Blog Quest 1: Emotional Contagion 2

So many of you who read this blog (and again I really don't know why you read this thing, I'm not funny) may recognize this title, and if you are thinking hey wasn't there another blog called this? Yes yes there was another blog with almost the same name, and that is because its my second Blog Quest 1 for my class (if you want to look at the first one click Here). Now in my previous Emotional Contagion blog I had this wonderful intro that right now, due to being awake for my than 24 hours and dying because of my cold, I just can't be bothered to even figure out how to write so without further ado let's talk about me feels.

So in the last emotional blog I did I focused on my intense rage that the story line of Assassin's Creed 2 brought to the surface (don't judge alright I just, listen I spent an entire game trying to kill some asshole and I'm not even given the satisfaction of destroying him, it's not fair ok). Now for this emotional blog I'm going to be focusing on the game Journey (which is a wonderful game and everyone should play it). Now I'm sure you all are expecting me to talk (more like rant) about my rage will playing this game, however that's not what this blog is going to be about. Journey is one of the few games that I have never gotten mad at whether it is due to the storyline, the stupidity of characters or even the game mechanics and controls (again don't judge I just have a lot of feels ok people, it's completely normal just look at tumblr).

 

No Journey brings about a sense of wonder and awe in me when I play. It's one of the most relaxing games I have ever played, and always fills me with a sense of peace up until it scares the living shit out of me because of one thing they added into the game, but I'll get to that later in this blog. Now quickly I'll explain a little bit about Journey before I talk about my feels.

JOURNEY

 Now Journey by far has to be one of the most visually stunning games I have the pleasure of owning, its loose, whimsical style of art really helps enhance the simple game play, and story line. Basically it's really pretty, and at first that's all I thought it offered to gamers, but it actually has a story line. This story line is heavily implied through its pretendered cut scenes and is really easy to over look if you aren't looking for it. Now in Journey gamers are playing as a robed figure making it's way through the desert towards the mountains in the distance. There are a number of levels between the beginning of the game and the end goal, each with their own unique setting. There is a severe lack of combat in the game which I'm more use to in many of my other games, which at first was really weird but I came to love the relaxed feel of the game. There is one known (at least only one I know of) enemy which looks like this giant rock snake dragon thing that attacks you if you get in its line of sight, but other than that the game is pretty relaxed and easy to roam through each level at your own pace. The player has a few abilities, which can be upgraded throughout the game, and before you start freaking out about powers, there are only two; The ability to use sounds to activate glyphs and other objects and creatures, and flying. These abilities are your main tools for working your way through the levels. Now enough talking about the game and onto my feels!!! If you really want to know more about the game, seriously guys go play it, its worth the few hours you spend completing the game.

MY FEELS WHILE PLAYING JOURNEY

Now this game instills a few different feels in me when I play through a game; Wonder and Awe, relaxation and happiness and fear. Kinda of a weird combination I know but when I explain how this game brings out these emotions it will all make sense (at least I hope).

• Wonder and Awe
• Now taking a look at the image is a clear indication on how god damn beautiful the art for this game is, I mean it is just so pretty. In fact the art is so pretty that it's actually the reason I always experience a sense of wonder and awe while I'm playing this game. 

•  The art in this game is so well done and blends the colors in its color palette in such a beautiful way that it really pulls at the artist in me, and really draws me in to its stunning graphics. 




•  The game's whimsical art style really brings a sense of awe in me when I think about how the developers created such a visually stunning game. Each level is equally as impressive as the next, and is really inspiring for an inspiring game artist like myself.
• Relaxation and Happiness
•  Journey's gameplay is at the center of the sense of relaxation I feel while I'm playing this game. It's lack of clear goals and objectives is a nice change from the mission and storyline drive games I usually play.
• Now before you say anything about how I'm an achievement game and what could Journey possibly offer a gamer like me, Journey does in fact have Achievements that players can collect, however they are more relax in the way you collect and achieve them unlike most games I play, which is a nice change.

• In addition, to the chilled out gameplay, Journey's music is absolutely astounding!! Not only does it add to the relaxed feel of the game but a lot of the game's music is uplifting and happy, filling you with the same emotion while playing. Just take a listen and you will see what I mean.
• Fear
• Yes while this game fills me with a sense of Wonder, Awe, Relaxation and happiness, it also terrifies the living shit out of me. This is because for some reason the game developers must of thought the game was too easy so they threw these evil, vicious stone snake dragon monster things that attack you if you are caught in their line of sight.
• These things are the most terrifying things ever, especially when you first encounter them, you aren't entirely sure what they are and then BAM they viciously attack you and rip your cool glowing magic scarf thing.
• Sure the game alludes to them being some nasty thing but you never really understand what they mean until you encounter those son of a bitches. It's like having the best day ever and then out of nowhere some dick comes around and punches you in the gut (or you know feels in this case).

