Julian Gamez journal entries

[JuGamez20]

journal entries

[JuGamez20]

entry #2

Name of Game: backgammon
Game author (If known): unknown
Game Studio: there were no game studios in the time this game was made it i was created in ancient Mesopotamia

Original Platform & control mechanism: its a medium to large sized board game and it is with 12 spaces for two players. and 15 above average sized checkers pieces, and two dice and a special dice

Control mechanism you used
Would the experience have been different using the original? How? me and my parthner were a bit confused on what to do but afterwards we got the hang of it, we didn't even try the betting part cause it was too confusing. but i think if we did try betting we could have fun but it would be a bit too competitive

Describe game play and mechanics
The two players have their home base on the opposite side of the board, with twenty-four triangles on the board. With the pattern of black white black white etc. or depending on which board you get. So that means the black pieces move on the black and the white pieces move on the white. The main goal is to move the pieces from across the board by rolling the two dice and each roll is move, but if you roll doubles you can go again. But you can only go to that space if it’s empty and not with opponents pieces but you can move to a space that has your own pieces on there. Another trick you can do is if there’s only one opponent piece in a certain space you can claim it and put it in jail. So you have to start at the furthest space possible. If you get all your pieces back to across the board you basically win.


Describe strengths & weaknesses of art & design
Since this is a game about strategy just like chess or even a sport game, it’s all about replay-ability and when you find people close to you to play with you. It will be a really good time with you and the other person. But since it is strategy based it could also be your downfall in this game, because you may think you can be the best player in the game, but one wrong move and you feel like a huge idiot. And it would be even worse if a timer was place then everything goes to hell with the way the pieces are placed when you can’t go to the space your dice is rolled at so it’s only a matter of time when no one truly wins. But if you are careful and think hard about it you can make some absolute best moves on the board to win at all of the game.


What made it fun?
It was fun because the fact that I don’t play a lot of board/party, so this was an experience for me to play a game that was made so long ago that I never heard of. I mean yea chess and checkers have been around for a long time too, but to the average person no one has heard of backgammon. But the strategy you can come up with to mess with the other player and vise versa, so many more long lasting possible memories with a friend or multiple boards available. And even if you don’t want to win and just mess around with your friend you can with coming up with the most messed up strategy to make your friend crack and lose their mind and just straight up ban you from playing the game ever game, even though you know you and them will play again someday. Which means so much more yelling matches are formed and laughs to come in the following days of playing ahead of you and the other player. The game is confusing but it comes to learning how to play and practice enough you will be a master of this entire game


Now that you’ve played it, Why would this game be considered influential? How does it fit into the evolution of games?
This game, if important to the evolution of games, is that this is one of the first strategies-based games to further go on to make some of the greatest games of all time like smash bros, chess etc. With this in mind this game was able to make other people make other games with more complex ways of playing to make it more fun. Like taking other people’s properties, chess pieces, lives in games, or even cards but depends on what kind of card game you are playing. It really makes you think about how to use your critical thinking skills and see what works and what doesn’t work. And to see how much you can make your friend and/or friends lose their minds of they will probably make you lose your mind. It’s really all about how to win and see the other lose to feel so alive and feel like the king of the world.


How would you rate this game (1-5 Stars (5 stars good)) overall i wish i played it a bit longer so i can figure out how to play because i got really confused for a bit 3/5 stars

[JuGamez20]

julian gamez journal entry 3: PONG


Name of Game: pong
Game author (If known): nolan bushnell
Game Studio: atari inc.
:
Original Platform & control mechanism: on the magnavox odyssey the main 'goal' of the game is to get as much points as you can by using either keyboard or mouse.

Control mechanism you used
Would the experience have been different using the original? How? it would have been kind of different because ive never seen the original pong machine so i don't think i'll know how to play on the first try

Describe game play and mechanics
This game is one of the simplest game in the world. You start out with you taking control of a big white line on one side of the screen. With another big white line on the other side to represent your opponent and/or friend who’s also playing. And at the center is a little ball, so the main point of this game is to hit the with the white line and vise versa. The ball will come towards you if you hit it and once that happens you earn a point if your opponent hit the ball they earn a point. The game will get faster as the game goes means more intensity to keep playing and not yet the opponent win. This is a great simple duo party game with a friend if you don’t have smash bros, or anything fancy like that. But that’s what’s so fun about this game it’s something that anyone can pick up


Describe strengths & weaknesses of art & design
The weakest points about pong is the art and design, but even then just because something is way too simple in design doesn’t mean its bad. For example, the first donkey kong, yes its simple but it became one of if not the most classic game in the world. With that said the design simple enough for anyone to understand what is happening with the ball and the white lines. You don’t get distracted by any sort of background, music, and very little sfx aside from the ball hitting the white line. Sometimes with design like this and other games later on down the line. This is a game that everyone just knows unless your a small child, and to think this is one of the games that started the video game world. From the simplicity of pong and spacewar to complexity of breath of the wild, dark souls, UNO and so on.



