Benjamin Vasquez- Journal Entries

[benvaz722]

BullS****/ Cheat
No author, but recorded in "how to play with cards" books and it has many variants all over the world
No Game studio
Original platform- a Deck of playing cards
Mechanisms - a flat surface, hands, a couple of dishonest buddies.

Game play and mechanics

Cheat or BullS**** is played with 4 or as many friends want to play and a 52 deck of playing cards. The game also requires a surface in the center of all the players in which the discarded cards are placed onto. Then the cards are distributed evenly to all players. Players are allowed to look and sort their own cards but cannot touch and look at the other players’ cards. Game starts with one player placing a face down card(s) in the center of the play area while announcing what type of card and how many of that type of card was placed, thus ending their turn. The next player goes, so on and so forth, in the order pre-decided (clockwise or counterclockwise). Another key point of the game is that players are placing the cards in ascending order (starting at Ace and ending with the King) fully trusting that each one is telling the truth. At any point if a player is suspicious, they are allowed to call out “BullS***” to the player who just placed down their cards. If the calling out player was right then the liar receives all the cards in the pile, but if wrong, they receive the penalty. The game end when one player is out of cards.

Strength and weakness of art and design

There is no art and design associated with the game itself, but the platform can be used for expression. Companies sell all types of designs with their playing cards. I never really thought of it but, boiling it down, this platform allows for your self-expression to be apart of any game you play. Some designs include but are not limited to images of popular media from TV, Film, other games, literature, art, and well anything that can be printed. The cards can even come in different sizes and shapes. I think the weakness of art is that it makes little to no impact on the gameplay. Maybe just a little satisfaction sees your favorite character, but if striped form all designed and left with just numbers and symbols, players could still have just as fun. However, Playing cards portability focus that allows players to play anywhere is one of the strongest points for its design.

what makes it fun?

The most fun part of playing Cheat is the challenge of attempting to get away with lying to all of your friends. I believe that people are inherently evil as it is the easiest path for humans to take. The only reason why it isn’t ramped up in our communities is because people are either attempting to go against this nature or the consequences far outweigh the reward. Now imagen if you are presented with a time that you will receive no consequence for doing evil. It’s exhilarating! I mean we have a movie franchise with these concepts. The evil in the game of telling a little lie is not great enough to hurt your moral compass or hurt the people around you as a result of your lie, and yet it feels good that you pulled a fast one over the other players. The other satisfaction is in the situation where you were telling the truth, and a player accuses you of lying. This is a different type of evil within human nature and it’s the need to feel superior to others. In the case of this game, it is the feeling of moral superiority. The accusing player instantly reaps the penalty of accusing you of being dishonest. I’m sure a deep study of human nature can be done with this game. It is fun to be deceive when no one can get hurt, and in fact, this absurdity becomes humorous.

why is it considered influential? how does it fit the evolution of games?

The history of Card games is one of the oldest forms of games. Basically, since we have figured out how to make paper. The oldest account of a card game was in the Tang dynasty in the 9^th century made out of woodblock printing technology. Since card games have been with man for so long new and different ways to play card games grew alongside man’s development. The portability of these games allowed people to travel with them and spread them around the globe. For Cheat itself, the game uses the French playing cards (which are the most common now adays). It has many different variants for different nations, which cause me to wonder if the game not only passed around from word of mouth but had isolated moments of spontaneous discovery. This meaning that concept is so simple and ingrain in our nature that, when playing cards became more common, it was being simultaneously invented over and over again with slight changes based on the culture it derived from. The great thing about Cheat, Bulls****, I Doubt it, bluff, or whatever its called in that region, it appeals to everyone. There is something fundamental ingrain in us from any age that people are called to always participate when some one yells “ Who wants to play Bulls***!?”.

[benvaz722]

Name of Game: BackGammon
Game author (If known): none
Game Studio: none

Control mechanism you used
A board, dice, chips, and your hands

Would the experience have been different using the original? How?
The earliest depiction is around 3,000 BC and unknown exactly what other rules they had, but today we use the 1850 rules.

Describe game play and mechanics

The Game is played using a board with 12 triangles running down each side, 15 chips for each player, and dice. This is a turn base 2 player game that requires each player to use dice rolls to determine how many times they can move their chips from the other player side to their own home area one chip at a time. The chips move counterclockwise with the farthest being the two chips on the enemy side. There is a center area named “the jail” where players can place the captured pieces of the enemy to further delay their movement. To capture a enemy chip, you must land on a triangle with only one of the enemy chips occupying it. You cannot capture or land if there are two or more enemy chips on the triangle. The enemy player now must attempt to use their rolls to take their piece out and start from the beginning. The game ends when one player has all their chips in their home and placed them into the holding slot using their rolls.

Describe strengths & weaknesses of art & design

The design is pretty simple of just some geometric shapes on a board of your choosing. This leads to all sorts of interpretation from artist as they can swap the design of the triangles just as long as they are angular and alternate colors. The chips can be also swapped with different designs printed on it or different shape instead of just round cylinders. There are also ways to personalize the dice since it is a common set of 6-sided dice. What is interesting to me is that instead of drastically changing the design it is kept largely the same. The only thing that changes is the color of the triangles and chips or adding a symbol of sort in the vacant area between players. I am assuming that being able to recognize the game at a glance is vital to what is keeping the game alive for centuries of man’s development.

What made it fun?

