Game Character

The game that I played was ninja royale which is an iPhone game where you are playing online using the character you choose from the start. At the start of the game the player will be given 3 different clan to be in which are tiger, shark and raven clan where each clan will have different ninja suit to choose.

The character I choose to play in was the clan of the raven which the suit given to me to choose was a black suit which add to my attack, but as I played on I get new suit from events which allows me to change to those suit that add to my different attributes which, for example I change to a suit of toad which improve my both my attack and defence as compare to my original suit which only increase my attack.

The gender I choose to be in the online game was a male as I like to be myself which I would not change to a female even if the suit helps better in giving me a better stats I will still stick to choosing a male character.

The game also allow me to change weapon, defence and amulet which will get from the event and through levelling up which using this weapon, defence and amulet which will boost the attack and defence of my character, when I choose the weapon, defence and amulet even if it make my character not as appealing I will still stick to those things as I think that I rate stats over appearance.

In conclusion, I think that how the player represent themselves is based on how they think which is most important, it’s stats over appearance or appearance over stats. How the player choose to represent in the game show what they are playing the game for, causal or hardcore.

Dimensions of Game World

The game that I choose to analyse on the game world is Assassin’s creed 3.

Physical dimension

Spatial Dimension: Assassin’s creed 3 is a 3D game that gives players more sense of being inside a space.

Scale: The character in the game is the scale of a person, it also take into consideration of how a normal person will move around or doing things thus the character that is running or fighting resembles the look of a normal human beings. The scale of the house, roads and animal is also set according to the real world which the height, distance and the overall size are to the scale of the real world which going for one place to the other place will take a long time, unless using fast travel or horse to reduce the time taken to travel.

Boundaries: The boundaries of the game is shown using the animus memory so as the player reached the boundaries of the game world there will be text showing that the animus memory is not synchronized and the player will have to move away from that area thus this set the boundaries of the game but it does also using trees and cliff to prevent the player from going out of the game boundaries.

Temporal dimension

Variable time: The time in the world is reflected by using the day and night cycle with the different lighting and the different ambient sound, the cycle of the day and night does not really follow real time but it does show the player when is the day and when is the night.

Environmental dimension

Cultural context: The cultural context is of the game world is before, during and after the American Revolution as it take place in the 18^th century where there is only ship, horse and carriage as main transport

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Physical surrounding: The places that the game focuses more on Boston, New York and American frontier where the player will be able to explore and complete the main story of the game. The ambient sound around those few places are different, the player can listen to conversation resident in the game world when they are either at Boston or New York doing their quest, whereas when they are at the American frontier the player will hear mostly the sound of the animal and only some conversation.

Detail: Assassin’s creed 3 maximize the use of detail in creating the game world as the character, clothes, building, floor, wall, trees and others the detail is define and the features of the character and clothes are well maximise as it does let the feel how heavy and light or how the character looks like as the sound of the main character running sound heavier because of all the weapons and compare a group of children running in the town which does not have any sound to show the lightness of the character.

Style: The style of Assassin’s creed 3 is during the 18^th century where not many high rise building where they clothes and how the people will look like is all from that century.

Setting: The setting of the game is taken from history of the American Revolution, where the games take the setting from the history of the American Revolution where the inhabitants of the thirteen colonies of British America that supported the American Revolution trying to break free from the British control.

Emotional dimension

Environment: The environment plays a part in making the player feels that they are actually went back in time to the 18^th century so that they will experience and know of the history, but it does also have a the environment that is in the 21^st century where the character went to the animus to get into the past, therefore the environment will make the player feel both in the 18^th and 21^st century.

Story-telling: Assassin’s creed 3 is more focus on the story and graphics, there are side missions but the game does encourage player to play all the side mission to know more about the character although those side missions does not really have an impact on the main story but it does give player the knowledge of the character itself. The story based on the main character becoming an assassin to stop Templars from taking control. As this will make the player go through the story of the character together as this will also allow them to understand and uncover the truth behind the Templars and Assassins?

Interaction:  The interaction between the player and game world are huge as the player have to interact with the game world in order to move around for example, some mission the player have to interact with the cliff which is to climb up to the cliff as this does show the interaction between the player and the game world.