What made it fun?
This game is fun because it’s one very simple party game, a great way to go against your friends and see who get the high score. Every points matter even if it’s one point off its’ still satisfying to see that your got high score or you win within a time limit or something like that. Anyone can go and play this game and be on it for hours and hours on end. The kind of on the line and fast pacing is what makes it more enjoyable. As the ball bounces back and forth you just have to pray to god basically that the points don’t go to your opponent. When the points are neck and neck to each other. You will get excited that it goes on for this long and you can be making so many memories with people around you. And also when playing pong you can see what video games were like in the time of its origins. It’s like going back in time in a sense. Which means that pong is a game that will be around for a long time to come, it never gets old no matter how many times you play it.

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 influential because the video game industry had to start from somewhere and that somewhere is pong, space war and computer space. The fact that pong is something that everyone knows and can play so much until your fingers fall off. The game is something special, it can bring a friend or friends together and play to your heart’s content. It fits in the evolution of games, because pong is one of the first popular games to ever exist. If it wasn’t for pong we wouldn’t have other multiplayer games that bring players together to make memories that will last a lifetime.


How would you rate this game (1-5 Stars (5 stars good)) 5 stars, it's one of the most classic games of all time you can play for like 5 hours by yourself or with friends

[JuGamez20]

julian gamez entry 4: space pinball

Name of Game: space pinball
Game author (If known):unknown but Andrey Muzychenko reverse engineered the windows version
Game Studio: cinematronics

Original Platform & control mechanism: windows 95, using arrows keys to launch the ball into the game and use the flippers on the bottom using left and right to score as much points as possible

Control mechanism you used
Would the experience have been different using the original? How? definitely because using the z,x,/ etc. would be confusing and take me about who knows how long. i like the arrow keys better.

Describe game play and mechanics
Space pinball is where you start out with a silver ball on the bottom right side with a spring to launch it, on the bottom of the machine two flippers are there to control for you to knock the ball back into the machine. With the platforms in the game the flippers you use to make sure the ball doesn’t fall into the gutter. There are paths for the ball to roll down in to anticipate when to activate the flippers. The big bumpers, targets, and special ramps must be hit to score a big number of points depending on how special the things to hit are. There is no real ending to this game, it’s really all about who can make the high score. This game is really all about skill and mapping out where to go next when the ball hits is important because it can go very wrong if your not careful


Describe strengths & weaknesses of art & design
The game was made on windows 95, so obviously it’s not going to be the most artistic game out there. But with what they had it was serviceable. The strengths were that the space theme was an eye-catching feature to draw you because it looks cool in general. And the ambience makes it sound like an electrical circus I guess you can say. The weakness I guess you can say is that it’s a pinball game so it’s not going to be the most advanced game known to mankind but it’s very good with its simplicity. The art style is a mix of realistic and stylized at the same time with the design of the space theme and the look of the game despite it being 3d looking its still 2d.


What made it fun?
the game space pinball Is fun to me, because I’ve always been a big fan of games that can be turned into party games or even games to pass the time. The replay ability of the game is very addicting to get into and rallying up friends to play to see if they or you can get the high score is very challenging but very fun at the same time. Like seeing that one friend lose his mind and just completely say the funniest things on the planet. Even if you don’t play with friends, you can just open it up for free and just have fun by playing it for hours and hours on end. Like when the game first got released it was really the only game that didn’t make the computer break itself. It’s like coolmathgames for the older generation, and when your bored just pull it up and just play.


Now that you’ve played it, Why would this game be considered influential? How does it fit into the evolution of games?
Since I’ve played the game I can say that this is influential because, it’s one of those games where you would think would be forgotten about. When in actuality it becomes a core memory in so many people minds. Where even mentioning it to some people in the windows 95 generation, it will bring back so many memories to the point where they will want to go back and play the game. And I feel this fits into the evolution of games because, this is probably one of the most popular free ‘flash games’ where the start of flash happened probably. Where games don’t need to be these high tech masterpieces, you can just make a simple and as long as replay ability is possible people will get addicted to the game. Flash was one of the most popular things to every happen in gaming. Where having games that kids can get into quickly, with the cartoony vibe to all of them. And with replay ability and unlockable content behind it.


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

[JuGamez20]

julian gamez journal entry 5 pacman

Name of Game: pacman
Game author (If known): Tōru Iwatani
Game Studio: namco limited

Original Platform & control mechanism: show arcade, using the one joystick you move pacman around the level and eat all the dots while avoiding the ghosts that will kill you

Control mechanism you used
Would the experience have been different using the original? How? using the joystick on the arcade is hundred times better because using the keyborad wasn't the smoothest thing in the world and i usually play with the joystick.

