Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=1580https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5063A game that I have recently played on my iTouch is called the game of “Line Bird” made by a mobile game design company called Djinnworks. Line Bird is an one player real time strategy that utilizes the same core mechanics found in many similar games such as the “Helicopter Game” and other games that require the player to fly an aircraft. The core mechanic of the game is to continuously “flying” in midair without crashing into the sky above or the ground below. For the game “Line Bird”, since it is played on an Apple iTouch device, the control of the game involves having the player holding down one of their finger on the iTouch screen to accelerate the bird upward. With the basic physics concept of gravity implemented into the game, the flying objects, the bird, will automatically descents if no additional force of acceleration are applied. Therefore, the players will need to be familiar with the terrain inside the game and the amount of acceleration in relation to the period of time the finger is touching the screen. Moreover, the game is made more difficult with incrementing speedy over total surviving time. It is an additional component the players must address in planning out their strategy and techniques of staying alive for as long as possible. The game allows the players to choose the speed level most compatible with their skills. The faster the bird flies initially, the faster the player will receive points. From “easy” to “difficult”, I am currently in the range of easy and normal. With many obstacles in the game, the players will always have to look ahead and think ahead. Overall, as simple as this game might seem, it requires a lot of balancing between the speeds of the bird, the time it takes to encounter two or more obstacles, and last but not least, the amount of points a player should receive from surviving.Sat, 08 Dec 2012 15:59:33 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5063&iddiary=9736https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5063Through my game design class, I have discovered many well designed and interesting games introduced by my game design professor. For the past weeks of blog posts, I have written discussions to share the game with my blog posts readers. Once again, today I am going to discuss a game that I was also introduced by my Professor Totten, and I have recently played on my iPod Touch. This game is called “Shadow Cities”, and it is a MMORPG game based on location of the player with wifi accessed to create a world inside their Apple devices. It belongs to the group of Alternate Reality game because the gameplay involves utilizing real world as a gaming platform. In addition, the game is based on a narrative story created based on having real world activities. For instance, in the game of “Shadow Cities”, every player is chosen to be a “mage” with limited “mana” that can be used to cast spells. This directly connects with the core mechanic of the game, which is to use draw spells with one’s finger. The game platform inside player’s “iOS” devices to determine player’s GPA location and creates a gaming environment. The objective of the game is to work together with the team the player has chosen and defeat the other team’s players or their “spirits.” Combats and battles are done by casting spells to damage other player’s spirit, and whichever player’s health has reached zero first that player loses. Spells are also used to create buildings called “Dominators” that generates energy over time. A “Dominator” can be harvested when it is filled completely, and in the other hand, it can be destroy by opposing teams. “Dominators” are important part of the game, not only does it give the owner set amount of experience points, but it also shows the player has conquered the area. It is the reason sometimes it is considered a territorial game. There are tools in the game that assist player in winning the game such as “mana potions” that replenish player’s “mana”, and also skills and elements system that can increase player’s power by increment points. This game is well designed and addicting, and I have been playing it since I started the game. This game does not only introduce a new gaming platform but a construct connection between world inside the games and the real world. Furthermore, some games similar to “Shadow Cities” provide benefits to the world when applied to biological studies and technology advancements by allowing players to solve difficult puzzles. With a rewards system in the game, players are more encouraged to solve a puzzle that was originally a stressful task. Overall, the new Alternate Reality Game is a new breakthrough for the world of gaming, and it can be beneficial to the real world. “Shadow Cities” is a great game, and I am going to continue playing until a better one comes out.Sat, 01 Dec 2012 23:38:09 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5063&iddiary=9688https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5063For this week’s game journal, I am going to write a game review on a game called the “Meat Boy”, and the process of this game development that had been made into a movie called “Indie Game: The Movie.” This game was first introduced to me through the movie “Indie Game: The Movie” where my game design professor, Professor Totten, decided to include as a part of the game design lesson. The movie first started out with one of the main game design in the movie, Tommy Refenes, freaking out in front of his X-Box, nervously searches for his team’s new developed game in the X-Box Live Arcade Catalog. Microsoft had agree to put their new game, “Meat Boy”, on the catalog for the “Game Feat Promotion” that could be viewed by hundred thousands of gamers all over the world, an hour had past, and the game was still not shown in the list of promotions. Throughout the whole movie, Tommy and his teammate Edmund McMillen had spent a great deal of time to produce this Indie Game, and just when it seemed like all their hard work is going downhill, the game was uploaded to the promotion list. The game was a success and sold out almost twenty thousand copies