1) How would you describe the level of engagement compared to more action oriented games from the same period?
The game has more exploration elements compared to more action oriented games of the time like Super Mario Brothers or Contra. The controls do not depend on super reflexes and do not require super precise movement, so it is not as hard. The pace is not as fast in the process, and it is more relaxed.
2) What role does setting and characterisation play in the game?
The setting is ideally supposed to immerse the player in the game world. The directionless gameplay and lack of compass adds to the exploration and wonder element of the game. The opening set-up and link tend to identify with a fantasy setting. Tingle, the other character in green, is an odd character, kinda whimsical. The octoroks, octopus enemies are fantastical in that they are similar to fighting mythological animals in a Dungeons and Dragons game.
3) How do spells, pickups and power-ups assist the game play?
The pick-up of hearts assist players to regain health and make the game easier. If there were no heart pick-ups, then the game's difficulty would be harder. the The bomb pick-up turns the game into an escort mission. There were no spells.
(one paragraph per question)
Friday, January 28, 2011
I, Videogame Part 2 - In-class Questions Answered
As you watch the documentary, write comments about the film based on the questions supplied for each. These will be used as the basis for a post-film class discussion.
1) What kind of company was Nintendo before it made videogame and videogame consoles?
Playing Cards and toy company
2) What videogame system did it sell before it made its FAMICOM (known in USA as Nintendo Entertainment System)
Game And Watch
3) Shigeru Miyamoto was not a programmer - what skill set did he bring to the industry?
Artist and aspiring storyteller.
4) How did the limits of the technology affect the way Mario could be shown?
The large nose was used to indicate the face. The mustache was used to better indicate that he had a mouth. A hat was used, because it was hard to use hair-styles. Red was an engineering trick to make the character pop and be more noticeable on the screen. These were all in response to limitations of the technology at the time, such as the small screen.
5) Why did US retailers think there was no future in home videogame consoles at the time just prior to the NES release in the USA?
The video game crash of the 1980's. People were sure that PC's were going to be the future.
6) What was assumed to the be the 'next big thing' by electronics manufacturers?
Personal Computers (PC)
7) What did Legend of Zelda bring to gaming that was new?
The gameplay progression from pen and paper role playing games. There was a a character changed as the game was played. The game was also the first to have save state storage inside the game cartridge.
8) How did the conservative values of the 1980s (Reagan & Thatcher etc) affect the culture of videogames?
It was a response to conservative values and it was now ok for adults to buy these "toys" and to play games, priorities changed.
9) How were the PC games published by Mystery House like King's Quest different from console games?
They were more adventure games compared to console's action games. They were not direct control. You had to point to were the character had to go. There was more text and were more story oriented.
10) How did Sega's 16 bit Megadrive system change home console gaming?
It started a new generation of consoles, the 16-bit generation. The graphics processor was faster and the sound processor was better.
11) How did "Leisure Suit Larry" differ from most genre based games of the period?
The game had adult themes and mature content. It had a sense of humor and was based on real-ish people in a modern time and a modern setting.
12) How is this aspect reflected in many games of today?
There are many M rated games. Mature content in games are more the norm than the exception. The idea of realism continues today with new games continually moving graphics closer towards realism..
13) What is 'motion capture'
It is a process in which performers wear motion capture suits with reflected balls. The performance data is translated onto a wireframe figure and used in games for animation.
14) What is the 'uncanny valley'?
The uncanny valley is a point at which the graphics of a game character get more realistic and as the closer the character gets to absolute realism the more people notice the little tiny details that make them not quite real and in the process the character looks odd to the viewer.
1) What kind of company was Nintendo before it made videogame and videogame consoles?
Playing Cards and toy company
2) What videogame system did it sell before it made its FAMICOM (known in USA as Nintendo Entertainment System)
Game And Watch
3) Shigeru Miyamoto was not a programmer - what skill set did he bring to the industry?
Artist and aspiring storyteller.
4) How did the limits of the technology affect the way Mario could be shown?
The large nose was used to indicate the face. The mustache was used to better indicate that he had a mouth. A hat was used, because it was hard to use hair-styles. Red was an engineering trick to make the character pop and be more noticeable on the screen. These were all in response to limitations of the technology at the time, such as the small screen.
5) Why did US retailers think there was no future in home videogame consoles at the time just prior to the NES release in the USA?
The video game crash of the 1980's. People were sure that PC's were going to be the future.
6) What was assumed to the be the 'next big thing' by electronics manufacturers?
Personal Computers (PC)
7) What did Legend of Zelda bring to gaming that was new?
