cberg1's GameLog

Warcraft III -- Frozen Throne (PC) - Thu, 06 Mar 2008 02:42:57

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 02:42:57 CST

Gameplay: While playing the game for the second time around with the gamelog mentality I noticed several different things about my experience. For one, I noticed that the gameplay interaction between players varied greatly from game to game and was very subjective towards the outcome of the game. For example while playing a free for all game between four players, I found on numerous occasions that if threatened and antagonized player both verbally and physically, they would be more prone to change their focus from winning the game to killing me instead regardless of the overall outcome. This is an example of conflict created from challenge. The user is challenged with defeating all players of the game, and makes it personal based upon actions and events enacted during the gameplay. I also found it very interesting how customary and common it was to antagonize players during and before online play. It seemed to me that the game revolved around degrading one's opponents and making them feel inferior to your presence. I am curious if this is the case with most head to head computer games, or this one in particular. Design: Innovation: Unlike most real time strategies and contradictory to what others have said about this game while reviewing it, I found Warcraft III to be very innovative. Sure it is based upon the same principles of any RTS, managing resources and defeating opponents, but it has several different key elements that differentiate it from games of the past and present. For one, the game utilizes the function of a hero unit which has been scarcely seen in RTS games. The hero unit is not dependant on the player's survival, but acts as a cornerstone piece and integral part of the game. Warcraft III successfully combines the elements of an RPG with a real time strategy by making the skills, attributes, and abilities of the hero unit scale with game progression. Another key and innovative feature that warcraft III introduced to players upon its conception is the process of micro-managing units. Games of the past were generally based upon a macro scale of building mass amounts of units and sending them towards enemy units for battle. Warcraft III takes this several steps forwards and requires the player to make instantaneous reactions while engaged in battle to manuever individual units to best defeat their opponents. This is performed in a game of offensive tactics and evasive survival.

Warcraft III -- Frozen Throne (PC) - Thu, 06 Mar 2008 01:52:07

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 01:52:07 CST

Summary: Warcraft III The Frozen Throne is a real time strategy game based upon the hit series Warcraft, by Blizzard Entertainment. The primary mechanic of the game is building units via the use of resources gathered and the leveling of hero unit(s). Gameplay: I am a long-term veteran of this game having played it since its conception to the present and consider it mastered. That being said, I have never taken the time to step back and consider the game for what it is: at neither the game play or the level design. Having played numerous other real time strategy games, I find that Warcraft III is both original, innovative, and standardized. Original in that it has its well developed campaign and plot line, innovative in that it utilizes a hero unit who gains experience as units are killed (as seen in RPGS) while at the same time maintaining the RTS experience, and finally standardized because it meets the requirements and standards of the common RTS that relies on the building of units and buildings via the management of resources. When finally taking the time to analyze the game for what it is in my gameplay experience I noticed several things. For one, while playing the game I found the intensity and stress level of the game to be very high. Every action I took had to be as efficient and effective as possible, otherwise I would mentally penalize myself for my mistakes. Furthermore, I noticed the expansive emerseivness of the game. For each game played, there were always countless strategies and possibilities to be used and I always found new and interesting ways to handle the challenges/conflicts that confronted me.

