Week 2 Workshop 2A
Sword and Souls
Why did I choose this game?
There was sword and soul in the game name catching my eye.
What is this game about?
It is a progression based game about your character (a gladiator) fighting through stages semi automatically with increasing difficulty, training through rythm gameplay, shopping with in game earned currency.
Is there any background story? If so, what is it?
There is no particular backstory specified, the setting however seems to be about a gladiator in a colloseum fighting an assortment of monsters.
As the player, what role are you taking on?
A gladiator.
Did you enjoy the game? What is fun or not fun about it?
I did enjoy it for the short 10 minutes or so I was playing it. It appealed to a progression driven mindset with it challenging the player on how much they could grind to see how many stages they could climb to. The game also offered different paths of progression breaking away from it being too linear which gives the player a sense of freedom and more self accomplishment once they beat a certain stage.
How would you improve the game further?
Improve on the backstory and give the player a more visible end goal or sub goals to work towards. This would assure the player that they are not just playing an endless game which increase the difficulty increasing numbers. Personally I feel that once players can easily predict the outcome of the game that they are playing, they will get bored. The game would need to have some form of uncertainty within it too such as random difficulty spikes or more non linear game mechanics.
There was sword and soul in the game name catching my eye.
What is this game about?
It is a progression based game about your character (a gladiator) fighting through stages semi automatically with increasing difficulty, training through rythm gameplay, shopping with in game earned currency.
Is there any background story? If so, what is it?
There is no particular backstory specified, the setting however seems to be about a gladiator in a colloseum fighting an assortment of monsters.
As the player, what role are you taking on?
A gladiator.
Did you enjoy the game? What is fun or not fun about it?
I did enjoy it for the short 10 minutes or so I was playing it. It appealed to a progression driven mindset with it challenging the player on how much they could grind to see how many stages they could climb to. The game also offered different paths of progression breaking away from it being too linear which gives the player a sense of freedom and more self accomplishment once they beat a certain stage.
How would you improve the game further?
Improve on the backstory and give the player a more visible end goal or sub goals to work towards. This would assure the player that they are not just playing an endless game which increase the difficulty increasing numbers. Personally I feel that once players can easily predict the outcome of the game that they are playing, they will get bored. The game would need to have some form of uncertainty within it too such as random difficulty spikes or more non linear game mechanics.
Infectionator 2
Why did you choose this game?
It had a weird name and looked like it would be fun and something different.
What is the game about?
It is about controlling the spread of a zombie infection through the world with the click or a mouse button and an assortment of tools at your arsenal.
Is there any background story? If so, what is it?
No specified backstory. A god-like being summoning, upgrading, purchasing tools to help spread your zombie infection in a room full of people on various maps.
As the player, what role are you taking on?
A god-clicker, zombie apocalypse advocate.
Did you enjoy the game? What is fun or not fun about it?
From the short 10 minutes I tried it it was enjoyable. It seemed to have a well thought out upgrade tree and adequate challenge. It also had somewhat interesting story dialogue after every mission.
How would you improve the game further?
I haven't played enough of the game to suggest any substantial improvements. Maybe add an interesting backstory, though I think it would not matter to the target audience the game is being played by.
It had a weird name and looked like it would be fun and something different.
What is the game about?
It is about controlling the spread of a zombie infection through the world with the click or a mouse button and an assortment of tools at your arsenal.
Is there any background story? If so, what is it?
No specified backstory. A god-like being summoning, upgrading, purchasing tools to help spread your zombie infection in a room full of people on various maps.
As the player, what role are you taking on?
A god-clicker, zombie apocalypse advocate.
Did you enjoy the game? What is fun or not fun about it?
From the short 10 minutes I tried it it was enjoyable. It seemed to have a well thought out upgrade tree and adequate challenge. It also had somewhat interesting story dialogue after every mission.
How would you improve the game further?
I haven't played enough of the game to suggest any substantial improvements. Maybe add an interesting backstory, though I think it would not matter to the target audience the game is being played by.
Week 2 Workshop 2B
Does your motivation profile match your own understanding of why you play games?
Yes it does.
Are there games that you enjoy which do not match your motivation profile?