Describe game play and mechanics
The game pacman is one of the most simplest video games of all time. Another kind of game that requires very quick thinking and reflexes. It starts with you the player control pacman as the main goal is to eat all the dots all over the only level design in the game. You can move pacman left, right, top, and bottom to eat all the dots to move on to the next level. But there are five ghosts that are on the hunt to kill you and once that happens you start all over. But there are some bigger dots that once you eat it you have the ability to eat the ghosts for only a limited time. Just be watchful of the ghost and eat all the dots to move on to the next level. And one last thing there are fruits that have extra points as the level goes on and gets faster and faster each time you clear a course.


Describe strengths & weaknesses of art & design
the strengths of the game is that the art design is such a simple layout that you can just make a clone of the game if you wanted to. But that’s what’s so great about pac man, its simplicity of it’s design is something like a lighting in a bottle. A one time shot that can probably never reactivate ever again. And the design may be over and over but just faster is probably for the best. Because a game that is so simple which became a massive staple in the gaming industry. It’s great that with the limited programming abilities they had, they made something amazing. Like the maze design is so simple yet so classic to play and understand. But the weakness I guess you can say is that the pacing getting faster and faster might be a lot more challenging and it makes controlling pacman feel very fast and clunky I guess you can say


What made it fun?
Pacman was fun because this game is so simple in its mechanics that it makes so replay able and able to become so addicting to get a high score than everyone else. Raging over the game about the lives lost because of the ghosts and not getting the fruits and other food items for certain speed levels. Making so many new memories with friends, betting on who would win, taking turns with quarters or on the emulator. Making this kind of game something to look forward to, when it comes to that sort of thing and turning this game into a game that can help you pass the time when you’re bored and alone. The maze like design of the map is so simple and being the only map can become muscle memory to memorize the map and make the game more easier possibly. And with the big pacman dots are really helpful and to eat the ghosts for the time being and getting all those points when the ghosts are eaten, it feels so good to see the points rack up. It really feels like you’re winning the game almost even though the game doesn’t really have an end.


Now that you’ve played it, Why would this game be considered influential? How does it fit into the evolution of games?
The game is influential because I feel like this is a great introduction to people who want a start at playing games. And bringing people together, the especially the way that when this game came around and many other games after it was the peak of arcade machines and probably one of the peaks of gaming. Because arcades and namco made so much money with the rise of the arcade machines and having many people raid the arcades to play these games because there was no other way to play them at the time. And for a cool hang out place with friends as well to spend your quarters. And a classic game of the enemy chasing the main player, finding ways to get all the dots and mega dots without the ghost getting to you adds a bit of intensity. Adding more of a challenge to the game. And also with that being said this and games like donkey kong, galaga etc. were the start of the evolution of games, which would change the way we view games. As more complex experiences of all kinds that would last a lifetime, making you think, understand, and rage at so many games that took inspiration from the games from the past.


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

[JuGamez20]

Name of Game: the f channel version of pacman
Game author (If known):unknown
Game Studio: f channel or the fairchild

Original Platform & control mechanism the fairchild, you use the arrow keys to move pacman across the maze to eat all the dots to move on to the next level

Control mechanism you used
Would the experience have been different using the original? How? probably not because it feels very clunky and hard to move the 'pacman' across the map because it wont respond fast enought or not at all i feel like the original platform would be even worse

Describe game play and mechanics
~ 150 words

Describe strengths & weaknesses of art & design
~ 150 words

What made it fun?
~ 200 words

Now that you’ve played it, Why would this game be considered influential? How does it fit into the evolution of games?
~ 200 words

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

[Professor Watkins]

Graded to here.

[JuGamez20]

julian gamez :super mario kart journal

Name of Game: super mario kart
Game author (If known) shigeru miyamoto
Game Studio nintendo

Original Platform & control mechanism: SNES,

Control mechanism you used
Would the experience have been different using the original? How? i used the wasd controls, and if i were to use the original controls my hands would hurt because the controller is a square, and my hands are huge so i prefer my pro controller on the switch and or keyborad

Describe game play and mechanics
you choose your character and your kart for you to use and you can up to two players or go up aganist all ai players and your main goal is make to 1st place within a few laps. but aside from being able to drift using the controller to go faster, you can use these power up boxes and its a mystery item. the items can be able to help you ouut in winning. its not a gurantee win but using it properly could give you a big advancement

Describe strengths & weaknesses of art & design
The strengths of the game is the amount of creativity and the expression because the way the art and design is so simple yet expressive. And the aesthetic design of the game because even though this is a game that’s over a few decades old. It’s aged so well with it being visually striking and engaging the players at drawing them into the game. One of the weakness is that it looks too pixeled and its outdated graphics are a part of it.


