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Wednesday 5 March, 2008
Gameplay:
During the second session, I was if anything, more focused and involved with what was going on in the game. Competition got tougher and enemies in the levels improved in accuracy, damage, and health. The characters in the game continue to progress throughout in terms of their personality and their interactions with other characters. The storyline eventually became even more complex as the situation for the various groups of characters became more dire.
The overall gameplay during the second session was much more advanced as the people I was playing with became more adept at controlling their characters. Battles lasted longer, people started to be more comfortable trying new things, and everyone began to get to know the levels better. As people got more into the game, their reactions changed for grimaces and dirty looks to full on yelling at each other. People watching were also booing and cheering when someone would do something impressive. I experienced flow during the second session of gameplay again due to the smooth play and intricate movements people would engage in while fighting.
Design:
I felt Halo 3 displayed some innovative design elements in that you weren't always limited to the one path provided on the ground. There are also certain places in the game where you can climb on top of buildings and other objects in order to find new paths. The large worlds, difficult enemies, and good graphics where some of the most prominent positive design elements. I also liked having a selection of weapons and vehicles to choose from when combating enemies. The levels in the game varied not only in appearance, but also in the the planet they are set on, and what enemies may be present.
The challenges the game presents come in the form of things like cliffs you can fall off of, intelligent enemies whose actions are unpredictable, and killing the bad guys before they kill you. The variety of challenges present in the game help to hold the players interest as well as make it interesting for others to watch. The game creates conflict by forcing the players to engage in intense fighting with both other players and computers in order to win games and finish levels. The game makes good use of the space in the gameworld by putting in a series of large levels that take a lot of time to work through and are full of enemies.
Some parts of the game were frustrating because they were so hard that you would have to repeat certain spots several times and often you would be sent back through large chunks of the level. The game doesn't present emergent complexity because it provides only one option for the player to continue the game, and there aren't really any choices you can make. The games reward structure of achievement points, skulls that have effects on certain aspects of the game, and a new title for online play were effective motivators for me, and they were fun to achieve. Halo 3 didn't provide very many new ideas for my game, but it was definitely an enjoyable experience to play it.
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