Yes there are. Building games that I have played a lot of such as Minecraft. I thoroughly enjoy using my creativity to constantly build new stuff and find new ways to enjoy Minecraft. I have even gotten into modding certain aspects of Minecraft to add my own ideas which I feel I would enjoy more.
Yes it does.
Are there games that you enjoy which do not match your motivation profile?
Yes there are. Building games that I have played a lot of such as Minecraft. I thoroughly enjoy using my creativity to constantly build new stuff and find new ways to enjoy Minecraft. I have even gotten into modding certain aspects of Minecraft to add my own ideas which I feel I would enjoy more.
How many of your top 10 recommended games have you played?
5 of them. DOTA 2, LOL, PubG, Clash Royale, and MW2.
Of those you have played, which have you enjoyed? Briefly explain why.
DOTA 2 which I dabbled in a little off introduced to me by my younger brother. It helped me bond a little with my brother and also the social aspect of the game really suits my gamer motivation profile. I really enjoyed PubG and LOL both of which are per game based and it suits my needs of gaming but not needing to be too invested. MW2 I played a lot of when I was younger. I think it really influenced my outlook of games now, was a really fun team based multiplayer which I enjoyed with my brother back in the day.
Of those you have played, which have you not enjoyed? Briefly explain why.
Clash Royale. Felt repetitive and to monetized with time gates. After awhile the fights get predictable and fighting opponents who had a better deck by paying really did not sit well with me. Overall it felt too exploitable and just a predictable time sink. Also the game play in itself provided no excitement kind of like chess, fun but no excitement.
5 of them. DOTA 2, LOL, PubG, Clash Royale, and MW2.
Of those you have played, which have you enjoyed? Briefly explain why.
DOTA 2 which I dabbled in a little off introduced to me by my younger brother. It helped me bond a little with my brother and also the social aspect of the game really suits my gamer motivation profile. I really enjoyed PubG and LOL both of which are per game based and it suits my needs of gaming but not needing to be too invested. MW2 I played a lot of when I was younger. I think it really influenced my outlook of games now, was a really fun team based multiplayer which I enjoyed with my brother back in the day.
Of those you have played, which have you not enjoyed? Briefly explain why.
Clash Royale. Felt repetitive and to monetized with time gates. After awhile the fights get predictable and fighting opponents who had a better deck by paying really did not sit well with me. Overall it felt too exploitable and just a predictable time sink. Also the game play in itself provided no excitement kind of like chess, fun but no excitement.
Week 3 Workshop 3A
2 genres (sub-genres I enjoy)
MMORPGs
I personally really enjoy the social aspect of this genre. Most MMOs have a friend and guild system where you can form bonds with people all over the world through the internet. In an MMO that I played a lot in the past (GW2), there was a guild system which allowed you to work together to build a guild base. Even if there isn't system in place to gauge your contribution, if you find a good group of people and they recognize your contributions and just have fun together, it really is not something you can experience in reality. In the MMO GW2 that I played there are two main game-play options, casual farming and exploring and challenging dungeon/raid content. The flexibility of allowing the player to do whatever they want and still earn rewards with friends really made me appreciate the aspects of an MMO. Few other genres are as versatile as an MMO in terms of content and flexibility provided.
MOBAs
MOBAS game-lives through game based battles, it was the perfect genre I moved to after MMOs, it allowed me to cut down on gaming when I had less time and still compete in a fair manner per game. I really love the role based aspect of MOBAs: tank, support, carry etc. Playing MOBAs with friends and working together to win an opposing team gives me a lot of satisfaction. Requiring to constantly communicate with team mates during battles help to strengthen friendships in real life. MOBAs to me is like a quick pick me up game where you can play for a short period anytime you feel like just for the fun of it.
1 genre that I do not really enjoy (aspects of it)
Single player adventure/puzzle games
I personally find no satisfaction in playing these kind of games. Having a social aspect in a game is really important to me, if there isn't a way for me to share my accomplishments or socialize with people playing the same game as I, I truly find all aspects of the game to be not worthwhile playing. I can see that sometimes accomplishing something on your own and knowing you did it can give you satisfaction, but to me it is almost non existent playing these games. Most often puzzle or adventure games are too easy to provide a suitable challenge, game difficulty design mechanics always leaves something to be desired. Try a few times, get the game-play down and you beat the game, it does not give me any excitement, there is little variation in game-play, everything is expected. If I begin the game knowing I can beat it, I immediately get bored of it, because I already know the outcome, and being a single player game, the journey is not something I will enjoy.