What made it fun?
the amount of ways you can do to mess with friends is whats so fun and memorable about these single multiplayer games. where using the items can just make each other angry and have funny moments together. and being able to expirence single player can help you train up or just having fun by yourself

Now that you’ve played it, Why would this game be considered influential? How does it fit into the evolution of games?
a big thing that happened with this game is that it started the long history of kart racing game that has cartooney characters and items boxes to mess with other players and seeing the the graphics is evolving into something greater with the SNES and on it's way to become actually 3d without the 32 bit graphics on it like mario 64

How would you rate this game (1-5 Stars (5 stars good)) 4 stars

[JuGamez20]

julian gamez Crash bandicoot 1

Name of Game crash bandicoot
Game author (If known)= mark cerny, jason ruben
Game Studio= naugthy dog and sony

Original Platform & control mechanism the ps1 and use the left joystick to move and use the x button to jump and square button to spin attack

Control mechanism you used
Would the experience have been different using the original? How? i would have had a bit of a harder time because of the way the controller would be because i would imagine that the controller would be very clunky to a certain point

Describe game play and mechanics
the controls is that players control crash who can run, jump, and spin attack to defend yourself against enemies and break crates. And crates are a very important gameplay element which contains wumpa fruit that looks like mangos. And collect enough of them can grant an extra life, and the aku aku masks which is a important character in the series. And collect three of them grants you invincibility for a limited time, and having extra lives is important to have for the harder levels later on. The levels vary in style like mario and dk, the levels have jungle, rivers, and castles etc. with some of them containing special mechanics like riding a boar of having an Indiana jones parody levels by running from a boulder. The game is a very hard game for first timers and you’ll definitely get so much anger from it like the camera angel will mess you up.

Describe strengths & weaknesses of art & design
The strengths of the game were how they utilized the hardware limitations to create a unique and bright and colorful appealing world. The games whole environment are vibrant and diverse, which It goes from lush jungles to industrial factories, each with a distinct atmosphere. With the cartoony graphics with the mixed 3d graphics in there gave the game a very polished and rich visual style. Which stood out among other platformers of the time of its release. A big strength also is the character design of crash and other characters, crash being a very memorable, very expressive character full of personality despite the limited rig of the face and everything else. A weakness is the limitations of the console, because some textures appeared low-resolution and were blurry to save memory and data. Also due to the power of the console. And the lighting is very inconsistent which will make certain objects blend into the background.


What made it fun?
What made it fun was that the overly cartoony style of the game is something I truly love about games, I’m not really a person into graphic games like call of duty, mortal kombat etc. I’ve always liked cartoony stylized games where the great designs drive me into enjoying the environment and the humanized animal character always end up looking way cooler than humans themselves. Which is why I like donkey king country more than mario games. While I do love Mario games, I’d rather play crash and donkey kong before I play Mario or any other game. Crash bandicoot is a non-serious character which fits the way the game is in general. And also they gave an underrated animal attention because bandicoots are unheard of animals unless you live in Australia. Also even though the game is very hard it gives me the motivation to continue to make it to the end. Also in the game it has replayability because after you finish the game you can go back to levels and collect certain gems to access secret areas and get all the boxes. To 100% the game and feel very accomplish that you had fun with the game


Now that you’ve played it, Why would this game be considered influential? How does it fit into the evolution of games?
The game is influential because it was one of the games that pioneered 3d platforming for consoles. Because before the game happen, we had only 3d open world like mario 64 and donkey kong 64. Crash bandicoot combined 3d and 2d platforming to create 3d platforming to see if it would work at all and it shows it does work. And also the design allowed platforming while embracing the 3d graphics and movements which would later influence the games like ratchet and clank. Another reason is that the even though playstation had limitations naughty dog used the advanced techniques like “level of detail” with is to keep the performance smooth. And the ps1 was the first sony console but this and few other games was able to use the console to it’s limits to make great games. And all of this is great because it’s established crash as the unofficial mascot of playstation which was another revival to mario and sonic. Which made sony have a name on the map of the video gqame industry. And also the influence on future kinds of platforms which created creative level designs with multiple kinds of perspectives like the behind the back, side scrolling like mario and donkey king, and chase sequences.



