Category: Game Review

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Sara Estus – Week 4 Response

Game Reviews:

Observance: This game is a response to the July 28, 2007, rejection of the U.S. Senate to revise the Immigration Reform Bill. Though it could be considered outdated by the unknowing, illegal immigration is still a very impactful subject 17 years later. When I played this game with Amber, it was fun to figure out the rules, setup, and character backstories; however, after some time it begins to feel wrong when you think about the ‘lives’ you are playing with (literally). And even though I appreciated the reskin of “Battleship” having a game with such an emotional impact on a simple mechanic like “Battleship”, brought down to the chance of two die – made the impactfulness of how serious illegal immigration seem less serious.

All in all, I enjoyed the game, but I felt like I was more focused on ‘winning” than I was on understanding how illegal immigration works and what happens to illegal immigrants.

Serious Game Ideas:

  1. The Trash: This game is about minimizing the garbage you throw away each week. Typically, about one to half a bag of garbage is made per person for each person living in a household. But it is possible to break that number in half! By playing this game, users will learn how to reduce, reuse, recycle, and compost scraps, all while having an impact on how much litter they make. The goal is to halve the amount of trash thrown out, by the time two weeks have passed.
  • Sustenance: In this game players manage a farm or agricultural region, balancing the needs for food production with sustainable farming practices that minimize environmental impact and enhance biodiversity. Some ways may include composting, hydroponics, and not using pesticides.
  • We are Global: Players create a “profile” for themselves and are then matched with another person in a third-world country who is similar in age, gender identity, and interests. Players are then tasked with learning more about this person and their culture to understand the possible impacts of war, starvation, lack of education, etc.
  • The Shelters: This game is about spreading awareness of “full” shelters. Thousands of animals are euthanized each year due to no room at shelters.  It is the player’s job to spread awareness, gain donations, upgrade shelter amenities, and reduce euthanasia numbers by using fosters, creating adoption days, and preventing backyard breeding.
  • Compliment Race: Though this game seems simple and easy, the concept goes into the impact of self-love and appreciation for others. To play, players are given multiple cards from a huge stack that have different rules for who they must go up to and compliment. Players cannot compliment other players, and must try to find people, and genuinely make them feel good.

Podcast- Games for change Ideas:

Minecraft Education: Minecraft Java is one of my favorite games, it’s one of the few I can always return to, no matter how long I don’t play. Minecraft Edu, I also feel strongly about it, as I played it back in high school before it was even half the content it is today. I even had the opportunity to speak in other local high schools about the impact of STEM and Minecraft on students. So, this has a special place in my heart.

Spiritfarer: I have a few hours into this game and feel that I have experienced a lifetime of grief in the last 5 years. The impact of this game feels like a good discussion to have.

Papers, Please: First of all, this game is INSANE. The rich lore, the complicated mechanics of checking passports and papers for immigrating and visiting a country under dictatorship. This game has so much to offer and is truly a game people should play or watch a playthrough of. It takes a keen eye, a great attention span, and a willingness to take notes.

Plague: I have played this game one too many times, and now it feels wrong given my experience in the COVID-19 pandemic. But I feel that it can be a really rich discussion about the pros and cons of ruining and saving the world – whether you play as the cure or a disease.

Reading Questions:

  • What learning games have you played? Can you categorize them by the theory of learning types: behaviorism, constructivism, or social nature? if you played more than one which was the most effective?

As a child, I grew up with an old Windows 98 computer. It was chunky, and slow, and only worked well when you worked as slow as it did. I played a lot of games like the “Jumpstart” series, which went based on age, and learning basics that were taught in school. The games focused a lot on basic principles of problem-solving, like winning a race by building a cool car, but you had to solve math problems first, and when I was younger it was based on color coding, and motor skills. As an adult, I have played two behaviorism games, Kahoot and Quizlet, which both required me to think about my choices to pass or win. And lastly, a game that contained a social nature was surely Club Penguin. There were many instances where players could collaborate and play games to win in-game currency or go against each other.

  • Is gamification bullshit, what is Ian Bogost’s argument, and do you agree? Where have you encountered it outside of class and what was your experience?

I would argue that Gamification IS bullshit, it feels like a trend companies just jump into as an excuse to be “with the trends” As Ian Bogost argues, gamification reduces the complexity and richness of video games to a mere transactional system, where engagement is treated as a point-to-point system of rewards and punishments. Ian views gamification as a cheapening of the power of games—an attempt to commodify something that has far more potential. In my experience, gamification has often been included in fast-food restaurants like McDonald’s. Throughout the years they have attempted to make consumers play “Monopoly” to coax them into purchasing more, just for the reward of being a free small fry.

  • What is a serious game and why aren’t they chocolate-covered broccoli?

