Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=532https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3007GAMEPLAY 2: One of the most important and diverse elements of the game is its reward system. In World of Warcraft you can gain rewards through many different means. The main means by which you get rewards is their standard level up system, as players progress through the game by killing monsters and such they end up gaining levels. The game, including the expansion, has a total of 70 levels in it. By gaining levels players are rewarded with access to new abilities, gear, and content. This modivates players to continue playing the game all the way to the maximum level. However once reaching maximum level, Blizzard needed some way to keep their players playing the game. One of the ways that they accomplished this is by rewarding players with better gear the more they continued to play the game. This is done mainly through 2 different ways. Players can either progress through additional PvE content which is exclusively availible to level 70 players. By defeating dungeons and obtaining new gear, players can move onto the next dungeon where they can obtain even better gear. The second method is through PvP arenas. This is a new system which is pretty much unique to World of Warcraft, however more games which are in development are starting to boast PvP reward systems as well. In the arena system players can compete with eachother in small groups, at the end of each week players are compared against eachother. Although all teams get some arena points, those who preform better get more and are able to obtain their rewards faster. The last aspect I want to touch on, due the the fact that this game is a MMORPG, its community and how it has effected gameplay. This is one of the things that I believe has helped put blizzard far above any of its competitors. Blizzard has the game split up so that there are many different servers for a player to choose from when starting the game, once a character is made on a server they can only be used on that server (though you can pay money to transfer them to another server once a month). Each of these servers only has a few thousand players at most, which is strangely not that large given that around 10 million players are subscribbed world wide. What this does is actualy create small communities of players within the game, each server has its own unique feel which is made up by its own community. Some servers even develope their own slang words that are not seen on other servers. These small effectable communities give you a feel that you are actualy a part of their world, and that your actions can actualy make a difference in the world. DESIGN: What would you change about the game? What was frustrating? One of the main things I find frusterating about the game is how it unfairly favors group play over individual play. In order to obtain most of the high level gear in the game you have to spend endless hours with groups of other people. Granted that it is a MMORPG and the point is that you are playing online with thousands of other players, sometimes its nice to be able to do your own thing the way you want to do it. The way I would change the game is by adding more individual content, from individual PvP, to instances which can have a scalable difficulty depending on how many players are participating. Though you can play as an idividual in PvP by joining battleground through solo queueing, this often puts you up against groups of players which have been organized to play as a group. This results in unbalanced gameplay which is often not enjoyable. Even so, these battlegrounds do not give you access to the best rewards in the game which still require you to play as a group. I think the key to a good MMORPG is giving players the option to play alone with everyone. :P What is the tone of the gameworld? How does the game create this tone? Because World of Warcraft is actualy a continuation of their previous strategy game line, Warcraft, Warcraft II, and Warcraft III, it keeps the same tone that was in those games. The Warcraft as a world in itself has a tone of being an exciting land full of adventure, mystical creatues, with an air of humor and fun. Much of this is obtained through the look and feel of the game. The game has a very cartoon look to it, the colors are bright and characters features are exagerated. A lot of the game also has a very humorous underpinning. As players interact with different quests, they are sent on some crazy quests which often have references to our culture. An example of this would be that there is a quest called "Finding A-Me" A-Me is a robot and has nothing to do with the popular novel of "Finding Amy", however references such as this pop up all over the game and will often lead you to laugh a bit while you play.Wed, 05 Mar 2008 14:25:50 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3007&iddiary=5659https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3007SUMMERY: World of Warcraft is a fantacy Massivly Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) based in the world of Azeroth where players can level characters, obtain new gear, socialize with other players, and compete against eachother. World of Warcraft is currently the top MMORPG on the market, and there is no doubt that its success must be due at least in part to its gameplay. GAMEPLAY: Though not unlike other MMORPGs in many regaurds, World of Warcraft seems to have a special appeal to its players. The first thing that you notice is that when you make your character you get tossed right into the game. Unlike so many games these days, which have you running around competing basic tutorial things just to see how their game works. World of Warcraft has a fairly standard control scheme which makes picking it up and playing quite easy. The game's reward system leads to very compelling gameplay which keeps people playing for hours on end. One other