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Feb 9th, 2008 at 02:56:40 - Warcraft III -- Frozen Throne (PC) |
GAMEPLAY
So I thought I would delve deeper into the mod game playable on Battle.net called DoTA (Defense of the Ancients). After doing a little research it turns out that Dota is the most played game in the Philippines and Thailand and in the top 100 of several other countries. It is based on the original Custom Map Settings mod "Aeon of Strife" for Starcraft. It has had many different developers, which become almost immortalized in the gaming world for their free contribution to gaming. As far as its similarities to Warcraft, it basically stands on its own as a completely different game. Each team of 5 people chooses a hero and tries to turn the tide of battle across a river. With almost 100 unique heroes and hundreds more items to choose from the depth is no less impressive than the original Warcraft game.
DoTA has basically taken over battle.net like WoW has taken over MMORPGs. It is by far the most popular aspect of the game and offers a kind of RPG/RTS hybrid, a combination that works very nicely. I have played my fair share of dota as well, and I must say it has to be the most popular mod ever created in any game or platform. Thats a strong statement, but i honestly believe it. Part of what makes it so enjoyable is the unlimited possibility of ten humans making decisions at once in the same game. That combined with the strategic complexity of the heroes and items offers crazy replay credentials.
DESIGN
The simple fact that human minds are almost always better than AI helps make DoTA incredibly engaging. The innovative combo of RTS elements with a RPG level and ability system makes this game hard to categorize. Its immense popularity stems from its uniqueness.
Constant exhibition of emergent complexity keeps the game incredibly complex throughout. It also spawns entire social networks and fosters a dedicated community. There are several websites devoted solely to Dota strategy and forums. So this community is constantly trying new strategies as new patches update the details and add new features. This serves to provide a kind of constant reward structure outside of the actual gameplay, as new rewards are constantly being added.
This game is a very good example of what you can do with a good idea for design. Dota borrows all its artwork and mechanics from the actual Warcraft but it is undeniably its own game and stands alone completely. An impressive foresight of Blizzard to include such a powerful Map Editor. This game is especially interesting because it symbolizes a new open source approach to gaming where the the input of the gamer is constantly being considered and addressed. The future of gaming is in mods and Blizzard is smart enough to realize it. Why do the work when the gamers are happy to assist you?
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Feb 9th, 2008 at 02:17:29 - Warcraft III -- Frozen Throne (PC) |
SUMMARY
Control Orcs and other medieval creatures to conquer your enemies in this award winning RTS from Blizzard.
GAMEPLAY
So after having played a significant amount of both Civilization and Starcraft throughout my adolescence, I decided it was time to play Warcraft 3. That was 3 years ago. And the game has really been impressive. I played the whole campaign twice through, and was once even ranked on Battle.net for my 2v2 wins.
So what gives this game such replay value? Well, having always preferred games of emergence to the often narrow creative options of games of progression, I took a liking to Warcraft right off the bat. It is much like Starcraft and Warcraft 2 (its predecessor) but the strategic detail is ridiculous. Becoming truly good is a thing that only few people achieve. At my peak I would still occasionally fight people online that were in a different world of skill. The learning curve is not terribly steep, but it is incredibly long. I still play occasionally so after playing again today twice after class(once before and once after!) I feel like it is deserving of an in depth design analysis.
The single player narrative campaign is incredibly engaging, and it just the tip of the iceberg. The Battle.net server constantly provides challenging human opponents, as well as consistent patches and new material. You can play anyone's custom game (or "mod") online as well, including the game "Defense of The Ancients," or DoTA which has almost surpassed the actual game in popularity. You can play with friends whenever you want! So my favorite aspects are the depth and replay value that comes from depth and one of the best multiplayer experiences in gaming.
DESIGN
So the game is designed alot like other RTS games in the genre, but with an RPG twist. The game demands resource gathering building of an army and micro management. But where it differs significantly is with the feature of heroes. Heroes gain levels ala an RPG game and act as units that get better with your skill and careful "micro" skills. This changes the game immensely, adding items and abilities more reward features. The heroes serve to give the game millions of outcomes and insure a unique single game: Something that has never been played before.