A serious game is a game that is designed for a more educational purpose other than just for entertainment though it can also be used for training or addressing real-world issues. These games use elements of gameplay to engage users and help them learn new skills, solve problems, or simulate complex scenarios. Serious games are not chocolate-covered broccoli, as when created correctly, they easily blend education or training with enjoyable gameplay. Instead of feeling like a forced or disguised educational experience

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Week 3 Game Reviews and Thoughts

Dumb Ways to Die Review

  • Was it fun? Yes, I had fun playing this game again. I loved playing it again. I am a little bit disappointed that they removed the pledge to stay safe around trains, because I feel like that was the game’s whole original purpose, but I feel like they also made some positive changes as well. I like that you can now customize characters and you have rewards that incentivize you to keep playing. 
  • What were the player interactions? You were able to interact with the game itself by manipulating whatever was going on in the scene during the mini games. You don’t interact with other players, but the whole point of the game is to prevent these little characters from dying in various different ways. 
  • How long did it take to learn? This game is super quick to learn, especially since it tells you how to play each mini game at the beginning of it. 
  • Would you play it again? Yes, I will probably keep this downloaded on my phone whenever I’m bored. 
  • Analyze the game using the 3 act structure. The first act would be the first round of mini games. It starts off fairly slow and it’s pretty easy to pass the mini games without dying. After the first round or two, it likely enters the second act (depending on how good you are at the game) and the timer for the mini games begins to get faster and more challenging. The third act would be when you start losing lifes and you are down to 1 life left. The second you lose that, the game is over (unless you watch an ad to save yourself). 
  • What are the collaborative and or competitive aspects of the game? While it isn’t a multiplayer game, it is definitely a more competitive type of game as it constantly reminds you of your high score so you want to be continually improving upon that. It also has you “compete” for rewards and the rewards will build up faster the better you are at the game. 
  • What is the game’s metaphor and which of the game’s mechanics standout? The game’s metaphor originally was to be safe around trains, particularly not being on your phone distracting you as it is extremely dangerous. The game has kind of morphed into being safe in general in life, with some of the scenario mini games being probably not the most realistic ways to die, but it still carries the message. The most standout mechanic for me was being able to collect rewards from playing and gaining points. Those rewards could include character customizations, which I don’t ever remember there being before. A lot of the mechanics to complete the mini games are very similar, even more so than I remember and I am really just sick of having to tap really fast. 

Cards against Calamity Review

  • Was it fun? Yes, I enjoyed it. I found it quite challenging at times though. 
  • What were the player interactions? While you aren’t interacting with other players, the player makes decisions as the mayor about how the town was going to proceed in certain scenarios. Your decisions influenced the livelihood and resident sentiment of the town. 
  • How long did it take to learn? This game is super easy and fast to learn. However, it might take a bit longer to develop a decent strategy where you manage the stakeholders and the community sentiment, while making decisions that you agree with. 
  • Would you play it again? Yes, I would. I think I would play it and test out some different strategies to see what works best and what doesn’t. It seems like if I pick just based on the actions, what I believe is the right thing to do, it upsets some of the stakeholders, so the second time that I played, I solely looked at the stats of each of the different stakeholders. I would also be curious to see if I could pass on one of the harder difficulties. 
  • Analyze the game using the 3 act structure. The first act includes the introduction to the game, where it explains that you are a mayor and you have to balance community resilience and the needs of the community and stakeholders. I would say that the first few rounds would be included in the first act, and you are beginning to understand how certain actions may affect your gameplay experience. The second act would be when you are in the turns where you start to really make some drastic changes. You will gain or increase points in different areas drastically. The third act would be when you are nearing the end of the game and that could happen if you accidentally lose all of your community resilience points or you make it through all 8 rounds of the game. 
  • What are the collaborative and or competitive aspects of the game? This isn’t a multiplayer game but it is not necessarily a game where you are trying to get a great high score or anything you are just purely trying to survive and keep the town well. 
  • What is the game’s metaphor and which of the game’s mechanics standout? The metaphor of the game is that you are the mayor of a small town and you must keep your community resilient while maintaining good relationships with stakeholders. You want the town to thrive as much as possible, but you are also in the face of natural disasters and other events that can make it difficult to maintain an even balance. The mechanics that stood out to me were how each choice directly affected your points in stakeholder categories, but they could also be affected by the feedback from around the town. I found it interesting that you are allowed to go into the negatives of one of the stakeholder categories, but you cannot get to 0 community resilience. It was really interesting to try to balance everything and it was really difficult. 

Thoughts on ARGs: A World Without Oil 

I thought that this was a very interesting game idea, and I’m not sure if I would have thought of this as a game prior to this class. I think that games like this are likely much more effective at getting their point across because you are actually living and experiencing the game. Even other games that present important issues like this to me don’t seem as effective as this because there is still that level of separation between the player and the game. For most games, at the end of the day, you can put the game away, but this one, is much more of a real life experience. I think, depending on the specific game, I would play a game similar in concept to this. However, it seems like it really takes some commitment which would be quite difficult. 

