Sunday 13 January, 2008

GAMEPLAY
This time I played for something like 45 minutes. It was a more frustrating experience than the first. I spent most of the time walking... and walking... and walking... I was still a little lost for a while, and the setting was starting to all look the same. In short, the novelty had worn off. I just wanted to get to more plot, but mostly I found bits and pieces. Then too, I began to hear the same bits of dialogue from multiple characters. Most of them have the same things to say about the Sith.

Also, it was getting a bit harder. Eventually I got into another area... and immediately got killed. I could probably have avoided it, but by that time I was kind of frustrated, so I quit for the day. This time I was playing alone, and it was kind of a different experience. I mean, there were fewer distractions, but I found myself taking it too seriously.

On the plus side, one of the major characters is shaping up into quite the interesting fellow. He has a troubled past, and it was interesting talking with him and trying to get him to tell. I also flirted with him. I'm playing a female character, and I wonder if he would flirt with a male...


DESIGN
My impression is that especially when this came out, it was rare to find a game where one could be a villain, especially one with as many options as this one. Even this early in the game, the number of possible choices is staggering - in every significant dialogue there tend to be about three options. Sometimes it's good, evil, and somewhere in between, others it's confrontational, submissive, and noncommittal/diplomatic. It must have been a huge task to write and record all the material for this game, though I don't know how long it is. Even so, there's a high degree of repetition.

This game suffers from the same problem as most of its genre - a large percentage of play time is downtime, getting from point A to point B or figuring out what to do next. Also certain areas look mostly the same as each other, such as the various corridors on the ship in the beginning, or the two Upper City sections. There are a certain number of interesting decorations and such, but few small objects, and the same textures appear on most buildings, though I do like the curvy architecture.

An interesting thing this game does is that it raises issues around trust. You don't know much about your character or your companion, and he frequently points this out. A lot of the characters you interact with are not entirely on the up and up. The setting contributes to the tone as well - it's a technologically advanced city that's clean on the surface, but under enemy control. Rumors of dangerous gangs and rebels below abound, and the visitors are restless about the blockade that keeps them there.

Your game log is excellent and well written. The design section is a little on the shallow side. Analysis or speculation of the motivation for design choices would make it perfect.

- Ian Rickard, your TA

(the following is included on all my first-round gradings, and should not be taken as any commentary on your writing.)

If you're interested, I'm happy to provide additional nit-picks of your writing. However as this course is not considered writing intensive, lapses in spelling and grammer of the type I would critique will not have any affect on your grade and so you really needn't worry about them. If you're interested in this type of feedback, email me at inio@soe and I'll provide it privately.