The gameplay progression from pen and paper role playing games. There was a a character changed as the game was played. The game was also the first to have save state storage inside the game cartridge.
8) How did the conservative values of the 1980s (Reagan & Thatcher etc) affect the culture of videogames?
It was a response to conservative values and it was now ok for adults to buy these "toys" and to play games, priorities changed.
9) How were the PC games published by Mystery House like King's Quest different from console games?
They were more adventure games compared to console's action games. They were not direct control. You had to point to were the character had to go. There was more text and were more story oriented.
10) How did Sega's 16 bit Megadrive system change home console gaming?
It started a new generation of consoles, the 16-bit generation. The graphics processor was faster and the sound processor was better.
11) How did "Leisure Suit Larry" differ from most genre based games of the period?
The game had adult themes and mature content. It had a sense of humor and was based on real-ish people in a modern time and a modern setting.
12) How is this aspect reflected in many games of today?
There are many M rated games. Mature content in games are more the norm than the exception. The idea of realism continues today with new games continually moving graphics closer towards realism..
13) What is 'motion capture'
It is a process in which performers wear motion capture suits with reflected balls. The performance data is translated onto a wireframe figure and used in games for animation.
14) What is the 'uncanny valley'?
The uncanny valley is a point at which the graphics of a game character get more realistic and as the closer the character gets to absolute realism the more people notice the little tiny details that make them not quite real and in the process the character looks odd to the viewer.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Cartoon Network Game Creators
A) What options are available to you as a 'game designer'?
The options available to a game designer are to select a background for the level, the character to use as an avatar, the endgame goal of said game in order to beat it. Also you are able to add borders and to place different objects, such as power-ups or enemies on the game's level.
B) How are these options provided?
Simple click to select and click on an area to place the object in the game world.
C) What types of elements are provided for you to use to 'build' the game?
Walls, switches, collectables, enemies and monster closets.
D) What limits are set on the level of the game play able to be customized
There are specific gameplay types to select from, for example you can't make a racing or R.T.S.
E) What does the process of using these game creators teach about the notion of the 'difficulty and achievement' balance? Explain using an example from your research.
The process teaches game creators to make a game that it is challenging enough to be rewarding, but not too difficult as to be frustrating and make the player quit.
When you are done, trade places with another student and have them answer the following questions.
1) Is the game level fun to play? (be honest!)
It was fun and wasn't too hard to play
2) If so, why? If not, why not?
The game would be fun for young children ages 5 and up, because it is easy learn and play.
3) What could be done to improve the level?
The sound effects could be better, but it isn't apart of the options provided by the game-making tools.
Email the answers to the above three questions to the student who created the game.
The options available to a game designer are to select a background for the level, the character to use as an avatar, the endgame goal of said game in order to beat it. Also you are able to add borders and to place different objects, such as power-ups or enemies on the game's level.
B) How are these options provided?
Simple click to select and click on an area to place the object in the game world.
C) What types of elements are provided for you to use to 'build' the game?
Walls, switches, collectables, enemies and monster closets.
D) What limits are set on the level of the game play able to be customized
There are specific gameplay types to select from, for example you can't make a racing or R.T.S.
E) What does the process of using these game creators teach about the notion of the 'difficulty and achievement' balance? Explain using an example from your research.
The process teaches game creators to make a game that it is challenging enough to be rewarding, but not too difficult as to be frustrating and make the player quit.
When you are done, trade places with another student and have them answer the following questions.
1) Is the game level fun to play? (be honest!)
It was fun and wasn't too hard to play
2) If so, why? If not, why not?
The game would be fun for young children ages 5 and up, because it is easy learn and play.
3) What could be done to improve the level?
The sound effects could be better, but it isn't apart of the options provided by the game-making tools.
Email the answers to the above three questions to the student who created the game.
Answers to questions while watching "I, Videogame" episode 1
As you watch the documentary, write comments about the film based on the questions supplied for each. These will be used as the basis for a post-film class discussion.
1) Videogames emerged from the culture of the "Cold War" - what does Henry Jenkins from MIT compare the period to in terms of a famous board game?
Battleship
2) a) Who was the inventor of the first Video game according to the documentary?
William Higinbotham
b) What was the name of the game?
Tennis For Two
3) Steve Russell is credited with the first true computer-based videogame (in terms of its use with the 1961 PDP1 mainframe computer) with SPACEWAR - what popular science fiction book series also influenced him?
Edward E. Smith's Lesman and Skylark
4) What innovation did Steve Russell's SPACEWAR introduce in terms of input hardware?
Joystick
5) a) In the anti-war and counterculture period of the 1960s and 1970s, what new home entertainment system let consumers finally control what was being seen on the home television?