Thoughts on Discovery Tour by Assassin’s Creed 

This game seems like a great idea. It allows for players to experience places and landmarks that otherwise they may never be able to see in real life. I think it would be a fascinating experience to actually play this game and I like its purpose; however, I can only imagine that this could quickly become boring. If you are able to experience this with other players, I think that would help that factor of this game. 

Thoughts on Detroit Become Human 

I am very interested in this game, especially after hearing everyone who has played this before’s thoughts. I like the idea of seeing and experiencing the backstory and lives of different characters, even if experiencing it is emotionally taxing. I don’t think I have ever played a game that has made me feel sad before and now I am very curious to experience this. The experience almost sounds like being able to interact with a really good movie. I do feel that I may have a hard time playing this game based on what I heard about it, but it sounds like it would be worth it for the emotional experience. 

Thoughts on Factorio

The artstyle of this game is super cool and I loved the intended messaging behind it. I do kind of agree with what we discussed in class that it may be difficult to fully grapple with the topic of environmental destruction as a result of industry building when you don’t really experience the negative effects of the environment being destroyed. I mean the game does seem to get harder and events happen as a result of destroying the environment, but I’m not sure if I would necessarily correlate the two if I was actually playing the game. I would probably just think that the game is getting harder because I have been playing it for a while, and not as a result of the environment being destroyed. I think if the game were to include text or dialogue about what is going on, this could make the message more effective (kind of like what is done in the McDonald’s game when you destroy the villages), but it may also turn some people off from the game. 

Thoughts on Outer Wilds 

Outer Wilds seems like such a cool game, that would be challenging. I like the idea that every so often the universe just ends and you have to restart. I think that playing it would be like a race against the clock to see how much you can explore and get done before it happens again. I can imagine it feeling a little bit existential in the process of playing it. I would definitely play this game. 

Thoughts on Gris 

I 100% want to play this game someday and plan on buying it in the future. Years ago, I was first attracted to this game because of its beautiful art style, but now that I know that this game represents mental health, I want to play it even more. It seems like it not only is visually beautiful, but that it tells a beautiful story, without being too overbearing. I also really enjoy how the mechanics of moving the girl reflect her mental state, and I really hope that that means that she gains more abilities and is able to move faster and better by the end of the game. I really really reallyyyyy want to play this game. 

Thoughts on Gone Home 

Gone home is a very intriguing game and I also love the art style of it. I like that the game is pretty much just roaming around a house trying to find clues to understand more about the game and know what is happening. From the trailer, I am very invested in the story and if I don’t get to play this game, I would be very interested in watching a playthrough of it. I wish I could say more about it but I don’t know what happens, which makes me that more enticed to play it. 

Thoughts on The Layoff Game

The layoff game seems rather simple in execution but very impactful when it comes to its messaging. I understand why a lot of people at the time of this game’s release thought that it was insensitive to what was going on, but the game’s purpose also isn’t for it to be a fun game that makes people happy. It is a commentary on real life, which is what makes it such a good game. I think that the best part of this game is the fact that it includes the biographies and a little bit about the people that you have to lay off, so it’s not just a matter of statistically laying off a lot of people, you realize that they are all people at the end of the day with different lives. It definitely humanizes the situation more from the perspective of someone who is doing all of the laying off. 

Thoughts on Fake it to Make it

I think that this game is a good example of how easy it is to make and spread fake news (as well as profit off it). I like that the game isn’t abstract in its messaging; you are doing exactly that and that is persuasive to make you realize the gravity of the situation. I also appreciate that they still did this in a way that is fun, as some of these games can start to feel too educational a lot of the time. 

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Sara Estus – In class game reviews

Dumb Ways to Die:

 I played this game before we reviewed it in class. The original animated video became super popular in 2012 when I was around 11. From the perspective of someone who does have experience with trying to ride the wave of something popular they have done (the ducks), it’s nice to see a company using their popularity to create a well-developed game for people to enjoy. The gameplay is quite simple, with “levels” and speeds that the player must save the character from “dying in a dumb way.” All in all, a very fun game with a unique art style.

Fake it to Make it:

I had never heard of or played this game before we reviewed it in class. The concept of creating a game based on fake news and internet doom scrolling is interesting. I enjoyed how in-depth the game went on how users scouted out “viewers” to interact with the clickbait articles. It showed how much effort people put into just gathering views. The internet culture of today is complicated, and this game provides a new perspective on fake news and the impact of the articles.

Cards Against Calamity:

I had never heard of or played this game before we reviewed it in class. Creating a game that focuses on the impact of those in control is a difficult concept, but this game makes such a complicated matter into simple terms and mechanics. Though the game has a lot of reading and takes a moment to analyze the impact of each choice, it’s quite fast-paced and entertaining. What I enjoyed most about the game was the input the NPCs had depending on what the user did.

