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Mar 6th, 2008 at 02:08:22 - Super Castlevania IV (SNES) |
GAMEPLAY
Hmmm, the second time around I got a little bit better at playing. I've kind of gotten the hang of this whip, and it has become more fun to face the challenging enemies (now that I can face them). But I still feel like some aspects of the game rules are still hidden from me. As a basic example, I was completely avoiding the water until I got to the forest stage, when I accidentally fell in an realized that you can go in the water safely as long as you jump out again before you sink. I suppose this didn't greatly affect my gameplay, but I do feel a little gypped for some reason, as if there are still a lot of things about that I don't know about this game, actions that I could be doing right now that I just don't know how to perform. The game does a poor job of teaching the player how to play.
On another note, I really appreciate Castlevania IV's "pump-you-up" factor. The remixed music of the old themes is super-infused with energy. What can I say--the songs are catchy and, appropriate to the tone of the game, make you wanna slay monsters. Overall, my second gaming session was fun, but I feel like I'm missing out on some of the fun because of the steep learning curve.
DESIGN
Castlevania IV pulls off some mechanical feats that are pretty cool and kind of tricky to design (as I learned from GameMaker). I like the particular jumping style the designers employed--staying in the air for a second instead of rising and falling seamlessly. This suspended air time is a highly specialized feature of this game; the player wants that air time because it allows him/her to whip things at jumping level. This becomes even more crucial when you have to start grappling to rings with your whip and swinging to platforms. The grappling mechanic is another really cool feature (and another thing that I wish I knew how to do well in GameMaker), and it brings up discussion of the player's control over the whipping direction. The directional control you have over the whip is not absolute, but it is pretty good for its time. You can whip in eight directions, again making certain allowances for player behavior like whipping bats coming at you from an angle and latching onto rings to swing over obstacles.
I mentioned before that some things about this game frustrate me. First of all, I would have designed the status indicators differently; there are too manny things to keep track of. Your health, enemy health, block power (?), hearts, score...and I still have no idea what the P stands for. Besides being complex, it is counter-intuitive: Why do I have to collect heart to be able to throw daggers? Why can't I jump to a platform from directly underneath it? I would change all these things about the game, but that would leave a very different game. I've had more fun playing other 2-D platformers.
This entry has been edited 2 times. It was last edited on Mar 6th, 2008 at 02:11:41.
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Mar 6th, 2008 at 02:07:57 - Super Castlevania IV (SNES) |
SUMMARY
In Super Castelvania IV (SNES) the player controls the character of Simon Belmont and guides him on a mission through 2-D side-scrolling levels to ultimately defeat Dracula. Armed with a whip, the player also faces many other enemies along the way. There are several items to be found (weapons, health, etc.) that help the player along the way.
GAMEPLAY
At first this game was kind of frustrating. It took a while to figure out the full controls. For example, the controls for swinging your chain around in a circle are counter-intuitive to me, so I didn't realize you could do this, even though it is necessary to perform in order to get past the early levels. Also, the reward/punishment system was too confusing. Sometimes I would find an item and not know if it helped me or hurt me when I picked it up. Nonetheless, the jumping and killing monsters part was just as fun as any other 2-D platformer.
In terms of the narrative clarity, I am again disappointed. I know the plot from watching older Castlevanias, but maybe I skipped an intro cut scene or something because there seems to have been no backstory presented so far in this one. I will assume that the gamer's experience will rely more on the level design, boss challenges, etc., than on the narrative progression. After all, this is just the Dracula story told over again.
I hope there are still more controls for me to find out about this next session so that I'm entirely bored.
This entry has been edited 2 times. It was last edited on Mar 6th, 2008 at 02:12:21.
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Feb 20th, 2008 at 22:35:26 - Super Mario World (SNES) |
GAMEPLAY
I really love the graphical style of SMW: exaggerated and goofy. In fact, the graphics contribute to the mood much like the music does. The simple graphic style and bright colors makes SMW very cartoony, which, like the comical death-riff, limits how "seriously" I play the game, even if only subconsciously.
