Wednesday 16 January, 2008

Entry #2

GAMEPLAY:

Perfect Dark is an excellent 1-player game, but seeing as how I haven't been able to play this game in years, (see last entry) I wanted to explore the game's other options, so I quit playing the solo missions and started playing around with the game's other features. There is a great target practice mode in which the more you advance in single player mode, the more guns/weapons you unlock.

It didn't take me long to remember why I used to love Perfect Dark so much. What separates this game from other shooters are all the small details and features added into the game which make it extremely versatile. For example, the multiplayer mode allows you to choose the weapons in the level and where they are located, choose your own customizable character and character's name, the guns all have secondary functions which means each gun has two separate executions, a feature which significantly distinguishes stratigies, and many other specific options are obtainable. All these customizable features work greatly together and the game has more entertainment value due to multiple different set-up options.

I also must admit some bias when it comes to N64 games because this system came out at the peak of my video gaming (I would have been about 7 when I first got one) And thus I am much more familiar and skilled at this system then others. But I've been able to compare Perfect Dark with many other shooter games which came out for more advanced systems and I still classify Perfect Dark as the best shooter of all time. The auto-aim feature is a great example of how this game perfects itself from others. In Halo, you have to operate two joy sticks and there is no auto aim feature which makes it very difficult for people unfamiliar with X-box controllers, such as myself. But Perfect Dark has a much easier control style to master. It uses only one joystick to move the character and two left/right buttons to side step, which enables the character to move in anyway a Halo character could, only with more ease. I suppose the point I'm trying to make is that Perfect Dark has a very smooth feel to it. It's easy to get the hang of and once you do, you realized why this is the best of the best.

GAME DESIGN:

When reading the template for the "Game Design" portion of the entry I realized that some of my gameplay comments could have been better used in this portion of the entry. However, now I have more space to elaborate on specifics rather then broad definitions. What's great about the design of Perfect Dark is the remarkable balance between simplicity and complexion. For example, the single player mode is fairly simple in its look and objective. All that needs to be done is advance through the level without dying and completing objectives which are written out for you. The Levels are designed simply enough for the player to know where to go despite never having played the level before. This is accomplished by allowing the player to go to limited areas and although the levels are not simple themselves, it is a simple process to figure out where to go to in order to progress. Yet at the same time the single player mode offers a range of different elements. You could play the same level twice but in completely different ways. And in fact, each level has an easy, medium, and hard mode, all of which have different objectives which add to the game's depth.

Reading this you may think that Perfect Dark is nothing exceptional, but keep in mind that this game was made almost a decade ago and at the time, was the only shooter around like it. (It was the follow-up to Goldeneye and is very similar, but the new features offered by the game put it in its own category.) Also, I think this game still holds up even in the generation of newer, better-looking games. Perfect Dark has many innovative features. There are various weapons in the game and each one has its own specific features. For example, the Falcon 2 gun is a pistol which is 100% accurate but only one shot at a time can be fired. The MagSec 4 is also a pistol but is able to shoot 3 bullets at a time for faster damage, but is not as accurate as the Falcon 2. What's more, each gun has it's own secondary function which allows the players to increase their options. Take the Laptop-Gun for example. Its primary function is to be an accurate machine gun, but the secondary function allows you to throw the gun and it will become a turret which shoots enemies for you. These functions work well in a multiplayer environment due to the versatile gameplay achievable by all players, however they are specifically fun to use in single player because then the levels are actually designed to incorporate specific gun functions.

I hope elaborating on certain details of Perfect Dark has painted somewhat of a picture to those of you who have not played the game. But to summarize the game design in a more basic way I'd say: Think of Perfect Dark as a normal shooter game. Basic single player and multiplayer, reminiscent to other shooters of the time. Then add layers of features, customizable options, innovative cheat codes, advanced artificial intelligence, easy to learn-yet complex in execution control style, and a whole menu of guns all of which have been carefully crafted to fit into game play with maximum enjoyment. That's Perfect Dark in a nut shell.

This is a fine GameLog which allowed me to understand Perfect Dark despite never actually having played it. You went into quite a bit of detail in every section, which is very good. One thing I would like to see elaborated on is how the game is designed to use certain gun functions. This sounds like the perfect place to think about level design and player capabilities, and how Perfect Dark uses them to challenge the player. Still, you did a good job of describing and analysing the game, so keep it up.

Amy Leek (grader)