Cast Your Vote:

I had never heard of or played this game before we reviewed it in class. As someone who finally voted for the first time in the primary election this past November, I understand the confusion about who to vote for. I had wanted to vote for my local election earlier in the year but knew nothing about any of the people running. The concept of spreading awareness and teaching young adults the importance of using their resources to vote and understand who and why they are voting is incredibly important. Creating a slower-paced game that runs down the process step by step doesn’t seem like an easy task, but it is well executed.

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Week 2 [Tori Rojas]

Why do the advergames Tooth Protector and Escape work? Tooth Protector and Escape are effective because they are engaging and interactive, successfully blending entertainment with their marketing goals. Tooth Protector works by using a fun, competitive game format to promote dental care, while Escape leverages narrative and decision-making, keeping players engaged with the brand. Both games create memorable experiences that associate positive emotions with the advertised product.

What makes Chase the Chuckwagon and Shark Bait fail? Chase the Chuckwagon and Shark Bait fail because they lack depth and meaningful engagement. These games do not build a strong connection between the player’s actions and the brand, and they don’t create an experience that resonates beyond the gameplay. The focus on simplistic mechanics instead of interactive storytelling or strategic depth makes them forgettable and ineffective in achieving their marketing objectives.

What does Volvo’s Drive for Life accomplish? Volvo’s Drive for Life campaign uses a strong narrative to promote the safety features of their vehicles. By incorporating real-world scenarios and demonstrating how the car’s safety features work, it engages players in a way that highlights the brand’s commitment to safety. It accomplishes the goal of connecting the brand with reliability, trust, and concern for consumer well-being.

What company used in-advergame advertising? Coca-Cola is one example of a company that used in-advergame advertising. By creating branded video games, they aimed to connect their product with interactive experiences, making the brand more engaging for younger audiences.

What was one of the first home-console advergames, and what beverage was it for? One of the first home console advergames was Pepsi Man, which was released for the PlayStation in 1999. The game was used to promote Pepsi, using its mascot in a platformer format to create a memorable link between the beverage and the game.

What makes the toilet training game sophisticated, and do you agree? The toilet training game is sophisticated because it tackles a real-world challenge in a meaningful way, using interactive mechanics to mirror the emotional journey of learning and success. It blends entertainment with practical life skills, which makes the experience educational yet engaging. I agree that its sophisticated design mirrors how games can influence behavior beyond simple entertainment.

What do advergames and anti-advergames have in common, and what principles do they share? Advergames and anti-advergames share a focus on influencing consumer behavior through interactive media. Both aim to shape perceptions, either by promoting or critiquing products and behaviors. They also utilize persuasive principles, whether to endorse a product’s value or challenge its perceived impact on society.

    Here are five game ideas designed to change players’ minds about important topics like climate change, energy, and politics:

    Five Ideas:

    1. Eco City Builder (Climate Change)
      In this game, players take on the role of city planners tasked with building a sustainable, eco-friendly city. Players must balance resources, manage waste, and prevent pollution while growing the population and economy. As the game progresses, players face challenges like rising sea levels, extreme weather, and resource shortages. The goal is to show how small, everyday decisions in urban planning can have long-term impacts on the environment.
    2. Energy Quest (Energy)
      Players are tasked with managing the energy needs of a fictional country, with the challenge of transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. They can invest in solar, wind, and other green energy sources, but must balance economic growth with environmental responsibility. The game highlights the trade-offs between different energy sources and educates players about the importance of sustainable energy and the consequences of continued fossil fuel use.
    3. Political Debate: The Voter’s Choice (Politics)
      This game simulates an election cycle where players take on the role of a political candidate. Players must craft speeches, create policies, and navigate debates while facing opposition from rival candidates. The catch: The player must engage in real debates with other in-game characters, all while learning about the real-world issues their policies would impact. The game encourages critical thinking and understanding the broader consequences of political decisions.
    4. The Last Forest (Climate Change)
      Set in a near future where deforestation has led to severe climate consequences, players must work together to preserve the last remaining forest on Earth. Players play as environmental activists who are tasked with stopping illegal logging, creating protected areas, and educating communities on the importance of forests. The game focuses on raising awareness about biodiversity loss and the role forests play in climate regulation, pushing players to see the value of conservation efforts.
    5. Green Revolution (Food & Sustainability)
      In this farming simulation game, players are challenged to grow crops using sustainable farming techniques. Players must deal with climate change effects like droughts, floods, and soil depletion while learning how to implement solutions like crop rotation, water conservation, and organic farming. The goal is to teach players about the challenges of modern farming and the impact that unsustainable agriculture has on the environment, encouraging smarter, more sustainable choices.

    Thoughts on games played:

    McDonald’s Game:
    Playing the McDonald’s game made me think about how the fast-food industry operates. It’s a commentary on how profit-driven motives often overlook the health of workers, the environment, and consumer well-being. The game highlights the lengths corporations go to in order to maximize their reach, pushing a product that may not always be in the best interest of society.