Well basically that's my rant (actually I don't even think that counts as a rant but whatever) regarding how Journey messes with my feels while I play. It's a great game and I recommend it for everyone who 1. Really like pretty games and 2. Have gotten tired of some of the more played out games and are looking for something different. 

System Dynamics

Welcome one and all to another exciting blog post, this blog post will be focusing on the wonderful world of System Dynamics (OOOOHHH AAAAHHH). Ok I kinda usually have some sort of comment at the begining of these things but I'm really sick and I've only been getting sicker as the day has gone one so I apologize in advance if the blog is boring due to my potential lack of commentary. Also you should note I can't spell for shit when I'm so I sorry in advance for that. Well now that that is out of the way lets dive right in.

Now the first thing that's important to remember is that there are systems installed in every aspect of daily life from transit systems to the work place and school systems, and games can act as a type of system and be a system themselves. What's cool about games as a system is that unlike other systems that's sole purpose is to provide a service or create a product, game systems are designed to create entertainment (which is nice considering some systems like filling out paper work for certain systems, like accident reports, kinda suck and are real boring). Now in my last two lecture blogs (found Here and Here) I talked about elements that made up a game, these elements are found in game systems since the systems itself is based on the interaction of these elements. The system can change over time and complex and dynamic behaviors can emerge from the system being set in motion. Systems can be Mechanical, Biological and Social, which is the type of system games are.

An important thing to note is that systems can be determined through 4 basic system elements; Objects, Properties, Behaviors and Relationships, which I will explain in more detail in just a bit. Games as a system are really interesting due to the fact that they can act in motion, allowing the elements to guide interactions and their quality. What's really cool about games as systems is that there is a number of possibilities, which the players get a sense and feel for through their gaming experience (which is really awesome if you think about because it means that there is no one way of doing something).

Objects:

• Objects are defined as the basic building blocks of the game system, whether they are physical, abstract or even both. Some examples of this are game pieces (like cards, dice or tokens), in-game concepts, players, terrain, etc.

• Basically the system is a puzzle of different elements, known as objects, pieced together to make the system
  
• Objects are defined by properties, behaviors and relationships with other objects

Properties:

•  Properties are basically the qualities or attributes defining aspects of objects, both physically and conceptually (see why I say that objects are defined by properties). They are sets of values that come into play in the system.
  
• Properties determine object interactions, where as the more complex the object is the less predictable the interactions between them are.
  
• Some examples of properties ins game systems are looking at Chess and MMOs like Eden Eternal or WarCraft. In Chess there are properties of the game objects that help distinguish between them, these properties, rank, color and location on the grid, determine the interaction between the objects. The same is seen in Eden Eternal with its class system and rank system for classes, quests, levels and dungeons. These defined properties affect how objects, such as player, NPCs and monsters, interact with each other.

Behaviors:

• Behaviors are defined as potential actions in a given state, and the more behaviors there are the less predictable they will be. This is really important to take into consideration when creating a game system because making a game too predictable can take away from the game play and make the game boring, however its important to remember that greater game play complexity doesn't always mean a more enjoyable player experience.

Relationships:

• Relationships are an absolute must for a system (like seriously they are super important ) since if there is no relationships, there is no system. A system is run off the relationships between all the elements and system dynamics, without the relationships between then it would basically be just a collection of stuff.
  
• Relationships can be determined by chance or set rules and expressed through things such as location on a board or game map and numerical sequences of cards.
  
• There is loose object relations, where for example interaction is based on proximity, like in Eden Eternal where if you get to close to a monster within a certain level of you they attack. This is also an example of how relationships can be fixed linearly or changing during game play.
  
• Relations can also be changed based on player choice or chance, like how in Catherine player choices change the relationship between the player and the other characters. In addition it also changes the relationship between the player and the game mechanics, making the game harder or easier depending on what choices the player makes.

Now these four aspects, especially Relationships lead the way into an interesting aspect of the game system, Economic systems in games. Economic systems rely heavily on the relationships between the objects and properties in the game system.  This is system though is focused on the exchange in resources, which can be any object in the game system that has the behavior to be traded. These can range from items, to agents (such as players), to even methods (like markets) and are traded through trade facilitators (example: currency like how in Eden Eternal Alpaca coins, Luv Coins and Crystal Cross medals are all currencies that can be exchanged for different items and cool shit). Prices, which can be free, fixed or a mixture, depend on market controls. Trade opportunities can either be done in complete freedom or a controlled environment.

 

  Now don't get it into your head that only complicated rules can give you interesting results, in fact simple rules can create some of the most complex and unpredictable result. Games like The Game of Life, creates a more believable and unpredictable game scenario that is different every time (Ha kinda like Cards Against Humanities, which you all play)because it has a simple set of rules and utilizes a decision-making system.

It is important to set the game system in motion (meaning play it guys, make sure it works right) because your systems need to be complete, fair and balanced (meaning don't make something that is impossible to win like the test Spock makes in Star Trek where Kirk has to hack the system in order to beat it. Don't do that, just don't) and fun an challenging to play. Have someone who was never involved in making the game play test it (trust me this great for catch bugs and errors that you might of missed) and do your research.