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

[JuGamez20]

julian gamez

Name of Game super mario 64
Game author (If known) Shigeru Miyamoto
Game Studio nintendo

Original Platform & control mechanism the n64 and the mechanism the n64 controller a to jump joystick to move and b and x to attack

Control mechanism you used
Would the experience have been different using the original? How? very different with the weird way the n64 is set up so at this point i would like to play on my switch so

Describe game play and mechanics
The gameplay is that the player is mario and he explores peachs castle for the thousandth time, which serves as the hub world for the game. The main goal is to collect power stars by completing levels in the 15 open ended levels. And each said level is able to be accessed through paintings inside the castle, with more levels to unlock which can be unlocked by getting stars to proceed. And make it to the end by confronting bowser which mario needs to get from unlocking certain doors in the game. Some basic movements are jump, double jump, triple jump, backflip, long jump, wall jump, punching and kicking, and crawling and crouching. The levels in this game are basically completing challenges like racing the koopa and collecting red coins etc. and also defeating mini bosses to get stars, and discovering hidden areas to collect stars to unlock even more areas.


Describe strengths & weaknesses of art & design
the strengths of the art and design is that mario 64 was one of the first fully 3d platforming games, which since then set a higher bar for future games. And the bright, colorful, and cartooney polygon style made the transition from 2d to 3d age greatfully. The environments and characters of the game are very different in the game and very easy to navigate as well to focus on. And weaknesses of the game is that the low- resolution textures and models, because due to hardware limitations, which means textures appear blurry and blocky. Especially when viewed in the game. And also some areas in peachs castle feel empty and undecorated environment. Also the clunky camera system being controlled by lakitu in the game, which means sometimes the game woth get stuck behind walls and having a clear view of the game in very hard levels make it turn into a rage game.


What made it fun?
The game was fun because the many jumps you can do in the game will allow the creativity in how players navigate in the worlds. And also the game dosen’t force players into a forceable way to play the game, you can play however you want in many different ways. and mastering mariios movements feel great and when you complete levels especially hard ones you feel like a powerful player who just won at life. And also every level has multiple objectives, but theres no real forceable order to play unlock you can play whatever level you want as long as its not locked. To unlock many stars you need to be the most curious person on the planet to unlock some of the most hardest and most rage inducing spots of all time. But if you are really willing to go through pain and misery it can be rewarding at times. and keeping things exciting the levels in the game are different in their own ways which means you won’t get bored in playing the game to explore what worlds can be unlocked throught the doors and paintings. Like with any game the levels start off easy but eventually get harder which trains you for what to come next in the game


Now that you’ve played it, Why would this game be considered influential? How does it fit into the evolution of games?
It was influential because most of the platforming games were 2d side scrollers like the mario games in the past, donkey kong country, Metroid etc. the jump to 3d was a very hard challenge back then but mario 64 set the major standard of the 3d game industry. Because it had a fully explorable 3d world, rather than maps with levels to unlock. The said levels in the game had multiple objectives per world which allows players to choose how to approach the challenges in the game. The list of stars in the game as well can be unlocked whenever you want so it doesn’t matter if you get star 1, 3, and 8 without the rest, you can still go back and get the rest whenever you want too. And with this game also influenced other open world and collecting games like gta, mario odyssey, and ocarina of time, and dk 64. This will also let other 3f mario games like mario sunshine, mario galaxy and mario odyessy to thrive and make so many sales in the long run. And the evolution of games changed forever with the world of 3d games set the main standard for video games.


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

[JuGamez20]

julian gamez

Name of Game kingdom hearts
Game author (If known) Tetsuya Nomura and Shinji Hashimoto
Game Studio square and disney interactive studios

Original Platform & control mechanism: the ps2 and the analog stick to move sora or other characters and the right analog stick to move the camera to which way you want. x button to attack and combos as well

Control mechanism you used
Would the experience have been different using the original? How? i played it on my laptop so i feel like it would take time to get used to because of me not used to a playstation ever

Describe game play and mechanics
Some of the core gameplay is that players are able to control sora to fight the heartless, nobodies etc. using the keyblade and special abilities, and the combat is pretty fast paced and fluid which is able for the player to have combos and ariel attacks. And the command menu is where players can select attacks, magic, items, and sommons from the menu system. And so the magic system with the players use magic points to have spells like fire, thunder, cure, etc. to have extra power to fight easily. Throughout all of the world of this game you play through so many of the Disney worlds to play in. and the movements include jumping, climbing, swimming, and gliding with also attacking moves. Also this game has a level system where as you fight and progress in the game you can get XP where you can upgrade for powers and more stronger.

Describe strengths & weaknesses of art & design
The strengths of this game is that this game is a fusion between Disney and Final Fantasy, so having those two together creates a very distinct look that feels nostalgic and fresh at the same time. Some of the characters like sora and riku blend into the Disney and square enix characters. And the Disney worlds themselves look very visually distinct, faithfully recreating the famous and classic Disney worlds from our childhood to explore in and have a fun time. Even though game isn’t the greatest with expressions some Disney models like hades and the genie are able to capture expressions and mannerisms very well. the weaknesses of the game is that many of the environments feel empty and very basic and blocky. In the cutscenes even though I said they can be expressive, but they are very limited by that aspect of the animations of that and everything else.



