On and on and on we go... yes I missed a few lectures, but I'm re-reading the powerpoints and adding in my own thoughts. I also have to write this in half an hour, since I've got to get to work and it's pelting with rain at the moment. Oh well.
Week Six:
So here we are at the half-way point. Six weeks down, six to go. By now, I'm absolutely fed up with the tutorials to the point where I've stopped going. Not that it made much difference. They were pretty damn useless anyway and I'd much rather catch up on my sleep.
So this week's lecture is all about game balance, game design and the game design document. Hooray! Something useful after many weeks of non-usefulness! I particularly liked the game balance theory. Often I've come across games that were poorly balanced (Pokemon Battle Revolution for a start), where the game seems to work on a catastrophe curve (things peeter on well for a bit, then suddenly get monstrously hard!). This theory work is particularly useful for our projects, particularly the multi-player games.
If there's one thing, however, that I disliked about the theory of game balance, it would have to be the work on dominant strategy. Right. So, for instance, in Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, just because the dominant strategy is to use melee characters, that's what I'll use, right? Wrong! I'm going to use the character with the strongest stats, regardless whether I should or shouldn't use them. The fact that they are weaker to that type doesn't necessary mean that the player will not choose them. For example, if you have a Lv:70 Charizard (in Pokemon), you aren't going to swap it out for a grass-type against a Lv:10 Magikarp, just because fire is weak against water. No! You'd wipe the floor with it! Flamethrower would utter crisp it up! If the lecturers were to consider this, dominant strategies are less prevalent than they would think. As for unbeatable attacks... well, obviously they've never played Ratchet:Deadlocked, because the only way any normal person could beat Gleeman Vox on Exterminator difficultly (and this took me the better part of an afternoon) is with a Level 99 Supernova, the strongest weapon in the game. Oh, and other maxed-out weaponry once I had run out of ammo. Sheesh. Dominant strategy? Finding a strategy that works is the hard part!
The really annoying part of these lectures are that they take the Trinny and Suzannah approach (i.e what not to do). Yeah, you can fill innumerable books with that. What we want to know is what we need to do.
Week Seven:
Challenge. Oh yes, the perennial favourite. No way this could be boring. Right?
Maybe.
Actually, this lecture wasn't as boring and as snub-nosed as the previous ones. This one actually provided some useful information regarding rewards systems and challenge. I particularly liked the applications to Mario and the intrinsic skill and stress information.
Week Eight:
Now, this is stupid. FUN is not an emotion. You don't say 'I feel very fun today', at least you don't if you want people to think you have grammatical skill and dexterity. FUN is when you are in a state of enjoying something. It might not be fun for someone else, but it is for you. Fun, therefore, is a state of being, not an emotion. So after last week's good effort, we're back to being high 'n' mighty and slightly snub-nosed. Ugh. As for the emotional responses, well, quite obviously some of those headings could have been grouped together (violent/negative, positive, competitive, etc.). As for Hillary Clinton in Thompson's quote, he'd be surprised at her history (yeah, I've read American Rhapsody. There ain't much about the Clintons that I don't know. Before anyone makes any jibes about the Ice Queen, you have to know where she came from).
And the endless lists! What's the point? It's not like we're being quizzed on the recall of them. Perhaps incorporating some sort of weekly quiz on the lecture in the tutorial would help retain the information.
But the best thing about this lecture was... FINAL FANTASY VII! Hurrah! Finally, something I could identify with! Of course, Aerith's death was so upsetting for most people that it's one of the most iconic events from the series (apart from the entire storyline for Final Fantasy X and Tidus' painful parting from Yuna). Perfect example for evoking emotion. That and the finale of Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction. Clank's separation from Ratchet at the end made a lot of the die-hard fans very upset.
Week Nine - blessed relief!
Week Ten:
Multi-player games! Woo! This week's lecture began with another tour of history, involving the royal game of Ur and senet. I did like the work on cheating or 'betrayal' as they worded it. But come on, how many times have we all used cheats in games? I've found a couple of good ones myself (for Kingdom Hearts II, mainly). Game designers deliberately put them in. American McGee's Alice is a prime example. There are any number of lists of cheats that designers have left in from when they used them to check levels. The ones I found were on www.gamefaqs.com. But there are so many others.
There were some good questions to ask when designing our assessment games. I think there's a a fair few of us doing board games. After the awesome lecture over in Interactive Writing from the SCOOT team (who do location-based games), I wonder if maybe a location-based game would have been a more imaginative choice. Hmm, something to think about.
Week Eleven:
Phew, just two weeks to go! And, unfortunately, I can't access the notes for this one.
Or the week after. So this wraps up my lecture recaps. Finally.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
A re-cap of the lectures this semester: Weeks 1-5
Honestly, I didn't go to all of them. I never DO go to all my lectures. But I did attend a good part, even if I didn't show up to many tutorials.
Here's my very basic recall of what they attempted to impart to us this year:
Week 1:
Mainly Admin stuff and a recap of ITB750. This was quite brilliant since most of it had gone in one ear and out the other. This week covered motivations for play, types of play, etc.
Week 2:
The high-level concept. I really enjoyed this particular lecture and found the structure good to apply to my own game ideas, particularly for The Crystalweb Chronicles. There was a lot of information in this lecture and could have been split up over two weeks for better information retention.
