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Mar 28th, 2012 at 20:51:28 - Spades (Other) |
Social interaction in Spades is one of its most enjoyable elements. Playing against a human component that is actually in the same room as you is very rare in todays world of video games. Being able to see the expressions on their face as they make a bid, play a card, or even when you lay down that ace of spades is priceless.
In my second game of spaces, my team won by 223 points. We played a strategy called double nil. This is where both teams say that there hand is so bad that they can guarantee that they both will not get a single book. The strategy each hand is to play your lowest card or actually the lowest card that you think will guarantee you won't win the hand. One player playing nil is not really hard to do if you have a bad hand because you can work with your partner to make sure they always cover you. Double nil however is the most difficult thing to pull of in spades. You have nobody else to cover you. The other team plays low to try and bust your nil. However if the other team does bust one of your guys nil then that person can start covering their partner. Having said that, my team went double nil and both of us were able to not get a single book. Oh yeah, double nil gives you 200 points.
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Mar 28th, 2012 at 20:36:46 - Spades (Other) |
The gameplay of spades is great. It's a easy game to learn but hard game to master. You play the game with a regular card deck with 52 cards and 4 suits( hearts, diamonds, spades, and clubs). You play spades with 2 teams with 2 players each and each player is dealt 13 cards each. Each turn one player leads by playing a card and each player must play a card of the same suit but of higher value to try to win the suit. Cards are ranked from 2 - 10, jack, queen, kind and ace. If a player doesn't have a card of that suit they can play a spade. Playing a spade trumps all other cards that isn't a spade. If two or more spades are played the higher spade wins.
Another aspect to spades is a team must bid or predict how many hands they will win. This is a skill that is learned and can become a big factor in winning. Once the game is finished, if you have won at least the number of hands you bid then you will get 10 points per hand and 1 point for each additional.
This entry has been edited 1 time. It was last edited on Mar 28th, 2012 at 20:43:54.
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Feb 3rd, 2012 at 20:31:59 - Limbo (PC) |
Thus far, the main conflict that the user faces in the game seems to be a giant spider. When you first encounter the spider he is hiding behind a tree and when you walk up to him he tries to stab you with one of his legs. You have to explore the environment to find out that you must use one of the bear traps to attach his legs when they come after you.
The second encounter that I had with the spider he spun me up into a web like a mummy. I then had to get loose from his spider web, still wrapped in spider web, and hop around the world. I died shortly after freeing myself, which is where I ended the game.
Limbo really shows that 2D games have really evolved and that you don't need 3D games to experience full immersion. The designers were able to create a world that is very intriguing and entices the player into learning more about the story/environment. Their use of sound and visual effects to set the mood is innovative IMO. I have not experienced a game like this before. What I can take away from Limbo for my own game designs is the importance of world mood and how to control the world mood through sound and visual effects.
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Feb 3rd, 2012 at 12:57:58 - Limbo (PC) |
When you start Limbo, you're a kid waking up in the forest. There isn't any instructions or goals defined. You just start trying to figure out what this game is about, but you're intrigued because you're wondering why is this boy waking up in the middle of a forest. Is he lost? It plays on the same emotions that you might of felt the first time you saw Bourne Identity. Why can't Bourne remember anything? Why does he have super-ninja powers? etc.. This makes the player intrigued about the story and motivates them to discover these questions for themselves.
All aspects of the game is exploratory. There is no communication on your goal( which for me is to uncover the story), controls, or mechanics, which I feel adds to the mood of the game. You soon find out that all you can do is go left/right, jump, and do actions on things. These actions are also exploratory. It seems so far that all things that you see in the game( which are not trees or grass ) you can interact with.
So, after you wake up you just start going right to explore and learn more about the game. There is no color in the world, just shades of black/gray. This is also a game you want to put your headphones on for as the sound effects really set the mood.
There are a couple innovative elements in this game including the art style and environment. The art style leaves a lot for the imagination to process itself. You don't really see the boy, just a shadowy figure with white eyes that blink occasionally. Also, because everything is blacked out you have to pay closer attention to the environment to make sure your not fixing to do something that will cause harm to the boy such as drown, step in a bear trap, or get killed by a spider.
The mood set by the game really make this such an awesome game. The visual effects give the player a lot of feedback. For instance, while walking the grass moves and when you land after jumping there is a puff of dust. There is also a flicker for the whole screen like what you would see in a old black and white film, which adds to the whole spookiness of the game.
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Joey Green has been with GameLog for 12 years, 9 months, and 18 days |
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