within a day up on the shelf. The audience can clearly see happiness from the tears in their eyes and their appreciation for game design. Now that I have discussed the movie of the game production, I am going to discuss the game “Super Meat Boy.” The game is developed by the team “Team Meat”, under two incredible game developers, Tommy Refenes and Edmund McMillen. The game “Super Meat Boy” is an indie platform game where the core mechanics of the game is to run and jump. I have played the game on Kongregate, and controlled with keyboard arrows and jumped with space-bar. The game concept might seem simple enough, but with many features and personalities that the main character “meat boy” is designed based on, the game became challenging and more difficult to pass after each level. The narrative of the story started off with “meat boy” and his girlfriend “bandage girl” having a date, and everything went well until an evil man in a suit kidnapped bandage girl. The whole game is based on “meat boy” chasing after this man in suit to rescue “bandage girl.” The game started out easy, allowing the players to understand the mechanics of the game, such as basic movements, running, and jumping. Soon, as the game progresses even further, new mechanics such as “wall climbing” and “sliding” becomes an important technique the players must learn to win each level. Even more, advance obstacles are implemented into the game to produce a more difficult environment for meat boy to move freely. Some of these obstacles include “spinning saw”, “easily breakable platforms”, and even “burning fire.” With well placements of these obstacles, the game’s difficulties raised significantly. Even after a few levels, I was unable to continue on forward before replaying the level thirty to forty times. In my opinion, the reason the game had made top four in the X-Box arcade game was through the simple game play mechanics, while having many challenging levels. My favorite part of the game was when meat boy dashes in one direction leaving a trail of red juice in the road behind him. Overall, I think not only is the game worth appreciate for, but the fact that when I watched the game development movie during class, Edmund McMillen said what catches his heart the most is knowing some children out there had played his game and decided he or she are also capable of creating a similar game of their own.Wed, 21 Nov 2012 23:38:49 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5063&iddiary=9655https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5063The history of card games goes all the way back to the day when the cards are physically made out of basic materials that were easily acquired such as wood and stones. Nowadays, cards for card games are not only made from real objects but virtually designed from computer graphics. The advantages of having such a system are the extension of card durability, vast duplication, and the possibility of hosting the game worldwide. A game that I have recently played is called “Ayakashi Ghost Guild – fantasy card game –“, it is made by the interactive entertainment company "Zynga". The core mechanic of the game is to collect virtual cards that can be used for battles for the stories in the game or compete with other players. The game itself not only is well designed in narrative stories but the game mechanics. For the narrative part of the game, the cards fall into three categories of character cards, and each focus on a type of “Daemons”, ghosts, in the game. The three types of character cards are called “Phantom”, “Divina”, and “Anima”. Every card is drawn in anime style based on their type and each is given a name that is closely related to their personality. For instance, a new card recently introduced in the game is named “Sphinx”, and the character in this card is a young girl dressed in Egyptian style clothing with a pair of cat ears and wings that can be related to the Sphinx from Greek Mythology. For the same reason, she falls under the category of “Phantom” for being a fallen “Daemon” in the game based on the Greek Mythology of her tricks, murders, and riddles. For the mechanics part of the game, each card comes with attack, and defense points and these points stack up by having multiple cards. During a competition, the player with the higher points will most likely to be the winner. In some situations, when two players possess similar amount of points, the unique abilities will usually determine the winner of the competition with addition bonuses. Every card starts out as level one, and it can be incremented by “fussing” multiple cards. Points and abilities associate with the card will also increase as the level of the card increases. Such a system encourages the player to continue explore and search for cards to be the strongest player in the game. Overall, I personally enjoy searching and collecting cards with unique abilities and being able to defeat other players. Moreover, with each card named based on their personality, it creates a personal connection between the players and the characters. The game is one of many games that I appreciate and continue to play today.Fri, 16 Nov 2012 21:03:59 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5063&iddiary=9636https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5063Have you ever experience horrifying moments that makes you want to run away as quickly as possible? If your answer is a no, then you should definitely play the game of “Slender: The Eight Pages.” The game is a “first-person survival horror game” that is developed by Parsec Productions. The platform of the game is any personal computers with “Microsoft Windows or OSX.” The main goal of the game is to collect eight piece of papers scattered in different parts of the wood before the “slender-man” catches the player that ends the game. The game is one of most horrifying games that I have ever played, because it is well made based on psychological manipulation of the player’s mind. In the start of the game, player’s character is placed inside a dark forest in the glimpse of moonlight. The only object player can see is a few distanced trees in his range of scope within the glow of a flashlight. The flashlight provides limited