However, the structure was useful and informative. More examples for recent games would have been great. Including Halo was a masterful touch, but not many of the game-players present that day had played Magic: The Gathering and only had a base knowledge.
Week 3:
Components of games, fine. I'm on board with that. Referring to the game as a magic circle was a bit, well, silly. After all, we're not five. We get the idea that a game is an independant system. It was good that the lecture went through the different types of system. I didn't particularly like dissecting soccer and chess. A simple game like minesweeper would have been better. Most of us don't play a lot of physical games so we just found it boring. The rules part of the lecture was far more interesting. This we can actually use.
The lecture started to get a bit off-subjects re: the more psychological background behind games. While useful, when designing a specific game concept it's not really relevant for a designer to stop what they're doing and say 'hang on, this doesn't actually apply to my audience'. Tough, you just remarket it for a different audience. I'm doing a marketing minor and even they know the qualities of repositioning. Sometimes I don't think that the lecturers actually get the idea of how to sell a game. Taking a marketing minor has really opened my eyes up to this.
Week 4:
Conflict in games and decision -making in games. Sounds great, doesn't it? I have to admit, the Pokemon Diamond/Pearl clip was most enjoyable (being an old fan of the ever-popular series). But the downfall of this part of the lecture was that Peta (I think it was Peta) didn't stick with this as the example, but went on to obscure examples from history (centipede and Gauntlet). Sure, great, we get the picture about different types of game conflict, but leave the old games to Game Design History for those of us interested. If the industry is all about new games, why aren't we learning about them?
I also didn't appreciate the idea that, as a woman, I didn't enjoy violence as much as my male counterparts did. What?!? My very first game for my playstation was Ratchet and Clank 2! Large guns and small furry protagonists! That kind of blatant sexism is annoying.
Decision making... what a nightmare! It reminds me of those 'Choose-your-own Adventure!' books I read as a child. Except every movement in a computer game require this decision making process. I have a new appreciation for the programmers who have to sit down and put everything in. God help them.
Week 5:
More decision-making... at least they split this topic over two weeks. Of course, it comes back to the age-old 'heads or tails' thing, doesn't it? A yes or no answer. Do I kill the bad guy, or does he kill me? The three types of decision-outcome relationships (Certain, Risk and Uncertainty) are especially applicable to the hazard and civic duty cards that my group is implementing in our game. There was more work on decision trees, including stuff on keeping uncertainty central in all games. Well, that's a bit silly! That blows the whole game-path theory right out of the window! First of all, they're saying that the player must follow a certain path, now they're saying that no, uncertainty is important for games! I mean, sure, a little bit of lee-way is all well and good, but no game doesn't have objectives. Otherwise it's just random, nonsensical actions.
As for all games having rules... unless you count gravity and other laws of physics as rules (and in space, even those wouldn't actually apply), sometimes play doesn't have rules. That's ITB750 stuff.
This wasn't one of my favourite lectures, as in my mind it seemed to undo all of the work done on games and thinking about 'fun' and 'play' in ITB750. Then again, that's just my opinion.
Here's my very basic recall of what they attempted to impart to us this year:
Week 1:
Mainly Admin stuff and a recap of ITB750. This was quite brilliant since most of it had gone in one ear and out the other. This week covered motivations for play, types of play, etc.
Week 2:
The high-level concept. I really enjoyed this particular lecture and found the structure good to apply to my own game ideas, particularly for The Crystalweb Chronicles. There was a lot of information in this lecture and could have been split up over two weeks for better information retention.
However, the structure was useful and informative. More examples for recent games would have been great. Including Halo was a masterful touch, but not many of the game-players present that day had played Magic: The Gathering and only had a base knowledge.
Week 3:
Components of games, fine. I'm on board with that. Referring to the game as a magic circle was a bit, well, silly. After all, we're not five. We get the idea that a game is an independant system. It was good that the lecture went through the different types of system. I didn't particularly like dissecting soccer and chess. A simple game like minesweeper would have been better. Most of us don't play a lot of physical games so we just found it boring. The rules part of the lecture was far more interesting. This we can actually use.
The lecture started to get a bit off-subjects re: the more psychological background behind games. While useful, when designing a specific game concept it's not really relevant for a designer to stop what they're doing and say 'hang on, this doesn't actually apply to my audience'. Tough, you just remarket it for a different audience. I'm doing a marketing minor and even they know the qualities of repositioning. Sometimes I don't think that the lecturers actually get the idea of how to sell a game. Taking a marketing minor has really opened my eyes up to this.
Week 4:
Conflict in games and decision -making in games. Sounds great, doesn't it? I have to admit, the Pokemon Diamond/Pearl clip was most enjoyable (being an old fan of the ever-popular series). But the downfall of this part of the lecture was that Peta (I think it was Peta) didn't stick with this as the example, but went on to obscure examples from history (centipede and Gauntlet). Sure, great, we get the picture about different types of game conflict, but leave the old games to Game Design History for those of us interested. If the industry is all about new games, why aren't we learning about them?
I also didn't appreciate the idea that, as a woman, I didn't enjoy violence as much as my male counterparts did. What?!? My very first game for my playstation was Ratchet and Clank 2! Large guns and small furry protagonists! That kind of blatant sexism is annoying.
