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Feb 7th, 2008 at 17:33:39 - Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES) |
Gamelog #3
Entry #2
Gameplay:
When I first started playing round two, I could tell I was a little rusty after not playing for a few days, as if I had forgotten every thing I had learned. After a little while, however, I was able to get farther than the first time I had played in a shorter amount of time with fewer deaths. Although I am getting into the flow of video games a bit more, I still prefer board games. I do not think it has anything to do with being able to play them better and winning (I do not have very good luck with board games), but I really like them. I think it may be a different kind of social interaction. With video games, there may be talking among the players, but everyone is staring at the television screen because if something is missed, the player may die. However, with board games I feel there is more face-to-face interaction. Instead of lined up in front of the TV, players circle around a board and a player will not instantly die if they look up from the board at another player and miss a move. I do not know if this is exactly it, but it is something to consider.
When I mentioned to my friend that I do not have as much fun playing video games as I think I should, she said it was something the culture we are raised in teaches us we should enjoy, but that she does not care for video games either. I had never thought of it that way. Each time I check out a new game, my apartment mates get so excited. They all want to play and are so jealous that I get to play for homework. I, on the other hand, look to the game playing with a bit of distaste. I much prefer spending my time designing and building the game for our project.
Design:
I fond it interesting that the music in Zelda bothered me, but I did not find the music in SMB3 as bad. I do not know why that would be because it is still the same thing repeated over and over. I liked how the music was able to set some of the atmospheric mood. At one point when a friend was playing, it was not even necessary to see what was on the screen to know when he had entered a dramatic level and there was danger that may jump out at any moment. Many of the outside levels had lighter, more upbeat music that were relatively indistinguishable. Inside the castle, though, with lava and spiraling fireballs the music was much more serious.
When I first started playing the game, I did not realize that it was a race against the clock. If there had not been an audio indicator when time was running out, I never would have noticed that there was a clock at the bottom of the screen. I was much too focused on trying not to die to pay attention to the rest of the screen. I think the audio indicator is a marvelous idea for this game. Players are likely to become so absorbed that they forget to check how much time is left. If the clock were the only indicator of remaining time, I am sure many players would lose their lives due to careless inattention.
Something I fond odd about the structure of this game was that once a level had been completed, the player could not go back and replay it during that game. They would have to completely died and restart the game to do the level again. That seems like a poor design feature to me because if a player likes one specific level, they may want to play it repeatedly. However, there really is not much to do in each level and there is a time limit so it seems a little pointless to play the same level multiple times.
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Feb 5th, 2008 at 11:22:23 - Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES) |
Gamelog #3
Entry #1
Summary:
Super Mario Brothers 3 (SMB3) is a single or multiplayer platformer in the Super Mario Series. As Mario (or Luigi), a player passes through multiple levels within each of eight worlds. At the end of the first seven worlds, Mario confronts Koopalings (Browser’s children) and retrieves the wands of the kings of seven worlds. In the eighth world, Mario discovers that the stolen wands were a distraction by Browser so he could kidnap Princess Peach, and so Mario must rescue the princess. Throughout the game coins are collected for points and enemies are most often defeated by jumping on them.
Gameplay:
Although the story line of SMB3 is very basic, it is a classic. As broad as stories have become for video games, Mario and Luigi continue to reappear (for example, even the Wii has Super Mario Galaxy). Princess Peach will always need saving, and Mario and Luigi will be there to get the job done. These characters and others in the game have become cultural symbols (appearing on lunch boxes, backpacks, and clothes) shaping the standards by which we judge all other games.
I enjoyed playing SMB3 and actually noticed myself learning tricks to the game. After several rounds of repeated deaths, I finally started to pick up on the necessary timing, or required speed to make a jump or defeat an enemy. I particularly enjoyed the power-up of acquiring the raccoon tail that slows falls and may also be used as a weapon. I knew I was supposed to be able to fly (or at least slowly fall) when I had the tail, but I still lost my life several times before a friend pointed out how to fly. He was also the one who told me that the spinning maneuver I discovered was a defensive technique. I am sure it would have taken me twice as long to figure these things out if he had not helped.
I started each new level out very poorly, and often lost all my lives forcing me to start the entire game over completely. This became discouraging at times; however, as I continued I was able to see progress. Reaching a new level was very rewarding (not only in receiving valuable cards, but also as a sense of personal accomplishment) and motivated me to continue playing. Video games have never held a deep sense of fascination for me; I am taking this class in an attempt to understand the draw other people feel to them. SMB3 has done a better job conveying this phenomenon than any other game I have played so far.