battery power and can be regenerated by turning it off for a few seconds. When the flashlight is off, player’s range of scope is greatly reduced to a meter away from the character’s body. The character is traveling on foot with controlled stamina, and it allows the player to sprint a few meters before his character slows down to a regular walking speed. It usually helps the player run away from the “slender-man” when spot in sight. With only these restrictions inside the game, it would already give most players a chill down their spine. In addition, the game plays creepy sounds and music in the background, and as the player finds more papers, the music increasingly intensifies. Each time the music gets more dramatic, the higher the chances the player will encounter the “slender-man”. These elements manipulate the player’s mind and create an atmosphere that slowly lures out the player’s fear, in this case, it is the darkness and the “slender-man.” For instance, the dark places where it cannot be seen by the player is automatically labeled “unsafe zones” inside player’s head, and since it is all around the character, the players feels insecure and brings their guard up. Next, with the “slender-man” supposedly searching for the character, the players are now becoming extremely careful and try not to run into the “slender-man” or their “fear” that might be hiding in the dark spaces ahead. Overall, this game is well made utilizing fear as the concentration of enjoyment for most players with the fear of dark.Sat, 10 Nov 2012 16:31:11 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5063&iddiary=9620https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5063Recently, I have downloaded an old classic game on my iTouch. The game is called “Breakout”, a puzzle game first introduced by Atari as an arcade game. The version of “Breakout” I played is called “Breakout Boost” and it is also created by Atari. The core mechanic of the game is to use a horizontal platform and bounce a ball against a number of blocks to remove them one by one until there are none left. The mechanic in which I use to play “Breakout Boost” is much different compares to the time when I played this game on Windows personal computers with arrow keys and spacebar to control the motion. This version of the game fully concentrated on sensing the motion of the player’s fingers to change the position of the platform. Furthermore, the new “Breakout Boost” allows the player to control the speed of the ball throughout each level, and it is proportional to the points player receive from destroying the blocks. For instance, the fastest speed in the game is ten times the slowest speed, and during the time which a block is destroy in that set speed, the player will receive ten times the points. Each level of the game is well designed with features of balances between type of blocks and different power-ups. For instance, in one of the levels, the metal platform is introduced to the player. In order to destroy metal platforms, the player must destroy a block containing the fire element that will turn the ball into a fire ball and melt the metal blocks in contact. The other type of power-ups that assist the player in successfully completing each stage including “multiplying balls”, “extension of platforms” and even “rewarding points.” The game functionality is designed so that anyone who does not know the game can easily catches on in a few gameplays. Moreover, the game provided much freedom to the player allowing the balls to travel in different angle, speed, and directions, and hit against the wall to create rebound. This game might be simple, but it incorporates many designs that considered the player’s thoughts and experiences throughout the gameplay.Sun, 04 Nov 2012 14:48:05 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5063&iddiary=9599https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5063For this week’s game update, I am going to discuss a game called “Portal 2” that was also recently introduced to me from my game design class. During class time, it was explained by Professor Totten that the game was first introduced by a group of students as a project design. The game was once released in the name of Narbacular Drop, and after it was noticed by the Valve Corporation, the team that created the game was all hired to be a part of the “Portal Project.” From the history of the game Portal, I personally believe it was a great example of how creative game designs can lead to a successful career in the gaming industry. The game of “Portal” is a “First-Person Puzzle-Platform video game developed by Valve Corporation.” The main core mechanic of the game is to solve puzzles in the game by utilizing blocks to press buttons. Other core mechanics include jumping, walking, and also using tools given in the game to successfully acquire blocks and to move around the map. The level design of the game was quite successful to my opinion. The second version of the game “Portal 2” started out with player inside a hotel room that gives a calm soothing feeling allowing the player to connect to the game even without having to play the first version. The game control training was then introduced to the player by integrating into the game story of “exercising.” Then, as the player moves to a more advanced level in the game, more ideas of the game mechanics was then introduced. For instance, the player will see a block sitting in the first level and a button right next to it. When player figured out to place on block on the button to open the door, it becomes an instant understanding that the game will most likely to be based on “putting blocks on the button to open doors.” Other unique ideas of level design in the game include physics, such that the player can travel between different places on the map with a gun that creates doors on most surfaces. The idea helped relates to the core mechanics of the game. Furthermore, the graphics of the level also had some significance. The painting on the wall of human fighting the robots was a great way of telling the player about what might have happened to the world inside the game. Overall, “Portal” was a great example to show the importance of level design. Not only can a