The spirit of the game is competition. A battle of wits between two players. The game was made fun because of the Eustress or good stress that Jane McGonigal says we feel when approached with a challenge. This challenge is “how to outwit my opponent”. The game has also a bit of luck in play because you roll dice to determine how many times you can move. Luck and strategy are tied into the game play and are integral to why this is a game loved by our ancestors. I only played the common rules, but apparently there are many more out there that heightens luck or strategy. One way we did this is by adding the double rule; where if the player rolls double, they get to roll again. The Luck of the first roll allows the player to roll again in order to play their chance once more. This also increases the strategy aspect as it not only allows the player to use the first roll to move their chips, but also the results of the second roll can also be used for movement. I had a lot of fun with this game, attempting to outplay my friend.

Now that you’ve played it, Why would this game be considered influential? How does it fit into the evolution of games?

There is a Love of gambling is ingrained into all human beings. This can come in many forms of accepting risk to gain a larger reward. Jane McGonigal speaks about the player need to play the game as in to use the system against itself to succeed. Both gambling and playing the game is what I believe is central to why this game hasn’t died down and persevere throughout history. Luck adds challenge that even against the most experienced player, a novice can have a chance of beating the master by rolling good and the master rolling bad. Ultimately it is how you use these rolls to your advantage. With the game being as old as it is people found ways to make money from it. I wasn’t aware of the rules that people have made in order to make the game fairer, so the person who gambled their money wouldn’t have anything to complain about. This game could have aided in teaching how to count in early humanity as well as how to develop critical thinking skills as the player not only has to keep in mind their own chips but also where they can be used to trip up the enemy player.

How would you rate this game (1-5 Stars (5 stars good))

• I would rate the game 5 stars.

[benvaz722]

Space War
Steve Russel
Massachusetts institute of technology
DEC PDP-1 Minicomputer and used a series of switches. They then developed a Detached control device or a gamepad.
The control Mechanisms is used were based on the key board keys. W, a, s ,d to move. W, U hyper space. And 4, 0 alternate fire.

game Play

The game is a lot more complicated that it looks. The main issue I was having is understanding the drift of the space craft. I didn’t realize that the space in the middle was a vortex or black hole of sorts that pulls in the player. The other is understanding how the warp mode works. I would enter it and spawn in a a random location or I would smash into something because I couldn’t see my ship. The propel function was tricky to get a handle on too. This game is also meant to be played with two players so that wasn’t an aspect I can speak for, but I assume that it would make the experience more pleasurable. I did like spamming the fire button attempting to take down the aliens or asteroids. From playing with it for some time I did find that I eventually started getting better at maneuvering the ship. I would find myself disappointed when I crashed the ship even though there is no win condition.

Art and design

The art and design is the reason why I chose to write about this game. You find picture of this in Google but in air defense the radar system we use have a similar style of monitor and way of displaying the objects on screen. It isn’t one to one and it’s more familiar to projects further down the game design world. That spoke my piece, but over all a bit lack luster. With out a description I had to read and look up in the wiki I would have known that the spot in the middle was a type of vortex and I don’t think I found out what those little square shape things are. What I do like about the art is the fact that the simulation I played had a sort of left behind image that the made the game Play feel like I am controlling a Futuristic ship. When I hit the warp button and slowly disappears add to the appeal of a space battle.

What made it fun?

Though I complained a lot about the learning curve I think I really enjoyed attempting to figure out how to move the ship. It prompted me to go back and look at the controls because it is so unorthodox compared to other games that stream line the process of learning. Which it isn’t a bad thing to stream line, but in this case I was a pilot attempting to control my ship. I found it especially fun attempting to shoot down the asteroids. Also, Spamming the shoot button to gage how close you have to be to actually hit with the added challenge of the ship controls made it fun. I found my self attempting to pull trick shots while using the gravitational pull of black hole and to shoot down the enemy. The projectile having the ability to bounce off the walls or to warp to other side added to caution one must take when firing. There is also the addition of the second player. I can imagine it enhances the experience as you are trying to shoot one another. I’m sure you can make hose rules on how to win. Maybe it’s how many times you are able to take each other down or how many of the rock/aliens you can shoot.

history of games

Most people say that you don’t want to see how the sausage is made. That is only for people who can’t handle the truth and would rather live in ignorant bliss. There is a reason why shows like “how it’s made” is so popular. There is a strange curiosity behind every invention that people want to see. This is how it felt reading through the wiki and understanding the lore around this early game. It was quite fascinating to see how people would take something regarded for academics or business like a computer and think “what if we can make this fun”. Then suddenly it started a wave that probably the people making this game couldn’t imagine. After this more and more innovation came to improve upon this simple concept. It went from switching on and off to having a make shift game pad that lead to our now console and game controllers. There is a lot of different types of motivations, but I think fun is by far one of the most powerful out there. People who love what they are doing playing around with equipment and finding new ways that it can be applied. Over all I’m excited to see where the wave of gaming could led. Possibly a resurgence of VR?

I say 3 out of 5 gameplay. History wise 5 stars!

[benvaz722]

Asteroids
Lyle Rains and Ed Logg.

Atari

Arcade box with buttons

Control mechanism I used were using the key board arrows and space bar.

