Carson Bauer: Question Set One

In your opinion what should every game have? Why do you like your favorite game?

I think that every game should have something that keeps you coming back. If a game does not have something that keeps you coming back, then it will not succeed and have a following. The reason I like my favorite game (Skate 3) is because it does just that. It is re-playable over and over and it never gets boring. Games also have to have something unique about them if it is the first version of the game, or else no one will play it for long because it isn’t unique. The only exceptions to this are games such as Call of Duty, in which they are a series so they can get away with the same game for years.

List the games you’ve played and currently play.

Skate 3, Roblox, Minecraft (PC, IOS, and Xbox), Overwatch, Overwatch 2, Valorant, Fortnite, Fallout 76, Fallout 4, Fallout New Vegas, Pixel Strike 3D, Motocross Madness, Star Wars Battlefront series, Spongebob games, GTA IV + V, NHL Series, MX vs. ATV series, Forza Series, Descenders, Minesweeper, Stardew Valley, Call of Duty Series, Halo series, MultiVersus, Rocket League, Jackbox Series, Brawhalla, Just Cause series, Art of Rally, Steep, Slime Rancher, R6, Apex Legends, Trackmania Turbo, Monster Energy Supercross, PUBG, Trials series, Battlefield series, Happy Wars, overcooked, Darwin Project, Splitgate, Plants vs. Zombies, Payday 2, Destiny series, Terraria, Sims series, Goat Simulator, Doritos Crash Course, True Skate, Clash of Clans, Brawl Stars, and countless other mobile games that I am not diving into.

Can you apply the three act structure to your favorite game? What is it’s pacing and how long do you find yourself in each act?

I can apply the three act structure to Skate 3. The beginning of the game starts with a cutscene and you basically start your own skate company. The middle of the game is basically the entire game in which your goal is to real 1,000,000 board sales, and the end of the game is basically just free play after you unlock everything. Some may also say that the end game is “Killing” every challenge instead of just finishing every challenge. The pacing is super quick for the beginning, the middle lasts for very long, and the end takes even longer to “Kill” every challenge. (Killing a challenge is much harder than just beating the challenges). But that also just depends on what you consider completing the game and when you reach the “end”. This is one of the reasons I like this game is for that exact reason, there is no specific way to do things, just as long as you get it done.

When coming up with ideas where do you find you start, with the metaphor or the mechanic?

Usually, I find it easier to come up with the mechanic rather than the metaphor. I tend to have ideas that base more on the mechanics, such as Owen and I’s BattleCups game from 4D studio last year. My first thoughts were to make a game that was like Pong, but different in a complex way.

Over the course of this semester, who would you like to collaborate with and why?

Over the course of the semester, I’d like to collaborate with Brayden because we live in the same room, and will be much easier to collaborate on projects when we don’t have to make specific plans in order to do so.