SMW is an excellent example of good flow in a game. There are speaker boxes that Mario can bump into that explain how to play more or less, and even give the player hints. Even as the game progresses, there are still boxes to be bumped into, which just illustrates that the game forces the player to build a repertoire of skill over the course of the game (rather than learn everything in a tutorial at the beginning). Moving through the different worlds (I'm in the Vanilla Dome now), the foes and puzzle are becoming harder, and that seems to be the only significant change in gameplay since last session (besides the new visual and audio theme of the Vanilla Dome). The most difficult challenges I face at this point are finding the alternate exits to secret levels. These secret places to unlock keep the game interesting even to someone who has played the game before.
DESIGN
When I started a new game (before writing the last log entry) there was a certain identifiable theme with the levels. The game utilizes spatial segmentation on multiple levels, so there are several themed worlds within the game and each has many levels consistent to the theme of that world. This consistency makes the gameworld feel more engaging and is vital to the smooth flow of the game.
Besides presenting players with a gameworld that is consistent and absorbing, SMW keeps players interested with the reward system. One-ups are distributed relatively generously throughout the gameworld. If you get hit by an enemy and become the smaller Mario, there will no doubt be a mushroom or item nearby. Additionally, the game does a great job of keeping players (even experienced players who have beaten the game several times) coming back. Players like these and who exhaust the gameworld will be directly rewarded because there are certain bonus stages and secret levels that can only be found by completing a level an alternate way (finding the alternate exit). Ultimately, I'd say that the simple gameplay makes this game easy and fun for anyone, but the vast gameworld keeps people playing.
Oh, one last comment, on music design (the effect that the music has on the player is particularly interesting to me). Lots of people agree that SMW is really fun, but also agree that the source of fun is hard to pin down. I think the music has more to do with the gamer's experience than it is normally credited for. In the case of SMW, the main music is happy and moves rather fast. By making such upbeat and whimsical music, music designers can "trick" players (in the sense that they are affecting players subconsciously) into taking the game less seriously and, in turn, allow the player to have more fun. At least, this is the purpose I believe Koji Kondo had in mind when writing the score.
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Feb 20th, 2008 at 22:30:33 - Super Mario World (SNES) |
SUMMARY
In Super Mario World the player controls Mario and moves him through many smooth-scrolling platform worlds. The object is to rescue Princess Toadstoal from Bowser, and this is done by first defeating Bowser's minions who are spread throughout seven smaller worlds within the game's larger overworld and ultimately defeating Bowser. The primary game mechanic is running (or walking) and jumping, which the player must become skilled at to progress through the levels, defeat enemies and bosses, and solve puzzles.
GAMEPLAY
This game is so much fun, especially considering the relatively limited controls that the player has. You can move left and right, jump, squat, run, and spin, which is not that much compared to the many elements of control that are present in modern interactive games. I think this simple gameplay style, however, is what makes the game fun. Thinking back to when I first played Super Mario World, I now know why I was instantly addicted--there is little that you have to know from the start to get going through the levels. Also, I consider it a plus that Nintendo didn't create a long cut scene at the beginning to introduce the storyline. You get a minimalist background that you must save the princess and then you are placed in the gameworld; the rest is self-explanatory, if not intuitive.
In terms of how I felt playing, I didn't get anxious or tense like I do when I pay an FPS. SMW gives off a more cheerful vibe, even merry. The music really contributes a lot to this mood. For example, the main theme that plays throughout the game and right when you begin in the first level is that super catchy, upbeat, ragtimey tune. Of course, the music does change appropriate to the level--it gets darker and in the castles, for example--but all the while maintains an air of sillyness. Even when you die, for instance, a short quick (and almost comical) riff plays that takes away a lot of the gravity of the death. I feel like this music affected me (the player) subconsciously by exuding a certain lightheartedness that I came to feel about the game.
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ericz has been with GameLog for 16 years, 10 months, and 8 days |
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