The experience have been not so different since I am doing the same motion as using buttons.

game play and mechanics

The player controls a space ship that is surrounded by enemies and asteroids. This game really feels like a successor to Atari earlier game “Computer Space”. It is like the mechanics of the original game, but more refined and user friendly. I still couldn’t figure out where the warp would make me land but it saved me from a lot of tricky situations. The asteroids, when broken would splinter into 4 parts and then those splinter some more into 2 parts each. This acts like an extra form of difficulty as the user can’t be shooting wildly. They also added a life and a scoring system. This made it feel like a logical next step to seeing why game are the way they are today, as it gave the players something to strive for. The aliens popping in and out added some more of a challenge to the already difficult asteroids tumbling towards the player. The aliens would shoot lasers at the player on the screen adding to the difficulty.

Describe strengths & weaknesses of art & design

The art and design of the game is simple. I am only the fence on whether I like it or it should need no change and stay as a time less classic as the way it is. It clearly Iconic, some how theses simple lines with jagged edges would make anyone think asteroids. Though limited to its time, the art direction has a sleek design. Each object on the screen is instantly recognizable to the untrained eye. The space ship design, being simple triangles, feels like it was ripped off out of a child doodle note book. It’s nostalgic brining my doodle to life. The same goes with the aliens ship and what symbol is associated with them. The technology of now will allow the designers to have more creative freedom and add more of a story behind the game. So I am only the fence to whether I want the art direction to change or stay.

What made it fun?

What made this fun is the mechanics of the game and the freedom it lends with its rules. I belive it appeals to the sense of achievement and skill to a person. The game designer set the rules for this world. For example, some of rules binds you to the space ship and it sets what the space ship is allowed to do with the controls given. It is not lot of freedom, but pushing past the limitation of the rules and able to gain full mastery leads to satisfaction. Now it you versus the program. The tension of attemptijg to achive higher and higher score proving that dispite the limitations the player is able to stand its own. This game is a testament to Nolan Bushnell philosophy of a game that is “easy to learn, but difficult to master". I mentioned before how in space wars I enjoyed the drift ability, and it is the same in this game. The drift is the catsclyst to what make the controls so difficult to handle and yet a person who have reprogrammed their mind to make such ajusment while shooting would use this hindrance as a perk. Overall it was fun, but I think it is missing the human element with another player like space wars.

Why would this game be considered influential?

Given the game history, I can not say this game is a flop. It became so popular that it blew up other games that Atari was attempting to release out of the water! Too much money would be a constant issue for arcades that they had to install bigger coin baskets. It came out a perfect time of when video games were at its infancy in arcades. It was new and exciting, especially because it resembled already very popular game of space wars. I don’t think it hold up so much afterwards. Atari had some re-releases and sequels, but you don’t see it around anymore. It is stuck as a form of nostalgia from a better time when people would have a place to go and play games together and not have to break the bank. There are also so many copies with interesting game play and story. I used to have a airplane fighter WWI game that had the same mechanics (except warping). You were able to select different types of planes and when you died your high score and name was displayed as a tomb stone. It had more story and replayabilty than astroid but essentially the same game. It is no doubt a conner stone in the development of today’s games.

How would you rate this game.

I would rate this game 3 out of five at some point the novelty wore off and closed it.

[benvaz722]

Donkey Kong
Director: Shigeru Miyamoto
Studio: Nintendo

Original Platform & controls:
Arcade Cabinets and used a joystick with two buttons

Controls used
I used the arrow keys and the XZ on keyboard for input buttons.

Gameplay
You play as “Mario” or “Jump man” attempting to rescue Pauline from Donkey Kong. In order to do this, you must travel from platform to platform and reach Pauline. There are obstacles you must avoid like fire spirits and barrels that are thrown by Donkey Kong. There is a Hammer Power up that can help Mario by destroying anything in its path. You can also collect items to boost your score and be awarded an extra life when you reach 7000 points. The player can move Mario left and right, but the most important feature is the fact that he can jump! Hence the name “Jump man”. I was having a difficult time moving up and down the ladders attempting to doge the barrels assuming that I couldn’t jump over them. I was also pleasantly surprised that if I don’t be careful and use the ladders, I can die from fall damage.

Art and design
The design of the game is quite pleasant. Mario character uses blues and reds that make him stand out from the background of the game. The bright red also catches the eye and allows the player to focus on it. For Donkey Kong, the brown texture mixed with its ape body leaves no questioning that this is indeed a gorilla. Pauline Pink Dress and pig tails Scream at the player that “hey! This is a girl”. Which could be controversial now a days as it restricts color to gender stereo type. I do like the current design for Pauline much better as I feel it gives her more personality than just “damsel in distress”. The black background is a great choice that makes the red-Ish platforms, cyan ladders, oil barrels, and regular barrels stand out. The layout of the platform forces the player to traverse the entire level instead of just taking a short cut to the ending.

What made it fun?
One thing that made the game fun is the story behind the game. The player places themselves as Mario to save someone who is held captive by a huge ape. The imagination of the player is a powerful tool for any developer. This is the reason why people are nostalgic for the games that they played as a kid. As children we are at the peak of our imaginations and despite the limited hardware and software of when the game when it came out… it felt so real... so fun! It helps that in the original game there is a cut scene describing what the plot of the story is. The player is given a purpose, and it is to be a brave hero and save the damsel. The other reason is the difficulty around the challenge. I wasn’t able to go past the first level, and when I did, I was able to see what is beyond and gave me a great sense of achievement. My coach would tell me that, “nothing in life worth having is easy”. If the win was given to me, it wouldn’t have felt like I was worthy of succeeding to the next round of the game.