What made it fun?
What made this game fun was because it had real time combat lets you fight dynamically . and also the use of magic and other abilities which makes you plan sstrategy and plans of attacks and makes you want to play more to unlock more things. A lot of the boss battles are very iconic and memorable like famous Disney villians, giant monster heartless and sephiroth. Also the Disney worlds especially because you get to explore all kinds of Disney worlds like Aladdin, nightmare before Christmas etc. and famous characters team up with you like tarzan for example. Also having the duo of Donald and goofy coming along with you, and helping you progress the story and fight against the enemies. Also another reason is that the leveling up unlocks new abilities to be more powerful and fun with the attacks and combos to go through the game. One other thing about the game is the amazing soundtrack for it, the music being made by yoko Shimomura he made simple and clean and other songs. Even though I said all of this while I understand the game has made so many people happy but it’s personally my thing but maybe somewhere down the line ill give it a second chance



Now that you’ve played it, Why would this game be considered influential? How does it fit into the evolution of games?
Kingdom hearts was influential because before the game came out crossovers were basically nonexistent espiecally in western animation and Japanese animation. The game as a whole proved that merging different franchises that has nothing to do with each other into a single universe could definitely work. It managed to inspire the other crossover games like super smash bros and fortnite. And many RPGs at this time ised turn-based combat but with kingdom hearts blended hack-and slash combat with RPG mechanics. And since then others game used this to make action-heavy RPGs like tales of series and elden ring. And even though Disney is involved in this, the game tackles topics like loss, identity and friendship in way that both kids and adults can enjoy. It also managed to brigded the gap between western animation’s storytelling and JRPGs complex narratives. The game introduced fluid exploration between combat and movements, which also means the ability to jump, swim, and glide which Is very much inspired by mario 64 to explore open worlds in the game and leads to game like breath of the wild. With this and a few other games paved the way other cinematic games are to be played out like God of War and uncharted

How would you rate this game (1-5 Stars (5 stars good)) 3.5

[JuGamez20]

julian gamez

one of my favorite soundtrack is the donkey kong country soundtrack across all three of the original games by rareware. i never grew up with any retro games from the wii and below becasue back then i never took gaming seriously. meaning i didn't play alot of mainline games from nintendo, playstation, and xbox. all i really played was animal/dinosaur games. although i did have my new super mario bros games. but i never played through the end, but as i got older when i'm playing on my switch and laptop, playing through so many games i never played before. and one of them was the orignal dk games, i've seen what they looked like before so i knew what i was getting into. when i first heard the first level with dk island swing, it felt like an awakening in my soul and love for jungle music even more than i already did. because the drums start getting louder adn louder over this jungle ambiance and the second drums, bass, and the jungle intruments make a song that will amek you feel alive and become monke. with the music from all three games was made by the legend david wise. the music from my favorite video game villian King K. Rool with the gangplank galleon. the 8-bit sounds of trumpets go so well with the mix of jungle and pirate music, and the fast pacing music makes you feel stressed annd makes you want to give up because all these games are hard but the music itself motivates you to keep going so you can beat the levels and bosses. in dkc 2 the music snakey chantey is an april fools song because it sounds like gang plank galleon but it turns into a happy tune so its a nice beginning sound to ease you into the game. or in swanky kong's game show it plays a casino/ gameshow tune with the 32 bbit music makes it sound so good despite the fact they are using tech and not real intruments. so overall the dkc games mean so much to me because i'm more into playing as animals like dk than mario any day of the week. while i do love mario games, dk gaems will always be my number one platformers.

[JuGamez20]

julian gamez

Name of Game: meatboy
Game author (If known): Edmund McMillen and Jonathan McEntee
Game Studio: team meat

Original Platform & control mechanism: on the pc on newgrounds, and use arrow keys to move, spacebar to jump

Control mechanism you used
Would the experience have been different using the original? How? i can still play the game on pc whenever i want so it dosen't really have 'orignal' controls. but it was tricky to play cause it was my first time playing.

Describe game play and mechanics
The gameplay in meat boy is that you can run to move faster in the game. And the standard jump and also to hold down space to jump higher and longer. And wall jumping is a new sort of mechanic so meat boy can jump from wall to wall. And inside the game are hazards and obstacles like saw blades, spikes, lava, etc. that appear as the game goes on which means touching it means instant death. Aside from that actual enemies appear in the game that you have to dodge they either patrol or chase you in the game. And timing everything right on the moving platforms to continue on in the game. One thing this game encourages you to do is that you need to have fast movements, so you have to go fast to get to other parts of the levels. And also, you will respawn instantly to keep you playthrough flowing.