Decision making... what a nightmare! It reminds me of those 'Choose-your-own Adventure!' books I read as a child. Except every movement in a computer game require this decision making process. I have a new appreciation for the programmers who have to sit down and put everything in. God help them.
Week 5:
More decision-making... at least they split this topic over two weeks. Of course, it comes back to the age-old 'heads or tails' thing, doesn't it? A yes or no answer. Do I kill the bad guy, or does he kill me? The three types of decision-outcome relationships (Certain, Risk and Uncertainty) are especially applicable to the hazard and civic duty cards that my group is implementing in our game. There was more work on decision trees, including stuff on keeping uncertainty central in all games. Well, that's a bit silly! That blows the whole game-path theory right out of the window! First of all, they're saying that the player must follow a certain path, now they're saying that no, uncertainty is important for games! I mean, sure, a little bit of lee-way is all well and good, but no game doesn't have objectives. Otherwise it's just random, nonsensical actions.
As for all games having rules... unless you count gravity and other laws of physics as rules (and in space, even those wouldn't actually apply), sometimes play doesn't have rules. That's ITB750 stuff.
This wasn't one of my favourite lectures, as in my mind it seemed to undo all of the work done on games and thinking about 'fun' and 'play' in ITB750. Then again, that's just my opinion.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
The Oncoming Storm: How NOT to look like an idiot on presentation day...
Not strictly relevant to what I've written in the past, but with the looming presentation, I have to admit, I'm nervous. With that in mind, I'm cast back to my heady days of public speaking competitions. After one particularly gruelling round, I sat outside with one of the older competitors and mused about presenting a speech. We considered the fact that what NOT to do could in fact make a great speech itself. Applying it to presenting a game idea wouldn't be such a bad thing, either.
Now, I've always been good at speaking in public. I was never nervous about talking to a crowded room, so much the pity since I usually get dumped on for it frequently. But there are some advantages to being a good public speaker (and no, it's not that my drama marks were great).
A few tips from an old hand:
1. NEVER insult your audience's intelligence. They won't thank you for treating them like idiots. Put it in layman's terms, sure. We're all human. But treat them like two-year-olds watching Play School and you'll get a baaaad reception. Assume a basic intelligence and talk to them on that level, remembering appropriate explanations.
2. Keep it interesting. Many's the time I've "fallen asleep" in class because the lecturer was talking in a monotone. Genius they may be, great public speaker they are not. Keep people listening by speeding up, slowing down, changing pitch for emphasis, the works.
3. Know your subject. There's no point presenting rocket science when you know more about interpretative dance. It's not brain surgery, its games! Talk about what you know, what you have played, what you have read. This way you don't have to jitterbug through a jive when you have not a darn clue what you're really talking about.
4. Present relevant material. Seems like an obvious one, but you wouldn't believe the times I've sat through presentations and thought 'And this has to do with the topic.... how?' You'd think that the people would understand how certain things correlate. So if you start talking about meteorological phenomena during the presentation of a game design, I'd say you were a mite off-course.
5. No-one likes a mumbler. It might have been cute for the penguin, but the penguin's marks weren't riding on this. Speak up, please. We can't hear you at the back.
6. Anecdotes R Fun. Fun stories about your own gaming blunders are always amusing. Share some, but keep enough up your sleeve for the afterparty.
That's about it for now. I should think of some more, but I'm tired. Oh well.
Now, I've always been good at speaking in public. I was never nervous about talking to a crowded room, so much the pity since I usually get dumped on for it frequently. But there are some advantages to being a good public speaker (and no, it's not that my drama marks were great).
A few tips from an old hand:
1. NEVER insult your audience's intelligence. They won't thank you for treating them like idiots. Put it in layman's terms, sure. We're all human. But treat them like two-year-olds watching Play School and you'll get a baaaad reception. Assume a basic intelligence and talk to them on that level, remembering appropriate explanations.
2. Keep it interesting. Many's the time I've "fallen asleep" in class because the lecturer was talking in a monotone. Genius they may be, great public speaker they are not. Keep people listening by speeding up, slowing down, changing pitch for emphasis, the works.
3. Know your subject. There's no point presenting rocket science when you know more about interpretative dance. It's not brain surgery, its games! Talk about what you know, what you have played, what you have read. This way you don't have to jitterbug through a jive when you have not a darn clue what you're really talking about.
4. Present relevant material. Seems like an obvious one, but you wouldn't believe the times I've sat through presentations and thought 'And this has to do with the topic.... how?' You'd think that the people would understand how certain things correlate. So if you start talking about meteorological phenomena during the presentation of a game design, I'd say you were a mite off-course.
5. No-one likes a mumbler. It might have been cute for the penguin, but the penguin's marks weren't riding on this. Speak up, please. We can't hear you at the back.
6. Anecdotes R Fun. Fun stories about your own gaming blunders are always amusing. Share some, but keep enough up your sleeve for the afterparty.
That's about it for now. I should think of some more, but I'm tired. Oh well.
Stepping Stones: Cross-Platform Games (Just like Johnny)
Admit it. How many of us actually have the same game on two or more platforms? Unfortunately, I have to stick my hand up here.
It's many because of Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End. Being the incredible Johnny Depp fan that I am (no less than twenty-two movies in my possession, thank you very much), I dove straight in, choosing to ignore the intolerable stunt Bethesda pulled with that, er, very bad offering from the first film. So I got the PS2 version of At World's End first, because that is my favourite platform.