Why is it influential?
How was it not influential would be an easier question to answer. This is the game that brought Nintendo its greatest IP and he wasn’t even in the title of the game. This Game was essential to the birth of platforming games as a genre. The jump mechanic, though simple, is a skill that the player must master in order to progress through the game. The reason why I thought that I couldn’t jump over them is because, growing up, I couldn’t get the timing right. Timing your jumps is essential to getting to higher levels. I wish that the website version had the cut scene of donkey describing the plot, but from what I am reading, it seems that it was also the reason why it became so big. The creator of the game took inspiration from characters of already popular media and adapted it to the game. A giant gorilla taking a woman hostage and climbing a tower is a clear reference to King Kong. I mean Kong is already in the name of the character. The other inspiration for the story is Popeye the sailor man. Where you have big guy (Bluto) kidnapping a lady (Olvie oil) and the smaller character (Popeye) going to go save her. This element is seen also in the later games but with Bowser playing the big dumb character and completing the love triangle idea.

I rate it 5 stars!

[benvaz722]

Moto Cross Racer (1984)
Game author not listed
Different Consoles (Atari 2600, Coleco Vision, and VIC-20)
The version I played was on the Coleco Vision that had a joystick and a phone number pad.
The controls I used the keyboards the arrow keys, number pad, left control, and left alt. I believe it would be different because the controller is more compact, and I can reach the buttons easier.

Game play

The goal of the game is to reach the end of a racetrack. The player is using a Motorcycle to navigate the map. There are three different levels the player must complete in order to reach the finish line. The first level is a dessert covered with obstacles like rocks, cacti, and scorpions. It is notable that this level is a 3D style where the objects get bigger, the more you follow the track. The second level is a top-down winding road up a hill. Finally, the third level is a side scroll ride through the beach filled with obstacles like sandcastles, rocks, and hurdles. Your goal is to reach the end as fast as you can or before the timer runs out. The obstacles will cause you to drift and receive a time penalty. You must also balance which gear you are in by using the number pad. You can use left control to rase your RPM and left alt to lower to a desired spot then switch gears. If you go over the limit you can also stall out your bike.

Art and Design

The Game uses simple sprites but effective in showing the player what they are looking at. For the dessert 3D aspect, I enjoyed being able to see the mountain out in the distance and you slowly approach the next level. The winding path has clear boundaries to where you have to stay in order to continue the race. Though I think it would be better, probably because of limitation of the system, if the game used more diverse colors for the land scape. However, it reads well to the player which is important. The design that is pulling the most weight in my opinion is the sound design. As soon as I get a handle of the controls I can tell when I am reaching the upper limits on my RPM and must change gears as you would when driving a manual car. I particularly like the beginning music of “Yankee Doodle”. The other point is the lost music; besides the fact it eventually says game over, I had no way of knowing that I lost until the music played.

Why is it fun?

There is something in the nature of human beings that is fueling out need to go fast. Even when we are younger kids we dream of cars, motorcycles, speed boats, and rockets. Nothing was cooler than seeing a super-fast car racing in the track. I would pin my toy cars against each other, or I would make them do amazing tricks off the rails of my childhood home. This game really makes me feel like I am in the place of the driver. The fact that it makes me pay attention to which gears I am in and the RPMs brings more realism and immersivity. People like to have an escape and realism in games allows us to trick our brains and, as a result, it allows us to be immersed. I think that is the reason why I am so fond of the first level of the game. We exist in a 3D world, and I felt like I was placed in that world. The immersion effect is lessened with the other levels, but that’s when the challenge picks up. I couldn’t even get passed the second level. The tension also heightened because if I lost, I would have to start from the beginning.

History of games

I couldn’t find much of anything on how this game has impacted the history of games. I would like to talk about how racing games are important. I love the fantastical like sci-fi or fantasy, so I never really understood the extreme hype behind games that you could literally go outside and do. I would never go out of my way to buy sports or racing games, but I would play them if I already had them or someone bought them for me. They were fun, not to the point in spending hours in it, but fun. Occasionally, I would play need for speed on my game boy not knowing about cars but the need to compete is a thrill all on its own. Down the road, I ended up gaining respect for racing games because of my father. My Dad is a truck driver with a stern face and gravel in his gut that spends days on the road. He never understood the appeal games only that I wanted to play them, but I soon convinced him to try it out by showing him a racing game. I saw his face change with excitement as he got choose vehicles that only in his dreams he could ever drive. Behind the tiredness of blue color man was a young boy brought back to when he would fantasize about exotic and fast cars. Not everyone is delt the same hand and sometimes we would have to put our dreams behind us and focus on responsibility. Games give us that escape so that a truck driver can feel like a race star for just a moment. I think that is why I would consider this game and games like it influential.

I would rate it 5 stars.

[benvaz722]

Benjamin Vasquez

Name of Game: E.T the Extra-Terrestrial
Game author: Howard Scott Warshaw
Game Studio: Atari

Original Platform & control mechanism:
Atari 2600 and used a controller with a joystick and one button.

Control mechanism I used:
Keyboard with the arrow keys being the joystick and the space bar as the button. I believe that the joystick function really makes a game feel like a game, especially with this game, because it feels like I am back in a arcade.

