Category: Game Review

A Review of Game Design 2

• Was it fun? Yes, probably one of my favorite classes. 
• What were the player interactions? Commenting on each other’s posts, playtesting each other’s games, providing game feedback, playing games together, etc. 
• How long did it take to learn? Somedays I feel like I am still learning things about the points and the rules, but overall, not very long because the point system is fairly simple. I still feel like I don’t understand the multipliers though. 
• Would you play it again? Yes, but please don’t fail me. 
• What is the game’s metaphor and which of the game’s mechanics standout? The game’s metaphor is that game design is structured like a game to learn the principles of a game. If it has a rule set, it’s a game. I really like the character sheets and the multipliers.  
• What was the most frustrating moment or aspect of what you just played? I think I just needed more motivation to really focus on making a solid game. Because you can get points from so many different things like commenting, posting reviews, and coming up with game ideas, I felt less motivated to spend a lot of time making a game, but that is also partially because I have been so busy this semester. I essentially wish I had more drive and time to make a really good game, but that isn’t necessarily game design’s fault. 
• What was your favorite moment or aspect of what you just played? Everything!!!!
• Was there anything you wanted to do that you couldn’t? Not that I can think of
• If you had a magic wand to wave, and you could change, add, or remove anything from the experience, what would it be? I think it would be nice to somehow incentivize the competition a little bit more. I think last semester was a lot more competitive in terms of the leaderboard and that made it really fun. This semester, it kind of feels like everyone is just in survival mode and doing what they can, not caring where they end up. 
• What should be improved with the next version? Refinements to the multipliers, and maybe more restrictions on the hidden achievements. I honestly hated trying to keep track of my own hidden achievements because it just became a lot on top of everything else 
• What was the game’s message? If you have a set of rules, it can be a game. 
• Describe the game in 3 words. Fun, educational, going-to-miss-it-ngl

Evan’s Cracking Jokes Game Version 2

I’m really glad that the glowsticks were switched out for the clickers!

• Was it fun? Yes, but to be completely honest, the second version wasn’t as fun as the first one. I do like the new clickers though. 
• What were the player interactions? Reacting to each other’s jokes by moving the noise maker clicker thing
• How long did it take to learn? I got this game almost instantly 
• Would you play it again? Yes I would 
• What is the game’s metaphor and which of the game’s mechanics standout? I’m honestly not sure what the metaphor is, but the standout mechanic for me is using the clicker to react to other player’s jokes
• What was the most frustrating moment or aspect of what you just played? Not being able to come up with a joke. The categories were almost a little too vague for me. I know that Evan doesn’t want it to become like Cards against Humanity with the kind of prompts, but I think more specific prompts can help people come up with jokes. 
• What was your favorite moment or aspect of what you just played? I really enjoyed spinning the clicker thingy. 
• Was there anything you wanted to do that you couldn’t? I wanted to be able to steal other people’s points if they couldn’t come up with a joke or the one that I tell in addition to their joke is funnier. 
•  If you had a magic wand to wave, and you could change, add, or remove anything from the experience, what would it be? Make it easier for players to come up with jokes 
• What should be improved with the next version? I would revise the points system. I think that people should be rewarded if they get more people to laugh. Maybe 1 point per person who clicked the spinner? I would also like to see if players are able to steal points from other players. Also, I would love for you to bring back the old joke categories that everyone helped come up with. I had a much easier time coming up with jokes for those cards. To avoid people being like “I don’t like this one, IDK”, you could have people draw 2 cards and pick their favorite category from those 2 cards. 
• Describe the game in 3 words. Comedy, satisfying clicker

Horrible Therapist

• Was it fun? Yes! 
• What were the player interactions? Responding to the problems at the therapist and deciding what cards were the funniest or the most fitting
• How long did it take to learn? This game was a pretty instant learning experience
• Would you play it again? Absolutely, and I better! 
• What is the game’s metaphor and which of the game’s mechanics standout? You are a bad therapist and you have to help people’s absurd problems. I really liked that you were almost building a comic strip. 
• What was the most frustrating moment or aspect of what you just played? Reading some questionable cards in front of Professor Ames
• What was your favorite moment or aspect of what you just played? Being very good at it lol
• Was there anything you wanted to do that you couldn’t? Not that I can think of!
• What should be improved with the next version? It would be funny to have some improv or recreations of some of these scenes for immersive gameplay 
• Describe the game in 3 words. Fun, shocking, wow! 

Trial by Trolly 

• Was it fun? Yes, I really enjoyed this game! 
• What were the player interactions? Players had to try to “one” up each other by making the other team’s track seem worse so that the conductor would run over them instead. You also had to try to convince the conductor to not run you over so there was a lot of verbal manipulation as well. 
• How long did it take to learn? This game’s rules and mechanics were simple to learn, but I kept getting hung up on if I wanted the cards to be the “worst” or the “best” since some of the cards were placed on our own track and others on the other players’. That might just be a me problem though. 
• Would you play it again? Yes, I would! I think I would have a good time playing this with a group of friends. 
• What is the game’s metaphor and which of the game’s mechanics standout? The game’s metaphor is about the trolley problem, where you have to debate the moral dilemma of running over the people on one train track. A metaphor I really liked was that the player teams changed every round. 
• What was the most frustrating moment or aspect of what you just played? I kind of wish we could have mixed the teams up a little bit better, because even though you had a different team almost every round, I never got to be on the same team as Sara. 
• What was your favorite moment or aspect of what you just played? The cards were very funny and I enjoyed debating on which ones to choose. 
•  If you had a magic wand to wave, and you could change, add, or remove anything from the experience, what would it be? I want there to be a physical train to run over the people!!
• What should be improved with the next version? Physical train, maybe better ways of shuffling the player teams?
• What was the game’s message? Can’t always please everyone (not really but that’s what I got out of it)
• Describe the game in 3 words. Absurd, funny, different 

From games for change:

“Gris is a hopeful young girl lost in her own world, dealing with a painful experience in her life. Her journey through sorrow is manifested in her dress, which grants new abilities to better navigate her faded reality. Gris will grow emotionally and see her world in a different way.

