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Jan 31st, 2007 at 15:16:34 - Super Smash Brothers (N64) |
Game Log #3 Session 2
For my second gaming session, I focused more of the gameplay aspects of SSB. Competing between my friends in this game session allowed for me to notice how much a different the gameplay mechanics of SSB made this game unique. In my previous post, I intended to mention that the damage system is one of the most important aspects of the gameplay and is the primary reason the game stands out from the rest. Instead of having a static health bar where once your health is depleted, you die, SSB implements a percentage system where simply inflicting a lot of damage does not necessarily mean death. In order for a character to die, one must force the character outside the boundaries of the screen. Once this boundary is reached, the player is KO’ed and the higher the percentage of damage, it easier it is to accomplish this goal.
Another crucial aspect to SSB is the implementation of items that fall during the battles. These items are nostalgic to the Nintendo world and vary from the classic mushroom to the often “cheap” DK hammer. These items can usually change the tides of war because a specific item can inflict massive amount of damage to one or more characters at a time. Playing with my friends, who are all of the same level of expertise in this game, found the items to be unfair because it did not measure the amount of skill, but instead luck to whoever found the item first. Instead, we began to battle without items and found the game to be ultimately more enjoyable and fair.
Finally, one of the other important aspects of the game are the stages. Each character has a stage that has allows for different affordances which can also change the tides of war. For example, Donkey Kong’s stage contains bullet barrels where a character can essentially be saved if they jump into a canon and fly back on the fighting level. One of the drawbacks of the multiplayer however, as with all multiplayer games, is that one character can essentially refrain from fighting and watch from a distance while everyone else battles and kills each other.
This entry has been edited 1 time. It was last edited on Jan 31st, 2007 at 15:17:18.
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Jan 31st, 2007 at 14:17:55 - Super Smash Brothers (N64) |
Game Log #3 Session 1
For my third game logging session, I chose to play Super Smash Brothers for the Nintendo 64. I have played this game before back when it was released in 1999. My friends and me were absolutely addicted to the multiplayer aspect of the game. For this session, I found it interesting to examine why indeed this game was so addicting and what made it so unique from other fighting games. Not only did the game bring in old time favorite characters like Mario, Link, and Samus, but also these characters were in a completely new context of game play, fighting each other. Also, in light of the lecture given by professor Whitehead on Monday, the narrative storyline for this game seemed ambiguous as the shmups. Never noticing the lack of narrative focus, the game just seemed to have thrown a random situation where the Nintendo characters enter some sort of dream world. It is still unclear to me why they are fighting and what they are fighting for, which makes SSB abstract and decontextualized , the same way the classic shmups were.
Another aspect that this game seemed to have in common with shmups is that SSB is very easy to learn. There are no complex control combinations like a quarter rotation and a button to execute a fireball; there are buttons that are set exclusively to execute these moves easily. In contrast, there are only simple combinations like holding forward and a button so execute power attacks. However, once this game is learned, it is quite difficult to master in the way that 4-player multiplayer is quite unpredictable and spontaneous.
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Jan 19th, 2007 at 17:12:57 - Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES) |
Game Log #2 Session 2
In my second session, I teleported to world 2 to obtain the last of the warp whistles. I planned this in advanced because I wanted to go all the way to world 8. In world 2, I was faced with the same choices of avoiding certain levels to progress in the game. I also noticed that the raccoon suit and the flower suit have to be strategically used in order to make the progression in the game easier. For example, the choice between these two suits is important because only certain villains can be destroyed by wagging your raccoon tail. It is a very interesting aspect of the game that I find to be executed very well.
After obtaining the last warp whistle from the hammer head brothers in world 2, I teleported all the way to world 8. Skipping all the way to the end was interesting because the level design and difficulty has changed dramatically. What seemed to be a fairly easy task of completing stages in world 1 quickly was now quite difficult. The level design in world 8 consists of a controlled side-scrolling movement. Although the side-scrolling is slow, it manages to make the level ultimately tricky because of the many objects from bullet, bones, and balls shooting out from Bowser’s ship filled with cannons.
In conclusion, the level design is great because it is consistent with the level of progression from easy to difficult. The choices the player has in the “linear” narrative are quite constrained although the player can choose to avoid many stages. It is amazing how a game that utilizes only two buttons can manage to be so entertaining and challenging. This is definitely a game that succeeds at allowing almost anyone to pick up the control, learn quickly and play.
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Jan 19th, 2007 at 15:03:32 - Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES) |
Game Log #2 Session 1
For this game log, I chose to play Super Mario Brothers 3 for the Nintendo Entertainment System. First off, I remember playing this game when it was released back in 1990. It found that it took a while to get the hang of this 2D side scroller since it has been awhile. I also noticed that the game was a little more difficult than I remembered. Perhaps it is because I found myself rushing through the levels and thinking I was invincible (I mean this game was aimed towards younger kids).
As for the level design of the game, the worlds are laid out in a pretty linear fashion with the choice of opting out of completing certain levels. For example, in world 1, a player can choose to avoid levels 3 and 4 and go completely to level 5 after finishing level 2. However, by not completing level 3 or 4, the player cannot access the bonus mushroom level where the player can gain an upper hand in future levels by storing bonus items in their inventory. The levels themselves are pretty straightforward with a lot of flexibility. A player can just choose to zoom through a level and complete it or fully complete it by collecting all the coins, mashing all the blocks, and looking for tunnels to go through. So far, the experience playing in world 1 is still quite entertaining and I find is another game that will always be engaging in some way.
Finally, in this session, I would like to blog about the music. I think that the midi-like music complements the game very well and is indeed very catchy. I also find that music is a very important aspect to video game design in that it creates a unique environment that makes the game stand out on its own.
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jegmarqu has been with GameLog for 17 years, 10 months, and 13 days |
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