IP#3 - Fullterton Exercises
Exercise 1 .2: D .O .A .Take one game that you’ve played that was D.O.A.By D.O.A., I mean “dead on arrival” (i.e., a game that’s no fun to play). Write down what you don’t like about it. What did the designers miss? How could the game be improved?
One game that was D.O.A. for me was Crusader Kings 2. I was immediately turned off by the lack of storytelling and setup, a complex user interface, and the steep learning curve of an unfamiliar genre.
The designers missed that I was new to the franchise, and as a result I did not understand much of the tutorial, the purpose of the game and why it was ‘fun’. To improve, I think the designers could have situated the player deeper into the story before introducing the game’s complex user interface and text based instructions. I also think that the user interface should’ve been simplified for first time players, and become more complex as the player progresses. I definitely felt that there were too many buttons to press, and didn’t know which to press. When I explored each button, I felt overwhelmed because I didn’t know and could not figure out what they did. The game was also full of hidden menus that felt difficult to access.
Exercise 1 .5: Your Childhood: List ten games you played as a child, for exam-ple, hide and seek, four square, and tag. Briefly describe what was compelling about each of those games.
I’ve been playing video games since I was a kid and so it is much easier to list ten video games from my childhood instead of games like hide and seek.
1. GunZ – I played this game for a long-time because it was the only game I’ve played that had action elements, was skill based (combos were done on keyboards) and dynamic because it was in a 3-D world. This was a precursor for the popular battle royale games we see today
2. Pristontale – I liked playing this game because I got to do so with friends. It’s an RPG game and it was my first introduction to a world of monsters and magic, but it was the idea of meeting up with friends online to beat monsters together, but also compete against each other for the best gear that brought me back.
3. Stronghold: Crusader – this was an RTS game that gave me a lot of freedom. It had it’s own rules, but I was able to build a castle down to the brick, and lure enemies into various traps. Rather than treating it like Age of Empires, I liked this game because it allowed me to build and run a castle. I’d often find myself building the coolest castle rather than actually winning the game. I actually still sometimes play it today.
4. World of Warcraft – I played this game on a private server for a long-time. Unlike most, I wasn’t into the quests and stories at all. I only enjoyed the end-game content. The idea of working together to take down a boss and then trying our luck at getting the best loot was appealing to me. That’s why I often played on servers that prioritized getting to end-game content.
5. Kingdom Hearts – this was one of those games that allowed a child’s Disney dream to come true. I liked this game because I got to become a character that interacted with my favourite characters in Disney, all under this huge backdrop of saving the world from ‘darkness.’ As a child, this game felt immersive, and relevant.
6. Call of Duty – I would bring my laptop to a friend’s house with others and hold LAN parties to play this game. More so than the fun of an FPS, it was the laughs from playing together that kept me coming back.
7. MU Online – this was another RPG game I played for a long-time, and it was the only game I played where I felt like I could take advantage of the system to get ahead by ‘auto-leveling.’ I would stand in a place where monsters would constantly respawn and use an AOE skill to constantly gain exp. I remember putting a stapler on top of my mouse to keep the button pressed before I went to school. This game had elements of chance as well, and completing a set of armor felt like a great feat.
8. Dynasty Warriors – this was one of my favourite action games. Being of Chinese ethnicity, the idea of becoming famous historical heroes of China and overpowering masses of soldiers was extremely satisfying. I was also interested because of the culture and history it was situated in. The three kingdoms was a very interesting time and as historically inaccurate as the game actually was, I was still captivated.
9. Halo – This was my first foray into sci-fi games and whether it was the multiplayer with friends or single player story, I really enjoyed the feeling from being the ‘most important’ person in the universe. The weapons were new and cool at the time, and being MasterChief felt invincible. Maybe it was also the idea that I could never see the face of the protagonist that made it feel like it could really have been me.
10. Rise of Nations – this was my favourite RTS game of all time, and the most educational one at that. The game helped me learn about the characteristics of each nation, and I always ended up looking up background information on each nation. For example, the war elephant was a unique unit to the Persians, whereas for the Chinese it was the gunpowder lancer. I always became curious and ended up reading pages of website information the background of these military units. I definitely also enjoyed the building aspect and the progression through the ages more so than the actual war aspects.
Exercise 2 .2: Players: Describe how players might join or start a game of Go Fish versus single-player Quake. What steps do they need to take in each case—social, procedural, or technical? There will clearly be differences in the beginning of a multiplayer card game versus a single-player digital game, but are there also similari-ties? If so, describe them.
To start a game of Go Fish, players have to come together and be led by an organizer, who explains the rules to any player that might be new, and then distributes the cards out to each player. As play commences, players will take on the role of teaching new players the rules. For a game like Quake, a player just needs to sit down in front of the computer to start the game. However, it is likely that the game itself will have a tutorial that teaches the player the basics of playing the game, but much is left to the player to explore his or her approach to finishing the game.
Exercise 2 .3: Objectives: List five games, and in one sentence per game, describe the objective in each game.
1. Street Fighter – Beat the opposing player until their health bar reaches zero.
2. Big 2 – Get rid of all the cards in your hand while following the rules of the game
3. Kingdom Hearts – Save Kairi
4. League of Legends: Wild Rift – Break the opposing team’s Nexus while the opposing team tries to do the same
5. Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey – Eliminate an organization with Alien roots trying to stir up war in Greece and Sparta from the shadows and save your sibling along the way
Exercise 2 .6: Challenge: Name three games that you find particularly chal-lenging and describe why.
League of Legends – it’s easy to get started, but very difficult to master. You need a balance of mechanics, teamwork, decision making and strategy. Often times, this is done in an environment where there is a lack of communication (few players turn on their microphones while playing). This game is difficult because the skills it requires are very diverse.
Dark Souls – the stakes for making a mistake are very high. Dying means I have to start over, and it is very easy to die. This is a game that takes a long time to beat simply because of the number iterations required to succeed.
Guitar Hero/Rock Band – this game is also easy to get started in, but hard to perfect. Yet, there are players playing the game at the highest level difficulty and getting high scores. It’s a game that takes an immense level of practice and hand-eye coordination.