Describe strengths & weaknesses of art & design
the strength of the art style is that the characters in the game are super weird and gross, not like your typically mario platforming games. But at the same time that’s what makes it more charming. Like meat boy himself is just this red cube creature. The game also has a clear level design. The clean contrast makes it easy to know where the platforms are as well as the enemies and traps. The way the levels are layed out you can find your way easily without wanting to break something. The weakness of the art is the low visual variety in the levels. Because the earlier levels can feel very repetitive. And the later worlds get more creative, probably because the levels are harder the more you play. Also the aesthetic is not for everyone with the grotesque stylized way the game looked can drive players away like me for example.


What made it fun?
What made this game fun for platform players is that the way the controls play. You always feel like you are in control of meat boy, but meat boy moves fast, he sticks to walls like glue. and jumps precisely it feels so smooth like butter. So really if you do it right and not slipping up on the buttery smooth controls. You feel like you are improving every time you playa nd respawn, the controls make you feel alive and powerful even when you die multiple times. when playing this game you will die in this game a lot, but you will respawn instantly. Which means no game over or loading screens. Which makes this game more enjoyable without having to wait a long time to get back into the game just to die and rinse and repeat. The levels here are so short, so when they were designing the game they made it hard for us to die so many times. its fun because it’s a steady rhythm of challenge. Despite the gore stylized way the game is designed the game dosen’t take itself seriously the deaths are so over the top and dramatic it makes it funny at times.


Now that you’ve played it, Why would this game be considered influential? How does it fit into the evolution of games?
The game is influential because it helped launch the modern indie games industry. It released in 2010 right around the time when digital distribution like xbox live arcade. and along side games like braid and fez, it became a poster child to what indie game legitimacy to what they were going to be like in the future. Which inspires other game developers to chase after their dreams and make games your own way. This game and super meat boy is one of the game that brought nard as nails gameplay back to life after the nes. Adding replay ability to make the game more achievable. It also has the game to show that you can have hard games be fun and fair and not just be punishing left and right. It also set the standard of what precise platforming should feel like in a game. This game made so many appearances in the 2012 documentary called indie game: the movie which was a major move to indie games as a whole. Which also gave a face to the developers themselves. The evolution of the indie games or games in general, showing that even very small teams can make dreams come true



How would you rate this game (1-5 Stars (5 stars good)) 4

[JuGamez20]

julian gamez

Name of Game: angry birds
Game author (If known) jaakko lisalo
Game Studio:Rovio entertainment

Original Platform & control mechanism: on the iphone and use your finger to pull back the bird in the slingshot and release it for the bird to hit the pigs

Control mechanism you used
Would the experience have been different using the original? How? i've played these games for so long and honestly its all the same to pull the bird back to just hit the pigs. nothing really changed.

Describe game play and mechanics
The whole gameplay of the angry birds is a 2d physics type game where you use a slingshot to launch the birds at the towers or buildings of the pigs. But you have to use the limited number of birds given to you. The whole reason why you’re doing this is because the pigs stole the birds eggs and the birds have to destroy the pigs to get the eggs back. Each section of the game tells a separate story with many levels within, and you must get through. The birds in the game have special abilities, colors, and design, and names. The red bird named red, three blue bird named the blues, yellow bird named chuck, a black bird named bomb, the white bird named matilda, the green bird name hal can turn like a boomerang. With different materials in each level the birds can do it right. And a certain amount of star rating can progress you to other levels


Describe strengths & weaknesses of art & design
the strengths of the art of angry birds, is that the birds are very recognizable with bright colors and look like they different personalities. With the birds and pigs and the materials have become visual trademarks of the mobile world. The cartoony art style is able to appeal to kids and pretty much to all ages. The character design is great even they have no dialogue the birds and the pigs show so much emotions though their facial expressions. This way the humor and personality helps the players connect with the characters. Even though the weaknesses of the game are the lack of depth because the whole game is 2d, its flat and lacks visual complexity or dynamic environments. Eventually it will feel stale across the sequals in this franchise. In the early versions the initial levels used similar backgrounds and themes like grass and drier grass and desert sort of.


What made it fun?
What made angry birds fun because of the sort of realistic physics of the game so every shot felt realistic and unpredictable. And the way the physics work make the structures fall in a chain reaction feels so satisfying, like watching a long set of dominos falling. The more levels you go through, the more birds have with abilities like exploding, boomerang, speed, and splitting into three. And using strategies to destroy the pigs like puzzle really makes you think. It may be easy to learn but its hard to master, because the controls itself is simple but getting 3 stars or just beating the level is an absolute hell to go through because the sometimes you might have birds that don’t make sense being there. And you restart every 5 seconds. Also the rewards systems giving you 1-3 stars making you feel motivated to continue on even more to beat the game. The audio has catchy music and silly sound effects like the pigs sounds, birds squawking, and building crashing adds to the cartoony style of the game. Which when the pigs die makes you feel so happy when that one level you’ve been stuck forever makes you feel good just to shut the up