thing that will be of note about this game, is Blizzard Entertainment's great use of community and culture as a method to drive their game forward and keep it the most popular game on the market. When starting a character in World of Warcraft, the player is given 10 different races, 5 alliance 5 horde to choose from. Each race has between 4 and 6 classes it can choose from the 9 total classes in the game. An important thing to note about this is the fact that the game is split into 2 major factions, the horde and alliance. Right from the start of the game, you are forced to choose one side, after choosing you will be nearly unable to communicate with your opposing faction and in many occasions you will be forced to fight them. This is an important aspect of the game because as Chris Crawford describes, it creates conflict, and adds an important element to gameplay. Challenge that is derived from the players rather then scripts in the game itself tend to be both more dynamic and more compelling. The game is balanced such that both factions have access to all the classes, but are still different in the fact that they contain none of the same races. The classes which are currently in the game are Rogue, Warrior, Druid, Hunter, Warlock, Mage, Priest, Paladin, and Shaman. Each of these classes has their own unique gameplay mechanics that seperate them from the other classes, yet Blizzard has managed to keep them fairly balanced through repeated fine tuning throughout the life of their game.Wed, 05 Mar 2008 12:42:05 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3007&iddiary=5654https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2638GAMEPLAY 2: After playing through the first few levels of Kirby's Adventure, I have found that some aspects of the game make it way easier then it probably should be. For example, the character Kirby is able to inhale air and float around. Although this might normaly be fine, in many levels enemies only inhabit the bottem half of the screen, this allows you to simply float along the top to avoid them. Granted that isnt nearly as fun as actualy swallowing your enemies, but it seems like they should have done something to help prevent it. During my second gameplay session I also came across another mini-game. There is a quick-draw mini-game, where you must click the a button quickly once you see your opponant draw their weapon. Another nice feature about the game is the fact that at any point you can go back and play levels which you have already completed. Just incase you missed something that you could have unlocked, this allows you to fully explore the levels you have already played, as well as play the mini-games from those levels. DESIGN: What would you change about the game? What was frustrating? I think I would make the game a little more challenging. A lot of the bosses are far too easy if you obtain the right powers. Also the fact that you can just fly around at the top of the screen and avoid enemies makes the game way easier then it should be. I think it would have been good for them to make the tutorial video automaticaly play when you start a new game, rather then only playing if you dont hit start when you first boot up the game. I only watched the tutorial right before my second gameplay session, so I ended up realizing that there was a lot more I could do then I was previously aware of. Granted if I had a game manual that might have told me to watch it ;) Your thoughts on innovative elements of the game? I think that Kirby's ability to swallow enemies and absorb their power was quite an innovative element for the games time. Even today you dont see many games where how you play your character is dependant on the enemies that you face. This adds another level of complexity and helps this become a completely revolutionary platform jumper game. For its time, the mini-game feature was probably also quite innovative, espessialy for its game type. However these days you can find mini-games in almost every game. What is the tone of the gameworld? How does the game create this tone? This game has a very silly and upbeat tone. Your character is a pink fluff ball who floats around sucking up his enemies. Every time that you swallow an enemy and get a new power, a little display window has a graphic displaying what power your character has. Each of these graphics tend to be silly pictures of Kirby doing something related to that power. The music also helps set an exelent tone for the game, up beat tones and a catchy tune gives you the feeling of a very happy dream world. (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:31:36.)Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:30:55 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2638&iddiary=5013https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2638SUMMERY: Kirby's Adventure is a 2d platformer game in which you play the character Kirby. Kirby is a strange and interesting creature who has the power to inhale enemies and absorbe their powers. As you play the game you must obtain different powers to overcome the obstacles each level provides and defeat the final boss. GAMEPLAY: The gameplay of Kirby's Adventure is broken into 3 parts, so far as I can tell. There is your standard level, where you defeat a series of minor enemies while jumping from platform to platform. There are boss levels, where you fight a major boss in order to progress to the next level. Lastly there are bonus stages, where you can complete mini-games in order to get extra points, extra lives or hitpoints. The standard levels of Kirby's Adventure is mostly a platform jumper with some minor puzzle sovling elements. One of the unique features that makes this gameplay different from your standard platformer is Kirby's ability to inhale his enemies and absorb their powers. Each power has its benefits, such as shooting lazers, becomming a fireball, growing spikes, and many more. In some parts of the game, in order to move