level of engagement/immersion
After playing the game for a few minutes, you forget that most of the enemies that your'e fighting are turtles and mushrooms. Therefore, ive been immersed into the game because it just seems normal
Had you played this game prior to this time? If so, when?
Yes, I played it when I was around 5 on the NES
Describe other games it reminds you of. How does it do this?
Theres been many examples of side scrollers, but a more recent example which involves similar looking enemies but a different goal is Braid on the Xbox 360
Friday, January 22, 2010
Answers about excercise one
A) As a game designer using the Cartoon Network website, I'm able to build walls, platforms, teleporters, and moveable boxes in order to get around the level. As far as enemies are concerned, I'm able to have moveable enemies, respawnable enemies, turrets, hazards, as well as enemies that just stand and shoot. You can also choose the background and set up the goals in order to win the game.
B) These options are provided though the limited choices available through the level editor.
C) There are a variety of different options that were provided to me. I can choose the layout of the level, the challenges, set up different goals in order to win the game, as well as the characters that are used during the game.
D) The limits that are set in the gameplay are a certain number of different enemies, a certain number of power ups, a certain number of heroes that can be used, and also a certain number of things to walk on (and some that might also trick you into falling into a pit.)
E) Using these game creators, I started to understand why game developers bring in people to demo the game. I found that my first play through of the level I made wasn't suitable at all. Either it was too difficult to play, or impossible to get to a second level that I created. I found that it's important to play the same level over and over again in order to find how fun or challenging certain parts of the level were. You want to put enough rewards to keep the gameplay fun, but you also want to make it challenging enough to get those rewards so that it's more rewarding when you reach the end.
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