Magnavox Odyssey
b) b) Who was its inventor/developer?
Ralph Baer
6) PONG emerged out of the counterculture spirit of the early 1970s - its natural home was what type of entertainment setting?
Bars
7) Who does Nolan Bushnell say were generally best at playing the game?
Women
8) "Space Invaders" emerged in the late 1970s as the first game from Japan.
How did the TAITO production team intensify the emotion of the game using the four-note in-game music theme?
Using tempo in tandem with the proximity of the invaders to provoke nervousness and a faster heartbeat.
9) Steve Moulder reflects that the first arcade games tended to result in the player's defeat. This he argues in turn reflected the view held by many designers during that time that war itself is defeatist.
Has this view changed since that time? Do today's latest games still convey this sense? Why? Why not? (use your own words)
Yes. There are actual endings to games now compared to the coin machines of yesteryear. You can actually finish games in a way rather than reach a kill screen. In terms of war itself being defeatist there are a few modern games that still reflect this view. For example the game Fallout 3's tagline is, "war never changes". The game's setting is post-apocalyptic and there is very little life left on Earth but still war is present and people kill over ideology and limited resources. Another example I can think of is the ending of Halo: Reach. The Halo games are about elite space marines, and in that particular game the general audience knows ahead of time that things don't end well from reading the earlier book of the same name. Throughout playing that game you get the sense that everyone is going to die, because in the end the characters are inevitably just cogs in the gears of war.
10) Have you ever played any of the games shown in this the first episode of "I, Videogame"? What was your memory of playing it? Where were you, when was it?
Yes, I have played Space Wars way after when first available in reaction to the game constantly being mentioned about every time a history of video game article comes out. I played a java based emulation online. I was at home on the computer and it was a few years ago. I have played Space Invaders similarly online. Also I've played Pong on an Atari home compilation. I've played Tetris on the Game Boy. I own Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man as Live Arcade releases on the Xbox 360.
1) Videogames emerged from the culture of the "Cold War" - what does Henry Jenkins from MIT compare the period to in terms of a famous board game?
Battleship
2) a) Who was the inventor of the first Video game according to the documentary?
William Higinbotham
b) What was the name of the game?
Tennis For Two
3) Steve Russell is credited with the first true computer-based videogame (in terms of its use with the 1961 PDP1 mainframe computer) with SPACEWAR - what popular science fiction book series also influenced him?
Edward E. Smith's Lesman and Skylark
4) What innovation did Steve Russell's SPACEWAR introduce in terms of input hardware?
Joystick
5) a) In the anti-war and counterculture period of the 1960s and 1970s, what new home entertainment system let consumers finally control what was being seen on the home television?
Magnavox Odyssey
b) b) Who was its inventor/developer?
Ralph Baer
6) PONG emerged out of the counterculture spirit of the early 1970s - its natural home was what type of entertainment setting?
Bars
7) Who does Nolan Bushnell say were generally best at playing the game?
Women
8) "Space Invaders" emerged in the late 1970s as the first game from Japan.
How did the TAITO production team intensify the emotion of the game using the four-note in-game music theme?
Using tempo in tandem with the proximity of the invaders to provoke nervousness and a faster heartbeat.
9) Steve Moulder reflects that the first arcade games tended to result in the player's defeat. This he argues in turn reflected the view held by many designers during that time that war itself is defeatist.
Has this view changed since that time? Do today's latest games still convey this sense? Why? Why not? (use your own words)
Yes. There are actual endings to games now compared to the coin machines of yesteryear. You can actually finish games in a way rather than reach a kill screen. In terms of war itself being defeatist there are a few modern games that still reflect this view. For example the game Fallout 3's tagline is, "war never changes". The game's setting is post-apocalyptic and there is very little life left on Earth but still war is present and people kill over ideology and limited resources. Another example I can think of is the ending of Halo: Reach. The Halo games are about elite space marines, and in that particular game the general audience knows ahead of time that things don't end well from reading the earlier book of the same name. Throughout playing that game you get the sense that everyone is going to die, because in the end the characters are inevitably just cogs in the gears of war.
10) Have you ever played any of the games shown in this the first episode of "I, Videogame"? What was your memory of playing it? Where were you, when was it?
Yes, I have played Space Wars way after when first available in reaction to the game constantly being mentioned about every time a history of video game article comes out. I played a java based emulation online. I was at home on the computer and it was a few years ago. I have played Space Invaders similarly online. Also I've played Pong on an Atari home compilation. I've played Tetris on the Game Boy. I own Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man as Live Arcade releases on the Xbox 360.
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