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BrianThomas's The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS)
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| [January 24, 2008 03:55:59 PM]
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Second Sesssion: 90 minutes
Near the beginning of this play session, I was stuck for a few minutes because I could not figure out how to enter the first temple. I knew that I had to blow two candles out, but I couldn't figure out how I could do this. It took me a few minutes to realize that I had to stand in front of the candles and actually blow at the microphone in the DS. However, I really enjoy these sorts of challenges in Zelda games.
In this session, I completed the first temple. The temple was very linear without anything very complicated. However, for new players this could serve as an introduction to how the temples can work.
The second temple adds a new challenge. There is a time limit that the player can remain in the temple. A time element was also used in Majora's Mask, however this is used in a different way. I have made it to a midpoint in the second temple and the design seems to be a little more challenging than the first, which should be expected.
So far the game has been very linear without any challenges as far as determining where the player needs to visit next. In addition, I haven't really come across any mini-games or side quests. I hope that these elements come into play later in the game since I really enjoy the side quests.
The Zelda game gave us some ideas for player progression in an RPG type game for our first game project. For example, not allowing a player to cross a gap to reach a new dungeon until he has a special item that allows him to jump. However, we decided that an RPG game would be too much work for the time alloted, so we switched to a simpler game.
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| [January 23, 2008 12:33:08 AM]
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First session: 90 minutes
Since this is my first game to play on the Nintendo DS, my first observation was the high quality of the graphics and the sound. It is truly amazing to have 3d graphics, music, and a touchscreen interface on an inexpensive portable gaming device.
In the introduction, we are introduced to characters and a story familiar to anyone who has had experience with Zelda games. Link, the main character meets up with his fairy companion, and they go off to save the world and Princess Zelda. The introductory experience is also very familiar, with the character needing to go around to talk to various NPCs to learn about the game environment. Somehow, even though all these elements are almost exactly the same as in other Zelda titles, the experience is still entertaining. However, it might be nice to have some change in the introductory part of the game.
The first session of play has served to teach me to control the main character, give some context to the quest that the main character will embark on, and introduce some of the principal characters in the story. So far, the gameplay has been very linear with only a couple side activities that can be performed if the user explores enough. The introduction to games is not something that I thought much about until recently. The introduction must gradually introduce the character to the game world in such a way that they will learn how to interact with it and be overwhelmed. I am reminded of some commentary in a game called Portal in which the game designers discussed how they play tested the intro a lot and modified the level until users were able to get a good feeling of how to interact with the game world.
I reached the first temple after rescuing a fortune teller on another island. We will see what the story brings next...
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BrianThomas's The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS)
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Current Status: Playing
GameLog started on: Tuesday 22 January, 2008
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