Games like Candy Crush, Witcher, single player GTA etc, we all know we can beat the game, yes they might be challenging but at the end of the day beating it is inevitable, you'll beat it and get bored. I'll think back and question why I even played it, what did i gain from it, it's single player I did not make any new friends, learn anything new. I just trogged through beating some pixels the end. Countless times after finishing game content i've asked myself why did I play it, all those hours spent was it worth it? Did sacrificing my time completing this game benefit my life experience in anyway?
MMORPGs
I personally really enjoy the social aspect of this genre. Most MMOs have a friend and guild system where you can form bonds with people all over the world through the internet. In an MMO that I played a lot in the past (GW2), there was a guild system which allowed you to work together to build a guild base. Even if there isn't system in place to gauge your contribution, if you find a good group of people and they recognize your contributions and just have fun together, it really is not something you can experience in reality. In the MMO GW2 that I played there are two main game-play options, casual farming and exploring and challenging dungeon/raid content. The flexibility of allowing the player to do whatever they want and still earn rewards with friends really made me appreciate the aspects of an MMO. Few other genres are as versatile as an MMO in terms of content and flexibility provided.
MOBAs
MOBAS game-lives through game based battles, it was the perfect genre I moved to after MMOs, it allowed me to cut down on gaming when I had less time and still compete in a fair manner per game. I really love the role based aspect of MOBAs: tank, support, carry etc. Playing MOBAs with friends and working together to win an opposing team gives me a lot of satisfaction. Requiring to constantly communicate with team mates during battles help to strengthen friendships in real life. MOBAs to me is like a quick pick me up game where you can play for a short period anytime you feel like just for the fun of it.
1 genre that I do not really enjoy (aspects of it)
Single player adventure/puzzle games
I personally find no satisfaction in playing these kind of games. Having a social aspect in a game is really important to me, if there isn't a way for me to share my accomplishments or socialize with people playing the same game as I, I truly find all aspects of the game to be not worthwhile playing. I can see that sometimes accomplishing something on your own and knowing you did it can give you satisfaction, but to me it is almost non existent playing these games. Most often puzzle or adventure games are too easy to provide a suitable challenge, game difficulty design mechanics always leaves something to be desired. Try a few times, get the game-play down and you beat the game, it does not give me any excitement, there is little variation in game-play, everything is expected. If I begin the game knowing I can beat it, I immediately get bored of it, because I already know the outcome, and being a single player game, the journey is not something I will enjoy.
Games like Candy Crush, Witcher, single player GTA etc, we all know we can beat the game, yes they might be challenging but at the end of the day beating it is inevitable, you'll beat it and get bored. I'll think back and question why I even played it, what did i gain from it, it's single player I did not make any new friends, learn anything new. I just trogged through beating some pixels the end. Countless times after finishing game content i've asked myself why did I play it, all those hours spent was it worth it? Did sacrificing my time completing this game benefit my life experience in anyway?
Week 3 Workshop 3B
Builhttps://inventwithpython.com/blog/2012/07/30/need-a-game-idea-a-list-of-game-mechanics-and-a-random-mechanic-mixer/
2 mechanics I enjoy from this list
Bullet Hell
There was a bullet hell shooter I played a substantial amount of called Realm of the Mad God. It is a perma-death bullet hell shooter within an MMO genre. Bullet hell shooters give the challenge of coordinating keyboard and mouse to dodge an endless barrage of bullets. When entities in the game have a wide variety of bullet types and patterns, it keeps the game interesting and new every time with different patterns to dodge. It's all about learning the patterns and figuring out when to dodge, what to dodge, and how you can use that knowledge to defeat the enemy.
Building
MINECRAFT!! Minecraft in my opinion is a game that has a lot of potential. By keeping things simple, it allows for many possible player made creations. Building games allow the player to express their creativity freely, every time they build something new its a new experience. Building games are like art, it is subjective, some people like art some people don't. And just like art there are many ways to play a building game, it all depends on the player. Basically building games have a possibility to never get boring, depending on the players creativity.
