Week 2 (2/14 – 2/20)
Reflections:
As a kid, I feel like I knew what kinds of games and what in them appealed to me, but I never really put much stock into older me looking and figuring out what kids nowadays would enjoy to see in games.
The types og games that are popular with kids nowadays are very different from when I was a kid, but the aspects they enjoy seem relatively universal
(Class 2/15) In the exercise involving the youth interviews, we noted from the videos and reviews how kids enjoy games with a lot of content to keep their engagement up, reward systems, and engaging visuals and characters, which is a notion I think every generation of gamer looks for in their games.
There was also a good amount of talk about various aspects of inclusivity in gaming, from all ranges including physical ability and intersectionality. One aspect I made sure to bring up to my group involved visual elements like text size, because I've played a number of games where small text sizes poses a problem for people with less than stellar visual like myself.
(Class 2/17) Relating the MDA framework to our group's chosen game of Mario Party led to a very interesting discussion
Coincidentally, Mario Party was already a series I dug into mechanically because I found there to be a lot of fascinating aspects, in terms of the ways it mixes luck with skill (with some entries doing a better job than others). It's a series that I already have a lot of thoughts about, so getting to discuss that in class with others was both super natural and fun
It happens to fit into the MDA framework in a very natural way, as though it may seem like a simple party game to play with friends, there are so many mechanically elements that work in tandem with each other to form a more mechanically complex game than I think most people would initially think.
HW2:
Part A:
1. Think of a game, any game (physical or digital). Now write down a description of the game. Be detailed enough to describe it to someone who has never played a game like it before.
King of Fighters XV is a 2D fighting game, which means it takes place on a single layered plane with the two characters going along the x and y axis. It has a 3 v 3 format where each player selects 3 characters out of the total roster of 39 characters and fights in teams of three, with a different character shuffling in after each previous one is beaten. It has a four button system, using light and heavy punches as well as light and heavy kicks, and the game is filled with a number of mechanics that add increased depth and allow the player freedom to create combos with whichever character they find suits them. Doing so requires a level of memorization and reaction time to string together particular inputs to perform these combos.
2. Now think of another game - a completely different type of game. The more different this game is from the first one, the better. Describe it in writing.
Rhythm Heaven Megamix is a rhythm game that features a wide variety of minigames with their own unique scenarios and songs. You play along to the beat in question and the game has a simple control scheme requiring rarely more than a singular button. While going through the many levels isn't a very tough task, getting better scores is a greater challenge as it requires the player to be able to time their button presses at increasingly smaller windows of time for a better overall score.
3. Compare your descriptions (in writing). Which elements were different and which were similar? Dig deep and really think about the underlying mechanics of each game.
These two games have very different skill requirements, and King of Fighters in particular has a much taller skill floor than Rhythm Heaven Megamix, especially when it comes to playing against other humans who have likely spend time practicing. Rhythm Heaven Megamix is a game that anyone regardless of their skill level could finish with relative ease if they don't go for perfect challenges or high scores. The similar part between these two, however, is that they both require skilled reaction times from the player, as pulling off true combos in King of Fighters requires pressing inputs within the time allotted between hits to keep the combo going, not unlike a level in Rhythm Heaven.
Part B:
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Players: 2 players, but the game can be feasibly played as a single player game to see how many lines they can make before losing.
Objectives: The objective is to keep making lines and dots, not failing before the other player does.
Procedures: The actions required are drawing dots and connecting them to lines.
Rules: The rules are that dots cannot have more than 3 lines coming off them and lines cannot cross other lines.
Conflict: Conflict could be caused by a player making the move the other player was thinking about or perhaps by a player blocking a potential movement option from the other player by drawing a line in between their potential movement spots.
Boundaries: The boundaries in physical form would be the paper the game is played on
Outcome: The potential outcomes are either player 1 winning or player 2 winning.
The dramatic element comes in the competitive element that is added onto the game
Challenge: The rules create challenges, adding conditions the players much follow, and the opposing player also adds challenge by being an obstacle.
Play: SImply adding the winning condition adds a level of competition, making it into a game with an added competitive edge.
Premise/character/story: No, there is no narrative element to this game
HW3:
1. In describing the aesthetics of a game, we want to move away from words like fun and gameplay towards a more directed vocabulary. For each of the 8 aesthetic components that make games fun, list the definition and an example game that you think emphasizes that component.
Sensation - Game as sense-pleasure (WarioWare)
Fantasy - Game as make-believe (Dragon Quest)
Narrative - Game as drama (Xenoblade Chronicles 2)
Challenge - Game as obstacle course (A Hat in Time)
Fellowship - Game as social framework (A Way Out)
Discovery - Game as uncharted territory (The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild)
Expression - Game as self-discovery (Xcom)
Submission - Game as pastime (Pokemon)
2. Dynamics work to create aesthetic experiences.
How can dynamics encourage fellowship?
Using a party game as an example, it could have elements that allow for the players to make an effect on the standing of the other players, influencing the game. Whether these elements aid every player or simply mess with one singular player, these elements can result in bouts of laughter or other group reactions.
How can dynamics encourage expression?
Fighting games do this by having a variety of different characters all with different stats, designs, and movesets which accommodate for many different playstyles. They can usually perform combos in different ways meaning that the player has a ton of options that suit their unique style.
3. Mechanics are the various actions, behaviors and control mechanisms afforded to the player within a game context.
Adjusting the mechanics of a game helps us fine-tune the game's overall dynamics.
The paper uses monopoly as an example of how this can be done. Write about another example from a game you play of how adjusting the mechanics of the game could help fine-tune the game's overall dynamics.
A game I play with my friends often is Mario Party. In regards to the new one specifically, Mario Party Superstars, many of the more competitive and punishing mechanics have become safer and less damaging than in previous entries in the series. One elements takes every player's coins and collects them all to give to the winner of a minigame, but the problem is that the total coins taken is often too low, making the resulting minigame less tense and engaging, so simply upping the cost would add the tension back and improve the enjoyability.