on, you have to find and use the correct power in order to overcome your obstacle. Mostly this involes hitting a bomb(which explodes all the blocks near it) with one of your powers. This makes up the puzzle solving aspect of the game, though not very complex, it is more then you see in most platform jumpers. After completing a series of standard levels, you get to the overall boss for that level series. In the special boss levels once you enter the level, you are instantly faced with a stronger then normal enemy. The bosses life bar is displayed below and you must find a way to defeat it before it kills you. One thing that often helps is the fact that you can bring in any power you want, but if you get hit you can end up losing that power. In some cases, brining a power into a boss fight can make it much easier. For example the first boss can easily be defeated using a sword and simply standing next to it and slashing him. The last type of gameplay in this game is its mini-games. After each standard level one of the mini-games allows you to shoot kirby up into the sky. The further you shoot him the more points you get, and if you get all the way to the top then you can end up getting an extra life. Another mini-game is the crane game. In this you attempt to use a crane to pick up a Kirby from a box of stuffed animals, this very similar to the ones you see at arcades with real stuffed animals. So far as I have seen there is also an arena mini-game where you fight a lesser boss type enemy in order to get a health reward. I havent seen any other mini-games yet but I am sure there might be more. Mon, 18 Feb 2008 16:30:59 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2638&iddiary=5008https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2359GAMEPLAY: Call of Duty's online multiplayer is by far one of the most innovative and indepth multiplayer games I have seen. Unlike other games which provide only a few modes of play, call of duty provides around 14 (for the xbox 360). Each mode of play has different objectives and rewards for the player. These modes range from your classic free for all deathmatch, to one similar to counterstrike (one team trys to plant a bomb, the other team defends, no respawning). Beyond the different modes of play, CoD4 also brings its own unique leveling system to online multiplayer. As you kill other players in any of the standard game modes, you gain exp. Once you gain enough exp you are able to level up, and by doing so you unlock various other things. Beyond simply unlocking new weapons, or weapon addons, you can also obtain different perks. These perks allow you to enhance your character to your liking, some increase damage, allow you to move silently, increase your ammo capacity and many more. Although you can only use 3 different perks at any given time, each has its own benefits and allows you to play the way you want to play. Overall I think my favorite mode of play has to be hardcore team deathmatch. In hardcore you dont get a crossair when not aiming, you dont get a radar, and you very quickly. I love being able to sneak around and take people out without them even knowing where I hit them from. Design: What are some innovative elements of the game? As described above, I think that the perk/online level system is a great innovative element that has been brought into this FPS. I also havent seen any dynamic single player gameplay that is similar to the one in this game. What are some of the level design elements, are levels varied? How? Both single player and multiplayer have quite a few different levels. In single player you travel to different locations around the globe to fight off your enemies, each level tends to be unique in its own manner, ranging from an urban setting, to figting in open fields to even one level where you are on an airplane. Though the levels in multiplayer are limited to around 10 or so different maps, each is different and well designed to provide players cover, and multiple routs to sneak up on your enemies. How did you respond to the game's reward structure? I think the reward structure for the game, at least in multiplayer, realy encorages the player to keep playing. Rather then just playing to get some kills, or have a good score, you now also have different challenges to complete, new weapons to unlock and pleanty of other things to keep you motivated. Thu, 07 Feb 2008 22:36:45 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2359&iddiary=4516https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2359Summery: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is a first person shooter based in a semi-realistic near future. The game has many interesting new features which I have not seen in any other game of its type to date. It has 2 main modes of play, single player and multiplayer which differ from eachother quite greatly. Gameplay: The Single Player gameplay seems similar to most of your standard shooters, however it does have a few interesting differences. In the main storyline you play the roles of a few different main characters, one who is US marrine of some sort, and the other who is a british special ops. Although the game is fairly short, and can probably be played in a single play session, the ammount of detail and dynamic gameplay raises it above the level of its standard shooter competitor. Due to our current situation with "The war on terror" or whatever, this game actualy feels like it is a very real. You and your squad are tossed right into the combat with terrorist group. Although squad combat has been done before in FPS games, in this one the AI actualy seems somewhat intelligent and how they move makes sense. You allies dont simply run out into enemy fire, but duck behind object, toss grenades, communicate with eachother and make you feel like you are in a much more real situation. I think a lot of what makes this game feel so real, and what gives it a step up on other FPS games is the ammount of