Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=541https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3192Gameplay: In this gameplay session, I realized that the game won't get any less creepy the longer you play. But, on the other hand, it will get a lot more fun. right near the end of my session I picked up the ability to use fire as a weapon at the snap of my fingers. This made for very interesting and rather humorous fighting technique. In this second session I was able to get a much better hold of the controls, which is good because it is vital that you be able to switch back and forth between your special powers and your regular weapons quickly and constantly, which can be tricky at first. I actually surprised myself with how quickly i got used to switching back and forth, but was glad to have picked it up. As I played through the game and my friend, who had already beaten it, watched me play, we talked about the impressive use of morals and symbolism in the game. And it is quite impressive how a game that, on the surface, seems so blatantly violent and one-dimensional can actually have a lot of depth. this made me happy and helped me enjoy the game that much more. As much fun as I was having lighting people on fire and beating them with a wrench, I did find that near the end of my session, I seemed to be stuck. I could not find which way to go to progress in the game and there were no indicators as to whether I was going the right way or just backtracking. I believe that when you went in the right direction, more baddies would show up and get in your way, but even after a while of walking around, I couldn't find them either! So that did bother me a bit. Game Design: One of the biggest innovations in this game and one of my favorite reasons for playing this game are the "plasmids". Plasmids are special abilities that you can use by injecting some kind of shot into your arm and letting it reconfigure your DNA. Of course, that's all done automatically in the game. But after the first time you inject yourself, you gain abilites that include pyrokinesis, telekinesis, thunderbolts, and swarms of insects. those are just a few of the huge number of plasmids you can find in the game. I really enjoy this aspect of the game because it adds a whole new level of strategy and excitement. Rather then just shooting a gun wildly at anything that moves, not taking a second though to consider ammo because it's so common, you have to conserve your ammo and decide how and when to use a gun or a plasmid. ammo for each is scarce, so you really have to think about every move you make. The plasmids add a sort of difficulty in using the controller to play the game because you have to constantly be switching between plasmids and weapons in mid-battle. But I think that once you get really good at it, it just adds to the fun of the game. since you're using the shoulder buttons to switch between your offensive attacks, it makes you feel like you're actually doing something fancy with your fingers. The level design is incredible in BioShock. They are all very detailed and interactive, including movable dead bodies, shootable trash cans, and it even throws in a half-decayed wall that you have to break down in order to move forward every once in a while. Every level is also very creepy in its own way and that is partly due to the incredible lighting in every room. Some rooms are tinted blood-red (no pun intended) and others are pitch black. Both make for very menacing and intimidating settings. I really enjoy playing this game and can't wait to go finish it.Thu, 06 Mar 2008 05:06:02 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3192&iddiary=6000https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3190Summary: BioShock is a thrilling first-person shooter in which you explore the underwater city of Rapture, finding clues as to what happened to the city. You collect the usual weapons, such as guns and explosives, but you can also use special powers like shooting thunderbolts from your hands or telekinesis to kill the mutated enemies that inhabit Rapture. Gameplay: My first experience playing BioShock was enthralling and, quite honestly, very frightening. I was completely captivated by the awesome graphics and the intriguing story line. After seeing this game demoed in class I knew I just had to play it. A couple of my friends had mention how great a game BioShock is and how much they liked it. That made me very eager to play and it also built up the expectations in my head. Within 10 minutes, all expectations were met and I was hooked. I am usually the first one to suggest a scary movie to watch with my friends, and I am also usually the first one to scream at the scariest parts. That kind of mentality seemed to carry over to my experience with BioShock. I was the one who kept asking my friend to let me play it, and I was also the first one to start screaming and squirming in my seat! It also didn't help that we had just been telling real-life ghost stories about our hall. Even with that in mind, I still found the game to be incredibly creepy and disturbing all on its own. And although I usually find that that kind of thing puts me off, I actually found myself wanting to cause more and more carnage as the game progressed. The game's use of morbidity to entice the player to enter and stay in the magic circle is anything but innovative, but done so very, very well. In the beginning of the game, the only thing you know about the world of Rapture is that it was created specifically for al of the world's geniuses to live undisturbed, and something has gone horribly wrong. You constantly hear