Describe game play and mechanics:
Despite the simple controls the game itself was surprisingly complex. This game is about ET wandering around the different levels attempting to collect all the missing phone pieces and all the while avoiding capture. The arrow allowed the player to control ET, and the button allowed the player to use ET’s special abilities. The abilities vary depending on what symbol is shown on the very top of the screen. The question mark gave the player a hint if a phone piece is nearby. The jail symbol gives a command to all human characters to return to the white house. The circle symbol allows ET to eat a piece of candy to regain energy. The “e” logo calls on Eliot that will rid of all enemy characters and bring you a piece of a phone. Any arrow symbol will teleport ET that direction. It is important to keep track of ET’s stamina as it drains while you walk and use ability. This can cause ET’s death, but Eliot will revive ET three times per game.

Describe strengths & weaknesses of art & design:
Compared to strength of design in other games, ET is pretty lack luster. It had access to many more colors, and they decided to make the most of the environment different shades of green. The strength I can give the game for this choice is that it does make the other characters pop. Yet, ET itself is green, so it goes against the choice of having a uniform background. I had a hard time distinguishing between what holes are and what is flora. I do like the design of the jail and white house area as the blue makes the area feel industrial compared to the green of the rest of the other levels. I had trouble distinguishing what I picked up, so through trial and error, I was able to deduce what items were phone parts and what items were candy. The player was not given clear visual communication on what item is in the instructions. They had enough room below and above the game to further clarify what you are collecting. I couldn’t imagine the stress of a child attempting to navigate this game without a guide.

What made it fun?
I wanted to play this game because of the history behind it being a flop, but I found myself challenged and (eventually) having fun. I think the reason why it might of flopped is because of the unclear over all look of the game. I had to dig through the guide in order to get an idea on how to play the game. I am not expecting hand holding, but even when I read through the guide I was still confused. Eventually I was able to plug two and two together and form my own understanding on how to play the game. Once I did that, I was ready to take up the challenge! It was fun mine sweeping around the levels trying to find the question mark or different section that would allow me to escape from the hands of the enemies. I grew more and more invested as I collected the different phone parts. I also got heart broken when the FBI agent stole my phone parts and candy. The scientist was an annoying pest grabbing me and taking me to the white house. I feel like with a bit more polish in the art, design, and layout the game could have become a fond memory instead of a colossal failure.

Now that you’ve played it, Why would this game be considered influential? How does it fit into the evolution of games?
This game is notable for its colossal failure, but in reading deeper into the topic I realized that I wasn’t the only one that felt like the game was actually fun. It seems like it came out during a time when gaming was booming, and Atari was falling behind. It still had great sales, but the victory was short lived as the same complaints I made earlier were also in the mind of gamers in the past. ET was over hyped, and people over bought not realizing what they had in time for Christmas. Atri ended up with too much supply in returns and not enough demand. The most people remember is the urban legend of a pit filled with theses games. The legend ends it up to be true and took place in 1983. Around 20 truckloads of the games were taken from a warehouse and crushed into a land fill. Nowadays Atari is remembered with a fond nostalgia, so it is difficult to watch a titan fall due to the surge of competition. This pattern is not unique to the gaming industry with time and time again companies grow suddenly and just as suddenly crash down, resulting in massive layoffs.

I rate 2 out of 5 stars

[benvaz722]

Name of Game: Zork I Game author (If known): Tim Anderson, Marc Blank, Bruce Daniels, and Dave Lebling

Game Studio: infocom

Original Platform & control mechanism:
Pc and used key boards

Control mechanism you used
Would the experience have been different using the original? How?
I don’t think it would have been to far off for the original. Maybe more clicky clack of the old key boards.

Describe game play and mechanics

The game is played using the keyboard and the greatest graphics processors your imagination. The player would have to write prompts in ordered to progress the story of zork. The player is left in a field in front of a mailbox and behind it was a boarded up house. The player have serveal options, but the one I chose is to head to the back of the house and find a small window. From there the player can open the window that leads to kitchen. From here the player is presented with an a sack bag and jar of water. The player can take it or eat it on the spot. From there the is a living room that bellow the floor rug lies the underground kingdom of zork. This is as far as I gotten, but there are many puzzles and adventures to be had in the under ground kingdom.

Describe strengths & weaknesses of art & design

This game has no art to displayed. The cover art that comes with the game is interesting as it conveys this mystical landscape set in what looks like medieval times. This game could be improved in the art department if it had some display of what we are looking at. Yet that would take away of the charm. The equivalent of this game is ai story telling games on the phone. Possibly the next evolution of this concept without images and only text. Another solution I’d adding some sort of design around the text box. To make the game feel like a game and not like I’m accessing the command prompt on my windows computer. The design that con hold the text could have some ancient tablet look and have the name in big letter. Other ways in which to improve the art and design is the font, color, or size to highlight hints on object the player can interact with or hints to advance the game.

What made it fun?

What made the game fun is the replay ability to form your own story. There isn’t one way to play zork, but it could be optimize to get the most out of your experience. You can find ways of optimization by following guides. I had to use one because a possible language barrier through time. Some words that I used wasn’t recognized by the game. This caused me a lot of frustration. It seems like the must recite the exact phrase in order to progress the story. Possibly adopt a different way of speaking in order to make anyone head way. Like I mentioned before I never got pass the kitchen. I kept getting stuck despite using a game guide. I couldn’t seem to send up the right sentence. When it works the experience is wonderfully and it feels like I’m playing Dungeons and dragons. The programmer is the Dungeon Master and I am their player as they set up the world around me. From what I read the story improve significantly once I actually dive into the underground kingdom where I could meet a robber and explore puzzles. I think the game was fun and a bit irk some when I get stuck in a “I don’t understand that phrase” loop.