    Intergroup Monopoly:
    Intergroup Monopoly offers a powerful social commentary on inequality and privilege. It shows how some groups are at an advantage simply by existing within a particular social or economic framework. The game reveals how systems of power are embedded even in something as simple as a board game, emphasizing that success isn’t just about individual effort, but also about the structural conditions we’re born into.

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    Thoughts on Games Played in Class

    The McDonald’s Game: This game cleverly exposes the dark side of the fast-food industry It’s effective because it makes players complicit in unethical choices, reinforcing its critique.

    Monopoly: A classic example of capitalism in action  It was originally created to critique monopolies but became a celebration of wealth and with the version we played in class it made the experience much more realistic.

    Cool Spot: A blatant advergame for 7UP that, despite its smooth animation and fun platforming mechanics, lacked meaningful engagement beyond its branding.

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    Sara Estus – Personal Game Reviews

    Farkle: I used to play this game for hours with my grandmother when I’d go over my grandparents house. Recently, she passed away and I now own the game. I played it again after quite a few years with my fiancé last night and here’s my take.

    The gameplay is super simple. You have six die, a cup, and a way to keep score.

    The goal is to get 10,000 points first.

    You can only start keeping score once you roll 500 points, with the 5 being worth 50, 1 is worth 100, and the other numbers only count if you have a set of three, such as if you roll six on three die, that is 600 points. When you roll the six die, you have to be able to keep at least one die to roll again, so If I roll, 5, 4, 4, 6, 3, 2 – I can only keep the 5 and now I have 50 points. Roll again, keeping only 1s, 5s, and pairs if you get them. But if I roll one last time with the one or two dice I have left and they aren’t 5s or 1s I lose all the points I accumulated, and it’s called a Farkle!

    My fiancé and I played about 4 times, once to just figure the game out (like I said it’s been years for me) but once we got it we got super competitive about it and really enjoyed it!

    If anyone would like to play Farkle please let me know!

    Mandalorian Monopoly: This is a game I received a few years ago when Star Wars released the popular show Mandalorian.

    It functions just like regular Monopoly but has some battling aspects and a special figure called “the child” (baby yoda for the non-star wars fans) The battling aspects have you fighting some of the main enemy characters in the show, tasking the player to roll a specific number on the die. If you lose the battle you must either give up a special card, go to jail, or pay the bank a specific amount of money.

    I enjoyed this version of Monopoly more than other versions because it has different money, called “Imperial credits” The money itself is a small plastic slab and it is much easier to keep track of. I also enjoy the battling aspect as it keeps the flow of the game differently, but makes players give or take depending on if they win. Also the simple complexity of the art and figures, including the money makes the game really cool!

    If anyone would like to play Mandalorian Monopoly please let me know!

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    Sara Estus – In class games, and reading questions (Week 2)

    Pepsi Man: Though the graphic quality isn’t the best for modern times, I think for the era it did release it was like more popular games. I think the game can be seen as a fun gimmick to get people to not only enjoy a fast-paced game but also an easy way to have advertising flashing in your face constantly. From the quality of other games, we checked out in class, I’d say this is the most planned out and more gameplay-focused advergame.

    Sneak King: This game is incredibly silly, almost giving the focus on just the “king’s” actions and mannerisms rather than Burger King as a brand. It obviously wasn’t a focus on good branding, but rather Burger King jumped on a bandwagon of how much the public loved the creepy king.  

    Chex Quest: The whole factor of a squad fighting “aliens” reminds me too much of suicide squad. The gameplay seemed fine, and the story was quite vague about why cereal was fighting phlem. But I guess that’s beside the point and the developers want you to just have fun?

    M&M Kart Racing: This is the type of game you play when you feel like you want to make yourself angry. The controls are bad, the graphics are not the best, and the overall gameplay seems poor and confusing. But at least the candy is good.

    America’s Army: This game just feels like a knockoff of COD if you take away all the fun story aspects. Now I get to think about WAR and SADNESS and people dying. I’d rather enjoy a game that has me walking away wanting to play more later, rather than walking away thinking about how real people can die in similar situations.

    Monopoly: I am not usually a fan of Monopoly because every time I play, I have this dread that the game will take forever and people will argue (I speak from experience). But I found this version to be super unique not only due to it’s new rules that make you aware of class systems but also because it made players feel bad for having more.

    Cool Spot: I have a soft spot for older games, and this one is such a silly, goofy game that I could see myself enjoying as a kid, but as an adult, the music, sounds, and controls get too repetitive and annoying. It’s still a cool game, though!

    McDonald’s Game: I love it when people get away with satire, especially against big companies! This game is one I think people should take the time to sit down and look into learning how to play correctly. It seems like it takes a while to play, but like I said, I love satire and making people realize how bad companies really are.

    • What advergames have you played? did they influence a purchase?