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Jan 20th, 2008 at 19:48:56 - Mario Party (N64) |
Entry #2
Gameplay:
I enjoyed my second round of Mario Party much more than my first. The company was just as great (mostly the same people), but I did not feel as lost in the games. Instead of going down to the Mini-game Stadium, we went to DK’s Jungle Adventure. This board made much more sense to me because we were not going around the same path over and over again. There were intersections where we had to choose which direction we wanted to go, hazards in the form of Browser and rolling boulders, and a clear goal of collecting stars and coins to earn the golden bananas. Even though several of the mini-games were the same as before, I had less trouble with them this time. There was less confusion because I had seen them before and I had a better idea of what was supposed to happen.
In this round, there were only three of us playing so the computer played the fourth role. We still felt like the computer had an unfair advantage even when we made the computer play on a more difficult level, so as a group we decided to gang up on the computer. We always rooted against the computer almost as though a common enemy created a stronger bond between us. Whenever ghosts gave us the option we stole coins and even stars from the computer. We were all very happy when the computer did not finish in first place.
Design:
I found I had problems with the view in many of the mini-games. In the racing game, Slot Car Derby, the view was back far enough so the whole track could be seen, but I found that the avatars were too small because of this and I could not always keep track of which one was mine. The view of the diving game, Treasure Divers, also caused problems because the screen would zoom in only to encompass the avatars. This made it so when a player was diving you were unable to see the location of the treasure chests. It is difficult for players to figure out which way to go because of this. Only when they reached the edge of the screen did the view zoom out to encompass more area. There must be a medium between these two extremes, and I hope I will be able to find it for my game.
With time, two other features of the game began to wear on my friends and me simply because they were always the same. At first, the music is okay, upbeat and almost unnoticed. After a while, however, it becomes annoying hearing the same thing repeatedly, especially when we would take a break and there is no variation. It did not occur to us at the time to put the TV on mute, but it would be nice if there were a wider variation so we would not want to mute it. The animation of moving Toad, on both DK’s Jungle Adventure and Yoshi’s Tropical Island, was the same every time he moved. Both my roommate and I got tired of watching it. It does not take that long to run through it, but it would be nice if there were a way to cut around it. When the game is first starting, there is dialogue between all the characters. If you have heard it before, it is possible to skip by pressing “Start.” It would be nice if there were a feature similar to this for the repeat animations.
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Jan 19th, 2008 at 23:29:26 - Mario Party (N64) |
Gamelog #2
Entry #1
Summary:
Mario Party is a board game style video game designed for one to four players. Contrary to many board games, the goal is not to be the first person around the board, but to collect as many stars and coins while traveling the board. Coins are earned by landing on certain spaces (blue) or winning mini-games. They may also be lost by landing on red spaces or loosing mini-games. Stars may be bought for twenty coins or stolen from other players. The player with the most stars at the end wins. Ties are broken by the number of coins players have.
Gameplay:
My first expedition through Mario Party was down into the Mini-Game Stadium. I had never played before, but my friends assured me there was nothing to it. I enjoyed games such as Shy Guy Says and Bombs Away, but did not care for Platform Peril and Bash ‘n’ Crash. In Bash ‘n’ Crash, I had trouble moving my character around and felt like I was just moving in circles. In Platform Peril, I fell early and wanted another try, but this game does not allow that. I suspect I just need more practice with both of these. I felt that with Shy Guy Says and Bombs Away less experience is necessary with video games to be successful, and so they are friendlier for beginners. A fair number of games in the stadium had a dominant streak of luck however. At one point in our journey around the board, I was in the lead, but I felt it was undeserved. I had not really done anything; it was pure chance. I suppose this is not a bad feature for a game. This way almost everyone has a chance to be in the lead at some point; however, I felt that it would have been more satisfying if I had actually earned the lead.
The game itself I could just as easily leave than play. There are other games I have found much more engrossing, however I thoroughly enjoyed the social network that formed while playing this game. I get along with my apartment mates and talk to them frequently, but we rarely do anything together. I invited them to play with me and everyone had a wonderful time. There was comforting of those who lost mini-games and reassurance to those who become frustrated by the sheer random chance of the game. We had to take turns playing because there were not enough controllers for everyone, yet even the spectators were very involved. Everyone hurried back after our food break and there were a few intense discussions over the outcome of a few games. Although I am hoping for a more enjoyable experience with the actual game in my next session, I could not hope for better company.
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Allison has been with GameLog for 16 years, 10 months, and 10 days |
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