Dramatic Elements of Games

Hey all I'm for another lecture blog, this one focusing on the Dramatic Elements of games, my last lecture blog focused on the formal elements of games and if you want to read it you can find it here. Now onto the the dramatic elements of games (I am kinda more particular to the dramatic elements rather than the formal elements but that's just me).

Now in class we defined 5 different dramatic elements that we find in games which my professor mentioned are borrowed from drama. The ones we focused were challenge, play, premise, character, and story.

Challenge

Now most people know challenge as a difficult task one must complete, sometimes in order to move on to the next challenge like in those reality shows, survivor and amazing to name a few. In games we refer to challenges as quests, missions, or even objectives (what they are called all depends on the game and the game developers). Challenges create a sense of accomplishment and enjoyment you get from completing them. In video games there are numerous amounts of challenging interactions whether from the game itself or when interacting with other players. Depending on what type of player you are different challenges can bring about an individualized sense of accomplishment, this is why certain games appeal to certain types of gamers.

The differences in challenges creates a dynamic and personalized experience for gamers (I love the fact some games have different challenges that different players can run through that are more geared towards the way they player their games. Me, I'm a huge achievement gamer and completionist so games like Little Big Planet and Assassin's Creed that offer achievements for 100 percenting a level or mission is awesome because its like its individualized to me and the way I play games). This dynamic is also shown in the difference in levels, such as easy, medium or hard modes which caters to the different level players.

An interesting game we talked about in the lecture is a game called Flow (which I love this game 1. because its just so very pretty but also because of the way the developers incorporated the element of challenge into the game). This game is all about the experience you have while being highly engaged in Flow and even if you play if it doesn't seem like your type of game I highly recommend you try it (I find it really addicting and you should all play it, like right now). Below is a video of Flow's game play if you are interested:

Play

Play is word most people relate to activities such as sports, art, games, etc which isn't wrong however in games it divided into  4 different types and 2 forms of freedom we have with play. In this lecture we took a look at the dynamic element of play, and what it really means in the game world. Now there are 4 different types of play that Roger Caillois (who was the really smart guy from France that i don't really feel like explaining so if you really want to know who he is click here for more info) identified in his work called Man, Play and Games: 

•  Argon, which is a competitive style of play (so soccer, hockey or really any time of sport)
  
• Alea, a chance-based type of play (poker, black jack and all those fun card games you somehow always lose to your grandmother cause you don't know how but thy are like the grandmaster of cards)
  
• Mimicry, which is make-believe play (so like when little kids play house or have tea parties or even cosplaying)
  
• Linx, a vertigo (which translates to a whirling or spinning movement) play such as skiing or horse back riding 

 In addition to the types of play he identified Caillois separated them into 2 dimensions of freedom:

• Ludus, which is rule-based play (you basically have to follow rules and there isn't much wiggle room)
  
• Paida, which is a free-form, improvised form of play (this is basically like giving a toddler a toy and letting them do whatever they want with it)

When we were discussing the different types and forms of play we got on to the topic of cosplaying and conventions when we discussed Mimicry, which was awesome cause without realizing it my professor was able to define what type of play cosplaying was which I had never really thought about before until he brought it up. Now while we were talking about play, we go into the different types of players which there are a lot to list so I've include the lecture slide outlining them below:

The discussion that came from looking at the different types of play because different types of players enjoy different ways of playing. I'm sure many of you can guess what each player type values when playing games based on their type name. Now my professor mentions a model that analyses different player types called the BrainHex (note that players can be more than one type of gamer, which the BrainHex actually looks into). I knew I've always been an achievement gamer, but when my professor mentioned there were primary and secondary types of gamers I was really intrigued and checked it out. Basically there a bunch of questions you answer and based on the answers provided the model tells you what type of gamer your are. My results are below (if you want to find out your gamer types based of the BrainHex model click here:

Premise

Premise refers to the setting of the game, which includes time, place, main character(s), objective and action that propels the story forward. This element makes a game's formal system playable for the user. The premise is really based on story telling in the game, which helps draw players into the game and get them more engaged in the game play. Some games that place a large focus on premise to engaged and draw players in are games like Bioshock, Uncharted, Assassin's Creed and Dishonored among others, which shows how the premise leads the player into the drama and conflict in the game. Personally I really enjoy games that play a higher emphasis on the premise and story of the game, since it really increases the enjoyment I get from the games I play (don't get me wrong not all games I enjoy have an intricate premise but many of my favorite games are because of the world and story developed through the game).