Ethical dimension

Right / wrong in context of the world:  In the game of assassin’s creed 3, the right to kill or assassinate a person or people is alright although the game does have a control on who the player can kill and the player are only able to kill soldiers and the Templars. The game does stop the player from killing any residents, from this aspect the game does want to relate it back to the reality of the real world that it is wrong to kill anyone be it a solider or citizen or anyone.

In conclusion, Assassin’s creed 3 it does immerse the player with all the different dimension that allow the game to be great as this also is because of the graphics that is good which even increase the immensity of the player to the game with all those other different dimension that is making the this game a great game! 

Difference in Mediums

The game I choose is snake and ladder, which is played as a board game and also as a digital game. Although both medium does not change the rules of the game but it changes and affect the gameplay of the game.

As originally the game is played as a board game which requires dice and also it add a lot more interaction between players, it does also teaches mortality from the art work of the board where the ladder is something good and the snake is a down fall for something bad. The board is trying to covey a message to people that playing the game to learn what the board art work teaches. Though the gameplay will have more interactive but it will also have more waiting time as some players might not be fully attentive when waiting for their turns, which will result in a slower gameplay session.

As for snake and ladder in digital form which firstly reduce the interaction with players as the player will be using a computer to play the game which is playing with an artificial intelligence but surely it will improve in the gameplay session as it will be shorten and the digital form will also have a better gameplay experience for the game as it will add more visual to the player as maybe animation will be added to the game in terms of rolling the die, how the token moves and how the token climb and slide down the snake, which will allow the player to be more visually attracted to the game.

In conclusion, playing the game same in a different medium will result you to have a total different gameplay experience as the interaction will be more or less depending on the medium you play. The medium that I choose have a lesser interaction between the two medium as one is a board game and the other is digital thus this will reduce the interaction between the player to the pieces in the game when playing on the digital as compared to playing the board game. Overall, the gameplay will have a completely different play experience in every medium.

Fighting Game!

The genres I will be talking about are fighting. Which consist of the start, the peak, the fall and revival of fighting game genre. The timeline of the fighting genre are below;

THE START

I feel that from 1976-1985 is the start of the fighting game genre as it was when the first fighting game been created, which also inspire people to start to create game of this genre during this period of time it was Karata Champ and The Way of the Exploding Fist that make it even more popularised and it was Karata Champ that bought in the Dual Joystick for the player to create variety of moves with the dual joystick. Overall, the start of the fighting game genre at this time brings a lot of other good and successful fighting game now.

1976:   Heavyweight champ, released by SEGA

1979:   Warrior, released by Cinematronics

1983:   Champion boxing, released by SEGA

1984:   Karata Champ, developed by Technos Japan corporation for Data East

1985:   Yie Ar Kung-Fu, released by Konami

            The Way of the Exploding Fist, released by Beam Software

THE PEAK

From 1987-2000 is the peak or golden years for fighting game, as the creation of Street Fighter which introduced hidden special attack that was a success as Capcom continue to create Street Fighter Series from then on. During this period SNK also created Fatal Fury: King of Fighters which is also a success of a fighting game, this is also the period of time where more company such as (Midway Game Inc and Namco) are trying to create fighting game when it was on the peak. Overall the peak of the fighting game genre has leads to many great games like Street Fighter and KOF.

1987:    Street Fighter, released by Capcom

1991:    Street Fighter II, released by Capcom

             Fatal Fury: King of Fighter, released by SNK

1992:    Holosseum, released by SEGA.

             Art of Fighting, released by SNK

             Mortal Kombat, released by Midway Games Inc

1993:    Dark Edges, Eternal champions  and Virtua Fighter (3D), released by SEGA

             Samurai shodown, released by SNK

             Mortal Kombat II, released by Midway Games Inc

             Super Street Fighter II, released by Capcom

1994:    Art of Fighting 2 and King of Fighters ’94, released by SNK

            Super Street Fighter II turbo and X-Men, released by Capcom

            Tekken, released by Namco

            Virtua Fighter 2, released by SEGA

1995:   Street Fighter Alpha, released by Capcom

            King of Fighters ’95, released by SNK

1996:   Street Fighter EX and  X-Men vs Street Fighter, released by Capcom

            Tekken 2, released by Namco

            Art of Fighting 3 and King of Fighters ’96, released by SNK

            Virtua Fighter 3, released by SEGA

1997:   King of Fighters ’97, released by SNK

            Street Fighter III, released by Capcom

1998:   Marvel vs Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes, released by Capcom