Now that you’ve played it, Why would this game be considered influential? How does it fit into the evolution of games?

I believe that zork influence comes from it innovative story telling. From what we been seeing from the history of video games is simple storytelling. U have one sentence stories like you pilot a space ship and kill stuff in space. Or you ride motor cross across a desert. Yes, stories now days could be boiled down to simplicity, but it would be missing out a lot of the key elements. Zork was essential for the role playing aspect of games. In fact is what made games so appealing in the first place. The ability to sink into its world is what people expect from video games. Zork feels like a natural progression of that concept. Role playing games are games specifically designed with diving into world is as an essential aspect of game design. It gave lead to a plethora of computer game text base games. Possibly also ideas for choose your adventure video games. I personally have a soft spot for role playing games. I used to down load every free game I could spot and used to play massive multi-player games and become the hero of my own story. Overall all its incredible to see where an integral part of gaming today might of have started.

How would you rate this game (1-5 Stars (5 stars good)) I would rate 3 out 5

[Professor Watkins]

Graded to here.

[benvaz722]

Super Mario kart
Shigeru Miyamoto
Nintendo
Original Platform & control mechanism:
SNES and Controllers

Control mechanism you used
Keyboard
Would the experience have been different using the original? How?
It wouldn’t be too different as we are still pushing buttons. However, the handheld design of the controller might make it more comfortable.

Describe game play and mechanics
As a player you select different 8 characters to plays as and race around the different tracks in the mushroom cup. The controls are different as I am using a keyboard. The arrow keys replace the key left side of the SNES controller. And Z, X, A, S, replace A, B, X, Y respectively on the right side of the controller. The player must wait for the count down in order to begin. Once the race starts the player is expected to avoid obstacles and to sabotage the other players with items. You can get these items by crossing the question marks on the floor of the track. There are many ways to achieve first place littered around the track. One way is by taking advantage of the arrows on the ground for bust. Another is collecting coins to boost the vehicle’s overall speed, but when they are hit, they might lose them. There This game could also be played in multiplayer, but I was sadly limited by the limits of the ROM websites.

Describe strengths & weaknesses of art & design
Nintendo has this in the bag when it comes to the art and design. it uses characters already established and loved by their communities effectively bringing all fan bases together. Despite what looks like for me, the limitations of the Super Nintendo, the maps seem well made and lively. I did not expect stuff like the water effects and the 3D design to keep with the times well. When I first discovered this game, I originally thought that someone would make a remake of Mario kart to fit the old games aesthetic using texture packs. I didn’t think that the franchise was this old. The 3d map at the bottom of the screen is pleasing as the player can easily tell where they are at and where the other players are at relatively with the use of perspective. The cartoon like design of the games allow more creative freedom and bright colors that everyone can enjoy.

What made it fun?
Nintendo knew they struck gold as the overall concept of Mario kart hasn’t change over the years, but instead it was improved upon. Firstly, Nintendo giving the player the ability to choose characters they have grown fond of over they years has increased their appeal. Artists spent a long time designing the enemies to be appealing and now the enemies get a chance to be in the spotlight. A great hero is not as good as their villain. I love how it was recognized that people want to play them also. The gimmick of using items could be another reason why it was so appealing to players. I mentioned before how everyone has a little devil inside that games allow safely release. Being able to sabotage your competition allows that devil to flex a little. People cackle like an evil witch when hitting their friends with a green shell. Lastly, the most important thing is the voluntary shared experience of the game. I have the latest Mario kart game on my switch and the only time I play by myself is to unlock more customizable, so my friends and I have more options when we play together. This shared experience brings friends and family together for some harmless fun.

Now that you’ve played it, Why would this game be considered influential? How does it fit into the evolution of games?
Mario kart legacy stands for much longer than I bet the original creators could of expect. The game on it release in 1992 was received very well. And Right now the game is on their 8th version! Nintendo strikes perfectly on what players like to see. The latest version allows players to play with more characters and customizable karts. You can see this trend in other Nintendo long term sustainable franchises like super smash bros and Mario party. For extra money, players can take a trip through nostalgia and play maps of previous iterations. There are different game modes that players could play if the game play eventually gets stale. With the advent of the internet, players are able to reach friends and strangers from around the world for friendly competition. Personally I see the game more of how I treat board games right now. Something you could just pull out and play. It give players a reasons to around themselves around the TV once more. It reminds me of how arcades had that feeling of young and old getting together to play a games. Except this time you can add mote controllers so other wouldn’t be left out. Overall this game is a timeless classic.

How would you rate this game (1-5 Stars (5 stars good))
I would rate 5 stars

[benvaz722]

Name of Game: crash bandicoot
Game author (If known): Jason Rubin, Bob Rafei, Taylor Kurosaki
Game Studio: Naughty Dog
Original Platform & control mechanism:
Ps1 and game controller.
Control mechanism you used
Would the experience have been different using the original? How?
The difference is having the comfort of the handheld controllers compare to the strangeness of using the keyboard.