    I have not played any advergames before this class, though I wonder if you would consider games based on toys to be advergames, as they can make children want more toys. If so, I did play a lot of Barbie and Polly Pocket games online, and yes I was 100% influenced to beg my parents for more. Creating a space where children can play with their toys while the toy itself talks and moves is a really good way to influence children.

    • Why do the advergames tooth protector and escape work? What makes chase the chuckwagon and shark bait fail?

    Tooth protector and Escape worked because they added realism and human nature to the impact of the game. However, chase the chuckwagon and shark bait had less success as chase the chuckwagon was on Atari and had poor graphics and design, similarly, shark bait had poor appeal.

    • What does Volvo’s drive for life accomplish? 

    Volvo’s Drive for life brought awareness to driver safety and mainly aimed at educating drivers about road safety and reducing accidents.

    • what company used in-advergame advertising 

    Pepsi, with the lovely and iconic game, Pepsi Man

    • What was one if the first home-console advergames and what beverage was it for? 

    Kool-Aid man, for Atari VCS

    • what makes the toilet training game sophisticated and do you agree?

    It is stated that the urination in the toilet game is sophisticated due to a “strange attractor that draws and repels the players curser to mimic a lack of control.” I do agree that this is sophisticated and funny in a way, but it adds realism.

    • what do advergames and anti-advergames have in common, and what principles do they share?

    Both advergames and anti-advergames leverage interactive engagement, persuasive influence, and gamification to change players’ perceptions and behaviors. They both are based on the factor of persuading people into buying a product or hating a product.

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    Intergroup Monopoly

    If you love Monopoly you will probably dislike this game, but the point of the game isn’t to be good, but rather to be an example.

    In the game, there are 4 different classes (White Male, Females, Minorities, and 1%). Each class has different rules they must follow. The game is basically rigged towards the 1% to win, but that’s the point since it’s how the US functions.

    I enjoyed playing this game just because it’s another Monopoly game but isn’t like the rest because there are rules specific towards players. You will get mad playing the game, but you’ll also have plenty of laughs and that’s what the game is about. Definitely plan on playing this one again with my friends.

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    7Up Game

    This game is an example of a game that is simply not good. I found it very hard to defeat the enemies due to the elevation change in the map and only being able to shoot side to side or down. If you are on a hill, it is very hard to kill an enemy without jumping above it and shooting down, but if you miss you die since you are falling right on top of it. 4/10 would play again if someone had it plugged in, but wouldn’t go out of my way.

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    Game Review M&M Kart Racing

    In this game, it is basically a knock off of Mario Kart but with M&Ms. The graphics are overall pretty bad, but not terrible considering the time period. The physics are also super unrealistic. But overall, the game is awesome just because it is that bad of a game. Sometimes there isn’t a good reason to play a game other than it being a bad game, but that’s what makes it so fun.

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    Week 2 Game Thoughts and Reviews

    McDonald’s Game

    • Was it fun? Yes, despite the darker message of the game overall, it is kind of a fun game to see how far you can make it without becoming bankrupt. 
    • What were the player interactions? While you weren’t interacting with other players, the player is able to interact with the game by controlling all of the different sectors of McDonald’s, including the pasture, the slaughterhouse, the restaurant, and the corporate side. You can place cows and grow pastures, kill cows, hire people, etc. 
    • How long did it take to learn? While the general mechanics of the game are fairly simple, there are a lot of little parts to this game that make it take a little longer to learn. It also didn’t help that there were 30 pages in the tutorial alone. After the first few rounds of watching the game and playing it, I then really started to learn the game. 
    • Would you play it again? I think I would but probably not for an extended period of time. It gets frustrating because it is very difficult to not become bankrupt. 
    • Analyze the game using the 3 act structure. The first act begins when you first load up the game and you begin placing your first plots of cows and soy. You need to also hire people to work at the restaurant and make sure that your cows go to the slaughterhouse. The second act begins when you sort of start to develop a strategy for moving the cows through the McDonald’s cycle. You start to replace cows when they get killed and you may need to kill some yourself if they become disease-ridden. You may also start to implement some of the different marketing strategies in the corporate setting. I found myself in the second act partaking in more of the shady business practices like using GMOs in my crops and giving my cows some special stuff. I also deforested and relocated people. The third act is when you start to significantly lose money to the point where you cannot recover and you bankrupt McDonald’s. 
    • What are the collaborative and or competitive aspects of the game? This game is a single-player game so there aren’t really competitive or collaborative aspects to the game, although it is like a competition between you (operator of McDonald’s) and the rest of the world. 
    • What is the game’s metaphor and which of the game’s mechanics standout? The game’s metaphor is about the unethical business practices of McDonald’s. It calls out a lot of McDonald’s shady practices with trying to make money off cheap burgers including environmental concerns, health concerns, etc. One of the standout game mechanics for me is how I had to kill a cow if it became sick and it torched them. It was a little cruel. I also was shocked when I had a bunch of cow skeletons in my pasture and then was totally unable to use the land. 