different voices, usually the uglies yelling at you right before they attack you or as they patrol the hallways, but one voice is prominent in the game: Atlas. Atlas is your one friend in the game (as far as i've seen) and he is a good friend indeed. You only get to hear atlas' voice through an old radio box, but every time you do he immediately fills you with comfort and assurance. He instantly becomes one of your favorite characters because he continuously offers advice and directions. he also seems to be very compassionate about your predicament and is glad to help. This game is a great social game if you and your friends are in the mood for a good scaring. It's a lot like watching a scary movie that you get to control. That makes it fun to watch and scream at with your friends.Thu, 06 Mar 2008 04:38:03 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3190&iddiary=5996https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2848Gameplay: For my second hour of gameplay I decided to keep playing through the main adventure mode in order to get more levels to play in multiplayer and more accessories for Rayman to dress up in. What I find interesting about this game is the diversity in both difficulties and games to play. By that I mean that in every set of mini-games, there is always one that is (or at least seems like it) significantly more difficult then the rest of them. I don't want to say that this is a negative aspect of the game, because on the other side of the spectrum, some of the games seem incredibly simple, so in a way it balances out. Unfortunately, it does get annoying at times because every once in a while you will run into a mini-game that seems impossibly difficult and, at the least, incredibly frustrating. luckily the game designers took this into account, I feel, because they made it possible to only beat 3 of the 4 games to move on. I've had to, on many occasions, use that to my advantage because of the difficulty of these mini-games. difficult games aside, I still greatly enjoyed playing RRR again and enjoyed, even more, playing the multiplayer mode with my friends. The mini-games are great fun alone but some just beg you to invite some friends over and have at it. One great aspect of this game is that it has silly characters, such as the Rabbids, which make the game very entertaining just to watch. Some times, I'd prefer to watch! And as if the designers of this game had foresight, this is possible, even when playing multiplayer mode! Some games are standard multiplayer, as in two or more players compete against each other to get the highest score, but other games are designed so that each player will have to go one at a time. While some might think this to deter from the social aspect of the game, I found that it only enhances it by giving each player time to think about their strategy and gather information about what to do and what not to do from watching other players. Design: Like I said before, this game must have been a huge honor to make for the Wii right as it debuted. While there were other fun titles to play when the Wii first came out, Raving Rabbids seems to have outlive and win the battle of becoming an immediate classic game. I (as well as the professor) would consider this a classic game because of its innovative controls, inter-activeness, and replay value. Obviously, any game made for the Wii will need to be made with innovative controls, because that is just the basis of the Wii. The thing that makes Raving Rabbids different is the fact that there are so many different styles of control all within one game. Take for example, the fact that you'll be wildly spinning the controller over your head in a discus-type event to make a cow fly as far as possible one minute, and then using the Wiimote to aim and the nunchuck to reload while shooting plungers at Rabbids the next minute. Everything from the use of the controls to the new spins on old style mini-games is fantastically innovative and incredibly fun. This kind of innovation instantly inspires others to come watch and/or join you in a round or two of gameplay. A game that intrigues many people instantly definitely deserves to be considered a classic in my book. And of course with all of the cow spinning, Rabbid shooting, hog racing action, who wouldn't want to play the game over and over again? This is one of those great party games that you can just put in and enjoy for hours on end. I'd also like to comment on another part of the design of this game: SIMPLICITY. If I could use only one phrase to describe the layout of this game, it would definitely be, "Less Is More". It astounds me how simple this game looks. You have your basic "arena" set up: a bowl, four available doors and one locked door. That's it. The designers wasted no time in making complex layouts or fancy-shmancy graphics all over the place, they just focused on the mini-games and the other innovations in the game. This is genius on their part because it forces the player to focus all of their attention on the mini-games. No story, no nothing. This is very inspiring and helpful when I think about the design of our own game. "Less is more", is definitely something I will keep in mind for future designs.Thu, 21 Feb 2008 03:22:29 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2848&iddiary=5462https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2848Summary: Rayman Raving Rabbids is an interactive game for the Nintendo Wii in which you play as Rayman. Rayman, for reasons that are not quite clearly explained in the beginning of the game, is captured by the Rabbids, a species of what appear to be strange, demonic, twisted