The single player campaign has an excellent story line, and serves as a warm up for your online battle against skilled human players. With four different races, four heroes for each race plus 6 other heroes and hundreds of maps there were plenty of hours to lose. The balance between all the complexities is excellent (the constant updating via patches helps) and helps this game provide entertaining gameplay time and time again.
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Jan 26th, 2008 at 02:19:50 - Super Smash Brothers (N64) |
Gamelog Entry #2
GAMEPLAY
So after throughly exploring the multi player and having a very good time earlier this week I decided to explore more of the single player "campaign." The single player campaign offered a completely diverse experience. In "campaign" mode, the game incorporates the addictive battle feeling into a series of stages that must be completed in order to progress through the game. The "campaign" mode begins with simple battles, but soon develops into significant fights (my personal favorite being numerous amounts of small chrome warriors).
Another very original aspect of the "campaign" mode is found after completion. The designer of the game opted to present the game credits in a very original way. After the final battle, the player is immersed into a "star was fighter" like credit which gives the player a chance to enjoy a simple game while reading the credits. Overall, the "campaign" mode offers a truly unique experience. If you are alone, then the famous "Super Smash Bros" multiplayer game, can also be addictive by yourself.
DESIGN
Smash 64 pushed the innovative envelope of the fighter genre by incorporating elements from platformers and a new way to kill and be killed. The game broke away from the average fighters by placing value on position and height. Damage and successful strikes raise the percentage of the opponent, the higher the percentage, the farther the opponent flies when hit. This becomes important because in smash in order to KO an opponent enough damage must be accumulated to send them off the stage far enough for them to not be able to return or recover. This concept was not entirely original but the concepts had not yet been packaged together in a high speed multiplayer.
In most fighter types, you get to know your opponent's tendencies relatively quickly. In Super Smash Brothers the differences in characters, varying stages, and open environments allow for a great deal more personality to shine through. The game is designed with relatively easy, instinctive controls. Players who enjoy flailing will still be able to play but the design favors speed and precision, for example, a character attempting to recover (return to the stage and avoid a KO) may be attacked by someone jumping off of the stage who in turn is trying to prevent their recovery.
The stages are designed with heavy influence from the platformer genre. The majority of the games characters originate from platform games so stages styles, shapes and colors are derived from each character's games. Each stage has a unique design, some have moving platforms, and each provides a different scenario for fighters to survive in. The stage designs largely focus on the edges, where recovery gameplay sets smash apart from other fighters.
Fun fact: the orginal smash 64, now two consoles old, still goes for nearly $30 on eBay.
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Jan 26th, 2008 at 00:47:25 - Super Smash Brothers (N64) |
SUMMARY
In Super Smash Brothers you control a popular Nintendo character and fight your way through a stage based, fighting style single player, or engage in wild multi player action with three other friends (or enemies!). I think it fits best in the fighting game genre but borrows elements of platformers.
GAMEPLAY
So i cut straight to the main attraction and played the versus multi player with my friends. I have played the Gamecube version extensively, but I never really sat down and seriously played the original. It is easy to see why this game made it on the "classics" list. The versus mnode is ridiculously intricate for a seemingly simple game and there are almost infinite possibilities for combat interaction. I played every character on every stage, and each is unique and fairly balanced.
Each character has a different set of moves, and all the levels, which often resemble old NES Mario or Kirby levels have an interactive aspect, as well as many items which you can turn off. Needlesss to say the game fosters an intense level of social interaction. IT quickly becomes apparent that the intricacies offer a wide range of attainable skill level. Both these factors do wonders for the shelf life replay value of this relatively simple game. So the things I enjoyed most: socially active multiplayer, gameplay intricacy, and a gentle but incredibly long learning curve.
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TheVillage has been with GameLog for 16 years, 10 months, and 8 days |
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