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 influential because it was one of the first games introduced as a mobile game for the iphone or just mobile devices in general. Having a classic 2d art style in the game will make many kids and people of all ages happy, its an addicting game with love and effort into making the game, the way the birds are so different anyone can have their favorite. This fits into the evolution of game mainly because of the og games on the iphone was the standard of what mobile games can be, back then people put in effort into making the games fun, exciting, and something to have fond memories of. Nowadays its all cheap, saturated colors of the game makes your brain so fried you won’t think about anything. It was at least and fun and appreciated what we had back then.


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

[JuGamez20]

julian gamez

Name of Game donkey kong country returns for the wii
Game author (If known)= kensuke tanabe, bryan walker
Game Studio= retro studios and nintendo

Original Platform & control mechanism= the wii and the 3ds later on. on the wii remote you have to press a or b button to jump and shake the remote to ground pound, roll, and blow. and use the nunchuck z button to grab barrels and vines.

Control mechanism you used
Would the experience have been different using the original? How? i used my pro controller on the switch, while i did used to have a wii for a while. the controls would feel so weird to me to play platforming games. while the game is fun i would have ahard time playing it with the wii

Describe game play and mechanics
The main core mechanics of the gameplay are platforming because you navigate levels filled with obstacles, large pits, enemies, and secret traps. You also can run, jump, and roll like any platforming game and use special platforms to go on like ropes and rails. And some levels even have minecarts like in the original games on the SNES. And even a new ride like the Rocketship for more variety. And even barrel cannons return from the orignials so you can jump to different areas. And also, in the game there are areas you need to get through but are blocked so you have to use barrels in certain places to active them. With the game to add replay ability to have collectables. Like collecting the KONG letters, puzzle pieces, and have 100 coins equals one life. You can have special powers-ups from Cranky Kong’s shop to make the game a little easier


Describe strengths & weaknesses of art & design
the strengths of the art and design is the vibrant and colorful artstyle, because each world in the game is a distinct theme like jungles, beaches, ruins, and volcanos. The environments feel so alive with moving parts and pieces, distinct backgrounds, and animations to almost everything. The classic 2.5d visuals. Its returning to want the original country games with the 2d platforming with a 3d twist to it. it really maintains the classic gameplay. And very strong level designs also so it won’t be easy for you to complete the game. And the weakness of the game is that the backgrounds and environment blends iin to each other. Which makes it hard to find the harzards or platforms sort of to a degree. And the repetitive enemy designs it isn’t as high as the originals. It has a bunch of tikis while yes there are different enemies but it’s mainly tikis. Which means they sadly replace the kremlings.

What made it fun?
What made the game fun is the challenging and satisfying way of platforming. The game never holds your hands cause there is no tutorial, you are just thrown in the game raw. Every level feels like so well made and put in love and effort into making a hard game but amazing designs and obstacle courses. And the controls respond to you quickly, the movements are crisp like DK’s jumps, rolls, and momentum are great to control and easy. And the creative level designs, like they really went full jungle monkey mode. With new mechanics like vines, rockets, and zip lines with the blend of the jungle. For new time players or players in general, this game is hard and requires fast reflexes or else this game will not forgive you and will kill you. To add to the chaos you can have a fun join and suffer with you. And with having the collectables tons of secrets, hidden paths, etc to find if you decide to go off the beaten path. With this being a donkey kong game tons of gorgeous animated styles of the world and on top of an amazing soundtrack. But all of that is good and all but no crocodiles like the kremlings and king k rool are sadly not here so…


Now that you’ve played it, Why would this game be considered influential? How does it fit into the evolution of games?
The game is influential mainly because it’s a revival to a classic series of all time. Because it resurrected the donkey kong country series after it went on hiatus after dk 64 and rare ware being bought out by Microsoft. It was about time they got a new company retro studios to do the new games. It brought 2d platforming in a new experience for people who love animals and loved donkey kong in general. While mario is staying more to ‘casual friendly players’. Dkcr is leaning towards tighter, and more challenging platforming. Which will make you rage because of how hard the game gets. It also shows how the wii’s hardware could still create so many beautiful, fluid, and amazing 2.5D worlds and games. It also uses motion controls in a smart way as well. And the evolution of games, are long term legacy helped legitimize 2d platformers again as more that just throwbacks and can be great for all ages. And for donkey kong returns and also tropical freeze, it’s all great cases in reinventing classics, and balancing you techniques in platforming if you want more of a challenge than mario games. And the chaotic way of having a two player experience.


How would you rate this game (1-5 Stars (5 stars good))3.5 stars cause no king k. rool