little bunnies who put him through a series of "tests" which are the mini-games that you partake in. Gameplay: My first encounter with Raving Rabbids was also my first interaction with the Wii, about a year ago when my friend asked me over to play Wii with him. Right as soon as I started playing the multiplayer mode I fell in love with the Wii and with this game. I had never experienced an at-home game in which your actual, physical movements and interactions control the entire game. There are, of course, the famous DDR and the ever popular Guitar Hero franchises, but in both of these games there is only one type of physical interaction, either "dancing" on the arrows or pushing the buttons at the right time. In Raving Rabbids, there are what seems to be an endless array of interactive mini-games to satisfy your craving for something fun and entertaining. As much as I enjoy this game and was looking forward to playing it, I found myself very disappointed when I tried to play multiplayer mode right away and found a tiny fraction of the games available to play. I know, "duh". So on i went to play through the main adventure mode. Not so surprising, the story was a bit ambiguous and hardly intriguing. I say it is not surprising because from a designer's point of view, this game would have been the dream boat of games to design for the first ever sensor-activated home console. The story is sparse because it can be. People don't play Raving Rabbids because they want to know why there are cute and freaky bunnies running around, capturing Rayman, people play because they want to see what the Wii is capable of. As was the case for me. I have no interest in the Rayman franchise, and that's ok because the overall story of the franchise has almost nothing to do with this game. This game was almost as fun to watch as it was to play. Every set of mini-games, or "tests" was very interactive and, while maybe not so innovative, they still made you laugh and yell with excitement and joy. Rayman Raving Rabbids is an excellent example of what happens when a game designer takes full advantage of a system as innovative as the Nintendo Wii.Thu, 21 Feb 2008 02:37:58 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2848&iddiary=5432https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2606Gamelog #1 Summary: In Chrono Trigger, you play as the main character, Crono, as you explore the world of Guardia looking for a way to save the Queen and time. In this RPG, you fight monsters in an "active" style battle. Active fighting refers to the fact that instead of being turn based, your characters each have a time bar and once that bar fills up, you can attack. Gameplay: This is a game which has a huge following, which obviously builds expectations and ideas about the game. Every time I mentioned the title, anyone in earshot would chime in their own experiences and thoughts on the game, which were all always very positive. This put me in a very excited and motivated state of mind to play the game. At First glance, I immediately thought that this was a Dragonball Z RPG, on a count of the fact that the characters in the game were almost identical looking to some of the characters in the Anime. When I stated my confusion, my friend educated me on the history of the game; how this game had some of the best minds from dragon ball and final fantasy working together. This was a very interesting fact and made me that much more excited to play because I used to be a huge dragonball Z fan and I love the Final Fantasy franchise. This game is very fun to get a hold of, the few battles i have been in were pretty exciting. Leveling up seems to be quite easy to do at this point, and i've already learned 3 new attacks between two level 3 characters! The down side to this RPG, as is the case for any RPG, is that it is a very anti-social game. I have been playing with a couple of friends in my room, one who lent me the game and who has completed it, and all I get from them are directions and answers to questions that I didn't even ask. Not to mention spoilers to things that come later in the game. Definitely not a social game. In my first hour of gameplay, I did not get very far at all. I'm still very fuzzy on the details of the story line and I have not experienced any intense battles yet, or even a save point for that matter! This is a very smart move on the designers' part because it forces the player to play enough of the game that they really get into it before they turn it off their first time. In this way, people will get hooked on playing their very first time, and almost guarantee that they'll be back for more...as I am about to go prove.Sun, 10 Feb 2008 19:28:06 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2606&iddiary=4947https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2238Gameplay: For my second session I asked a couple of my friends to aid in me my research by trying out the multiplayer mode. They happily obliged. Immediately I noticed how captivating and interactive the game becomes. Both my friend and I were jumping around and yelling at the t.v. within 5 minutes. Since neither of us had played the game before today, we played every round with a new character, which only added to the suspense and fun. Design: As my friend Jackie and I kept playing the game, I started to realize something; She was kicking my butt! At first I thought it was because she was using a character with an especially long sword, but sure enough, she still managed to destroy me with every character she picked. After a few rounds...and after secretly accepting the fact that she was winning by skill, not chance, I