Character

 With Characters, in any form of media whether is be games, movies or TV, drama is told from their actions, and creates a sense of empathy through their movement toward a resolution. The premise is set in motion through the characters since they are the main tool in propelling the story forward, though this is much harder to achieve in games since as we discussed in class, its much harder to develop a sense of empathy for the characters since you are the one controlling him and moving the story forward (which creates a seriously interesting relationship between the players and game characters). In our lecture we identified 4 methods of characterization:

• Wants
• Needs
• Hopes
• Fears

 These characteristic help to develop more rounded characters that can be explored and related to due to their more realistic nature rather than having more flat characters that may not be memorable or interesting. This difference is extremely important to understand in order to use the different types of characters in the game to either use as a tool to propel the story or a object in the game.

Story

Story is an important dynamic element for games that help develop the premise and characters in the game. It is a main aspect that drives games, which can have a huge sense of uncertainty which increases how engaging a game is. This is seen in The Hero's Journey, which you can see below:

Player choices can affect the game outcome by creating branching story lines or limiting the scope, a perfect example of this in a game is the game Catherine where the choices you make in game affects the game play, you can either make it harder or easier and change the ending. In stories there is what is known as the Dramatic act which is basically the main idea of how you have rising and falling tension in your story/ game(everyone should know something about this I mean they teach you this every year in English class). In games there a significant amount of more types of conflict that you as a game developer can use to draw players into the game. As seen in the image below, the is always rising tension that leads to the climax, which can help draw in and ensnare players emotionally in the game, making the player have a sense of accomplishment when they get to the releasing tension (like my professor said just like in chick flicks).

Reverse Scröwdriver Crafting

Welcome professors, TAs, internet goers and any of the others that may or may not read this blog because I still find it hard to believe there are people other than my professors, TAs and maybe my fellow students who actually read this thing. Today I will be talking about a game that requires skill, cunning and a quick hand (ok well I guess it kinda does) for my Reverse Scrowdriver Crafting quest (remember how I said my class was designed to work like a game, yeah this is it). Now before I begin to complete this quest let me explain quickly what it is exactly. Basically we had to take a game (there's a list of games you can but my TA let me choose one that isn't on the list which was awesome) and change one rule to reflect a new game mechanic. Now originally I was going to tackle something from the list of per-approved games but then during my visit to the most wonderful place in the GTA, Snacks & Lattes (the wonderful board game cafe where they have nutella lattes which are so amazing), I was struck with inspiration mixed with a side of irritation that the change I came up with wasn't already a damn rule in the game.

 

So this game was one of the games we happened to come across in our self-imposed quest to play some games we have never heard of before while screwing each other over (which was oh so satisfying). Now the game we stumbles upon is called Tier auf Tier Das Große Abenteuer (which translates to Animal Upon Animal Balancing Bridge, which to a bunch of 17-21 years is just as inappropriate and funny as hell as it sounds). 

 Now we had never heard of this game before so we thought it might be interesting to try but oh my god the instructions where kinda confusing (at first we only saw the German instructions and none of speak German so we thought we weren't going to get to play this game until we flipped ahead a few to find the English instructions, I blame the fact that we clearly can't read and may or may not have all been sick and either doped up on cold medicine or going through our sugar high that we may or may not acquired with the amount of pop we drank and jelly beans we ate prior to coming to the cafe) until we were smart and figured out that the instructions started one page prior to the one we were looking at then it all made sense. Now the point of the game is to be the first one to stack these animal piece in a series of patterns which are indicated on the cards you get, which is we thought was pretty cool and then we started playing and noticed some flaws in the game rules.

My three friends Ashley, Jose and Marieann while at Snacks & Lattes (btw Jose sucks at this game)

Now in this link here, you can find the pdf of the game rules to read through more thoroughly if you feel like, but I'm going to briefly explain the rules. Now in order to start the game you first have to set up the board. Basically the game gives you 29 animal game pieces which you have to arrange based on the layout in the instructions which you will be able to see in the image below:

Each area of the board is labeled by a symbol; Fire, water, leaf, sunlight and a bridge, which each side of the dice corresponds to along with a question mark. Now when the dice is rolled players can only take animals from the area the dice lands on (the forest, desert, volcano, ocean and bridge) or in the case of the question mark, any area they damn well feel like. Each player is given 3 arrangement assignment cards which must be fulfilled sometime throughout the game either by the actual player or an opposing player (these cards are a secret and are only revealed when you complete the assignment). If players knock over the pyramid during their turn they must take an additional assignment card.

MY RULE CHANGE

Now the rule I thought about changing was the penalty rule since it seemed weird that you still kept your completed arrangement assignment even if the arrangement was ruined by someone knocking over the pyramid. The rule change: if the animal arrangement on your assignment card is disturbed by an accidental fall in the pyramid (falls cannot be intentional) or a piece move by another player, you must complete the arrangement assignment card again rather than keeping the achievement card like in the original rules. This change increases the difficulty of winning the game since it as long as you have a very steady hand and no one knocks over the pyramid it is very easy to win the game (I won this game in less then 10 minutes because I have the steadiest hand ever and can make some of the most impossible arrangement that really should never stay standing). With this change in the rules not only does it make the game less confusing for players since in the original rules there is nothing indicating what happens when you arrangement is broken after you complete the assignment card, but it also make the game more interesting by increasing the player interacting and creating a dynamic player vs player aspect of the game.

