Entry Teal: Week 6

Reflection:

In this week's readings, the textbook discusses systems and the basic elements of them, that exist in a game. When it comes to the basic element: relationships, the combat algorithm of WarCraft II was used as an example to display this. It showed how they used chance in this aspect of the game. This was really fascinating to me, to see it plainly put. It also immediately made me think of one of my favorite childhood games Sonic Adventure 2: Battle. In this game, you are given Chao to take care of, which really acts as a pet simulation. You are able to give them Chaos Drives to boost their stats, however the stats are randomized so if you want to max their stats perfectly you'd have to get 30 points every single time (assuming their stats are S's). You could get anywhere from 26-30 points but it makes a drastic difference as they reincarnate and such. It made me question what I would want for my own games. I hadn't previously ever really questioned these aspects of games so it was initially hard to wrap my head around; in terms of, when I'm seeing this in games and when I'm not.

The fact that it cannot be predicted helps add to the game as it would otherwise get pretty boring if you knew you were going to get 30 points every single time; and yet, they still restrict it enough where there can still be progress and it not frustrate players. But the reading also mentioned rule-based calculations. I want to understand what would be the best time to use which; which would fit my games specifically? Because, it was through the example showing how easily a single change to this algorithim could really ruin the game and therfore the experience of it. It is also an area in particular that interests me; as for one of my own game ideas, I had playfully one time with a friend, tried creating a combat algorithin for my game. We did it several years ago but I didn't ever think to consider this, and how it would impact the experience. But, while the example showed me that slightly changing one thing could, yes, ruin the game--it also showed me it could fix it.

"If I tweaked my pre-existing ideas slightly, how would that then impact the experience? What would lose value, what would gain value in this process? And what would fit it best to make it most enjoyable for the players, while also fitting my goals for the games?"

Experience:

This week, I tried out a game called Ori and the Blind Forest on the PC; which, is considered to be an action-adventure platformer. I am usually very particular about games so I was a bit unsure at first if I would like it or not; but, I decided to give it a go anyway. You're pretty immediately thrown into a cutscene of Ori's story with Naru, a cut round creature that essentially adopts Ori. It shows their life together until Naru eventually passes away. They nicely involve you in this, as at first when you play as Ori and run/jump around with Naru the movement is fast and chipper. But, when Naru passes, Ori's movements are sluggish, slow, and can't even get them to jump. These things really cause you to feel the loss, which really did cause me to empathize for Ori and feel sad about the situation.

Once you actually get to play, the controls are pretty easy to follow; and, the game does a nice job of dispersing them digestibly. I really enjoyed this as once you understand them, it's pretty simple and straightforward to traverse. This makes it a lot easier to be emerged in the gameplay as you're not constantly focusing on the controls but rather trying to survive the enemies and obstacles that come about. The game also has a skill tree of pretty useful abilities to work towards. I think this was a really great feature to add as it gives a lot more to work towards. Plus, as you get through areas you quickly realize the map is a lot bigger than expected.

I was honestly completely taken off guard with how much I enjoyed playing this game. I couldnt really find any actual aspects of the game that I had a problem with. Sometimes, it's nice to have a simple, cute game and they do a great job of still making it an amazing experience. The way they were able to evoke such emotions in the beginning cutscene is something I want to latch onto for my own games. There was no text or really any speaking and yet all the emotion was conveyed very strongly; which, is what makes it even more admirable. It ties you into the game and gives both it and Ori depth. This is something that I would also like to master for my games as depth is what causes characters and the story to be relatable and feel "real".