Category: Game Review

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Game Design 2

Week 1 – Motivation

Group: Connor and Rees

5 Never-ending game ideas:

  • Conveyors grab n bag – Grab items that move along a conveyor…You have a list to follow, and you have to pick the right items to choose to bag from the conveyor. You can pick rare items, earning extra points. Patience is a virtue, and your points are based on how long you choose to play.
  • Grass Grower – You are a grass farmer, growing different types of grass. you watch the grass grow, and when it gets too long you cut it. You can continue to upgrade the grass while planting different grass types. Your grass will always grow, even when you are AFK.
  • 7-Impossi-roll – You are given a 6-sided dice, and your objective is to roll a 7. The game never ends, but you can upgrade your dice the more you roll (different colors and details, endlessly hoping to roll a 7. The number of times you roll is tracked to show dedication.
  • Ant Antics – You are a part of a colony of ants, and you must maintain the food supply and grow your colony. If you run out of food, you move to the next tree. Each tree will always have a start amount of food supply, but you need to make it last before moving onto the next tree.
  • College Builder – You build and customize a college campus. This is a sandbox game, in which you can always expand upon the campus while building food courts, stadiums, classrooms, etc.

Week 1 questions:

  1. What are the issues Ian Bogost raises about social games with Cow Clicker?
    • Ian gives a list of issues that social games inhibit, such as enframing, compulsion, optionalism, and destroyed time. These factors, Ian believes, pose as a negative influence on the future of games. Along with these factors, Ian believes that the outward obsession social games inflict are tricks to disguise themselves as fruitfulness.
  2. How do social games like FarmVille enframe friends?
    • In social games, friends aren’t really friends. People are considered to be resources, not for the player but for the game developer. Ian touches upon the point that social networks in general serve as “enframing apparatuses,” in the sense that people are things that will do what you want when you need them.
  3. How do social games destroy time outside of the game?
    • The destruction of time revolves around the demand of “grinding” in order to reach new heights. Tens or even hundreds of hours in order to complete something can be enticing, giving the player the initiative to be the best. However, social games destroy the time we spend away from them. This includes obligation, worry, and dread over the missed opportunities of grinding.

Thoughts on what we played in class (Townscaper)

I think that Townscaper is a generally relaxing game, promoting creative expression with a calming atmosphere. The concept is simple, and so are the controls. Only by clicking, you can transform a vast wasteland of water into a thriving village. One thing I will criticize that Professor Ames’ daughter mentioned was the fact that there are no people walking around. It would be interesting to see how people interact with the transforming environment around them. I wonder if this game could inspire architectural projects. Very farfetched, but maybe this game could layout an idea for an inspiring architect. I like the diversity in creativity the game projects, including color, building types and even tiny gardens. I’d say Townscaper is a nice time-killer.

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Townscaper Review

  • Was it fun? Yes, this game is fun and relaxing. I enjoy being able to freely design my own town even with the limited mechanics. The best part is the noises that it makes when you add a section to your town. 
  • What were the player interactions? This game doesn’t really have any player interactions. 
  • How long did it take to learn? Like a minute MAX. This game is very simple, it is just clicking to place something and holding to remove something. You also have the choice to change the colors of the sections you add,. There are a few features that you are able to change that I didn’t notice at first—including changing the angle of the light source and adding a grid to better visualize where you place buildings. 
  • Would you play it again? Yes, I would. This isn’t the kind of game where I would spend hours upon hours captivated by it, but it is something I will definitely revisit when I’m having difficulty sleeping or am stressed. 
  • Analyze the game using the 3 act structure. The 3 act structure of the game is difficult to determine as this is a game that is very much play at your own pace and quit at anytime you decide. However, I would say that the first act begins as you load up the first world and begin placing and taking away buildings and “blocks”. The second act would often include when you start developing a “plan” to create the city that you want and you get ideas of how you can use the different combinations of building heights and colors to create something unique. The third act would be when you decide that your build is worthy of being “completed” or want to restart and begin a new town. 
  • What are the collaborative and or competitive aspects of the game? This game doesn’t really have specific collaborative or competitive aspects since it is a single player game. 
  • What is the game’s metaphor and which of the game’s mechanics standout? The game’s metaphor is that you are the “builder” and designer of a town in the middle of the ocean. The standout mechanic to me is the ability to change the way that your town looks by changing the color or light source angle. I also like how when you put certain buildings next to each other, they automatically combine and make unique shaped buildings. I particularly like making balconies. 
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Week 1

Getting Over It review: This game was incredibly frustrating to me. I might have missed it, but is there a backstory to why he is in a pot? Why isn’t he using the sledgehammer to smash the pot he is in? Does he even want to be out of the pot? IDK. I was annoyed that the narrator was rambling, but when he stopped, I missed having something to listen to other than the hitting of a rock. My body was very tense watching the game being played.