    Intergroup Monopoly

    • Was it fun? Yes, I always enjoy playing Monopoly; however I think that I would have liked it more had I been one of the 1% players. 
    • What were the player interactions? Like normal Monopoly, players had to pay each other rent when landing on propers, give each other money based on some of the special community chest cards, the 1% player could buy others’ properties from them, etc. 
    • How long did it take to learn? Since I went in already knowing how to play normal monopoly, this version didn’t take very long at all. Some of the little special rules were hard to immediately catch on to, so we just kept referring back to them. 
    • Would you play it again? Probably not under these rules. I will definitely play normal Monopoly again and appreciate the symbolism of this version, but for just the purposes of playing a game out of enjoyment, the game is too unfair to want to play again. 
    • Analyze the game using the 3 act structure. The 3 act structure is very similar to the 3 act structure of normal Monopoly. The first act begins during the setup of the game. For this edition, we had to decide the “roles” of each player. To decide this, we just rolled the dice and whoever got the highest numbers were the more “ideal” roles. I dealt out the money to the players, with the 1% player getting significantly more money and properties than all of the other players. The white men played under normal rules and the females and minorities played with even less perks and properties. After this initial setup, the players began to take their first few turns, moving across the board. Players, depending on their role and opportunity to, began to buy the first properties. 
    • What are the collaborative and or competitive aspects of the game? 
    • What is the game’s metaphor and which of the game’s mechanics standout? 

    Pepsi Man Thoughts

    I actually really like the idea of this game. Even though the mechanics are simple and the gameplay doesn’t really have much to do with Pepsi, something about the game is just so charming to me. It’s fun, silly, and makes me think nicely of the Pepsi brand. I know some Pepsi fanatics that would probably love this game now. Will this game convince me to drink Pepsi? No. I’m not sure anything could get me to drink that. 

    Sneak King Thoughts

    This game does seem fun. I’m a little bit confused by the premise of the game and why you would want the king to seem like a sneaky criminal, but it still looks like something that I could enjoy playing, especially with the silly animation style. Would this make me hungry for a Burger King burger? Honestly, if I was hungry enough, it might convince me to get one, but probably only if I was starving. 

    Chex Quest Thoughts

    This actually looks like a somewhat solid game, but the premise as it relates to Chex Mix is a little weird, but I think that’s okay. It looks more fun than what I would imagine a Chex Mix game being like and I like the character designs. I could see my younger brother enjoying this and as a child, he might use that as justification to get my mom to buy him Chex Mix. For adults however, I don’t think that Chex Quest is going to do enough to make people go out and buy it unless you are a pre established Chex Mix consumer. The idea of this game does me think a little bit better of the Chex Mix brand, since they are willing to put effort into making a high quality game. I would play this game with friends once, just to experience it because it is a silly concept. 

    M&M Kart Racing Thoughts

    I haven’t seen this game in years. I definitely was reminded of how terrible the gameplay and mechanics are, and it confirms to me that I wasn’t just really bad at it as a kid (although that was probably a factor too). Although the gameplay has little to do with M&Ms, if I recall correctly, it was still effective to me as a kid as a method of persuasion to buy M&Ms. I think it might just be my love for M&Ms though. If I wasn’t already a committed consumer, I’m not sure how well this game would convince me to get M&Ms. I really wish I still had this on the Wii to experience how bad it is again. 

    America’s Army Thoughts

    I don’t like the idea of this game at all. I am already not the biggest first person shooter game fan, but I especially don’t like that this one is glorifying war and the US military. It feels like propaganda to try to get young males to join the military and doesn’t address any of the negative aspects of the experience. Also, you are generally playing a game for entertainment purposes and this is making it seem like killing people in a real life war would be too? That just doesn’t sit right with me. Despite that, if this game is well-done, I think it could be effective to convince some people to join the military. Do I agree with that? No, but I don’t think that the military is necessarily known for their ethics. 

    Cool Spot Thoughts

    This game is also charming to me! I think that it’s really fun that you play as the 7Up Spot. The only thing is I think that the music would get annoying after having to restart a level so many times, but it is still a cute game. I don’t think that this game would persuade me to drink 7Up. It just might make the brand seem more “fun” if anything. 

    Vote!!!