2 mechanics I do not enjoy
Block Puzzles
I cannot really find the appeal of block puzzle games because most of the time they are designed to be beatable moderately easily. As the game needs to cater to a wide selection of players with differing skills, sometimes the game can be designed too easy, and the lack of challenge in the game makes it feel repetitive. These kind of games usually have an algorithm or pattern where they generate the stages, once you get the hang of it, the content usually gets predictable which isn't fun to me. Games like 1234 for example.
Game repeated until you die
The same reason I do not enjoy some genres, is that it is predictable. The only outcome of these types of game is death. You just play on till you die trying to get as far as possible. Usually the difficulty scales up along as you progress and it will often reach a point where it is almost impossible to progress. To make things interesting, a upgrading system is usually in place to help you progress through slowly. This form of repetition to me feels tedious and provides no excitement. The end result is predictable, there is nothing to look forward to, nothing new, it's a good idea to past the time but not one to invest time in. Game examples that use this mechanics like the popular temple run.
Randomly Generated Mechanics
Protect a target, Jumping, Building
A 2D platformer with stages with increasing difficulty. Before the stage starts you are able to build your so called base around the target that you are supposed to protect, lets say a hostage with you being the kidnapper. You will have to defend your hostage against wave of rescuers by building and upgrading your base. When the stage starts, you can jump around the stage to actively knock down any potential intruders.
2 mechanics I enjoy from this list
Bullet Hell
There was a bullet hell shooter I played a substantial amount of called Realm of the Mad God. It is a perma-death bullet hell shooter within an MMO genre. Bullet hell shooters give the challenge of coordinating keyboard and mouse to dodge an endless barrage of bullets. When entities in the game have a wide variety of bullet types and patterns, it keeps the game interesting and new every time with different patterns to dodge. It's all about learning the patterns and figuring out when to dodge, what to dodge, and how you can use that knowledge to defeat the enemy.
Building
MINECRAFT!! Minecraft in my opinion is a game that has a lot of potential. By keeping things simple, it allows for many possible player made creations. Building games allow the player to express their creativity freely, every time they build something new its a new experience. Building games are like art, it is subjective, some people like art some people don't. And just like art there are many ways to play a building game, it all depends on the player. Basically building games have a possibility to never get boring, depending on the players creativity.
2 mechanics I do not enjoy
Block Puzzles
I cannot really find the appeal of block puzzle games because most of the time they are designed to be beatable moderately easily. As the game needs to cater to a wide selection of players with differing skills, sometimes the game can be designed too easy, and the lack of challenge in the game makes it feel repetitive. These kind of games usually have an algorithm or pattern where they generate the stages, once you get the hang of it, the content usually gets predictable which isn't fun to me. Games like 1234 for example.
Game repeated until you die
The same reason I do not enjoy some genres, is that it is predictable. The only outcome of these types of game is death. You just play on till you die trying to get as far as possible. Usually the difficulty scales up along as you progress and it will often reach a point where it is almost impossible to progress. To make things interesting, a upgrading system is usually in place to help you progress through slowly. This form of repetition to me feels tedious and provides no excitement. The end result is predictable, there is nothing to look forward to, nothing new, it's a good idea to past the time but not one to invest time in. Game examples that use this mechanics like the popular temple run.
Randomly Generated Mechanics
Protect a target, Jumping, Building
A 2D platformer with stages with increasing difficulty. Before the stage starts you are able to build your so called base around the target that you are supposed to protect, lets say a hostage with you being the kidnapper. You will have to defend your hostage against wave of rescuers by building and upgrading your base. When the stage starts, you can jump around the stage to actively knock down any potential intruders.
Week 4 Workshop 4
Describe 2 board games and what made them fun/not fun
Board Game 1 (Splendor)
Board Game 1 (Splendor)
Splendor is a game where players must work to purchase cards/property with coins. Each turn you can either take 3 coins(one of each color) or 2 coins(of the same color), buy a card with coins, or reserve a card while taking one yellow coin. A yellow coin represents a free coin which can be anything while the rest are individuals. The game requires players to plan ahead of time, investing in cheaper cards to attain discounts for more expensive cards, or saving up for the bigger cards right at the start. It is like a race against other players to see who can get cards worth 15 points to win the game. Denying cards from other players while obtaining your own cards are both good strategies. The game drives a very competitive atmosphere with each player on the edge thinking every round trying to outwit their opponents. Towards the end when cards started to dwindle, things got very heated as we counted and estimated who was going to take the victory first. Another aspect of the game I really like is that you could trash talk your opponent slightly every round which was fun. Overall a great color and number coded strategic game.