dynamic choice. A lot of the game involves you sneaking around, choosing the way you want to take and defeating the enemy your way. As you move through a city, the enemies spawn in the direction you move, your allies follow you and it definatly gives you the feel like your doing the mission your way, rather then just running down some preset path. Some missions I found where a lot easier or harder depending on the path I took, so ways had more cover and it was easier to flank my enemy, while others I would be caught out in the open. One thing that I wish this game had, which other FPS games do have, is a co-op mode. Because this game has so much squad based combat, it seems like it would make sense to have it, but I guess they wanted this to be a personal experience. Either way the single player portion of the game was short but sweet, pleanty of great features and well balanced gameplay. However, when compared to multiplayer, singleplayer is just a drop in the bucket.Thu, 07 Feb 2008 17:05:49 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2359&iddiary=4501https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1995GAMEPLAY 2: During my second gameplay session I came across some other interesting aspects of the game. In both the top right section and bottom left section of the map, there is an infinately repeating screen. In this screen, 3 of the exits lead to an identicle version of the map (or so it seems) and only one of them leads out. I assume there is probably more to this, but I have yet to discover it, and I refuse to use any online walkthrough. Another interesting aspect of the game is that appearently the levels dont have to be done exactly in order. Although I assume some items are required for doing later levels, and that you have to do them all eventualy to get all of the tri-force; but nevertheless my 2nd dungeon I entered turned out to be the 3rd level. After beating the second(3rd) dungeon I am up to 5 hearts and I have started to realize that this is both an advantage and disadvantage. As it turns out, when you have full life in this game, you can shoot your sword across the screen. This is extreamly handy in that you dont have to risk being damaged as much. However every time you die and choose to continue, you only respawn with 3 hearts and have to adventure about to get the rest restored. It seems that the further you get in the game, the punishment for dieing is stronger. I definatly think this is a good feature, its both simple and effective. DESIGN: What design elements make this a good game?: I think the fact that this game is easy to pick up and play make it an amazing game. It is very simply, you walk around, pick up items, kill enemies. There are some small easy puzzles, but overall its just fun to bash some baddies and go on your adventure. RPG games get caught up in the story and characters and seem to lose the fun of just going on an adventure, where as this game does not. What kinds of challenges does the game provide?: The game has 2 general modes as far as I can tell. There is your standard outdoor world, where you run around slashing through bad guys and finding new areas. Then there is the dungeon world, in the dungeon there are a limited number of rooms. Some rooms provide different challenges such as defeating all the enemies, or pushing some block to open a door. In the second to last room there is always a boss who is gaurding a piece of the tri-force. Each boss has a different scripted encounter in which you must find a way to defeat it. Who does the game keep these (challenges above) interesting?: I think the game does so by making each dungeon, and areas of the outdoor world different. Each dungeon also has a different boss, as described above, so you have to find a new way to beat them. Some bosses, or levels require you to have special items. By collecting these items from other dungeons you increase what you character is capable of, and it helps to keep the game interesting. What ideas does this game give you for your own game project?: One thing I got out of playing this game, is I realized how annoying tutorials can be. Its nice when a game is just intuitive enough that you can start playing with realitivly little instruction. When I play a game I want to jump right into the bashing of monsters, waiting around while I go through some silly tutorial in every game I play gets annoying.Thu, 24 Jan 2008 01:33:20 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1995&iddiary=3893https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1995SUMMERY: The Legend of Zelda is an adventure game where you play a fantasy character named Link. In the game you attempt to collect pieces of the tri-force and save princess Zelda. GAMEPLAY: Note: I am playing on my computer with an Emulator, because that is easier then checking it out. I have actualy never played The Legend of Zelda, beyond seeing it once or twice at a friends house. So for me the gameplay was quite an interesting experience. Unlike the games you see today, this game has no tutorial. You simply start out with no weapons, and no idea what your objective or what the point of the game is for that matter. I imagine you can learn as much from the game manual that comes with the game, in order to save space as was needed back in those days. I spent most of my first hour or so running around trying to figure out where to go, eventualy I came across the first dungeon. The dungeons themselves are fairly strait forward, there are only so many ways to go, and eventualy when you get to the end you fight a boss. It seems like the game is fairly fast paced, already in the first dungeon I got 2 new items, a bow and a boomerang. Going back to the lack of a manual thing, I didnt understand why I could not use the bow. A little while after beating the boss, I came across a shop and was able to buy some arrows. It wasnt untill later that I realized it also cost money to shoot those arrows. Now I am off to try to