Super Smash Brothers (N64) - Fri, 22 Feb 2008 12:43:12

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 12:43:12 CST

This installment of gameplay will focus on the multiplayer aspects of Super Smash Brothers. Gameplay: So I decided to kick things off in the morning with a good old fashion roommate brawl in a friendly game of Super Smash Brothers. Myself and my three roommates all sat down on the couch, grabbed the n64 controllers and prepared ourselves for one of the greatest tests of male dominance and masculinity: FREE FOR ALL! Needless to say, the game was an instant hit, and our competitive nature began to show as we immersed ourselves in the game's magic circle. I found my roommates and I bantering back and forth to one another each time a significant attack or death was made, heightening the gameplay experience. Emotions were invoked in our gameplay experience, causing us to cry out in pain and earnest as our avatar was pushed off a cliff to die, or cheer with glee, basking in the glory of victory. One interesting aspect of the game was how despite playing the game in its make believe context, real life stakes were made throughout the gameplay. For example, players would strike deals with eachother based upon the state of the game, and justify those deals based on a player's real life actions. For instance, my roommate Scott would say to my other roommate, "Matt, attack Travis not me, remember how he broke your ipod?" Also, players would make alliances with each other to gang up on another person, adding a sense of real life insult and unfairness, since no one likes being ganged up on. Design: Innovation: The first of its kind to my knowledge, combining a 2D fighting style game with 3D and adding multiple player compatibility, to create a unique and multiplayer based game. Creation of Conflict: Conflict is created in several different ways. For the single player, conflict is created during the game progression as the player escalates from level to level with a noticeable increase of difficulty at each stage. The designers created the game in such a way that the player would feel that they are escalating towards something epic by the end of the game, much like in a 2D shooter. One thing that the design of the single player campaign lacks however, is both depth and variety. The amount of stages are limited, and the levels all have the same basic principles of, seek and destroy your enemy using the same moves. This isn't to say that all the levels are the same, because they are not and each have their own unique feel, but rather that the levels all share common characteristics and don't challenge the player's intuition. The second way conflict is created is by the players themselves, in response to the gameworld rules. Depending on what the limitations of the game setting is in multiplayer (time limit, amount of lives, amount of hit points, etc) determines the type of conflict the players create. For instance, in a game with time limit for the most kills, player will be frantically rushing to defeat their opponents as fast as possible. In quite a different manner, if players are given a set amount of lives, they will be much more reserved, and avoid fighting with eachother in order to preserve themselves until the end. Reward Structure: The reward structure is designed very well for this game. The single player campaign allows the user to unlock certain special avatars (and levels) that can be played later in the game, depending on the user's performance in the campaign. I found this aspect of the game to be very rewarding, as earning the right to play a "secret" character who just happens to be another one of your favorite nintendo characters is very satisfying. Changes, Frustrations, Thoughts: Overall this is a great game to play with friends, maybe not so much for single player though. Single player is still fun beating one or two times through, but due to its brevity, I found it a little boring after running through it multiple times. The multiplayer is designed fantastically, constantly creating new forms of conflict and new elements of emergence needed to defeat your foes. If I could change anything about the game, the only thing I would change would be to add more depth to its single player, that is all.

Super Smash Brothers (N64) - Fri, 22 Feb 2008 03:37:18

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 03:37:18 CST

Summary: Super Smash Brothers for the Nintendo 64 is a crossover fighting game and is the first of a three part series. The player or players choose between one of several different familiar Nintendo characters, and battle it out in multiple settings and scenarios. The game utilizes both single player and multiplayer alike, with a particularly large appeal towards multiplayer. Furthermore, the single player is brought into Gameplay: I decided to break my playing experience into two separate sections, one involving the single play aspect and the other involving the multiplayer aspects. This gamelog will focus on the single player and the latter will focus on the multiplayer aspects. For starters, I think that this is a great game. The single player scenario depth and level progression is somewhat lacking, but the gameplay experience by far makes up for it. There are about ten or so levels on the single player mode, with a scalable difficulty. Each level takes about 5-10 minutes to complete resulting in a relativlely fast game completion if played well. Despite the limitations of AI gameplay and built in scenarios, It is very enjoyable to be able to play as your favorite nintendo character and kick some 3D butt. I particularly enjoyed the diverse abilities that each character has, as well as the multiple characters classes to choose from. During my progression I found that various tactics and strategies could be used (very close to exploits) to defeat the computer AI. This is most likely due in part to the limits of the current technology at the time the game was produced; and I didn't seem to mind it much while playing the game. Another aspect of the game that I particularly enjoyed was the break in mission types that occurred in between fight scenarios. As I progressed through the game, I would be challenged with these intermission games that would test my skills over various different levels. For instance one trial would test my ability to jump from platform while another would test my ability to run quickly while evading obstacles. I particularly enjoyed this breaks from the all out brawl of smashing my opponents into oblivion and it added a nice aspect to the game progression.