level train the player on the core mechanics of the game, but it can also integrate storytelling. References: Professor Totten, Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal_(video_game)) (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Thu, 25 Oct 2012 17:23:24.)Thu, 25 Oct 2012 17:16:44 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5063&iddiary=9574https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5063Despite the fact many gaming companies continue to produce new games to attract gamers’ interest, many gamers still enjoy playing old school games and continue to wait for the release of the next version. Recently in my game design class, I was introduced to a game that was one of many famous video games during the time when video games first came out. I have heard professional gamers previously shared their love and experiences from playing this game. The game is called “Street Fighter,” and it is a combat game made by the game company Capcom. This game is designed to be one player versus another, and the player can choose to play with either a human or the computer. The core mechanics of the game is to punch, kick, and use other fighting techniques to defeat the player’s opponent. The game has its own game series where new characters and maps are introduced when the next version of the game is released, and the version that was played in the class was two and three. During class time, our professor set up the game in tournament style where the winner of each round can continue to compete with the rest of the other students in the class until he loses the game. The game has a list of characters each with different appearances, personality, and fighting styles. For instance, one of the characters in “Street Fighter II” named T.Hawk was a muscle man who fights purely with the strength in his arms and legs. Another character is named Dhalsim, where the character has a long pair of arms and legs and he fight by stretching his arms and legs to create damages on his opponent. A third character that also had an interesting combat style is named Chun-Li, where she utilizes fighting speed to overcome her opponent’s power. These characters are great example of showing how the game was created with a balanced of strength among all the characters. While T.Hawk has an enormous fighting power, he moves at a slow pace, and there is a slow reaction rate after each attack. The second character Dhalsim has an average fighting power, and while it also responds at a slower pace than other characters, it has a long pair of arms and legs that provide the ultimate attack and defense to strike his opponent in distance. Last but not least, there is the Chun-Li, a Chinese fighter with an incredible fighting speed and movement. While she might be able to move at a greater pace than most other characters, but the cost is taken off her damages when she is battling her opponent. I have played the characters Vega and Remy from version two and three of the game, and they are both interesting characters to learn to play the game. This game session was a great way of teaching the students to understand the importance of balances in game, because if the gameplay is not balanced, one player can be more advantageous towards another, and therefore the game loses its equality. (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Thu, 18 Oct 2012 18:19:42.)Thu, 18 Oct 2012 18:19:14 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5063&iddiary=9552https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5063Recently in my Game lecture class I was introduced to a new game that I have heard many times before but yet to have the chance to try out myself. This game was first started out designed to be a board game to be played with both a game board and game pieces or just plainly drawn on paper and played with a writing utensil. The game is called the “Battleship”, and the gameplay is described by the title of the game, “to battle your ship against your opponent’s ship.” The game is usually played between two players, and the core mechanic of the game is to “sink” players’ opponent’s ships. To start out the game in the old fashion way, both players each draw out two 10x10 square grids with alphabets “A” to “J” labeled on the vertical column and numbers “1” to “10” in the horizontal rows, one for defense and the other one for offense. Then, different sizes ships are drawn on the board either horizontally or vertically across two to five squares. For example, the game can have an “aircraft carrier” which will take up five squares on the board, or a “patrol boat” that will only take up two squares. It is up to the players to decide the type and the number of ships that can be used in the game. Both players will now draw the ships on to their “defense” board with first initial letter of the type of the ship they are using in every square the ship takes up. After all ships have been placed, the players will now take turn start out the game and call out coordinates of each square such as “B3” and try to sink where think their opponent placed the ships. The game ends when one of the players loses all the ships. This game was played during class time, and students are divided into groups and given the task of modifying one part of the game to make it either more interesting or challenging. Our group came up with the idea of alliances between players where two players played against another two players, and each player still gets his turn. This makes the game more intense where one of the team can combine their forces to eliminate one of their opponents and gain round advantages in the later game. I believe this exercise is a great approach in designing and prototyping new games, because it gives the students the chance to understand how they can apply changes to different aspect of their games to make their games more fascinating or stimulating.Sun, 14 Oct 2012 12:56:47 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5063&iddiary=9527https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5063 (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Thu, 11 Oct 2012 21:52:42.)Thu, 11 Oct 2012 15:37:30 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5063&iddiary=9520