While you are playing against others there is no way to interact or interfere with other players except if you accidentally knock over the pyramid and even then that only interferes if you knock over an arrangement another player is currently working on but with the current rules you cannot. In addition this change creates player vs player conflict in the game because this change now allows players to target the winning player and purposely mess with them. While knocking pieces off the pyramid will still result in the current penalty of receiving an additional arrangement assignment card it now also includes the additional potential penalty of losing one of your completed arrangement assignments. I feel this change will change the way the game is played and the way players interacted with each other in the game space.

All in all this game is pretty entertaining, especially if you are a bunch of immature 17-21 years on a sugar rush and you play with someone like my friend Jose who if I remember correctly ended up with close to 8 arrangement assignment cards, though I still wish there was some sort of mechanic that lets you mess with the winning player (even though that was me in the first few minutes) and other players.

Blog Quest 1: Emotional Contagion

Throughout the history of video games there have been numerous stories, objectives, quests and gameplay us gamers have gone through, judged, ranted, raved about and sometimes even literally flipped shit over (whether you've thrown your controller to the ground or actually through something, flipped some piece of furniture or had the biggest spaz attack in the history of the gaming world). Many gamers can easily recall their favorite characters, most accomplishing quest they have completed, or even their favorite move combo in street fighter, and while its nice and probably means a lot to those players I couldn't care less about that stuff in this blog. This blog is all about the feels guys, all about the feels (no seriously guys its all about the emotional feels you get while playing through a game story and if any of you say you never get emotional while playing a game you all are a bunch of liars because there is no way you did kept calm when that god damn toadstool person told you that princess peach is in another tricking castles in the old Mario games). Now for this blog quest I'm going to focus on one of my favorite game series, Assassin's Creed, specifically the storyline of Assassin's Creed 2 and the two accompanying side games, Brotherhood and Revelations ( this   Storyline seriously destroyed me emotionally, I was invested in this game and its the reason my my blog is called the rants of angry game dev girl and why my friends and brother think I'm the most entertaining person to watch while gaming). 

So I know there are some gamers who have never played any games in the Assassin's Creed franchise ( seriously guys just play them even once they are amaze balls and I love them) so before I explain how this game destroyed me emotional and got me cussed out by my nonna (which means grandmother in Italian) when she was around me while I was playing.

ASSASSIN'S CREED 2 SUMMARY:

So I'm going to be really quick in my summary of this game's storyline and be warned if you haven't played this game there are some serious spoilers below and a great amount of swearing, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!!

Ok so you start the games as this guy named Desmond Miles (the game has assumed you played the first game and know what shit has gone down) who is trapped in this place called Abstergo Industries (kinda like a scary research centre run by a bunch of crazies who wanna save mankind by taking over the world, yeah that's gonna play out well. Oh by the way this group is called the templars). So this guy Desmond is being forced to go into the past via memories using some machine called the Animus by these crazies and is rescued by this blonde spy working for the Assassins (yeah thats the group these templars are fighting with) named Lucy who takes Desmond away from this crazy operation only to make the poor guy go memory surfing in their own Animus (poor guy doesn't even want to be involved in this craziness but sucks to be him right?) to find some thing called the apple of eden, which is some sort of mystical shit that has to do with some people named Adam and Eve in some futuristic place called eden (sound familiar anybody). 

Now Desmond (the poor unlucky bastard) has to shift through one of his ancestors named Ezio Auditore (who is by far the most loved Assassin of all the games cause he is just so freaking awesome its not only funny). Now Ezio is this suave, rich, Italian, womanizing, playboy in Renaissance Italy who is all about causing trouble and having fun, especially with his ladies friends, who surprising has strong family values (with is nice I guess). Now this cocky asshole has his comfy, posh life ripped out from under him when a great big bag of dicks named Rodrigo Borgia orders the execution of his family cause Ezio's dad found out and tried to stop Borgia's plan to capture as much power for the templars (who are a bunch of power hungry jerks who kill whoever gets in their way). So with his father, older and younger brother dead, his mom an emotional distraught vegetable, and a homeless, slightly traumatized sister, whats a party boy to do, why follow the Italian way and get revenge on the dumb asses who messed with his family (but he can't even do that properly). Desmond, playing as Ezio in Ezio's memories, looking for the mystical object, is set on a path of murder, revenge and mystery (which is pretty cool for a story line even though it spanned over 3 damn games making all of us wait for the continuation of the story in the next god damn game). 