            Tekken 3, released by Namco

            King of Fighters ’98, released by SNK

1999:   King of Fighters ’99 and SNK vs Capcom: The Match of the Millennium, released by SNK

2000:   Capcom vs SNK: Millennium Fight 2000 and Marvel vs Capcom 2, released by Capcom

            King of Fighters 2000, released by SNK

THE FALL

During 2001-2007 this is when there is a fall of people playing this genre as there are other games that are being released during this period like (Halo, Halo 2, Diablo II, Call of Duty/2/3) that make more people want to stay at home playing this game with the console rather than being outside playing the fighting game created in this period of time. Overall, the fall of the fighting game genre is that other genre game is more popular than the fighting game.

2001:    Capcom vs SNK 2: Marks of the Millennium 2001, released by Capcom

             King of Fighters 2001, released by Eolith/SNK

             Tekken 4, released by Namco

2002:    King of Fighters 2002, released by Eolith/Playmore

             Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution, released by SEGA

2003:    King of Fighter 2003, released by SNK Playmore

             Hyper of Street Fighter, released by Capcom

2004:   Tekken 5, released by Namco

            Maximum Impact, released by SNK Playmore

2005:   King of Fighters XI, released by SNK Playmore

2006:   Virtua Fighter 5, released by SEGA

            Maximum Impact 2, released by SNK Playmore

2007:   Tekken 6, released by Namco

THE REVIVAL

At this period it was the revival of fighting game genre as the released of Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD remix, Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion and other game that was created at 2008 that brings back this genre of fighting game back to hits with even better graphics and effect of the fighting game.

2008:   Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, released by Capcom

            Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion, released by Namco

            Super Smash Bros. Brawl, released by Nintendo

            BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger, released by Arc System Works

2009:   Street Fighter IV, released by Capcom

            King of Fighters XII, released by SNK Playmore

2010:   King of Fighters XIII, released by SNK Playmore

2011:   Mortal Kombat 9, released by Warner Bros

            Marvel vs Capcom 3; Fate of Two Worlds, released by Capcom

2012:  Street Fighter X Tekken, released by Capcom

               

To conclude, I think that from the start to the revival of fighting game genre is a big achievement because if the developer felt that the fall of this genre and does not continue developing this genre there will not have any more of fighting game and it will just stop at the fall of this genre but because the developers continue to develop even better game for this genre this the cause of the revival in this genre. Although this genre of game is to win your opponent it still does requires skilled to have different combos in order to win your opponent, so I think that the greatest achievement of this genre is the revival of fighting games.

Game Design a form of "Play"

To me game design, in itself is a form of “play”

Game design; which consist of many different roles to create a game. As making the game is a process of play, using the theory of Callios's Taxonomy to elaborate, why I think game design is a form of “play” it have AgÔn, Mimicry and Ilinx and also both Paida and Ludus have in game design as well.

Game design does has AgÔn because it’s a competitive play that different company are creating different game to compete with each other to see whose game is selling better in the game industry.

As for Mimicry it does contribute to making game design a form of “play” is because the game that a game design company, plan to develop on a game is to create for the audience to believe what they are playing and doing in the game also because the game designer will have to let the playtester to role-play as the audience so to find out what is good and bad about the game so they will be able to twitch the game to make it better for the audience.

Ilinx is because game design which will require people to have hands on the programming, drawing, and designer and to create sounds. To a huge extent when developing a character move maybe the artist will need to find someone in the team to do the particular post for the artist to draw the position/ movement/ action so this does have Ilinx in game design.

There are also paida and ludus, paida which is wild and free-form which shows that the game category are widely spread which is does not have only a form but does have more than one form which leads to having many different themes, category and genres. It is also ludus as is it being constraint by rules that such as copyright which only one company will have a game of their own but maybe only that there will be same theme, category or genres but the story and character all are different and have their unique gameplay in each so there is ludus in game design.