GRIS is a serene and evocative experience, free of danger, frustration, or death. Players will explore a meticulously designed world brought to life with delicate art, detailed animation, and an elegant original score. Through the game light puzzles, platforming sequences, and optional skill-based challenges will reveal themselves as more of Gris’s world becomes accessible.”

Notes from online

• Gris = grey in French or Spanish 
• Colors represent the stages of grief
  • Denial – grey 
  • Anger – red 
  • Bargaining – green 
  • Depression – blue 
  • Acceptance – yellow 

Review

• Was it fun? Yes! I love puzzle platformer games like this and it was super easy to become immersed in the gameplay. 
• What were the player interactions? While you don’t interact with other players, your character is able to interact with various objects which are integral to completing the puzzles. I especially enjoyed interacting with the little cute creatures in the forest. 
• How long did it take to learn? The mechanics of this game were super easy and quick to learn, but I think it would have been different had I played on a different platform. Based on the demo we played during class, the tablet version seems a lot harder to control the girl, which makes sense for the game. On the Switch, I had no issue moving her. 
• Would you play it again? Absolutely, I haven’t finished the game yet, but even when I do complete all of the main objectives I can already see myself going back to complete some of the smaller puzzles and challenges that I missed along the way. 
• What is the game’s metaphor and which of the game’s mechanics standout? The game is about a girl that is going through the process of grief. The game starts out with little to no color and no character abilities, but as you progress through the game you unlock more colors and abilities. Each of the colors is representative of the stages of grief, and that is one of the standouts for me. The fact that the character abilities that you unlock are representative of that specific stage of grief and the things that you experience during it, it is so beautifully poetic. 
• What was the most frustrating moment or aspect of what you just played? Once you get past a certain point, you can’t go back to the area you were just at. For instance, I was exploring the world a little bit before completing one of the puzzle challenges, but then I fell down a big hole and couldn’t return to finish that puzzle. As a completionist, I was not very happy about this, but I respect why the game developers chose to do that. I read online that I can revisit this at the end of the game so at least there’s that. 
• What was your favorite moment or aspect of what you just played? Honestly, everything. The game so cohesively goes together. The soundtrack and the visuals make the game such an immersive experience and at times it is very emotionally moving. The game doesn’t have any words that tell you about the process of grief, but you are able to feel it in your soul. 
• Was there anything you wanted to do that you couldn’t? I wanted to go back and finish those earlier challenges!
• If you had a magic wand to wave, and you could change, add, or remove anything from the experience, what would it be? Absolutely nothing! 
• What was the game’s message? The game is about a girl who is navigating through the process of grief and sorrow
• Describe the game in 3 words. Beautiful, moving, breathtaking 

Also here is a gallery of screenshots I took, just because it is so pretty and I need to share:

-Rees

1. None, I won and understood how to play

2. The closeness between my opponent the entire game

3. I wanted to have a way to defend, even when I didn’t have enough spikes to win that round.

4. I would probably give more meaning to the cool lil drawings on each tile piece

5. Maybe add a tad bit more depth with how the characters can interact with other characters in a way thats more than being reliant on the spikes. Like special abilities or bonuses.

6. fun mind game

Frustrating Part:

Some prompts felt a bit too personal and could turn people against each other if the group vibe isn’t great.

Favorite Part:

It was really fun seeing people’s unexpected answers, made it feel playful and revealing.

Magic Wand Change:

Soften the wording on a few prompts and add a timer so turns don’t drag.

Improvement Suggestion:

Reword some questions and add drawing rounds — everything else is solid.

Game’s Message:

Trust your group and expect some real honesty.

3 Words:

Funny, social, revealing

barrel of truth (second iteration)

1. What was the most frustrating moment or aspect of what you just played? Their really wasn’t a frustrating thing about this game.
2. What was your favorite moment or aspect of what you just played? I really liked the new topic cards, they brought some better talking and the public and anonymous was really fun to be funny on the anonymous cards.
3. Was there anything you wanted to do that you couldn’t? No, this game has everything i could have wanted.
4. If you had a magic wand to wave, and you could change, add, or remove anything from the experience, what would it be? Their isn’t any thing i would change.
5. What should be improved with the next version? nothing its perfect.
6. What was the game’s message? talking and getting to know people but being able to tell things you wouldn’t normally but be able to say it.
7. Describe the game in 3 words: truth, fun, friends

What was the most frustrating aspect? Maybe not wanting/ not thinking about an answer to the card

What was your favorite moment? I like the calming color scheme. The discussion brought out aspects of other people you didn’t expect. The social aspect of this game was fun.

Was there anything you wanted to do? Maybe keep going… The board ends but what if people haven’t reached happiness? Could it be a circular pond?

If I had a magic wand to change, add or remove? Maybe labeling the colored lily pads? Which one is sad and which one is happy. 

What should be improved? Board shape/ length of lily pad path – it stopped too abruptedly. Also, no vengeful water spirit cards were chosen… I wanted to interact more with that but then I also question if it contradicts your game’s message? Is the purpose of the game to talk through/solve problems leading to peace? because school questions don’t do that. I guess what I’m getting at is what is the purpose of the Ames Card’s in this game’s larger message.

Game Message? Venting, collaboration, and mutual support lead to social and mental benefits.

Game in 3 words? Empathy, conversation-based, social-health, deep, bonding

Other questions: If taken further, it would be helpful to add more clarity in the rules. how long does it take? Player range? Pieces?