Video Game Analysis.
Description You can either read below or check the attached instructions. Please make an offer you can carefully follow the instructions and deliver a well-written paper. Choose a single video game. Break it down and describe it accurately and comprehensively using the categories below. You may choose any video game you wish (except any of The Sims). Context Categories – Game Developer/Studio; Artists, Designers, Programmers, Writers (or whoever is relevant). The creative team of a game is important, particularly in the case where it connects to other relevant games they worked on before or after this game. Some development studios or designers have certain trademarks, or specialize on a particular genre (e.g. Valve, Square Enix or Will Wright), so choosing one of their games can mark a specific time in the evolution of their games. – Game genre and related games A game genre usually has a set of established conventions behind it, such as First Person Shooters, adventure games, real-time strategy games or Role-Playing Games. Establishing the game within a genre can help determine, for instance, why it is like other games of the same type, or what is innovative about it. If the game partakes of conventions from different genres, that can also be a way of explaining what sets it apart from other games. The relations to other game genres do not have to be exclusively digital–board and card games, as well as other traditional games, can be the origins of certain mechanics. – Technological context 2 What platform(s) was the game developed for? It is important to note which version of the game you are playing, e.g. Assassin & Creed for the DS is a different game from the PS3 version. – Socio-historical context When was the game made? It’s different to analyze a game from the 70s, when videogames were almost exclusively played in arcades, than a recent game, now that videogames start to enjoy a more general acceptance in cultural terms. Where was it released first? – Audience Who is the game intended for? Is there a particular age or national demographic? Games can create communities around them, at times fostered by the developers themselves. – Relations to other media Is the game part of a franchise, a tie-in with a work in another medium (e.g. Lost – Via Domus, Wall-E)? Is it an adaptation of the work in another medium, or is it only using the same characters and settings? Game Overview Categories – No. of Players (single player/multi-player/MMO) Can you choose the number of players? Does it have different modes depending on the number of players? If there is more than one player, do they play simultaneously or do they take turns? -Fiction/Narrative How does the game establish a fictional world? How does it relate to the rules and goals of the game? If the game has a strong story component, you may summarize its premise; however, you should avoid retelling of the story of the game. – Description of Gameplay: What do you do in the game? Focus on the core mechanics: what are the most recurring actions in the game? You can think of this in terms of verbs: what are the main verbs of the game? For example, in Super Mario Bros. the verbs would be run, jump, pick up, slide down, stomp. In Tetris, the verbs would be rotate, drop, clear. – Spaces of the game Where does the game take place? How does the player navigate the space? How does the game encourage exploration of the space, if at all? – General gameplay experience This section is a tricky one, since your experience will probably be different from other people&. Your skills or game knowledge affect the way you play the game. Say a few words here about what it feels like to play the game—tone, rhythm, affect. 3- Gameworld rules What model is the game trying to simulate? How does the gameworld work, outside of the rules of the game? For instance, San Andreas in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is a city where pedestrians walk on the side walk, cars run at normal speed on the road and follow traffic rules, and the day/night cycle changes every 20 minutes. This could be called a simulation of the real world, within certain limits. Other examples can refer to the difference between what is possible in the gameworld and what the player is allowed to do. For example, in the main mode of Halo characters talk to each other in cut-scenes, but the player cannot choose when to talk or what to say. What is possible or impossible in a game is the direct result of decisions made in the design of the game, and you have to be aware of those choices. – Simulation and Levels of Abstraction What level of abstraction is the game using? How nuanced is the simulation in the game? For example, Diner Dash simulates the strategic aspects of waitressing, where the key is to optimize your path to do the most things the least amount of time, but does not include taking down people& orders and memorizing who ordered what. How complex is the simulation? How abstract is it?