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