To conclude, game design is a form of “play” because play is to push, oppose and resist the rules as much as possible so for game design the designer will have to push the rules in the correct way as it will not be taking the copyrighted material but to think out of the box to create a game that no company or game designer have created before.

"A Thousand Year Game"

The game I think deserves the title of “A Thousand Year Game” would be StreetFighter or any other 1vs1 player fighting game.

It deserves the title because it was also once play in a thousand year ago which maybe its not be in digital form but in real life as maybe people in thousand year ago used to fight with one another using real skill and method, as there is always a winner and a loser, the reward of the game will be the bet they set for each other or it will be something that is valuable to the ‘player’ which is the themselves. There is also risk to the past game which is the ‘player’ life. As maybe this is the inspiration of the start of the fighting game being introduced when the year passes.

 I think that until now fighting game is still being played, is because of the excitement it gives to both player, either the losing or the winning player as the losing player will want to turn tides trying to win the match and the winning player want to secure the winning position so this will increase the excitement.

This might also because it have met all the criteria of a game, Player; this game can be played alone or multiplayer. Objective; the game is to outwit the player, for example both player have to understand what they want to do in the next move so they can either defend or attack the player, used special power. So I think that it’s outwitting the person when player StreetFighter. Procedures; Press start button, choose character, fight with opponent and conclude a winner. Rules; the rule is to kill the opponent before he/she kill you or before the time runs out. Resources; the different power each character has, the health, time given and combo bar (where player to get enough combo to do a special attack). Conflict; the opponent the player faced. Boundaries; the controller and the arena of the battlefield. Outcome; one winner and one loser, zero sum game. This is why I think that StreetFighter is the game of “A Thousand Year Game.”

In conclusion, I think that StreetFighter deserves the title “A Thousand Year Game” is because it will still be played in the next thousand year time as maybe the game will not be called StreetFighter but it will still be a 1vs1 fighting game, maybe in the future the game might become to a game in real life but requires the player to control their own fighting own build fighting robot/machine in an arena, it will be as similar as the game of StreetFighter but in the next thousand year time, fighting with their toy of machine/robot to be in the top of that ‘future game’. 

Formal Element of Game

The non-game I choose is “hide and seek.”

Formal element Players:  It’s a game that requires more than 1 player to play the game.

Formal element Objectives: The objectives of the game for the players that need to hide, is to be the last person that the seeker will find. As for the seeker the objective of the game is that he/she has to find all the players that went to hide.

Formal element Procedures: the procedures is to get one seeker out of all the players and the rest will be hiding, after that the game will be begin once the seeker started counting.

                                                          

Formal element Rules: There game objects will varies and only things that are already around the boundary, for example; playing under a HDB block the object for that game will be the pillar around the building but once the boundary or place is change the object will varies. The player can do is to hide inside the boundary but cannot hide outside boundary, for the players that are hiding. As for the seeker he/she can only open their eyes once they finished counting from 20, where the time is for those other player to hide in the boundary. The seeker cannot open the eyes when counting.

Formal element Resources: There is no resource in this “non-game.”

Formal element Conflict: The conflict for those players that are hiding, will occur to them is that they can’t hide out of the boundary. The seeker conflict is that the area of the boundary and the physical object in the area which will make it more difficult for the seeker.

Formal element Boundaries: The boundaries of the game is that the area that are chosen by the players to implement the rules and goal to the area and to the player’s goal. The rules and goal of the game will only happened when in the game space and once the game end everything will be remove.

Formal element Outcome: The game outcome will be certain as the game will only have a winner which will be the seeker as the seeker will have to find all the players that are hiding but only special case that the seeker give up and that will means those players that hide have won.

This game that I choose has short of resources but I think adding more of objects to the game and a better outcome will make the game even better.

So the resources that this game short I think adding a countdown timer to the non-game will be better as this will make the outcome of the game better so if the seeker, have left no more time in the timer then that means those players that hide have win the game, adding more object to the game rather than using the objects from the boundary maybe the object that can add to the game is that every player will have to wear a bell on their leg to make their presence more noticeable so this will increase the risk to both the seeker and those player that hide, if the seeker is running those players that are hiding will know but if they heard and want to change place will also increase the chance of them being found by the seeker.