Month: September 2024

Exercise 1.2: D.O.A.
Take one game that you’ve played that was D.O.A. By D.O.A., I mean “dead on arrival” (i.e., a game that’s no fun to play). Write down what you don’t like about it. What did the designers miss? How could the game be improved?

One game that I tried for one day and decided it was not worth playing is a mobile game called “MHA: The Strongest Hero”. Although this game is inspired by a series that I really enjoy watching, the game itself did not captivate me. My main concern was that the game mechanics were very similar to other mobile games I have played, and I could tell right away that it is a pay-to-win game. The characters were not well balanced and each new character release was significantly stronger than previous characters. According to Fullerton (2014), it is important for game designers to take inspiration from other games that are similar. However, this game was almost identical to other games I have played in the past that it felt like it was the same game but just with different characters. Another complaint I had was that the videos and storyline were not interesting. I felt that I spent more time watching these videos than I did playing the game. Lastly, the interface itself was not intuitive and the game had a lot of bugs that the designers did not work out before releasing the game. It felt like the goal of the designers was to create a game as quickly as possible to profit from their players and did not care about how polished or entertaining the game was for their players.

Exercise 2.3: Objectives
List five games, and in one sentence per game, describe the objective in each game.

According to Fullerton (2014), “the objective is a key element without which the experience loses much of its structure” (pg. 34). Some games have a clear objective while others may not, leading to a steeper learner curve for players. Here are five games I have played with clear objectives:

1) Connect Four – The objective of the game is to be the first player to form a consecutive line either horizontally, vertically, or diagonally with four of their own markers.
2) Exploding Kittens – The objective of the game is to be the last player remaining in the game without drawing an “exploding kitten” card.
3) Blackjack – The objective of the game is to be the player who has cards that has a sum closest to 21 without going over.
4) Big Two- The objective of the game is to get rid of all cards in your hand by playing certain combinations of cards.
5) Darts (701) – The objective of the game is to be the first player to reach exactly 0 counting down from 701.

Exercise 2.6: Challenge
Name three games that you find particularly challenging and describe why.

Three games I find particularly challenging are chess, Starcraft, and It Takes Two. Chess is challenging because it requires an extremely high level of strategy and pattern recognition. It is easy enough to learn the basics of how to play, but it takes years of learning and practice to be able to challenge more skilled players. Starcraft is challenging because it requires players to multitask effectively, recognize opponent builds and know how to counter these builds by building the correct units. Often times, players need to micro (control individual units) and macro (manage economy and strategic decisions) simultaneously, requiring players to multitask effectively under pressure. It Takes Two is a game that requires the cooperation of two players to complete objectives. I find this game challenging because it requires effective communication and cooperation between players to complete objectives. In many cooperative games, it is possible for a high skilled player to make up for the shortcomings of lesser skilled players. However, it is not possible in this game because many of the tasks require players to contribute equally.

Exercise 2.8:
Story Have any stories within a game ever gripped you, moved you emotionally, or sparked your imagination? If so, why? If not, why not?

Yes, one of my favourite game series is Kingdom Hearts because the storyline is captivating, and it also features worlds and characters from many of my favourite Disney movies. In the beginning of the game, the main character Sora is separated from his childhood friends Riku and Kairi. He meets his accomplices Donald Duck and Goofy and they adventure together through several worlds to find his friends. According to Fullerton (2014), characters in games can also be vessels for our own participation, entry points for us to experience situations and conflicts through the guise of a mask we create and direct” (pg. 45). As I played through this game, it made me feel the emotions of the characters and made it feel like I was part of the story. The storyline features many emotional moments involving sacrifice and selflessness, and many of the characters have tragic backstories. One of the most touching parts of the story is where Sora stabbed himself with his weapon to release the hearts of several princesses, turning himself into a “Heartless” in the process. This act of selflessness moved me emotionally and made me reflect on whether I would do the same for people I care about. In my personal experience, a good storyline is one of the most important distinguishing features between good and bad video-games.

Exercise 3.12:
Outcome Name two zero-sum games and two non-zero-sum games. What is the main difference in the outcomes of these games? How does this affect gameplay?

According to Fullerton (2014), zero-sum games are ones where the sum of all gains and losses are zero. This means that a player’s gain is always balanced by another player’s loss. Two examples of zero-sum games are poker and chess while two examples of non-zero sum games are Animal Crossing and Overcooked. The main difference between these is that zero-sum games involve intense competition between players while non-zero sum games encourage cooperation and communication between players. This affects gameplay because zero-sum games encourage players to strategically outmaneuver others while non-zero sum games often involve teamwork in order to work towards a common goal.

References:

Fullerton, T. (2014). Game Design Workshop: A Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative Games, NY: Taylor & Francis (CRS Press)

In their article “Games and Distributed Teaching and Learning Systems”, Elisabeth and James Gee argue that videogames are not experienced in isolation with the real world but are connected through conversations and social experiences which can enhance learning and problem-solving skills (Gee & Gee, 2017). This is based on the fact that humans do not distinguish between experiences in a virtual world and in the real world, and can store these experiences in their long-term memory dependant on how valuable the experiences are. Although videogames are a relatively new invention, they simply externalize our human imagination and capacity for role-playing and simulation. In terms of research methodology, the authors use a qualitative approach, which allows for deeper exploration into the topic but lacks the empirical rigor of a quantitative study. One key educational theory that this article is based on is constructivism, which emphasizes how humans learn through interaction and engagement with their environment. The article provides good examples of how videogames can be applied in education, but is there more empirical evidence and studies in academia that explore the long-term effects of using videogames in an educational setting?

In the article “Cats and Portals: Video Games, Learning, and Play” by James Gee, he explores how well-designed games can become effective learning engines rather than just a form of entertainment (2008). Gee describes two types of videogames: problem games which focus on a singular problem, and world games which simulate a virtual world in which players must solve a variety of different problems to progress in the game. Gee further explores how games can be a combination of both types using the example of Portal to emphasize how videogames can foster discovery and learning. In terms of research methodology, Gee uses a qualitative approach through an in-depth case study using the game Portal. A key educational theory this article applies is situated cognition, which emphasizes how learning occurs by doing rather than simply through memory recall. I particularly enjoyed learning about the concept of Pro-Ams through the lens of videogames, I wonder if this concept can be applied beyond the world of videogames?

Although the two articles tackle this issue from different perspectives, they both emphasize how videogames can be used as learning tools to enhance critical thinking and problem-solving skills. One difference between the articles is that the first article focuses on how videogames can be part of distributed teaching and learning systems while the second article focuses on how individual games can create challenging and complex environments which emphasize play as a form of discovery.

References

Gee, J. P. (2008). Cats and portals: Video games, learning, and play. American Journal of Play, 1(2), 229.

Gee, E., & Gee, J. P. (2017). Games as distributed teaching and learning systems. Teachers College Record, 119(11).