THE FEELS THIS GAME MAKES ME FEEL AND WHY I SHOULD NEVER PLAY THIS GAME AROUND MY NONNA

Now when I play games with intricate stories its usual for me to get emotionally invested in the game, but with Assassin's Creed 2 it was a million times worse. I was so emotionally invested in this game and the two storyline continuing games, Brotherhood and Revelations, that I was literally emotionally wrecked and I'm pretty sure that's why I still have yet to finish my last mission because I'm still too pissed to continue. Now at first I was kinda sympathetic with Desmond, I mean this poor guy is trust into this secret war and expected to find some apple for both sides, one of with is seriously crazy and I'd actually be worried if they existed in real life. However after going through the first few missions with Ezio where he is being a family oriented, shit disturber my affections for Ezio grew to out match my Desmond feels, I mean come on who wouldn't like a revenge bent, punk with a smart mouth and snarky attitude to match.  Now this game had made me feel so many feels over the span of playing it, but I think my emotional wreck of a journey began when Ezio's family home is ransacked and his brothers and father are thrown in jail. While this isn't that emotionally ruining until Ezio's dad tells him to go to a friend who can help save them only for you to find out this "friend" is a dirty lying scum bag who betrays the Auditores and is one of the bag of dicks who are responsible for your family's death (what's worse is that Ezio's younger brother is a young kid and they hang the poor kind to death). This scene was the start of my emotional journey because it not only pulled at my heart strings cause they killed a poor innocent kid for no reason but also because after all the trouble you had to go through to save his family they still die just as you are about to save them. I think I literally filled shit and swore my vengeance (and this is was for some made up game family who literally had no impact on my life, Ubisoft you are doing something right guys) and my reaction when it happened was something close to the images below:

Yeah thats right I was so emotionally invested that I swore revenge on a fictional character (this is the point where my brother decided that I am the most entertaining person to watch play games), oh but it didn't stop there no you have to escort your emotionally scared mother and terrified sister (who are so useless in the endeavour) out of the city while the guards are trying to hunt you down like rats in a basement. So after declaring his vendetta (mine too), you start Ezio's journey of vengeance which leads you down a path of surprises, murder and betrayal, which rather than writing out my extensive amount of feels that will take like 6 pages the pictures below will explain:

 Yeah guys I had so many spaz attacks while playing this game because of the story of Assassin's Creed 2, literally every time I discovered a new person involved in the death of the Auditores I would be come a giant ball of anger and depression,which only fuelled my vendetta. This game was so good at drawing me in emotionally, I think its one of the reasons why I love this game so much, that and because while I was playing my brother or one of my friends were with my and my enraged ranting and profanities produced some of the most entertaining conversations ever. However the kicker of the game was definitely the pure unadulterated it made me (and a bunch of other gamers I know) feel towards Rodrigo Borgia (I hate that god damn Motherf***ker SO MUCH YOU DON'T EVEN UNDERSTAND!!!!!!). Every time you fight this dick he manages to get away thus continuous ruining your plans for vengeance which drove me to the point of actually swearing in italian that I wasn't even aware I subconsciously remember (I use to be fluent in italian when I was little but then I started reading and watching tv in English and it all faded away) which got me cussed of by my nonna (half in Italian, half in English) since she was over when I was playing and overheard my excessive swearing when Borgia gets away for the first time (so in case you were wondering I believe I said in italian something along the lines that 'I would ripe that asses guts out of his f***king stomach and put his head on a pike' but in my defence I was so pissed that this asshat got away that I think I had a mini freak out). My feels during this ranged from extreme anger to murderous psychopathic tendencies.

Now when I finally thought that I was nearing the end of the emotional rollercoaster  that was my journey threw this game, I finally thought that I was going to get my revenge on the ass that is known as Rodrigo Borgia, who later becomes a god damn pope, but thats where the game locked me in emotionally attached shackles when it denied me my kill at the end of the game, giving you the slight hope that you will be able to finally kill the man you have spent the whole game trying to track down and kill in the next game. My emotional rollercoaster was far from over spanning through 2 other games, never letting me fulfill my one true desire even going as far as stealing my kill from me. Now the only thing left for me to do at the end of the emotionally wrecking journey was to curl up in a ball and cry.

Formal Elements of Games

So its been a while since I last wrote a blog post, mostly its due to being busy with school work and then getting really sick for over a week (which wasn't fun at all). Well I'm back with my second blog for Game Design & Production II (WHOOOOOH) and its focuses on the Formal Elements of Games, which was the focus of our second lecture.

WHAT IS A GAME?

To define what a game is a very difficult task for someone to complete since there are so many different definitions to describe a game. A game is described as a form of play or sport, esp. a competitive one played according to rules and decided by skill, strength, or luck. However that's not the only definition of what a game is.