find the next dungeon...Wed, 23 Jan 2008 19:47:39 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1995&iddiary=3883https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1655SUMMERY: Mass Effect is a futuristic space based RPG. However it has many elements which seperate it from your classic futuristic RPG. I think the key elements that make this game are its new mechanic, Mass Effect, the way it refers to you character during cinematics, the unique story it tells, and the innovation in RPG/Shooter combat. GAMEPLAY: I realy enjoyed playing Mass Effect throughout my game sessions. As I played I learned about the different things in the game that made it what it was, and why I enjoyed it. To start, I will talk about the new mechanic Mass Effect has. Perhaps surprisingly, this is one of the few things I hated about the game. The idea for Mass Effect is similar magic which you may see in your standard fantasy RPG, or “The Force” in your Star Wars RPG. Even though I personally did not like this mechanic, I will talk about its good elements first. One thing that this mechanic had which I have not seen in any other RPG is the extent to which mass effect abilities can effect the environment. Its physics engine allows you to push enemies and objects as well as lift them or damage them. The problem with this mechanic however is the fact that you have to pause the game in order to use it. Though this may not seem like a problem at first, the fact is, this game plays more like your standard 3rd person shooter then an RPG as far as combat goes. Every time you have to pause the game to use your Mass Effect abilities, I feel like you lose the element of being in the moment. It feels like it disconnects you from the actual game and makes you more aware that you are the player and not the character. Thankfully both NPC allies and enemies can use this ability without pausing the game. Because of this, I simply let my allies use their Mass Effect abilities as they saw fit, rather then the option of me having to pause the game and use it for them. Meanwhile I simply played the game as an RPG shooter and ended up fully enjoying the other elements it had to offer. One of the cool elements that this new RPG brought to the table was the incorporation of your character into cinematics. Although you get to choose your gender, appearance, and first name freely, your last name is restricted to the name “Shepard.” By doing this, the game made it so when characters refer to you, they simply call you Shepard. Though it may not seem like a big deal at first glance, it truly makes the game have a smooth flow to it. The cinematic conversations seem natural, realistic, and defiantly helped to immerse me in the story. Though this is no doubt not the first futuristic RPG to have aliens and humans in it, I must say it has done an amazing job to make a realistic futuristic space environment. The sheer amount of detail that they put into every aspect of the game is unrivaled by any game I have ever played. I doubt I even read half the information that they put into the game in order to make sure it was realistic and understandable. As you travel through the game you can inspect different items which unlock a new option in your codex. By going to you codex you can read, and sometimes listen to a narration, about different elements of the game. This information in your codex ranges from how your weapons work and why, to the politics of alien governments. They even went to the extent of giving you information about every solar system you visit, and detailed information on every planet. Even though little of this information is useless when it comes to actual game play, I must say it made me feel like a real future they had created. Although I started playing mass effect in the beginning of December, over our 3 week winter break I didn’t play it at all. The only reason I think this is interesting, or even relevant, is because over those 3 weeks I played both Knights of the Old Republic(KotOR) and KotOR 2. KotOR is an RPG game also made by the same company BioWare. What I found interesting about playing these games is it revealed something I had not previously known about Mass Effect. As it turns out, Mass Effect was simply a copy of the basic template used in both of the KotOR series games. What I mean by this, is you start out on your beginning planet, you run though some basic missions which essentially teach you how to play. Once you finish your basic missions on your starting planet you obtain a ship and can choose between 3 different planets to travel in order to complete other main objectives in the storyline. The order in which you complete these 3 different planet missions does not matter and is open to player discretion. I don’t think this fact interrupted or changed the game play of the game at all, I simply found it an interesting observation connecting BioWares previous titles to this one. The last element of the game play that I want to talk about is its RPG/Shooter combat. I defiantly enjoyed this part of the game. Like some other 3rd person shooter titles, in this game you can hide behind obstacles, then pop out and shoot your enemies before quickly ducking back behind cover. You have to aim your weapons, although the corsair is big enough that you don’t need the skills of a normal shooter in order to be successful. The damage you do with your weapons is based on the weapon it self, the modifications you have added to it, and your skill with that type of weapon. The weapon skill and such adds to the RPG element of the combat system, where aiming, hiding, and sprinting at your enemies makes up the shooter elements of the game. Overall I must say it is a brilliant hybrid of shooter and RPG, forgiving the Mass Effect mechanic, and I hope to see more of its kind in the future. DESIGN: Thoughts on innovation: I think the innovative elements of this game where its Mass Effect mechanic, how physics was incorporated into an