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ericz's Goldeneye 007 (N64)
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| [January 26, 2008 01:19:37 AM]
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GAMEPLAY
During this gaming session, I tried playing single-player. The missions, although fun, can have vague instructions. I couldn't figure out what to do at the very end of the mission and, consequently, accidentally failed by walking out the wrong door. Too bad there is no save point within the level; it would have been easier to not have to go back to the beginning of the mission each time the character dies or fails the mission (or maybe I'm just bad?). Oh well, it was still pretty fun cruising through the levels fighting different people. I think that's where most of the fun in the mission levels resides--picking which weapons you want to use against which foes.
I find the multiplayer mode to be more rewarding. My friend and I eventually settled on playing ten minute rounds, each one with a different weapon selection and a different level. This way, no matter how badly one player may be losing, and no matter how much of a role the other player may be on, the tables may easily turn around at the end of ten minutes when a new round begins. For me, this is the most attractive feature of the game--being able to start a new game, play for a short while, and leave without having made any progress toward a larger game goal. It's a small commitment, as opposed to a long game of progression, like Link to the Past, and it makes Goldeneye a fun game to play when you don't want to get involved in a long story.
DESIGN
A key design aspect that makes this game fun is the amount of control players have over the game. Before each round, players choose the level, their character, and (more unique to Goldeneye) the game end definition. We experimented with different types of "round-ending" or "game-ending" scenarios, such as rounds defined by timers (round ends after 10 or 5 minutes), or rounds defined by lives (first to die 5 times loses, or first to kill 10 times wins, etc.) This level of control lets players customize their gaming experience.
Choosing the weapon selection for each round is another source of fun and contributes to the uniqueness of each game round. Maybe you've played all the levels, and maybe you've tried all the different weapon selections, but have you tried each weapon selection in each different level? There are a lot of possibilities, and some are better than others. Proximity mines are fun to use in the Complex (a level that has lots of similar rooms), and grenades are my favorite in the Caves. There are so many possible games to play within multiplayer opponent mode that you can easily spend hours experimenting within that mode.
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| [January 26, 2008 01:19:08 AM]
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SUMMARY
Although Goldeneye can be played in several different modes (single-player mission, multiplayer team, multiplayer battle), for this first session I only played in multiplayer battle mode. Each player controls a character whose goal is to outlive the other characters. This is done by eliminating the other players, facilitated by the use of weapons distributed throughout each level of the game.
GAMEPLAY
This game is one of the better games I've played when it comes to keeping the players' interest. It does this by putting players in a high-adrenaline state.
I think the level design has a lot to do with that. The size of the levels--the fact there there is a lot more level than people exploring it--gives the players a good amount of area to explore, meaning longer gameplay before the level gets too boring.
At the same time, however, a lot of the places in a level look similar to other places in that same level. Since you can always see the other player's view as well as your own (in your peripherals), this gives rise to a funny psychological occurrence. Sometimes it will look like your enemy is in the same room as you, or approaching the same destination from different parts of the same hallway, which can make a player more alert and excited. The classic 007 music also contributes to player anxiety, keeping the players engaged in the game.
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ericz's Goldeneye 007 (N64)
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Current Status: Playing
GameLog started on: Friday 25 January, 2008
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