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Jan 26th, 2007 at 21:17:40 - Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64) |
This is the Second Log for Ocarina of Time. Once again I added the class late so this is for last weeks assignment.
As I continue to play Ocarina of Time I am beginning to notice a few things about it. Most significantly I've notice the segmentation of the gameplay in Ocarina is a combination of Narrative segmentation with many aspects of Challenge segmentation. It is a game of Progression and the narrative is what drives the game and segments it. However, within this narrative there are various “temples” and when you are in a temple the game becomes a game of challenge segmentation. I am enjoying the game a little more now that I’ve almost adjusted to the dated graphics, but it’s still difficult for me to enjoy the gameplay after having played the later games in the Zelda Series. I have also noticed that the newest Zelda installment, The Twilight Princess, is almost exactly like this with a semi-different plot. I’ve noticed that the new game makes many references to Ocarina of Time that I am just now understanding. I am excited to see how this game turns out.
This entry has been edited 1 time. It was last edited on Jan 26th, 2007 at 21:18:54.
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Jan 24th, 2007 at 04:17:24 - Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64) |
Since I did just recently join the class this is my first entry for the second gamelog assignment, from the classics:
I have decided to play The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. I have had the Nintendo 64 game on a promotional Zelda disc for the gamecube, but have never gotten around to playing it. Though I did play a lot of 64 when I was younger, I never got into the Zelda series. The first Zelda game I ever played was Windwaker, and it remains one of the most enjoyable video game experiences of my life. Since then I have been eagerly anticipating the arrival of Twilight Princess, and have begun playing that as well. Now that you know my Zelda background you can probably understand that I had a rather different experience with Ocarina of Time than most people who played it when it initially came out. When I played Windwaker everything was new to me: the storyline, the gameplay, the items, etc. But as I play Ocarina I realize all the stuff I loved in Windwaker were just updated versions of Ocarina. Suddenly I have a depreciated view of the series. Don’t get me wrong, I love playing these games, but I feel that the Zelda games following Ocarina aren’t as “original” as they should be: many aspects are reused over and over again. Also, it is difficult to go backwards. What I’m sure would have been sensational graphics and gameplay to me 10 years ago, now seem so primitive compared to the newer Zelda’s and I’m finding it quite difficult to adjust to what I, unfortunately, view as a dated version of Windwaker and Twilight Princess. I will, however, look past that and focus on a few key aspects of the game that initially struck me.
First, I noticed the “lock-on targeting” form of gameplay, a feature I believe is original to this game. You are actually able the lock onto an enemy and move around them while keeping them in your sights, this was revolutionary at the time and became a standard in all future Zelda games. Second, the narrative seems to follow a very distinct pattern, one repeated in future games in the series. There is usually an item Link (the main character) must obtain. It is usually in three pieces scattered across the game world. Each piece is usually inside a temple in which you have to solve various puzzles and kill a number of enemies (often a mini-boss) and eventually find and defeat the main “boss” of the temple, at which point the boss will give you a piece of whatever it is you’re trying to assemble. The use of a “boss” is a classic video game element and the Legend of Zelda series uses it very well. I will continue playing and see what else strikes me.
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Jan 24th, 2007 at 03:34:46 - Wii Sports (Wii) |
I just entered this class, so this is my game log for the FIRST assignment:
When I first picked up a Nintendo Wii controller I had no idea what to expect. I had read a lot about the system but it was hard for me to fully comprehend how it would work. I had this feeling that it was too good to be true, that there had to be number of flaws. As most every new Wii owner has probably done, I chose the game Wii Sports to be my first experience on the system. Almost immediately I realized that the Wii Sports game was not exactly a video game, but was designed more as a demo to show the various functions of the revolutionary wireless, movement sensitive Wii controller. In the game you are able to play five sports: tennis, baseball, bowling, golf, and boxing. For my first time with the game I chose to only play two of the sports: tennis and baseball. The first sport I played was baseball. Once I got past the cheesy graphics (which were not a main part of the game’s allure) I was absolutely astonished and just how well the Wii controller worked. I held it like a baseball bat, and moved it like a baseball bat. If I moved the controller in circles the bat would move in circles. If I swung hard or soft the bat would do the same. I immediately felt that video games had reached a new era and saw, through this minimal baseball “demo,” the possibilities for future Wii games. I also began experimenting with controller movements and learned that by simply flicking my wrist from a tilted up position to a tilted down position, the game would read it as a swing of the bat.
The other Wii sports game I played in this first session was tennis. This seems to be a popular favorite among many Wii Sports players. It’s quite simple really. You are not in control of the characters movement around the court, only the direction and timing of their swing. The character automatically moves toward the ball and it is up to you to either swing at it normally or backhand it. The timing of your swing and the power you put into it are the main variables in the gameplay.
In this initial session I have focused almost entirely on the gameplay, and in Wii Sports the gameplay is pretty much all it has going for it. This game is definitely worth playing and is a perfect showcase of the Wii’s revolutionary gameplay.
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gnuanes has been with GameLog for 17 years, 7 months, and 26 days |
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