RPG, and its hybrid combat system. What makes it a good or bad game: I think what makes the game good is its attention to the level of detail, how it immerses the player in the story, and lets the player make choices. What are my thoughts on level design in the game: I think the levels were fairly well designed in the game, because each main part of the story is based on a different planet, you get to explore new environments and fight different enemies. Obstacles are well placed to give you places to hide, and use its combat mechanics effectively. What challenges does the game provide: The game has both your standard combat, where you grind though waves of creatures attempting to reach your objective, and boss fights. Each boss fight is scripted differently making it a new and interesting experience for the player. How does the game create conflict: Perhaps one of the downfalls of the game is that the storyline is fairly rigid. Although at first glance it may appear that you have lots of choices to make, in the end these choices have little outcome on what happens in the game. Because of this, it is easy to just give you the bad guys, and then you have no choice but to go out and kill them. No joining the bad guys, sorry. How does the game keep you interested: The storyline itself is quite interesting, and it keeps you interested the same way a book does. You simply want to know what is going to happen next, and how the story is going to end. At least that’s how it worked for me. Does the game help foster social interaction among players: Sadly this game is only single player, I think if it didn’t have the mass effect mechanic they might have been able to add a cool co-op option to the game. But beyond talking about the game with other people who have played it, there is little to no interaction with other players. What would you change about the game: I would make it so you can simply have a current mass effect ability and you can execute dynamically by the press of a button without having to pause the game. This would keep a smooth and fun game play, and still allow the players to use the new mechanic. What ideas does this game give you for your own game project: I think the game gave me more ideas based on what it was lacking then based on what it had. Personally I want my choices in the game to make an actual difference on its outcome. Though this makes storyboarding a lot harder, because you have to make multiple paths, and possibly many of them, rather then just one with small variations. You thoughts on the games use of cut scenes to support the narrative: As I described in one of the paragraphs above, I think that the use of the character name in cinematics made the narrative support the game and help to tell the story. For me it defiantly helped to draw me into the story and excite me about what was to come.Mon, 14 Jan 2008 20:03:42 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1655&iddiary=3628https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1655I bought Mass Effect at the end of November last year; however I didn’t finish playing it until just recently. Mass effect is quite possibly the best RPG of 2007 and brings a lot of new and interesting elements to the game. That’s not to say it is without it flaws, for it surely has plenty of those. I think the key elements that make this game are its new mechanic, Mass Effect, its incorporation of character name into cinematics, the unique story it tells, and the innovation in RPG/Shooter combat. To start, I will talk about the new mechanic Mass Effect has. Perhaps surprisingly, this is one of the few things I hated about the game. The idea for Mass Effect is similar magic which you may see in your standard fantasy RPG, or “The Force” in your Star Wars RPG. Even though I personally did not like this mechanic, I will talk about its good elements first. One thing that this mechanic had which I have not seen in any other RPG is the extent to which mass effect abilities can effect the environment. Its physics engine allows you to push enemies and objects as well as lift them or damage them. The problem with this mechanic however is the fact that you have to pause the game in order to use it. Though this may not seem like a problem at first, the fact is, this game plays more like your standard 3rd person shooter then an RPG as far as combat goes. Every time you have to pause the game to use your Mass Effect abilities, I feel like you lose the element of being in the moment. It feels like it disconnects you from the actual game and makes you more aware that you are the player and not the character. Thankfully both NPC allies and enemies can use this ability without pausing the game. Because of this, I simply let my allies use their Mass Effect abilities as they saw fit, rather then the option of me having to pause the game and use it for them. Meanwhile I simply played the game as an RPG shooter and ended up fully enjoying the other elements it had to offer. One of the cool elements that this new RPG brought to the table was the incorporation of your character into cinematics. Although you get to choose your gender, appearance, and first name freely, your last name is restricted to the name “Shepard.” By doing this, the game made it so when characters refer to you, they simply call you Shepard. Though it may not seem like a big deal at first glance, it truly makes the game have a smooth flow to it. The cinematic conversations seem natural, realistic, and defiantly helped to immerse me in the story. Though this is no doubt not the first futuristic RPG to have aliens and humans in it, I must say it has done an amazing job to make a realistic futuristic space environment. The sheer amount of detail that they put into every aspect of the game is unrivaled by any game I have ever played. I doubt I even read half the information that they put into the game in order to make sure it was realistic and understandable. As you travel through