Pain station thoughts: I can see what draws people to play this game, but it’s weird at the same time. Is kind of a form of punishment when you do something wrong, but also it’s fun. It’s like touching your tongue to a 9V battery; you know it’s going to send a shock, but you’re anticipating it. (Am I the only one who did this?)

Townscaper review: I can see why this is entertaining, creating stories of who might reside at the houses you are building, but at a certain point I think I’d get bored. I guess that’s what the game is all about: close it and restart another day when you remember the game exists. The sound effects are amazing.

Fair Food Maker review: OMG! I thought this was the best game ever when I was a kid. Tori mentioned playing this game, and I got flashes of memories of this game that I could sort of remember, but I wasn’t positive. You basically select a machine you would see at a fair and make the food. Ex.: lemonade, funnel cake, snow cone, corn dog, etc. This game has no end state; you make the foods and eat them, and you can start over with another food or be done.

Slither.io review: This is another example of a game without an explicit end state. I still love this game and play it to occupy my short attention span. You collect food, grow bigger, and eventually die. Then you start again. There is no progress saved other than a past high score. Every time you die, you start new, as small as everyone else when they start.

What are the issues Ian Bogost raises about social games with Cow Clicker?

  • Enframing- friends are resources
  • Compulsion- psychological manipulation, exploiting human psychology in order to make money
  • Optionalism- the game’s meaning comes from the choices a player makes; gameplay is optional
  • Destroyed Time- “Social games so covet our time that they abuse us while we are away from them, through obligation, worry, and dread over missed opportunities.” It’s the disrespect of time that we could be being more productive, other than wasting it on a game.

How do social games like FarmVille enframe friends?

  • Friends are used as perks. “Get 100 coins by inviting 1 friend”

How do social games destroy time outside the game?

  • “Social games so covet our time that they abuse us while we are away from them, through obligation, worry, and dread over missed opportunities.” It’s the disrespect of time that we could be being more productive, other than wasting it on a game.

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Week 1 Questions and Reviews

Week 1 Questions

  • What are the issues Ian Bogost raises about social games with Cow Clicker? In this article, Bogost specifically lists 4 issues that he has with social games—enframing, compulsion, optionalism, and destroyed time. Enframing is basically like turning your friends and family into a resource that can be exploited by both you and the game developer. For compulsion, Bogost claims that social games prey on humanity’s compulsiveness and how we can easily become obsessed with something, such as a game like Cow Clicker or FarmVille. Optionalism is something that Bogost explains is having the option to actually “play” the game. FarmVille is based on waiting on crops, but you can get rid of that part by just spending your real money. You don’t really have to do much to actually advance in the game. Finally, Bogost claims that social games destroy your time as there isn’t really an objective, it is an endless cycle of playing a rather meaningless game that makes you feel bad when you stop playing it. 
  • How do social games like FarmVille enframe friends? Social games like FarmVille enframe friends by getting you to invite friends to the game so that you can get certain perks or more resources in the game to your benefit. In fact, Bogost states in the article, “In social games, friends aren’t really friends; they are mere resources”. This also helps get more people into the game, it helps build a network that can make the game become “viral”. 
  • How do social games destroy time outside of the game? Social games are neverending, and so, essentially, an infinite amount of time could be spent playing them. Bogost says, “Social games so covet our time that they abuse us while we are away from them, through obligation, worry, and dread over missed opportunities.” Anytime spent away from the game is time wasted where you could be increasing your level on the game, and increasing your progress. It doesn’t help if it is on a game such as Facebook, you can also see some of your friends’ levels and achievements, which may make you feel bad for stepping away from the game.

