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Aya's Frogger (GBC)

[January 14, 2008 11:59:25 PM]

Frogger is a game most teenagers today are pretty familiar with. It’s hard to believe such a simple game would have gained such great popularity, even in the advanced technological gaming world of today. However, gamers across the world still play Frogger religiously.
I decided to play Frogger on my Gameboy Color because I remembered the game from my childhood in the days when I was still very impressed by the purple cover for my Gameboy. The rules are that the player must guide three frogs across roads with motor vehicles that include trucks, buses, cars, taxis, and motorcycles. The player also guides the frogs through rivers by jumping on moving logs or the backs of turtles. He or she must avoid alligators, snakes, and otters in the river but can catch bugs and escort a female frog for bonuses. In higher levels the player must guide the frog over slippery ice so that it can slide directly on a moving log rather than falling into water. The levels are timed therefore every player must guide his or her frog to its “frog home” as quickly as possible. I believe that I largely enjoyed the game because of my nostalgia. The game is simple and to the point and in that sense similar to other games developed around the same time such as PacMan. The game requires little thinking and planning by the player and is thereby easily entertaining.
By the second round of playing Frogger I became more frustrated with the game’s simplicity. Although it was still entertaining enough for 45 minutes it seemed the challenge was gone. As I advanced through the levels I realized there was little surprise coming up in the game. I didn’t expect any new aspect to it, anything to bring more excitement to playing the game. Also, Frogger required little thinking or strategy. Unlike the video games of today that are often constructed as puzzles, while playing Frogger it seemed I was going as fast as I could and hoping for the best.
It’s hard to say what aspects of the game are particularly innovative since it was created over twenty years ago. When compared to another famous game created at around the same time, Frogger is different from PacMan in that the layout of the levels changes. The player doesn’t just maneuver around an area that looks completely the same, rather he or she must bring their frog over busy roads, through rivers, and over slippery ice.
What makes Frogger such a good game is its simplicity. Since the game requires little to no strategy to complete the player can play it time and time again without being bored of using the same strategy over and over to win. The fact that the levels are timed also adds to the difficulty of the game, often driving the player to act hastily and thereby lose and try again. Frogger isn’t a very challenging game because of its simplicity. Still, the player often finds him/herself frustrated by their inability to complete certain levels which require quick thinking and eye-to-hand coordination. The game offers little conflict at all except perhaps for misunderstanding what opposes the player’s completion of the level and what can be used by the player as a tool. The levels are increasingly faster and challenging. They are all designed in a very similar manner although later levels are made more difficult by including slippery ice that requires the player maneuver the frog over the ice at exactly the right time for a log to carry it across the water. The player in this game is rewarded with nothing more than seeing his or her name at the top of the list of players as having gotten farthest in the game so far.