    • Was it fun? Yes, despite it being somewhat repetitive and more educational, I enjoyed it. 
    • What were the player interactions? While you weren’t interacting with other players in the game, you had to interact with the different candidates running for office in the general election by asking them questions at debates. 
    • How long did it take to learn? Almost instantly. This game was super simple to learn and it walked you through every step. 
    • Would you play it again? No, probably not. This game took too long and was a little too educational for me to want to play more than once. 
    • Analyze the game using the 3 act structure. In the first act and when you open up the game, you cast a vote at the general election, but you are uninformed so it makes you go back home and start to become an informed voter by using different apps. You start to collect information about the different candidates by using these apps and attending town meetings or debates. The second act would be when you start to form an idea of who the different candidates are and whose policies line up with your values. You are still conducting research on the candidates, but you are starting to form a more cohesive picture of the candidates. The third act is when you know who you are voting for and it is finally election day. You cast your vote and you see who won the election. (I’m pretty sure the people that win are always the people that you vote for). 
    • What are the collaborative and or competitive aspects of the game? While this is a single player game so it’s not collaborative or competitive in the traditional sense, I wouldn’t really call this a competitive game by any means. It’s more of just going through a storyline of the voting process and there isn’t anything to really say that you “won”.  
    • What is the game’s metaphor and which of the game’s mechanics standout? The game’s metaphor is about becoming an informed voter and performing your civic duties. The standout mechanic for me was being able to ask the candidates questions directly at the townhall meetings. I found that it was the best way to gather information from the candidates and the quickest. 
    • Overall, this seems like a pretty good game, especially for a social studies/history class in high school. Honestly I think that the long length of the game was helpful to make the voting process seem more like a continuous educated process rather than researching the night before the election. The game was a little slow but it was effective at what it was trying to accomplish. 
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    Thoughts on GETTING OVER IT

    I have played getting over it in the past, and it is so very frustrating. Not only are the mechanics hard to get used to (especially on IPad) but the little voice who wants to make sure that you know you messed up is so horrible. The game itself is great, it cause a strong reaction, and makes you want to play more to prove to yourself (and that stupid voice) that you can actually do it.

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    Week 1 Response | Dill DeSantis

    Game Thoughts:

    • Painstation: The concept is absolutely hilarious, but it’s honestly hard to say if I’d actually go through with playing it; On one hand, I don’t like being hurt – but on the other hand, it would be an extremely unique gaming experience.
    • Getting Over It: I’ve had several opportunities to play this game, but i have deliberately chosen not to because I already know I wouldn’t have the patience for it. I don’t dislike it, I think it’s a good looking and well-designed game, but it’s simply not a game I want to play; it seems like you can either love or hate it, there’s no middle ground.
    • Townscaper: I was pleasantly surprised by this game; the quality, sound design, and visuals were above what I expected from the pictures. I can certainly see the appeal, but I cannot imagine that I would stick with for long, as the options seem quite limited.

    Questions:

    • Ian Bogost critiques social games for their manipulative design. He argues that they reduce friendships to mere in-game assets, not genuine connections. Developers exploit this by integrating viral mechanics that encourage players to recruit others, not for fun but for engagement metrics. He also highlights how these games rely on compulsive loops, keeping players hooked with minimal effort yet endless repetition. The most concerning issue, however, is the sheer amount of wasted time—players may spend hours completing trivial tasks, reinforcing an artificial sense of progress.
    • Social games like FarmVille turn friendships into transactional relationships. Instead of fostering genuine social interaction, these games treat friends as resources to be used for in-game progression. Players are encouraged to “invite” others to perform tasks like watering crops or feeding animals, making progress feel dependent on social obligation rather than personal strategy. While this mechanic can create a sense of community, it ultimately prioritizes engagement over meaningful social connections.
    • These games seep into daily life, constantly demanding attention even when not actively playing. Push notifications remind players to check in, fostering a sense of urgency to return. Additionally, time-based mechanics—such as waiting for crops to grow or buildings to finish—keep players tethered, stretching gameplay across hours or even days. Many games capitalize on this by offering microtransactions to speed up progress, effectively monetizing patience and further reinforcing time-wasting mechanics.
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    Other thoughts on games played in class

    Painstation 

    Painstation reminds me of a more intense version of those games where you would need to hold a metal stick thingy and it would randomly shock a player until everyone was eliminated. I like to think that I would play Painstation if I had an opportunity to, but I’m such a wimp about everything I probably wouldn’t if I saw someone else get hurt playing it. I never even played that shocking game because I was scared. I definitely know some people who would play this game now and it would be super entertaining, but I think some people could take it too far. 

    Getting Over it

    I had never seen or played Getting Over It until now. I think I would enjoy watching other people play it, but I don’t even know if I would want to attempt to play it myself. I think that I would be really bad at it and I don’t want to experience the frustration.

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    Thoughts on games showed in class

    Painstation: If I am being honest, I am not totally sure what my actual thoughts are on this game. In one sense I feel like my dare devil side would totally play this game. However, I feel at the same time that I would be hesitant to.

    Getting Over It: I wasn’t even playing the game personally, I was justa watching other’s play and it was driving me crazy. I would not be able to play this game myself because it would drive me insane and make me want to throw my device across the room.

    Townscraper: This was my favorite game out of all of them that was showed because it was just so oddly facinating. I would have played this game for hours when I was younger. My only complaint is when I went to go download the game I was upset because it’s not a free game.