Much, much better.
Gone is the incredibly stupid physics engine (one would have thought that clothes move differently when you walk rather than running), the terrible environment generator and stupid AI that ran your companion. Now, it's all up to you and yes, you DO have to fight as Will and Elizabeth. There is NO choice now.
With the care and love that obviously went into this from Eurocom Entertainment Software, the game stomped all over it's shoddy predecessor (which pains me to say that. Not even Johnny Depp's voice acting could save that hideous abomination).
But lo, what's this? A different game for the Wii and DS? By jove, what a tremendous idea! By utilising the active component of the Wii and the DS, Nintendo breathed new life into the tired genre, allowing for some excellent swordplay by the game-player, hacking and slashing at the television... just like Johnny would have! There were some pretty harsh criticisms about the sword (particularly this one at http://au.gamespot.com/ps2/action/piratesofthecaribbean3/tech_info.html?tag=stats;techinfo), but on the whole, it was a good premise and definitely warranted further exploration.
What interests me is that the standard fighting game cops little attack for abominable environments or characters, yet just because it's a tie-in game, At World's End was hit out as being a bad game. Is it because we all had expectations of fencing like Johnny Depp or Orlando Bloom? If that's the case, may I suggest a stint in the local fencing class, not an afternoon on your game console.
But this is about cross-platforming. The difference between the Playstation and the Wii games were obvious, but appealed to different users. Me? I'll be sticking to my Playstation. Give me button-mashing over swinging my arms around like a madwoman anyday.
It's many because of Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End. Being the incredible Johnny Depp fan that I am (no less than twenty-two movies in my possession, thank you very much), I dove straight in, choosing to ignore the intolerable stunt Bethesda pulled with that, er, very bad offering from the first film. So I got the PS2 version of At World's End first, because that is my favourite platform.
Much, much better.
Gone is the incredibly stupid physics engine (one would have thought that clothes move differently when you walk rather than running), the terrible environment generator and stupid AI that ran your companion. Now, it's all up to you and yes, you DO have to fight as Will and Elizabeth. There is NO choice now.
With the care and love that obviously went into this from Eurocom Entertainment Software, the game stomped all over it's shoddy predecessor (which pains me to say that. Not even Johnny Depp's voice acting could save that hideous abomination).
But lo, what's this? A different game for the Wii and DS? By jove, what a tremendous idea! By utilising the active component of the Wii and the DS, Nintendo breathed new life into the tired genre, allowing for some excellent swordplay by the game-player, hacking and slashing at the television... just like Johnny would have! There were some pretty harsh criticisms about the sword (particularly this one at http://au.gamespot.com/ps2/action/piratesofthecaribbean3/tech_info.html?tag=stats;techinfo), but on the whole, it was a good premise and definitely warranted further exploration.
What interests me is that the standard fighting game cops little attack for abominable environments or characters, yet just because it's a tie-in game, At World's End was hit out as being a bad game. Is it because we all had expectations of fencing like Johnny Depp or Orlando Bloom? If that's the case, may I suggest a stint in the local fencing class, not an afternoon on your game console.
But this is about cross-platforming. The difference between the Playstation and the Wii games were obvious, but appealed to different users. Me? I'll be sticking to my Playstation. Give me button-mashing over swinging my arms around like a madwoman anyday.
Game Review: Jazz Jackrabbit
I positively squealed when I saw this on http://www.dosgames.com/. What ho! A game I actually played as a small child (well, I was ten, actually and in England, but that's just the details). So with the nostalgia pumping in my veins, I downloaded it quick-smart and opened it on my wonderful dosbox.
Waaaahooooooeeeeeey!
Just as fabulous as I remembered! But in the great tradition of this blog, I will go through it carefully and under wonderful sub-headings-
Title- Jazz Jackrabbit
Style- Side-scrolling RPG. You play as the titular character, Jazz.
Details - This game was released in May 1994 for the PC by EpicMegagames and was designed by Cliff Bleszinski.
Platform - MSDOS (or Dosbox for those of us who have moved beyond that).
Aim - Jazz must rescue the lovely Princess Eva Earlong from the nefarious Devan Shell and his army of nutters (like usual).
Personal Opinion - Totally in love with it. Really. It's like Sonic for the PC. Of course, the players reactions need to be acclimated to the fast-paced levels and movements of Jazz as he rockets around the levels, shooting things and collecting other... things. But the music is hilarious, the occasional 'yum!' when you grab a carrot is great and the final boss is the most rip-roaring adventure since Sonic sped past us in the nineties.
For a nineties PC game, the graphics are fairly advanced and enjoy the added bonus of the nostalgic comic-book character feel made famous in games like Sly Raccoon. However, it is a classic side-scroller and some more advanced game-players may find it a little boring.
Rating - This is worth at least a 9.5/10. Minimum. I've spoken to a few classmates who all remember the speedy green rabbit with misty eyes and trembling smiles, saying 'I remember playing that. The music was awesome! The gameplay was hilarious good fun and... can I have a copy?'
No need to ask me, guys. Check out the link above and download your own copy. Words of warning though; one, you'll need a dosbox to run it and two... try not to get readdicted. :)
(For those who aren't acquainted with the game, check out wiki's fairly coherent compliation at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz_Jackrabbit_(game). It's a place to start if you're looking at the game's history and characters. As Penny would say, don't use it as a reference. It's a starting point.)