Team Fortress 2 (PC) - Sat, 09 Feb 2008 00:19:03

Sat, 09 Feb 2008 00:19:03 CST

Game Log #2 By: Collin Berg Gameplay: One thing I noticed about Team Fortress 2, is that most servers have a built in respawn time of around 16 seconds after the player dies. I found this to be quite cumbersome and annoying. It is very frustrating to be killed by one of your opponents and have to sit and waste 16 seconds of your time waiting when all you want to do is get revenge. However, this may be a necessary evil. If the players do not have a respawn timer, the game would be very difficult to complete, because the players would be at a stalmate, constantly dying and respawning, preventing either of the teams from completing the objective. If I were to improve upon this game, I would try to give the player some sort of use for that necessary 16 second time. The time wouldn't have to be spent in a manner related to the overall game, but rather make the player still feel that they are kept busy. One solution could be having the dead players compete in a minigame vs each other similar to what you would see in mario party, or something along those lines. Overall I would rate this as one of my top games of all time. It has a diverse and complex character class system, appealing aesthetics, good level design, and provides a compelling platform for player to player competition which is where I thrive. Call it my internet masculinity, or maybe my ego, but whatever it is, this game provides me the opportunity to achieve high amounts of satisfaction when dominating over my fellow gamers. Many things in life seem to be a competition between rivals and this game enables that primal instinct and transforms it into the fun game that I am writing about. Design: Level Design: The layout of each of the levels is well thought out and balanced. No team has a clear advantage based upon their environment when competing against the opposing team. The levels tend to be symmetrical on the Capture the flag modes, and on the capture point/terrain modes, each team has an opportunity to play offensively and defensively. Game of emergence: For being a first person shooter, this game has a surprising amount of depth and complexity as a game of emergence. One thing I noticed while playing was that I could constantly create new techniques and styles of play to complete my objectives with each class. For instance, instead of playing the traditional role as a sniper who lays back and fires from a distance, I found it entertaining and challenging to go on the offense and shoot enemies with my sniper rifle without using the scope, and then proceeding to mow them down with my machete. Various other tactics can be utilized with each character class making this game have a lot of depth to it. Reward Structure: The game sets performance based goals for its players, giving them incentives to perform in a certain manner, or play to a certain extent. For example, players are given an achievement when they have the best score for the certain character class at the end of the round. This built in reward system hooks players into playing the game more, and makes the user feel like they are playing to achieve a greater goal.

Team Fortress 2 (PC) - Fri, 08 Feb 2008 21:25:18

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 21:25:18 CST

Game Log Written by: Collin Berg Game Title: Team Fortress 2 Summary: Team Fortress 2 is the sequel to the renowned game Team Fortress Classic which was based on the half life engine. Team Fortress 2 is a first person shooter designed on the Half life 2 Source platform. It explores similar concepts to its predecessor, allowing players to join one of two teams and battle each other toward victory. There are several different team battle types, one is capture the flag, another is capture point, and a third is territory control. Furthermore, players have the capability of creating their own maps and hosting them on a server for other to players to play on. Gameplay: Having been an avid gamer of the original Half-life series (Half life, Counter-strike, Day of Defeat and Team Fortress Classic), I heavily anticipated the release of the orange box (a Team Fortress 2 Bundle). With high expectations, and giddy excitement, I loaded up the game for the first time and entered the magic circle that would rock my world. Nostalgic ecstasy I think best describes my initial thoughts and feelings for the game. Fond memories of a time long passed flooded back into my mind of blazes of gunfire and glory that can only be experienced in a gameworld such as this. Saturated in euphoria, I savoured every head shot I scored as a sniper, relished every time I backstabbed someone, and cheered whenever I captured the enemy flag (intelligence). Feelings aside, I particularly like several things about the game. One was the unique class list to choose from. There are nine classes to choose from, almost always guaranteeing the user the capability to become their own unique entity(From what I've experienced, users like their avatar to be one of a kind and be differentiated from their peers when playing games and Team Fortress 2 enables that). Each class has unique weapons, abilities and serves a different but essential role in the challenge for victory over the opposing team. Another thing I liked about the game was the skins created for the character avatars and levels. The skins are designed to look like cartoony retro military outfits as seen in older movies of Hollywood. This brings a sense of nostalgia to the user as well as a sense of mischief, acting as military personnel attempting to steal the opposing team's flag (called intelligence).