Describe game play and mechanics
The game just drops you in with little to no story besides waking up at a beach. The player plays Crash and must defeat 32 levels and face Doctor Neo Cortex. The game play is reminiscent of most platformers and has simple controls. The only actions the player can do, besides moving the character in the world, is jump and spin. There are also apples the player can collect throughout the different levels. Once the player reaches 100 apples they are awarded with an extra life. Extra life can be found around the different map as a pickup with the face of Crash on it. There is also an Aku Aku mask that the player can collect that grants them temporary invulnerability to enemies. There are also many different enemies in the game with interesting ways to combat them, but most can be taken down with the simple spin attack. The spin attack also allows the player to interact with the world and send enemies flying towards one another.

Describe strengths & weaknesses of art & design
The art is fun with its different character shapes and design. There is a lot of personality to the characters despite the limited polygons. Crash himself is full of great character animations and it’s no wonder why he became such a loved character. Just like how Sonic sassy personal made him loved, so was Crash wild cartoony personality. I found the death animations where this character really shined. The art is used well to guide the player where they must go. For example, there are boxes with arrows that symbolize that the player can use them to jump or lights directing where to jump. I also enjoy the map when selecting levels as there are hints of what is contained in the level around the point to enter said level. It makes it feel like I am diving straight into that location. The bright colors make this game feel like a true rival to Sonic and Mario.

What made it fun?
What made this game fun is the world that the game. I found a review mentioning how this game did not add or change the platformer genre. I agree with the statement it was simple and straight forward. However, what I found fascinating was how much life and character the animators were able to give crash. Even in the title screen, crash comes in freaking out dodging the title flying right at him and he spends the rest of the time looking around suspiciously. The other characters look fun and imaginative like the tiki mask that make noise when you pick him up. There are some that fall flat like just low poly skunk, but the main cast do stand out which should be the main focus. The established world being cartoony lends to the personality aspects of the main character. For example, when the player doesn’t time the jump right and gets squished, the death animation plays with Crash being completely flat and shaking his head. Another case is when he blows up by TNT, his limbs fall every where and the player could just see his eye blinking in disbelief. Over all it’s the cartoon animation, design, and color that makes this game fun.

Now that you’ve played it, Why would this game be considered influential? How does it fit into the evolution of games?

This game launch a well loved franchise into existence. Though lately I haven’t heard much about how naughty dog or Sony is using this character ip. And yet it is still well know even to player who were even born or grew up with the ip. Crash too the world by storm, maybe not as much as Mario or sonic, but close never the less. Sadly I never had a ps1 and so I never got to experience the craze , and yet people around always seem to found over it like a well beloved memory. I believe that crash is one of the biggest contenders against Mario and sonic at the time since companies believed that the everyone needed a mascot. Crash simplicity allowed younger players to experience gaming because the gameplay itself wasn’t difficult to understand. The colorful palette also added to this endeavor. Yet the themes and cartoon violence lend to the more older players to enjoy the game along with unlockable option for completing levels in a certain way. This added complexity to the game with out taking away the enjoyment for younger players. Overall it think this game left a great legacy for the Playstation, the gaming industry, and player’s hearts.

How would you rate this game (1-5 Stars (5 stars good)) I would rate 3 out 5
I would rate 4 out of 5

[benvaz722]

Super Mario 64 Shigeru Miyamoto
Nintendo

Nintendo 64 and it’s controllers
Control mechanism you used

Would the experience have been different using the original? How?
I used the switch super Mario 3d all star version. The controllers for the switch is more comfortable that the one of 64 . The quality probably change also because of the change of tv technology.

Describe game play and mechanics
The game starts with a letter from peach asking Mario for help. Then Mario pops up from a pipe in front of peaches castle. As the player moves around ,exploring the controls and giving Mario life, a little turtle guy greats Mario and introduces the player to the camera movement mechanics. This game has so much in it that Nintendo went the direct route and would tell the player how to play. They did this by displaying prompts or having signs in levels about different mechanics. Yet, the player can find hidden levels or way to find stars around the main world or the levels themselves. The game ultimately revolves around the player collecting stars to unlock more levels and progress through the game. Mario is played by simply jumping on enemy’s, but in this game, Mario can perform different types of jumps, grabs, punches, or kicks. Ultimately defeating browser and saving the princess.

Describe strengths & weaknesses of art & design
The game Iconic bright colors feels like it is a natural successor to the previous Mario games. Yet, it can down turn and flip the status quo and make the game feel scary like what they did with haunted house. The dark palate, environment being similar to real life, and Mario being the only out of place cartoony character brought so much fear out of me as a child. The most frustrating from is probably the under water levels since they felt uninspired and had terrible controls. Comparing theses levels to the lively underwater levels of previous Mario games is why I consider the under water levels it’s weakest point. The overall character designs were fun as Nintendo brought them from the 2d world into the 3d. There was some new enemy’s that felt uninspired like the spider with big eyes, but it’s animation bumbling around gave it some personality. I think it was quite wonderful how Nintendo was able to make Bowser feel treating in this new medium. Overall it was great.