During our second lecture we discussed the Formal Elements of Games and what makes a game, which brought up a lot of interesting points and views, one of which whether reading was a form of play or not. My professor defined 8 major elements that make up the structure of a game, which are the following (You can clearly tell which Elements I feel are more important that others in terms of game structure):

1. Players
   
   
   
   • Players an important aspect of games, since they are voluntary participants. Games are something in which a player voluntarily enters and aren't coerced into playing (You wouldn't want to be forced into playing something you don't want to play right then its not a game to you, like me with Magic the Gathering). Players can enter and leave the game whenever they feel so long as they accept the rules of the game, this is described as the Lusory Attitude. The Lusory Attitude refers to accepting the rules and having the right attitude to play (Remember when you were little and there would always be that one kid that was the sore loser, well that kid acted that way because he couldn't accept the rules of game, which is what the Lusory Attitude is all about). The more you accept the rules of the game the more likely you are to enjoy the game.
     
   • It is very important for players to feel accepted and invited into the game through social offerings or recognized rituals. (Imagine you online game with your friends and you always start playing as soon as someone starts up a group chat/ call so you can yell at each when someone does something stupid, this is a recognized ritual to welcome players into the game).
     
   • There are number of players can be variables or fixed depending on the type or rules of the game. There is a huge difference in experiences from a game played by 3 players compared to a 10 player game. For example, with Cards Against Humanities (Which is like a more matured, inappropriate version of Apples to Apples, guys its great you all should play at least once) having a larger group of players makes the game vastly more entertaining than having a smaller group of players. Players interact with the game and other players and can have a clear role inside the game space. This role defines who they are in the game, its important to know what player has what role, especially in MMO's where you have you players who play support, or play tank. Having defined roles can have great effects on player to player interaction 
     
2. Objectives
   
   
   • Objectives set specific (and sometimes none specific and vague which drives you crazy cause you have no idea how to complete your objective) goals for the player, these can be anything from collecting all the coins in a level or even just staying alive until the level ends. Now if you are a gamer like me, I love objectives, knowing what I have to do and that there may be an achievement that I can get while completing my objective is what makes a game for me  (even more than player interactions cause I hate playing with other people, it drives me crazy)
     
   • Objectives are something unique to games, in books and movies there are no obvious objectives for you (yeah the characters have objectives, but not you, you are simply an observer). Yes you can give yourself an objective when reading or watching a show (Like when I marathon a show or book series I create an  objective to be done by a certain date) however your objectives have no influence to the outcome, unlike in games where your actions and objectives have a direct effect on it. In class we looked at 10 different objectives, which if you look really closely directly relate to the different type of games and the different types of players (but we will focus on that in a later blog)
     
     • Capture                              
     • Chase
     • Race
     • Alignment
     • Rescue or escape
     • Forbidden act
     • Construction
     • Exploration
     • Outwit
     
     
3. Procedures
   
   
   • This element refers to what is allowed by the game's rules, what actions or methods of play a player can or cannot do (Like player killing in MMO's some games allow players to kill each other while others don't, Eden Eternal is an example of a game that doesn't allow for player killing, it does however allow you to duel other players).
     
   • Procedures set specific instructions on how to play and create interactions that are impossible outside of the game space (otherwise known as the magic circle, once you have stepped out of the magic circles you are no longer interacting in the game). It dictates who does what, where, when and how.
     
4. Rules
   
   
   • Rules are considered the building blocks of the game system (no seriously rules are really important in a game and is in my opinion one of the most important elements of games). They are a code of honor of a game and must be followed (Going back to the Lusory Attitude, regarding the act of accepting the game rules). This element is in charge of limiting player behavior, dictating what players can and cannot do.
     
   • Rules define objects and conditions and is closely tied into Procedures and Objectives. With objectives there are rules that you must follow in order to complete the objective, just like with procedures. If a player cannot follow or accept the rules, then they are no longer in the game, whether by their own choice or the choice of a moderator (like how a ref in soccer can control whether players can be kicked out of games for not following the rules of the game).
     
5. Resources
   
   
   • I feel like I don't need to explain what resources are, since most gamers would have a good understanding of them but I will just in case someone isn't familiar with the term. Resources are objects with high value for players in reaching their objectives, they are items value for their rarity, usability or utility.
     
   • Resources can be anything from in game items like Eden Crystals in Eden Eternal or hearts in Mario. Take for example, in Dishonored (OK I really love this game so chances are I'm gonna use it as an example for a lot more things to come) there are numerous items to collect from Runes that are used to develop Corvo's powers to the audiographs which give you more insight into the game world.
     
   • Some players go out of their way to collect the runes to get more powerful, while others are more interested in collecting the paintings in order to sell them for money (I'm guilty of both).
     
6. Conflict
   
   
   • Conflict is defined as a serious disagreement or argument, typically a protracted one. In games conflict is an element used to set a chain of events which can lead to objectives in the game. Conflict prevents players from accomplishing goals directly and create objectives, objectives guide players.
     
   • Conflicts can be created in a number of ways, through obstacles in the game, opponents whether in game enemies or player vs player conflict, and dilemmas. Conflict can create interesting game play as well as an intricate story, which (at least in my opinion) is a huge element that make up a game.
     