Chrono Trigger (SNES) - Fri, 25 Jan 2008 21:48:29

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 21:48:29 CST

Well that's fustrating! If you spend too much time writing your gamelog, when you try to add it the site will prompt u to log in and your written information will be lost... It's a good thing I checked or I would have never known... So here goes, second time around, this will be a lot shorter since I now have a time limit. Gameplay: So I finally figured out how to get the quest line moving. I had to trigger the event of moving the guards out of my way so that I could speak with and find my friend by talking to a random dude at the fair. Great, I wasted a good amount of my gameplay time exploring every nook and cranny of the accessible gameworld only to find that all I needed to do was talk to that guy. Here is a timeline of the goose chase I went through because the game didn't have a clear enough quest line for me: talk to mom who tells me to find my friend->explore the every house of the game and every respective room-> find my friend's house only to find that she isn't there-> talk to her mom who tells me to go to the fair that I had already visited-> talk to everyone in the fair-> get the guards to move out of my way-> find and talk to my friend. As you can see, I wasted a lot of time doing footwork and talking with people when all I really wanted to do was get out there and start killing monsters! Just kidding, I'm not a violent person... Once I finally got the game moving, things started brightening up a bit for me, and I enjoyed the experience more than I had been. I entered my first dungeon , found some sweet items, and killed my first boss (which was actually a lot harder than I thought it would be). Surprising to myself, I actually liked the turn based combat system that I was playing, and was extremely satisfied with the massive amounts of damage and cool abilities I was using. Design: Some parts of the game were designed magnificently while others were lacking. For one, I really like the way the game world made me feel. It was designed in such a way that I felt that I was part of a limitless world and could explore many different regions of space within it (mainly every forest, house, room, and cranny). Also, the user feels that they have an impact on the environment and are given a sense of time. For example, the guards that were initially blocking my path told me that an event was being set up and that I should come back in a little while to get past. Of course all I had to do was talk to the right person to trigger the event, but it still gave me the sense of passing time. Another example is when I was exploring the gameworld I came across a broken bridge. The guard that was standing by told me that it had been destroyed in a battle and would be repaired after a certain amount of time, signifying that as I advanced through the game, new content would be unlocked and the environment would change. What I didn't like about the game was its lack of direction. I felt that as soon as I started, I was given a vague set of instructions by my mother and was supposed to figure everything out from there. I went through hoops figuring out what to do from there, and wasted most of my gameplay time messing around doing nothing. I believe that the designers of the game assumed that many of its players were RPG vets and didn't need to explain the game mechanics of problem solving and controls. Lucky for me I randomly stumbled upon a soldier who taught me the mechanics of fighting, but it was merely by chance that I went upstairs in the random room to talk to him. Another bothersome aspect of the game design was that it rewarded the user for excessively exploring. On the surface that seems like a good idea: encourage the user to extract every ounce of dialogue and see every corner of the game, but quite frankly I have better things to do. I just wanted to move along the story line, but instead, I felt compelled by some instinctual impulse to visit every unexplored room and path available to make sure I didn't miss out on my next sword upgrade. The game should have had most of its rewards come with quest line progression for the casual gamer, instead of for the over acheiving gamer. Finally, the combat system was designed well. Party members and the main character can work together to perform special, highly effective attacks. You don't see that much anymore in today's games, and I think that it would be seen as innovative and highly successful for a game to reward its players for working together to perform successive actions in sync. Overall a good game, has its kinks, but hey, its old.

Chrono Trigger (SNES) - Fri, 25 Jan 2008 13:54:57

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 13:54:57 CST

a Collin Berg Game log Game: Chronotrigger Summary: Chronotrigger is a classic RPG game for the SNES. It is set in 2D from a birds eye view of the gameworld, that zooms in and out depending on the situation. The user starts out alone in the gameworld but acquires companions along the way who help him/her throughout their adventures. The combat system is turn based for the most part and the user can choose between different attacks and abilities learned while adventuring, to destroy his/her enemies. Gameplay: Wow, where to begin. Let's see... Well first of all, I had never played this game before but had heard many things about it when SNES was the system to have (sadly my parents never bought me one ;) . I must say, I had my doubts starting this game because I have gone back and played old games before that I used to think were awesome, and been sorely disappointed when compared with today's standards. Fortunately for me though, the game is far more advanced than I had expected! From the minute I entered the world, my intelligence was challenged. I was thrown into a house, where I met my mother who told me to find some girl. Well... thats great, but I don't even know how to leave my house. And by the way, I got to name my "friend" whatever I wanted which is awesome, so of course I chose a dirty word that fit in perfectly with the dialogue making me giggle. Finally, when I figured out how to exit the box that had contained me (don't judge me for having problems >_<), I was put into a birds eye view of an entire city and country side. At this point I was overwhelmed by the gameworld, which I should have been, because I soon found out that it was easy to go astray. The very first building in the gameworld that I entered turned out to be the fair which got me very distracted because it was full of great content. I was doing soda chugging contests, dancing with natives, watching a foot race and so much more. Out of the 45 minutes that I was supposed to spend playing this game, I felt like I got nowhere, but at the same time it was time well spent. Everything was rich with dialogue, and the atmosphere was very immersive. Overall, a good first experience.