Waaaahooooooeeeeeey!
Just as fabulous as I remembered! But in the great tradition of this blog, I will go through it carefully and under wonderful sub-headings-
Title- Jazz Jackrabbit
Style- Side-scrolling RPG. You play as the titular character, Jazz.
Details - This game was released in May 1994 for the PC by EpicMegagames and was designed by Cliff Bleszinski.
Platform - MSDOS (or Dosbox for those of us who have moved beyond that).
Aim - Jazz must rescue the lovely Princess Eva Earlong from the nefarious Devan Shell and his army of nutters (like usual).
Personal Opinion - Totally in love with it. Really. It's like Sonic for the PC. Of course, the players reactions need to be acclimated to the fast-paced levels and movements of Jazz as he rockets around the levels, shooting things and collecting other... things. But the music is hilarious, the occasional 'yum!' when you grab a carrot is great and the final boss is the most rip-roaring adventure since Sonic sped past us in the nineties.
For a nineties PC game, the graphics are fairly advanced and enjoy the added bonus of the nostalgic comic-book character feel made famous in games like Sly Raccoon. However, it is a classic side-scroller and some more advanced game-players may find it a little boring.
Rating - This is worth at least a 9.5/10. Minimum. I've spoken to a few classmates who all remember the speedy green rabbit with misty eyes and trembling smiles, saying 'I remember playing that. The music was awesome! The gameplay was hilarious good fun and... can I have a copy?'
No need to ask me, guys. Check out the link above and download your own copy. Words of warning though; one, you'll need a dosbox to run it and two... try not to get readdicted. :)
(For those who aren't acquainted with the game, check out wiki's fairly coherent compliation at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz_Jackrabbit_(game). It's a place to start if you're looking at the game's history and characters. As Penny would say, don't use it as a reference. It's a starting point.)
The Length and Breadth of it: Game Completion Requirements
I now have a new-found respect for those poor designers who sit at their computer with their design documents open, saying 'Right, so what do those poor suckers have to do to finish my game?'
The reason I bring this up is that I'm currently completing a checklist of 'must-do's' to get from city to city in my Interactive Writing assignment for my game, Bloodlust - Curse of the Knight-King Sword.
Oh. My. God. WHAT A MARATHON!
Five pages! Five! That's not INCLUDING the eight pages I started with, or the pretty pictures I photoshopped together. Gah! I've somehow got to work in five sacrifices, seven cities (with librarians and barkeeps), a nutty prince (cue Hamlet), twins and an evil sword. What a nightmare! As much as I love this game and would probably play it forever myself, lordy it's a juggernaut!
Then there's the side missions, the bane of every gaming perfectionist. Those of you who have played the Chocobo racing side-mission in Final Fantasy X know EXACTLY what I'm talking about. Thankfully, I haven't made mine too easy or too difficult, though the rewards are pretty good (gold and potions? Thank YOU Mr. Walter P. Smythe!<- a Deal or no Deal joke).
That's the real issue with RPGs, especially when you use real-time strategy elements. There's just so much you need to think about, need to incorporate. In the midst of all this, I also need to write some more of my *counts quickly* three books (one I'm co-authoring), study for an exam, write some more journal entries and complete my design history journal. Oy.
So to all those RPG designers, I take my pretty purple hisbiscus hairclip off to you, you wonderful people you. You're absolutely crazy.
The reason I bring this up is that I'm currently completing a checklist of 'must-do's' to get from city to city in my Interactive Writing assignment for my game, Bloodlust - Curse of the Knight-King Sword.
Oh. My. God. WHAT A MARATHON!
Five pages! Five! That's not INCLUDING the eight pages I started with, or the pretty pictures I photoshopped together. Gah! I've somehow got to work in five sacrifices, seven cities (with librarians and barkeeps), a nutty prince (cue Hamlet), twins and an evil sword. What a nightmare! As much as I love this game and would probably play it forever myself, lordy it's a juggernaut!
Then there's the side missions, the bane of every gaming perfectionist. Those of you who have played the Chocobo racing side-mission in Final Fantasy X know EXACTLY what I'm talking about. Thankfully, I haven't made mine too easy or too difficult, though the rewards are pretty good (gold and potions? Thank YOU Mr. Walter P. Smythe!<- a Deal or no Deal joke).
That's the real issue with RPGs, especially when you use real-time strategy elements. There's just so much you need to think about, need to incorporate. In the midst of all this, I also need to write some more of my *counts quickly* three books (one I'm co-authoring), study for an exam, write some more journal entries and complete my design history journal. Oy.
So to all those RPG designers, I take my pretty purple hisbiscus hairclip off to you, you wonderful people you. You're absolutely crazy.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Nintendogs: Tamagotchi for the DS Generation
Alright, hands up everyone who had a Tamagotchi as a child? I think I'd need about five hands. I was obsessed with the little bleeping things. They were adorable! They went everywhere you did, were utterly dependent on your input and rewarded the exceptional player with longevity and games. My personal favourite was a cat-like one I named 'Tiger'; it lived for just over a month and then died in my mother's care.