Board Game 2 (Las Vegas)
Las Vegas is a board game which requires a little bit of strategy and a ton more luck. Players each get 8 dice at the start of the game and the field is set where by 6 casinos are given money requiring to be at least 50k dollars. The 6 casinos are numbers from 1 to 6 matching the dice. Each turn players roll all 8 dice and choose one number that they want to match with the casino and place their dice on it. At the end when all player have finished rolling all their dice, the player with the most dice on each casino will get the money on it, first and second amounts. After 4 rounds of this the player that has accumulated the most money will win. This game is enjoyable in a sense that it is more laid back but still keeping an exciting atmosphere. Players don't have to think very hard about the choices they make but instead let the dice to the talking. Laughter and bribery(not to steal or deny ones money) is a fun way to bond with friends while playing the game.
Designing a map exploration board game
Theme and Goal of the Game
The theme of the game would likely be my favorite genre adventure style fantasy. The goal of the game could be a treasure hunt kind of game where players work to amass some sort of wealth to win the game, maybe some sort of PVP or wealth stealing aspect.
Probable Mechanics
I would probably adopt a whole board style of gaming such as chess or risk, which would fit the theme of an exploration game better and allow for more flexibility. The board can also be movable tile based to provide a new and randomly generated experience every time. Players will not only have one avatar(like monopoly) but instead can gather more avatars as they play the game to help them divide and conquer. Avatars will have fixed movement values(tiles they can move) however dice will be used as a RNG counter to generate random events which could potentially halt their movement. Sort of like Pokemon, if the player is able to defeat the encounter or overcome it, they would be able to move on, if not, they will face the penalties. Loot will also be a mix or random while also having a level to it, types of loot might be random but tier of loot will have a fixed range depending on the encounter. If players do decide to go on another players tile, they will have the chance to engage in combat or reach a peaceful resolution, only one player can be on one tile at one time. The goal of the game would be to find a number of randomly placed objects around the map, the one who attains all will win the game. Being able to steal said treasure from other players will also be one of the mechanics.
Identify how players will interact with each other
Players can reach peaceful arrangements to prevent losses or engage in fierce combat when fighting over the board to victory. Alliances and treaties could also be formed between players if they so wish. However a limit of teaming up will be imposed to prevent majority overwhelming defeat.
Theme and Goal of the Game
The theme of the game would likely be my favorite genre adventure style fantasy. The goal of the game could be a treasure hunt kind of game where players work to amass some sort of wealth to win the game, maybe some sort of PVP or wealth stealing aspect.
Probable Mechanics
I would probably adopt a whole board style of gaming such as chess or risk, which would fit the theme of an exploration game better and allow for more flexibility. The board can also be movable tile based to provide a new and randomly generated experience every time. Players will not only have one avatar(like monopoly) but instead can gather more avatars as they play the game to help them divide and conquer. Avatars will have fixed movement values(tiles they can move) however dice will be used as a RNG counter to generate random events which could potentially halt their movement. Sort of like Pokemon, if the player is able to defeat the encounter or overcome it, they would be able to move on, if not, they will face the penalties. Loot will also be a mix or random while also having a level to it, types of loot might be random but tier of loot will have a fixed range depending on the encounter. If players do decide to go on another players tile, they will have the chance to engage in combat or reach a peaceful resolution, only one player can be on one tile at one time. The goal of the game would be to find a number of randomly placed objects around the map, the one who attains all will win the game. Being able to steal said treasure from other players will also be one of the mechanics.
Identify how players will interact with each other
Players can reach peaceful arrangements to prevent losses or engage in fierce combat when fighting over the board to victory. Alliances and treaties could also be formed between players if they so wish. However a limit of teaming up will be imposed to prevent majority overwhelming defeat.