BioShock (360) - Mon, 14 Jan 2008 17:18:27

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 17:18:27 CST

Bioshock: Log #2 Gameplay: As before, the game continues to keep me on the edge of my seat. For some reason prior to playing this game I had the misconception that it would be cartoony and silly, judging from the aqua man in an underwater drilling suit on the cover of the game, but after playing it for 2 and a half hours I realize that I was under a huge misconception. I like the controls of the game because they are similar to other first person shooters, however I find myself excessively spamming the E button, which is used to open and close objects as well as pick up items. It seems like there are items everywhere and is a pain to run around every single room clicking the E button. I feel that if I miss an item, I will be at a disadvantage, and therefore have to spend a lot of my timing running alongside every side of the wall and searching all the corners of the rooms. One of the things that makes this game appealing, along with many other new FPS, is the physics engine the game uses. Most people like being able to pick up objects in the room (as seen in Bioshock) and throw them at enemies, causing explosions and intense pain to enemies. Design: Wow, this game has some great dynamics to it. Instead of mindlessly running around and killing monsters as seen in many other first person shooters, Bioshock makes the player think and use his or her surroundings to solve puzzles to further advance in the game. This gives the game appeal to those who enjoy aiming and firing, as well as cunning and problem solving. One instance of this that I came across during my travels, was finding a way to break into a dentist office that had been sealed off by a leakage of water that had frozen into ice. I couldn't hack and slash my way through with a wrench as I expected, but instead had to use my pyrotechnic powers to melt through the ice. Another aspect that I enjoy about this game is the element of surprise it has. One minute I will be reading up on a new skill that I have just gained and then turn around to find a crazed dentist with a drill and scalpel 1 foot away from me. Bioshock does a really good job using the surrounding elements to enhance the effect of the game. For instance, while in the frozen over dentist office, an icy haze floods the room from above, obscuring everything from view. The next thing I know, several monsters emerge from the mist causing me to flinch into convulsion. The player stays interested because surprising new events like this are always happening, and the story continues to unfold, revealing new sadists for the player to destroy.

BioShock (360) - Mon, 14 Jan 2008 14:23:26

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 14:23:26 CST

Bioshock Game Log: First impressions after playing and starting the game for the first time. Summary: Bioshock is a first person shooter that begins its story with the user swimming amidst a plain crash in the middle of an ocean. The user's intuition is to swim away from the wreckage towards a partially submerged building in the ocean. Upon entering the building, the user goes down an elevator into an isolated city that was developed during the 1950's and 60's. The user soon finds out that the city's inhabitants have become infected by some sort of scientifically developed biological disease and must fight his way through the city to complete various objectives. The user can choose between various guns that he finds within the city, or use an injected steroid to cast magic like spells. Gameplay: From the moment I started playing this game I loved it. Right at the get-go I was thrown into action, having to swim my way through a burning pile of wreckage. The story is great, because it is unique and interesting. Every detail within the city is concurrent with the idea that the city was developed during the 1960's; examples of this include the revolver pistols, tommy-guns, baby carriages, and ominous voices coming from the radio. Another thing that I really enjoy about the game so far, is how engaging it is. Exploring a partially abandoned underwater city with zombie like creatures around every corner keeps me scared and on my toes, but I like it! At this point I am still a bit confused as to where this game is going. My character is exploring a hostile city filled with sadistic creatures, when what he should be doing is going back to the surface and waiting for a rescue boat. This leads me to believe that my character is one of two things: either really stupid, or a badass with no fear. At intense moments of the game I find myself wishing I can turn back, but the plot keeps moving me forward. (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Mon, 14 Jan 2008 15:31:00.)