Just when us nineties kids thought it was all over and we were sad-acts with our little bleeping ovacular techonology, Nintendo comes along (remember Nintendo? They gave us Super Mario Bros., the game we all fought over the controller for as eight-year-olds) and gives us a new reason to play their new-fangled console, the DS. Here, have a tamagotchi! Only it's not actually a tamagotchi, it's a more real-looking dog that you can really feed, really clean up after, really play with! You can take it for real walks and enter real competition with it!
The tamagotchi generation kicked it's heels in the air and raced off to get a copy of these cute puppies/kitties/other domesticated animals as the Nintendogs-craze began. Me? I liked them, but Nintendogs required a daily committment that I wasn't willing to give, so my puppies are now very hungry and very dirty. It reminds me of high school, when I had a friend who had a Pikachu tamagotchi. You shook it to earn points, which could be traded for items and prizes. She'd carry it everywhere with her. Nowadays I don't think she even knows where it is. Funny how games go in and out of vogue, isn't it?
I think that game designers need to keep this in mind when creating games. Classic games like Super Mario Bros, Final Fantasy VII and VIII, Sonic the Hedgehog, etc. are all classics for a reason. Their content resonates to the core values of a generation. Perhaps the Tamagotchi generation has a core value of instability and disposeability. Who knows?
Just when us nineties kids thought it was all over and we were sad-acts with our little bleeping ovacular techonology, Nintendo comes along (remember Nintendo? They gave us Super Mario Bros., the game we all fought over the controller for as eight-year-olds) and gives us a new reason to play their new-fangled console, the DS. Here, have a tamagotchi! Only it's not actually a tamagotchi, it's a more real-looking dog that you can really feed, really clean up after, really play with! You can take it for real walks and enter real competition with it!
The tamagotchi generation kicked it's heels in the air and raced off to get a copy of these cute puppies/kitties/other domesticated animals as the Nintendogs-craze began. Me? I liked them, but Nintendogs required a daily committment that I wasn't willing to give, so my puppies are now very hungry and very dirty. It reminds me of high school, when I had a friend who had a Pikachu tamagotchi. You shook it to earn points, which could be traded for items and prizes. She'd carry it everywhere with her. Nowadays I don't think she even knows where it is. Funny how games go in and out of vogue, isn't it?
I think that game designers need to keep this in mind when creating games. Classic games like Super Mario Bros, Final Fantasy VII and VIII, Sonic the Hedgehog, etc. are all classics for a reason. Their content resonates to the core values of a generation. Perhaps the Tamagotchi generation has a core value of instability and disposeability. Who knows?
Backlash: From the PSP to the PS2 - Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters
I always find it amusing when games attempt a launch on just one console, particularly when the console is very new and often very expensive. Such was the case when the relatively new Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters game was released a few years ago on the PSP. It made me desperately covet one of those little hand-held thingamabobs just so I could play the new game in my favourite series.
A few years later, I still don't own a PSP, yet in a week or so I will own Size Matters. Why? Because the game didn't sell so well. Insomniac's overall return on the game was vastly less than what the rest of the series had drawn in. Thus, since the game was brilliant but releasing it soley on the PSP was a massive faux pas, the nice guys at Insomniac decided to re-release, this time on the PS2 (sorry to all those kiddies who traded in their PS2s for a PS3 which is not backwards compatible).
This is not the first time that releasing games on one console only has proved unpopular. More and more game developers are creating games that can be played on different consoles (the front-runners being the Wii, DS and the XBOX360) in order to maximise profits. One that it particularly relevent to my interests is the release of not one but three versions of Kingdom Hearts III. They will be released on three different consoles (and I believe that there is talk of an online component) with different scenarios in each. The player, to gain the entire story, must play all of the games. In reality, this is going to take some time. The upside to that is that Square Enix has time to find a new director once Tetsuya Nomura leaves the helm of the Kingdom Hearts juggernaut.
That's about it. I just wanted to expound my thoughts about Size Matters, really.
A few years later, I still don't own a PSP, yet in a week or so I will own Size Matters. Why? Because the game didn't sell so well. Insomniac's overall return on the game was vastly less than what the rest of the series had drawn in. Thus, since the game was brilliant but releasing it soley on the PSP was a massive faux pas, the nice guys at Insomniac decided to re-release, this time on the PS2 (sorry to all those kiddies who traded in their PS2s for a PS3 which is not backwards compatible).
This is not the first time that releasing games on one console only has proved unpopular. More and more game developers are creating games that can be played on different consoles (the front-runners being the Wii, DS and the XBOX360) in order to maximise profits. One that it particularly relevent to my interests is the release of not one but three versions of Kingdom Hearts III. They will be released on three different consoles (and I believe that there is talk of an online component) with different scenarios in each. The player, to gain the entire story, must play all of the games. In reality, this is going to take some time. The upside to that is that Square Enix has time to find a new director once Tetsuya Nomura leaves the helm of the Kingdom Hearts juggernaut.
That's about it. I just wanted to expound my thoughts about Size Matters, really.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Review: Final Fantasy XII - Revenant Wings
This is one of Square Enix's more brilliant excursions into RTS (Real-Time Strategy) games, since it's original debut as Final Fantasy XII. One year has passed and the land of Ivalice is pretty much at peace. Or so everyone thought. Because now there's an odd airship (that I renamed The Phantom) in port at Rabanastre, a lost sky continent has reappeared and things are about to go from bad to worse for air pirate Vaan and his trusted navigator and poor cook, Penelo...