the game you can inspect different items which unlock a new option in your codex. By going to you codex you can read, and sometimes listen to a narration, about different elements of the game. This information in your codex ranges from how your weapons work and why, to the politics of alien governments. They even went to the extent of giving you information about every solar system you visit, and detailed information on every planet. Even though little of this information is useless when it comes to actual game play, I must say it made me feel like a real future they had created. Although I started playing mass effect in the beginning of December, over our 3 week winter break I didn’t play it at all. The only reason I think this is interesting, or even relevant, is because over those 3 weeks I played both Knights of the Old Republic(KotOR) and KotOR 2. KotOR is an RPG game also made by the same company BioWare. What I found interesting about playing these games is it revealed something I had not previously known about Mass Effect. As it turns out, Mass Effect was simply a copy of the basic template used in both of the KotOR series games. What I mean by this, is you start out on your beginning planet, you run though some basic missions which essentially teach you how to play. Once you finish your basic missions on your starting planet you obtain a ship and can choose between 3 different planets to travel in order to complete other main objectives in the storyline. The order in which you complete these 3 different planet missions does not matter and is open to player discretion. I don’t think this fact interrupted or changed the game play of the game at all, I simply found it an interesting observation connecting BioWares previous titles to this one. The last element of the game play that I want to talk about is its RPG/Shooter combat. I defiantly enjoyed this part of the game. Like some other 3rd person shooter titles, in this game you can hide behind obstacles, then pop out and shoot your enemies before quickly ducking back behind cover. You have to aim your weapons, although the corsair is big enough that you don’t need the skills of a normal shooter in order to be successful. The damage you do with your weapons is based on the weapon it self, the modifications you have added to it, and your skill with that type of weapon. The weapon skill and such adds to the RPG element of the combat system, where aiming, hiding, and sprinting at your enemies makes up the shooter elements of the game. Overall I must say it is a brilliant hybrid of shooter and RPG, forgiving the Mass Effect mechanic, and I hope to see more of its kind in the future. I know I talked a lot about design in the paragraphs above, however just as an aside, I will list some of the other design aspects separately and answer some of the questions posed for the design portion of this assignment. Thoughts on innovation: I think the innovative elements of this game where its Mass Effect mechanic, how physics was incorporated into an RPG, and its hybrid combat system. What makes it a good or bad game: I think what makes the game good is its attention to the level of detail, how it immerses the player in the story, and lets the player make choices. What are my thoughts on level design in the game: I think the levels were fairly well designed in the game, because each main part of the story is based on a different planet, you get to explore new environments and fight different enemies. Obstacles are well placed to give you places to hide, and use its combat mechanics effectively. What challenges does the game provide: The game has both your standard combat, where you grind though waves of creatures attempting to reach your objective, and boss fights. Each boss fight is scripted differently making it a new and interesting experience for the player. How does the game create conflict: Perhaps one of the downfalls of the game is that the storyline is fairly rigid. Although at first glance it may appear that you have lots of choices to make, in the end these choices have little outcome on what happens in the game. Because of this, it is easy to just give you the bad guys, and then you have no choice but to go out and kill them. No joining the bad guys, sorry. How does the game keep you interested: The storyline itself is quite interesting, and it keeps you interested the same way a book does. You simply want to know what is going to happen next, and how the story is going to end. At least that’s how it worked for me. Does the game help foster social interaction among players: Sadly this game is only single player, I think if it didn’t have the mass effect mechanic they might have been able to add a cool co-op option to the game. But beyond talking about the game with other people who have played it, there is little to no interaction with other players. What would you change about the game: I would make it so you can simply have a current mass effect ability and you can execute dynamically by the press of a button without having to pause the game. This would keep a smooth and fun game play, and still allow the players to use the new mechanic. What ideas does this game give you for your own game project: I think the game gave me more ideas based on what it was lacking then based on what it had. Personally I want my choices in the game to make an actual difference on its outcome. Though this makes storyboarding a lot harder, because you have to make multiple paths, and possibly many of them, rather then just one with small variations. You thoughts on the games use of cut scenes to support the narrative: As I described in one of the paragraphs above, I think that the use of the character name in cinematics made the narrative support the game and help to tell the story. For me it defiantly helped to draw me into the story and excite me about what was to come.Sun, 13 Jan 2008 16:05:35 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1655&iddiary=3380