complimented her on her win streak. She happily said, " Yeah, I'm really comfortable with fighting games and I just adjusted to this one." And that's when I realized, Soul Caliber III was developed FOR fighting game gamers. Even though Jackie had never played this game before, her past experience with fighter games perfectly set her up with this game and the controls came completely natural to her. One aspect of the design of this game that I think adds to its popularity is the mix of easily pulled off moves that look fancy, with the ability to knock players up and off of the stage. This not only makes players feel like they're really good really fast, but it also adds to the strategy that players can use to defeat their opponents. The levels themselves are also somewhat interactive in that players can smash the ground into little pieces with certain moves and even smash other players into the ground. This kind of interactive level is something i can definitely see our design team trying to incorporate into our own game. Another aspect of the game that I really thought of as interesting and intriguing was the idea of buying new weapons, armor, and items for your character. I don't know if this has been the case with past Soul Calibers, but since I'm new to the franchise, I found it very innovative for a fighting game and really fun to get into. I'm not sure exactly what effects these upgrades have on the character, but there are little pictures next to each one which symbolize a power-up that comes with the weapon. This is a very smart move on the designers' side because it allows them to add another mechanic to the gameplay which involves money you win from winning fights and strategy in picking exactly what you want to buy and how you want to use it. The one thing that seemed like a flaw to me was the inconsistency of the difficulty of my opponents. One would assume that as you progressed through the game, your foes would grow in difficulty, but it seemed to me that every character went back and forth. This wasn't necessarily something to dislike about the game, as it was just very annoying. Overall I greatly enjoyed this game and can see myself playing it often in the future. Sat, 26 Jan 2008 02:34:37 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2238&iddiary=4338https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2185Summary: Soul Caliber III is a button-mashing fighting game. Your purpose in the game is to beat each new foe as you follow a specific story of the character you chose, all of which revolve around the main story of a special sword named "Soul Edge". As you defeat your opponents more of your story is revealed until you defeat the game. Gameplay: I went into this game with many high expectations, and happily, they were all met. Soul Caliber III is a very fast paced, very fun game. It brings together some of the best elements of different game styles such as, obviously, the mindless button mashing of fighting games, the ease and intuitiveness of platformer games, and the addictive fun of customization from RPG's. I can safely say that the controls in this game are VERY intuitive and easy to learn. I deliberately started the adventure mode without any knowledge of what button did what and half way through my first fight I was consistently pulling off some cool looking, and hard hitting, moves. That being said, it in no way implies that everything is easy to do; even after an hour of playing and having beaten the game, I was still accidently pulling off new moves I didn't know I had, up until the final battle. This type of gameplay is a great example of "easy to learn, hard to master". There is also a story for every character in the game, but the story seems almost like an afterthought. From what I gathered, it seemed as though the developers put stories in to appeal to those gamers who want a more "RPG" experience from the game. Which is totally fine, because along with putting in these stories, they also made it very easy to skip all the text and get right into the fighting. I liked this aspect of the game because it could make the game two different experiences in just one mode, depending on what mood you're in.There were also some less exciting, though still interesting parts of the game where the game would be telling you the stories and all of a sudden, it would ask you which path you would like to take. I thought that that was very interesting because it immediately reminded me of my last gameblog entry on Golden Axe 3, which had the same exact feature, yet Golden Axe is more then 2 decades older then Soul Caliber. (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Sat, 26 Jan 2008 01:47:41.)Sat, 26 Jan 2008 01:33:31 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2185&iddiary=4276https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1780Gameplay: Session #2 OK so I take it back, there is a story story line...sort of...that is literally one line: "Now that you have been released from the curse, go and kill the evil prince and bring back the golden axe!". One short, direct, powerful line. While this story is no Star Wars, it's more then enough to get you going. For my second session I decided to play through the game alone. This seemed to make the game easier to play then with someone else in the beginning, but that notion was quickly tossed out the window once i realized it was the same amount of enemies, but one less fighter. Also, I forgot to mention that throughout the game, there are two different types of animals you can ride once you hit their masters off of their seats. One is a type of lizard/snail with a long distance tongue attack, and