Game Play:
Like all the best Final Fantasy games, you play in a party. You can have full control over each member or set different members to use certain tactics. I prefer to have full control over my characters, but that doesn't automatically mean that your characters will do everything you direct them to, which can work in your favour but often doesn't.
The espers (renamed as Yarhi) return, as do the quickenings. Like the original, you gain them steadily throughout the game. This can get particularly annoying when a) You don't have enough auracite to form a pact with a more powerful new one or b) You have too much auracite and not enough new espers/yarhi to form pacts with. The second one is particularly accurate once you reach the end of the game and the only yarhi left to form pacts with only become available after you whup them in seriously difficult side missions.
The upside to party-fighting is that you can split the group up and send each half to mow down enemies on each side of the fighting map. Also, thanks to the inclusion of summoning gates, if you lose a Yarhi, even the most powerful ones from Rank III, you can re-summon them at full strength. There is a limit to how many you can summon, but they are useful when entering battles that are dangerous to central party members.
Interface - The Nintendo DS:
In truth, there's probably nothing gained from using the dual screen. A similar style of RTS play was demonstrated in Tactics and the GBA (Game Boy Advance) version worked just as well. But it is handy to have the map in the top screen to show you mission objectives and enemy locations. The touch screen also makes it slightly easier to control larger parties (once summoning yarhi has become second-nature).
Graphics/Music/Sound:
Harking back to the days when Nintendo made excellent use of the angular sprites, most of the game is enacted through little representations of the characters so beautifully represented in the original FFXII. The only time the player is shown the resplendant original portrayals is during dramatic cut scenes.
The music is quite beautiful and changes with each mission. My personal favourite is the music played during the adventure on the Isle of the Yarhi, the place from which all Yarhi are summoned. In retrospect, it casts the Final Fantasy regular back in time to the tenth official installment in the series during Yuna and Tidus' fateful excursion to Macalania Woods.
The sound effects are enjoyable and not really repetitive. Still, like will all games, you wouldn't want to be listening to them constantly. There's good breaks and even usage of them.
Overall Impression:
It's really quite an enjoyable game with good plot structure for the game narrative and excellent pick-up if the player can't understand it by the end. While it does have its faults, it is perfectly playable during long trips and excellent escapism with the nostalgic element for those who played its predecessor on the playstation 2. I'd give it an 8/10.
Game Play:
Like all the best Final Fantasy games, you play in a party. You can have full control over each member or set different members to use certain tactics. I prefer to have full control over my characters, but that doesn't automatically mean that your characters will do everything you direct them to, which can work in your favour but often doesn't.
The espers (renamed as Yarhi) return, as do the quickenings. Like the original, you gain them steadily throughout the game. This can get particularly annoying when a) You don't have enough auracite to form a pact with a more powerful new one or b) You have too much auracite and not enough new espers/yarhi to form pacts with. The second one is particularly accurate once you reach the end of the game and the only yarhi left to form pacts with only become available after you whup them in seriously difficult side missions.
The upside to party-fighting is that you can split the group up and send each half to mow down enemies on each side of the fighting map. Also, thanks to the inclusion of summoning gates, if you lose a Yarhi, even the most powerful ones from Rank III, you can re-summon them at full strength. There is a limit to how many you can summon, but they are useful when entering battles that are dangerous to central party members.
Interface - The Nintendo DS:
In truth, there's probably nothing gained from using the dual screen. A similar style of RTS play was demonstrated in Tactics and the GBA (Game Boy Advance) version worked just as well. But it is handy to have the map in the top screen to show you mission objectives and enemy locations. The touch screen also makes it slightly easier to control larger parties (once summoning yarhi has become second-nature).
Graphics/Music/Sound:
Harking back to the days when Nintendo made excellent use of the angular sprites, most of the game is enacted through little representations of the characters so beautifully represented in the original FFXII. The only time the player is shown the resplendant original portrayals is during dramatic cut scenes.
The music is quite beautiful and changes with each mission. My personal favourite is the music played during the adventure on the Isle of the Yarhi, the place from which all Yarhi are summoned. In retrospect, it casts the Final Fantasy regular back in time to the tenth official installment in the series during Yuna and Tidus' fateful excursion to Macalania Woods.
The sound effects are enjoyable and not really repetitive. Still, like will all games, you wouldn't want to be listening to them constantly. There's good breaks and even usage of them.
Overall Impression:
It's really quite an enjoyable game with good plot structure for the game narrative and excellent pick-up if the player can't understand it by the end. While it does have its faults, it is perfectly playable during long trips and excellent escapism with the nostalgic element for those who played its predecessor on the playstation 2. I'd give it an 8/10.
Exercise and Games: The release of the Wii-Fit
Gone are the days where games were only played by either fat geeks or skinny pimple faced sixteen year olds with as much experience with girls as the Dalai Lama. Seems that the new demographic for game companies is women, more importantly middle-aged ones.
This morning, as I perused my emails that had arrived overnight, I came across this article:
http://aww.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=563982
It goes into the Australian release of the Wii-Fit. For those not in the know, the Wii-fit is an exercise game that is designed to help the player lose weight and keep fit. The immediate benefits are obvious; at $150, it's cheaper than a year the gym and far more convenient. It's also a lot more fun and while you sit and nurse your well-earned sore muscles afterwards, you can indulge in a quick run in Twilight Princess, should the need arise.