7. Boundaries
   
   
   • This element applies only in game, this creates a temporary world where the game rules apply. Take for example, in Dungeon and Dragons the rules of the game only apply to the players taking part of the game. Once a player leaves the world of the game, the game`s temporary boundaries no longer apply.
     
8. Outcome
   
   
   • This element refers to a end resulting from an event. For example in Assassin`s Creed the players are given objectives, some can have multiple winning conditions (these conditions can determine whether or not you full synchro the game or not). Therefor, there can be an uncertain outcome when the player completes the objective. The outcome is a important for motivating players and creating dramatic tension in games. Outcomes is an element that can create satisfying resolutions for the emotional investments a player has placed into the game.
    

During this lecture we touched upon a few interesting elements that made up a game as well as some interesting view points on what is play. I really liked the fact that we were able to look at what makes up a game and discuss each aspects importance. While I`m still not completely convinced that reading novels and watching movies aren't necessarily considered forms of play, I do understand my professors argument and did enjoy the discussion  that resulted with it. For my next blog which hopefully if all goes well should be up in a few hours at most, it will focus on the dramatic elements of games.

Intro to Game Design and Production II

Hello everyone who reads this blog (or if anyone other than my professors and TAs actually read this blog) I'm back for another year of blogging for school (I would write personal blogs but I'm kinda lazy in my free time so no). Now on to the main topic of this blog post, GAME DESIGN AND PRODUCTION II!!!! That's right for everyone who read my blog posts last year, you will know that I had a class last year called Game Design and Production where we learned about the mechanics of game design, how to make games, the different types of game and actually made a ton of board games. Well my class this year is basically the upgraded version of that class but with a twist and the image below should give you a hint to what that twist is (what you thought I was going to just come out and tell you, pffft no way where's the fun in that).

Did you guess what the twist is yet? (Well if you did congratulations, if you didn't don't worry I'll tell you anyways). That's right this year my teacher decided to run our class like a MMO game, with quests and guilds, the whole nine yards. Now if you are wondering how on earth can you have a class run like an MMO, they are online games, well there are numerous components of our class that is online, like this blog for example.  

Now I'm not going to lie when my professor first mentioned that our class was going to be like a game I literally thought that this was going to be the biggest pain in the butt ever, however as he was going through how the class worked it actually started to sound kinda cool. Now I never play MMO's (mostly because I don't like gaming with other people because they drive me crazy) so having a class that is run like an MMO would have been my worst nightmare especially since I wouldn't know how to play MMOs, however I got lucky that my friend got my to start playing one this summer (I'm actually kinda of addicted to it it's bad guys like seriously but that's not the point I was getting at) so when we started discussing how the class works I got really excited, especially when we go to the quests section (I"m like seriously addicted to completing quests that's how I went from level one to level 40 in less than 4 days in the MMO I'm currently playing).

So now I'm going to go over a quick summery of how my class is set up and my thoughts on the whole thing.

So for this class there are a few different things you can do to gain XP to level up your character (or you know your grade), there is fighting monsters, crafting items, and questing. These can be done by yourself or with your guild (I was recruited to my guild without even noticing it, seriously guys Rohit was like 'Laura you are in our guild' and I was like 'Ok whatever' and then I realized what he was talking about). Now stuff like writing a blog about the last class is a type of quest you can do on your own, but saying creating a digital game prototype is a quest you can only do with your guild. Now you have to constantly collect XP from these tasks to level, and the higher you level the better your grade is and the more quests you can do, and you have to be at least level 9 to not receive a failing grade in this class (my goal is to reach level 20, Game Design God, which probably won't happen, but I'll be damned if I go down with out a fight).

My Thoughts 

Now I think this whole concept is pretty cool after I got over my whole 'what on earth is this' moment. I really think that this is a good way to get a group of game development students , who most of which are intense gamers, to get interested and excited about class. For those gamers who are achievement gamers like me, this is an awesome way to motivate us to gain XP so we can gain achievements and unlock more quests.

I'm really looking forward to this course, especially the online section of this course since I really like that fact that my professor is really taking advantage of the technology available, making this course a little bit more interactive. You aren't just going to class and listening to your teacher lecture for 2 hours, or however long your class is, this way we can actually interact with the other students and have discussions about what the professor is teaching about and maybe learn another view or side to what is being taught.

Though the one thing I have an issue with about the whole questing system, is that I feel like there should be quests related to the textbook. I mean we have a textbook for this class, but I know a lot people probably won't even look at. However if there were quests related to the textbook somehow or even secret/ special quests that you needed the textbook for I think more students wouldn't just ignore the textbook and actually read it.

On A Side Note:

If anyone was wondering what MMO I'm playing its called Eden Eternal and it is seriously entertaining, like you can customized the hell out of your character, choose from 5 different races and literally change your class when ever you feel like without creating a new or changing your character (its apparently the only MMO to let you do that). I'll post the trailer for the game below if you wanna check it out, and yes it's 100% free to play.