the other is a fire-breathing dragon. Both are very helpful once you get on them, but the problem is staying on. All it takes is one normal attack from any enemy and you're knocked off. The animals will only take so much abuse before they run off screen, never to be ridden again...until later in another level, that is. Something else that was only in the single player mode was something that I suppose was part of the story, thought they never go much in to detail about it: every couple of levels has an unofficial boss who is actually one of the four characters you choose in the beginning, possessed by some evil spirit. Once you beat them, a flaming skull rises from their bodies and the character thanks you for your work. I would think that this has something to do with the opening line of the game, but all I can do is assume. I still found the controls to be simple and enjoyable, but the game was noticeably less exciting without some one to talk to while playing it. I quickly became bored of the repetitiveness of the slash'n'hack 'em style gameplay. Design As I mentioned before, there were definitely some very interesting and innovative, for its time period, anyway, elements of this game. These include: The power to decide which path your character will take, multiple times; The ability to knock foes off of their animal vehicles and commandeer them; A special attack system which changes the strength and appearance of your special attack depending on how many "magic potions" you have; And An interactive world where you can break barrels and stones to find items inside. All of these elements together make for a very intriguing and fun game. Even when I was beginning to get bored and tired of the fighting, I would still get excited every time I saw a breakable barrel. And even though I lost more health trying to get on the stupid lizard/snail then it was worth, I still tried every time to get it. Another thing I found interesting was how the game used enemies. It was a sort of snowball effect which made it fun and challenging. As you went through the game, there would be the toughest enemy at the end of the level, as in most games. But what was special about Golden Axe 3 is that after you beat that enemy, you would see him pop up in the next level as a normal enemy. So as you progressed through the game, you would be battling the easy foes, and the medium foes, and the hardest foes all at once. I liked this because it made me feel as though my character was growing in strength and skill, though it did make it quite hard towards the end. If I could pick just one thing to complain about in this game, it would be the depth of perception mechanic in the game. It was just plain HORRIBLE. You couldn't tell if you were standing directly in front of your enemy or slightly behind until you attacked, which, if you weren't in front of your foe, as so often was the case, made you vulnerable to their attacks. This problem caused me many a life and quite a bit of frustration. I got the hang of it by the end of my second session, but I would have preferred it to have been easier to grasp right at the beginning. otherwise, this was a very fun and enjoyable game. Mon, 14 Jan 2008 04:46:13 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1780&iddiary=3569https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1780Summary Golden Axe 3 for the Sega Genesis is a side-scrolling button-masher classic. The game is very simple and straightforward; you pick one of four ripped man-beasts to play as. Each character has their own basic attack combos, consisting of punches and kicks, along with their own special moves. There isn't much of a story to follow, you just keep killing enemies and moving across the screen. Gameplay: 1st Session When I first began playing Golden Axe 3, I was immediately taken back to my childhood. I remember playing these fantastically simple and old-school pixelated characters and right off the bat GA3 scored major points on my awesome-o-meter. I decided to play my first session on multiplayer mode with my friend. The multiplayer mode was very entertaining and moderately difficult. This was both intentional and consequential. The game's enemies, consisting of barbarian women, skeleton dinosaurs, and fat midgets with spears, were moderately difficult on their own. Most were easily and quickly destroyed with the use of one special attack. What made the game consequentially difficult was the fact that you could easily hit your teammate accidentally and, more then often, kill them. Still, I would not criticize the game too much for this aspect because it does add to the strategy of the game. Like I keep saying, the controls are very simple and intuitive. This is definitely a pro of the game. the easy controls made it convenient for my friend and I to converse and joke the entire time of our multiplayer experience. Admittedly, this might have greatly affected my view of the game. Neither the music nor the sound effects were very intriguing, so talking and laughing with my friend definitely would have changed the experience entirely. Something I found very impressive and surprising was the fact that every so often, the game would flash two arrows and allow the players to choose their path. of course, either path will eventually lead to the same end, but i still found that to be a very nice feature. For my next log, I will play the game on single player mode and see if I get the same excitement as the first time. (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Mon, 14 Jan 2008 04:45:52.)Mon, 14 Jan 2008 02:50:44 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1780&iddiary=3552