But it got me thinking. Last year in ITB750, we were told that women over thirty(?) comprise a larger percentage of game players than teenage males. If that's the case, why is it that game companies still release title that are specifically aimed at a male demographic? Hang on, I covered this in my ITB750 essay... anyway.
To the case in point about male-orientated released, no-one could miss the hoopla that has surrounded the release of Grand Theft Auto IV. Possibly one of this decade's more successful game series, the Grand Theft Auto games display all those traits that make educators, government and parents recoil in horror; violence, sexual themes, criminal activity and swearing. Yet the series remains a best-seller for the consoles involved.
So why is it that these types of games often sell better? Perhaps it's a case of disposable income. As teenagers, most of us have very little financial burdens (save, perhaps, if you have a car). The type of women that the Wii-fit is aimed at have families and homes to support and with prices and whatnot going through the roof, the amount of money left over for a woman to spend on herself is drastically decreased. I have a feeling that this will impact on the sales of the Wii-fit. But perhaps it will sell well with the teenage female. I plan to get one to test it out. It looks like fun, at the very least.
This morning, as I perused my emails that had arrived overnight, I came across this article:
http://aww.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=563982
It goes into the Australian release of the Wii-Fit. For those not in the know, the Wii-fit is an exercise game that is designed to help the player lose weight and keep fit. The immediate benefits are obvious; at $150, it's cheaper than a year the gym and far more convenient. It's also a lot more fun and while you sit and nurse your well-earned sore muscles afterwards, you can indulge in a quick run in Twilight Princess, should the need arise.
But it got me thinking. Last year in ITB750, we were told that women over thirty(?) comprise a larger percentage of game players than teenage males. If that's the case, why is it that game companies still release title that are specifically aimed at a male demographic? Hang on, I covered this in my ITB750 essay... anyway.
To the case in point about male-orientated released, no-one could miss the hoopla that has surrounded the release of Grand Theft Auto IV. Possibly one of this decade's more successful game series, the Grand Theft Auto games display all those traits that make educators, government and parents recoil in horror; violence, sexual themes, criminal activity and swearing. Yet the series remains a best-seller for the consoles involved.
So why is it that these types of games often sell better? Perhaps it's a case of disposable income. As teenagers, most of us have very little financial burdens (save, perhaps, if you have a car). The type of women that the Wii-fit is aimed at have families and homes to support and with prices and whatnot going through the roof, the amount of money left over for a woman to spend on herself is drastically decreased. I have a feeling that this will impact on the sales of the Wii-fit. But perhaps it will sell well with the teenage female. I plan to get one to test it out. It looks like fun, at the very least.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Classic Games: Return of the Phantom
Okay, I know I'm a bit obsessed with my Phantom of the Opera. But this game is one of the best known game versions of my favourite story and I thought I'd give it a try.
What a laugh!
The game, made by Micropose in 1993, is the pinnacle of all that is cheesy in the early computer game days. What it lacks in gameplay it makes up in graphical and historical accuracy. The tinny organ music is looped and repetitive, but for those who adore the story behind Phantom, following the storyline through the game is a great source of amusement.
Unfortunately for the Phantom purists, we're forced into the role of Raoul (the Vicomte de Chagny) after being thrown from a fly loft by Erik, the titular Phantom. You then spend the rest of the game hunting him down, only to have him live and come back to try to kill you again!
How this game could have been improved:
PLAY AS THE PHANTOM! I really hate Raoul. He was never a favourite character. He was smarmy and uppity and a lot of other nasty adjectives that I can't add to this assignment. Ugh. Playing as the Phantom would have added much more class and intrigue to the game. After the recent insurgence in interest into the famous book and play, I'd be surprised if this game concept did not come up with some of the bigger game companies.
What this game did well:
The representation of the Opera Populaire. Loved it. The chandelier scene was faithfully represented and the events were quite faithfully followed.
So, what's it worth?
For phans and fans of classic games alike, it rates about a 6.5/10. A lot of the score is for just being Phantom of the Opera. Oh well.
What a laugh!
The game, made by Micropose in 1993, is the pinnacle of all that is cheesy in the early computer game days. What it lacks in gameplay it makes up in graphical and historical accuracy. The tinny organ music is looped and repetitive, but for those who adore the story behind Phantom, following the storyline through the game is a great source of amusement.
Unfortunately for the Phantom purists, we're forced into the role of Raoul (the Vicomte de Chagny) after being thrown from a fly loft by Erik, the titular Phantom. You then spend the rest of the game hunting him down, only to have him live and come back to try to kill you again!
How this game could have been improved:
PLAY AS THE PHANTOM! I really hate Raoul. He was never a favourite character. He was smarmy and uppity and a lot of other nasty adjectives that I can't add to this assignment. Ugh. Playing as the Phantom would have added much more class and intrigue to the game. After the recent insurgence in interest into the famous book and play, I'd be surprised if this game concept did not come up with some of the bigger game companies.
What this game did well:
The representation of the Opera Populaire. Loved it. The chandelier scene was faithfully represented and the events were quite faithfully followed.
So, what's it worth?
For phans and fans of classic games alike, it rates about a 6.5/10. A lot of the score is for just being Phantom of the Opera. Oh well.
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