What made it fun?
I think the reason why I found this game so fun as kid is the exploration. It is the same reason why I particularly enjoy Super Mario bros advance 2. Once the player has beaten Bowser the game is still not over. There are secrets to be found around the maps and different and exciting ways to achieve more stars. In the DS version of the game, the player was able to unlock other characters. The sense of adventure was so prevalent that myths and legends would be passed around the school yard about hidden levels you could find if you manage to get on top of the castle. The different characters in the game had a lot of personality in them. One of the most infamous was the turtle the player races in the first world. He was sassy and over confident that the player could beat them. Or possibly the penguin mother that would get even more upset that you brought her the wrong baby. Mario would sit down and wait for the player return if left idling. The most fun I had was using the flying cap to fly around the maps and trying to find high places. This game fun comes from the world the developers have made.

Now that you’ve played it, Why would this game be considered influential? How does it fit into the evolution of games?
Just like most of Nintendo IP ‘s, this game sparked a new type of Mario game franchised. I mentioned that the version of this game is played was from the super Mario 3d all-stars pack that Nintendo made. This pack came with two other games which are super Mario sunshine for the game cube and super Mario galaxy which came out for the WII. Even though now a days Mario side scrolling platformers exist using 3d assets, Nintendo is still making open world Mario games with the latest being super Mario odyssey. Nintendo still used the same formula of open world exploration and platformer like super Mario 64. They even improved upon the game by adding different mechanics like Cappy which allows the player to control different enemy’s. Super Mario 64 was received national acclaim and sold 12 million copies by 2015. It was impressive to see how this game received unified love from reviewers and players alike. Over all super Mario 64 made the childhood of thousands of children wonderful and its incredible to see how it continues to do so after its first releases in 1996. This game if the foundation of what these types of games could bring to the over videogame history.

How would you rate this game (1-5 Stars (5 stars good))
I would rate 5 out of 5

[benvaz722]

Shadow of the Colossus
Game authors: Director: Fumito Ueda; producer: Kenji Kaido
Game Studio: Sony Computer Entertainment Japan

Original Platform & control mechanism:
Ps2 and their associated controllers

Control mechanism you used
A ps2 emulator with key board
Would the experience have been different using the original? How?
Yes, I would have. I never appreciated the joystick more than now. The controls didn’t have mouse porting, so I had to control the camera using buttons. The controller is so ergonomic to the hands, and I miss it.

Describe game play and mechanics
The game starts off with some incredible cinematics that the player cannot skip. The player plays as a wander who travel to a forbidden land in order to revive a important woman, Mono. He encounters shadow creatures, but the threat is quickly quailed as he brings out his sword. Surprised, Voices hidden in the light speak to him about how to revive Mono. He is tasked with defeating 16 idols in the hall by killing the 16 colossi. Only then would he get his wish of resurrection. The game is largely open world and boss fighting game. The player can ride around their horse named Agro. They are given a sword and a bow that are used to hit the weak spots in each colossus. The sword is particularly special as it is used as a helpful guide to where the next colossus is hidden. Another mechanic is the wonders stamina meter, as it is used for holding on to the colossi and other parkour puzzles.

Describe strengths & weaknesses of art & design
The art and direction are one of the best aspects of this game. The game designers knew this, and it is probably the reason why they added so many. Despite being restricted to ps2 graphics, it was still a beautiful game. The designers cleverly moved, hid, and set the boundaries of the game in order for it to feel like the player is in another world. Despite being such a niche area, so many different environments were able to fit in and not feel recycled. Each of the colossi home arena felt unique and clear to what the player must use in order to defeat them. To me the best part is the designs of the colossi themselves. They were large and imposing monsters, and yet so beautiful. They felt like they were a part of their environments as if the players were outsiders invading their habitat. The designers could of easily went with path of slobbering monsters, but they are quiet or would emit a type of low whale like sound. It made them feel majestic and captivating.

What made it fun?
What made the game fun ultimately falls upon the open world and the colossi themselves. First, the large open world design led to these periods of breath-taking views. I’m sure some people got bored or frustrated with this game and roaming around the map, but for me each place I wonder to felt like a painting. I do wish this game would be remastered with the technology used today in order to get lost in this forbidden land. The long treks, attempting to figure out how to get around terrain, felt like I really was an adventure in a foreign land. The game is largely linear but is done so well that the player cannot feel the hand of the designer guiding them to each spot. The colossi is my next point, because who doesn’t like the feeling of an underdog coming out on top. It is literally the David and goliath effect as the player feels so much power after defeating something 10 times their size. There is something in the human psyche that loves the feeling of overcoming great difficulty, especially if that victory came about because of the person’s wit and intelligence. Overall, this is one of my favorite games to play.

Now that you’ve played it, why would this game be considered influential? How does it fit into the evolution of games?
This game was released for the ps2 in 2005 and eventually reaching rank 11 highest rated game in 2005. I love to see that players resonate with the cutscene in this game and the music. The music in this game is quite spectacular as it guided the players’ emotions through this heartbreaking story of a boy attempting to do anything for the person that he loves. This game is considered the spiritual successor to a game named “IKO” and, upon seeing the screen shots, I can see where the designer drew the inspiration from. This game also helped as a guide to its successor named “the last guardian”. Shadow of the Colossus sold 140,000 copies on its first week release. The game was so legendary that I remember as kids we would theorize about a hidden 17 colossus being hidden in the map by the developers. We never wanted this game to end, and we created legends around it… isn’t that one of the ultimate compliments a game can receive? I never realized how many people consider this game to be a piece of art instead of just a game. Studios nowadays drift away from the game creation being a medium of expression and story, but instead it is used to make a quick buck.


How would you rate this game (1-5 Stars (5 stars good))
I would rate this game 5 out of 5.