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jpgamelog's Brain Boost: Gamma Wave (DS)

[March 6, 2008 12:58:45 AM]

“Brain Boost: Gamma Wave” (Nintendo DS)

Gamelog entry #2:

GAMEPLAY

After playing through the five games in Training mode, I tried Challenge mode. This is essentially the same as Training mode with three primary differences: there is a juvenile narrative involving the lost memory bank of Dino (who, it turns out, has a soy sauce-flavored rice cracker instead of a memory disk) which the player (Mickey) must recover by journeying across four continents of the planet Ronnoc; the minimum clearance is 60% of the 20 problems on each of the five games; and there is no point total.

I managed to complete Level 1, Clifford Continent, and four out of the five games of Level 2, Patrick Continent. Which of the five games was I struggling with? You guessed it, Remember Images.

In the course of playing "Brain Boost: Gamma Wave," I have found some techniques that have helped me to succeed. The first, which applies to several of the mini-games, but most specifically to Numbers, involves a cheat in a way--if I am presented with an 8-digit number, I disregard the first several digits and concentrate on the last four or five. This is because in the game, the choices with which I am presented exhibit little variation in the end of the number, so that only one choice exhibits the correct last group of digits. Thus, I exploit a limitation in the game to my own advantage.

The other, more useful technique, which the manual explicitly references, involves the ability for the right brain to recall images almost like a photograph (this is how some people are able to speed read). In Remember Circumstances, instead of my eye roaming about the screen from tile to tile in an impossible attempt to quickly memorize the images before they disappear, I have found that simply staring straight ahead in the center of the grid, eyes still, I am able to gain a better mental "image" of the whole layout, and it is easier and more intuitive to then select the tile that doesn't belong. So, I am making progress!

DESIGN

If I have a criticism of "Brain Boost: Gamma Wave," it is two-fold: there is not quite enough variation in the game to make it compelling to play for longer periods of time than an hour or so (fatigue quickly sets in); the weakest element of the game is the narrative, which is perfunctory and merely distracting. Still, it is "cute," and does provide younger players with more of a "motivation," if you will, to play.

The lack of variation--the entire game is essentially the five mini-games, is perhaps what was intended, because it does make the game easier to pick up and play for forty minutes a day. I note that the manual says that in order to develop new neural pathways in my right brain, I must train daily for at least three months. In this sense, "Brain Boost: Gamma Wave" is more of a daily mental exercise tool than a traditional video game. This is not a bad thing, as it demonstrates that video games are at least diverse in their utility in the practice of everyday life. Now, if I could only remember all my Internet passwords...

This entry has been edited 1 time. It was last edited on Mar 6th, 2008 at 01:02:21.

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[March 6, 2008 12:57:28 AM]

“Brain Boost: Gamma Wave” (Nintendo DS)

GameLog entry #1:

SUMMARY (quotes taken from game manual)

"Brain Boost: Gamma Wave" (2006) for Nintendo DS is one of several brain "improvement" games available for the handheld. It is "designed to improve memory, concentration, and judgment by utilizing Makoto Schichida's 'right brain development theory.'" This game, and "Brain Boost: Beta Wave," are implementations of the Schichida Method, which involves "repeated daily drills of viewing shapes and colors, absorbing large amounts of information in fast rhythms, and being able to accurately reproduce those images visually." According to the game manual, over 400 schools in Japan teach the Schichida Method to children through the Schichida Child Academy, and there are "printed materials for adults." The goal of the game, through daily training, is for the player to improve the functioning of his/her right brain.

GAMEPLAY

"Brain Boost: Gamma Wave" consists of five different brain training mini-games and two modes of play in which to access them, Training or Challenge. The game is controlled entirely with the DS stylus, and is very easy to pick up and play. There are four levels of difficulty that automatically increase within each of the five games, each of which has 20 problems. In order to clear the Training mode, a score of 50% or more (out of 1000 points total) is necessary; in the Challenge mode, it is 60% of the problems.

In Remember Colors, Remember Numbers, and Remember Faces, an image of colored dots, a number, or a cartoon face is displayed for a few seconds before it disappears, and the player must then select what was displayed. In Remember Circumstances and Remember Images, the player must select what was NOT displayed. In Circumstances, which works like a traditional game of Memory, tiled images are displayed in a grid, then one imaged is changed, and the player must select the image/tile that was not displayed. In Remember Images, the tiled images are shown in a sequence, rather than arranged on a grid, and then the player must choose the image/tile that was not displayed in the sequence from the arrangement of images on the grid.

Here are my scores for each of the five games during my first gameplay round:

My Training Scores (out of 1000):
Remember Colors 602 (game cleared)
Remember Numbers 687 (game cleared)
Remember Circumstances 628 (game cleared)
Remember Faces 796 (game cleared)
Remember Images 481 (not cleared)

As you can see, I almost managed to clear the Remember Images mode. I find this game the hardest, for some reason. It seems I am best at remembering faces, followed by numbers. Certainly, with more practice there is room for me to improve.

Other observations:

The graphics in the five training games are adequate. The cartoon characters in the animated cutscenes (of the Challenge mode) are blandly appealing.

The music is cute and repetitive, but also strangely hypnotic. This is good because if it were too complex or interesting, it could possibly distract players from achieving their best scores.

This entry has been edited 1 time. It was last edited on Mar 6th, 2008 at 01:07:35.

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