Bang! Game Review Part 2  

  • Was it fun? Replaying Bang was so much fun, although I played with my family and it took them a little bit to get a hang of the rules and mechanics. It also sucks because I was the first one out, but I still really enjoyed watching them play and rooting for the other outlaws to follow through. 
  • What were the player interactions? Players put other players in jail, shot them, commenced duels, as well as stole cards from each other and forced others to discard cards. My favorite player interaction is when we kept passing around the dynamite to see if anyone would blow up. 
  • How long did it take to learn? Since I was just replaying this game from playing in class the first time, it didn’t take me very long to relearn the rules. Even playing a second time, however, I would say that it was still a little bit of a learning curve to get to know all of the different cards and special rules (like being able to drink beer when you take a fatal hit). For my family, my mom and brother seemed to catch on to the basic rules and mechanics very quickly. My dad, however, found the game kind of confusing, especially with all of the different cards (he would much prefer a game like UNO). 
  • Would you play it again? Yes, I received this game as a Christmas gift because I loved it in class so much. I just need to find enough players!!
  • Analyze the game using the 3 act structure. The first act of the game begins during the setup of the game, including receiving a role and character. Players take their first few turns, each drawing 2 cards each turn, taking any number of actions they wish, and discarding cards. The second act commences as the game picks up speed, when players begin to devise and understand who they may want to “go after” and take shots at them. The third act is when the game is dwindling down, either 2 people are essentially standing off to see who will win, or a key player, like the sheriff, is close to taking a critical hit. The game officially ends when the sheriff dies or is the last one left standing. 
  • What are the collaborative and or competitive aspects of the game? This game has both competitive and collaborative elements. The collaborative element comes from the fact that some players have shared goals, for instance, both outlaws and the renegade want to kill the sheriff, but it’s also competitive because it’s every man for himself and you don’t necessarily know each other’s roles. 
  • What is the game’s metaphor and which of the game’s mechanics standout? Bang’s metaphor is that you are set in the wild west and you are essentially playing as a character from that world. The sheriff wants to keep law and order, the renegade wants to take the sheriff’s place in the town, and the outlaws want to kill the sheriff. The mechanic that stands out the most to me are the unique character abilities that allow you special advantages throughout the game. 

The Graveyard Game Review  

  • Was it fun? I’m not sure if I would call it fun, but more or less intriguing. I liked the aesthetics of the game because it kind of looked like an old black and white film, but there wasn’t much substance to the game overall. But it was still interesting to see if anything exciting would happen (although I presume if I played anything other than the trial version it would be a little more exciting, because apparently it includes death). 
  • What were the player interactions? You can move the old lady in a straight line through the graveyard (very slowly) and have her sit on a bench.
  • How long did it take to learn? Not very long at all because I just had to move her in a straight line and wait for her to sit on the bench, plus the game had instructions that told me to do just that. 
  • Would you play it again? It depends. I think I would try out the non trial version if someone else bought it for me, but I’m not going to spend my own money to see this lady die. 
  • Analyze the game using the 3 act structure. (This may differ because I only played the trial version.) The first act starts when you enter the graveyard where you will see the title sequence and you just slowly make your way to the bench that is illuminated at the end of the path. The second act would be once you sit down on the bench you get a close up shot of this old lady presumingly reflecting on the gravestones around her and the concept of death. She points out how some other people there have died and she wishes that the next time she visits the graveyard she will “stay for longer”. You could choose to stay there as long as you like, but the song is only a few minutes long. You can choose to wander around the graveyard if you really want, but there’s not really many places you can move to, the game sort of beckons you to the bench. The third act would be exiting the graveyard and ending the game when you desire. In the non trial version, I presume that this act would also include the lady dying. 
  • What are the collaborative and or competitive aspects of the game? This game isn’t really competitive or collaborative, it is more of just following a story. 
  • What is the game’s metaphor and which of the game’s mechanics standout? The game’s metaphor is about an old lady who visits the graveyard and she reflects on death and almost wishes for it herself. Since there really aren’t many mechanics, the most standout mechanic is that when you are positioned with your back to the bench, she will eventually decide to sit down. 
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Thoughts on the games we played in class.

My favorite game by far was Townscrpaer. I love it when a game is really simple, yet you can build or do insanely complex things within it. I was dissapointed when I saw it was 4.99 in the app store 🙁

The first game Getting Over It was cool. there was a similar game that blew up last year that was a similar concept of trying to get to the top without falling. I was not a fan of Getting Over It but i do like the one that blew up this year because I am better at that running mechanic.