So my PVP Fight blog was done on my friend Chrystal's Portal 2 level which I talked about in this blog HERE, and I thought about doing my 2nd PVP Fight on someone's Unity FPS (First Person Shooter) level but when I was planning out my to do list I wasn't to comfortable with Unity (this was before I started working to build my FPS levels and now after spending hours trying different options to make my levels fabulous I can safely say I know how to relatively work that program) so I choose to review my Friend Matthew's Portal 2 level which can be found HERE. Well might as well not waste any time blabbering I wish to go to sleep some time soon, on to the reviewing.
So the first thing I noticed that Matt's level was a nice open area that didn't have any surprise,or hidden rooms, which I thought was a good design choice on his part because as I mentioned in my earlier larger multi-room levels get really confusing unless there is clear direction. The exit was clear and easy to find rather than being hidden in some remote corner although getting to the exit is another story all together. I like the open concept of Matt's level a lot especially because it's easy to see where all the connection lines attach to so you can figure out which way you need to go.
The level is an interesting design and I really like what Matt tried to do with the level space, especially having to be very precise with where you place your portals during a certain section of the map. Now I think Matt didn't overdue it with the portable surfaces nor where there too little which I liked because it forces the player to actually go through the level obstacles and mechanics rather than being able to skip over most of the obstacles like you could in Chrystal's level. I thought this was a great design choice and with the minimalistic elements the player wouldn't get confused on what needed to activated first and could really appreciate the level design.
What drove me absolutely crazy about Matt's level was trying to get across to the switch that would activate stairs to allow you to reach the companion cube that you need in order to reach the exit. It is so frustrating and difficult to reach because you need to be able to angle yourself in a very specific manner to go through the portal in order to reach the platform so that the velocity would send you across the room to the switch. This is extremely difficult because the platform and portable panel do not line up meaning you have to angle the player and hope you make it throw the portal you created otherwise good luck you will either get stuck on the platform or fall in the deadly goo. After my painstaking ordeal of getting the companion cube and placing it in the right spot is over your next challenge is the get to the exit which is like almost impossible to do and so frustrating I couldn't be bothered to reach the exit after finishing all the rest of the puzzle's aspects.
MY THOUGHTS
Personally I thought Matt's level was well made and clearly had a lot of time and effort put into it, however I think that a few things like reaching the stairs switch and the exit where just was too difficult of tasks and could have been simpler. I think the level as a whole would have been more successful had those to aspects been tweaked a bit. Now I'm not saying this to complain for the sake of complaining or because I couldn't get the exit because I am an avid Portal 2 player and am very good at this game (WHICH EVERYONE SHOULD GET) but getting to the exit was almost near impossible and very frustrating. The other aspects of the level were not very hard to figure out and I would have liked to see a little but more complexity in the level which I feel would have added to the gameplay and length of the level. Personally I think this is a strong design that could be very successful had the two complicated obstacles took away from my enjoyment of the level which I think should be looked at for next time.
Hello internet peoples welcome to a look inside MY THOUGHTS ON LIFE, no not really but it is my thoughts on a ton of things related to my classes and assignments, so yeah. Well you may have noticed on Sunday I posted a blogs taking a look at the game atoms that make up Pokemon X, found HERE. Well in this blog I'm going to take a look at another game's atoms, the game I'm going to focus on is one of my favorites, Little Big Planet 2.
So Little Big Planet 2 is this super cute puzzle platformer made for the PS3, PSP and PS Vita that features a cute, customizable mascot character which players control and maneuver through multiple levels. All the games in this series clearly reflect the series Tagline 'Play, Create, Share' with a huge emphasis on User-generated content. The game's tagline directly relates to the games core elements; Playing, either playing alone, playing with friends or online, Creating, building your own levels and costumes using the in-game content creator and Sharing, sharing online your creations and findings to the world. This is a great and everyone in my opinion should play it, like right now.
So enough talking about the game itself now time to see what actually makes this game absolutely amazing!
PLAYERS
Players, like in the pokemon series (which I talked about in my previous blog), are absolutely essential to the development and the game mechanics. Little Big Planet 2 places a huge emphasis on user-generated content which contributes to a major aspect of the game. The game places a huge on players creating their own content and sharing it with the online with the LBP community. The players are the most important game atom in Little Big Planet because it dictates how much extra content is available in the game and supports many aspects of the game where it requires 2 or more players to access special areas and special items.
In addition, the online community of Little Big Planet 2 is essentially nothing with the players that roam it. There would be no activity or content on it without dedicated players. This game places alot of power in the hands of the players and supports their endless creativity. For this reason I'm 100% sure that the Game Designers main focus was the players and their gaming experience when designing this game; It really makes you feel accomplished as you play, create and explore. There is such a dedicated fan base of LBP that people take the time to create cosplays and plush toys of the mascot and create Youtube videos and channels dedicated to the game.
OBJECTIVES/GOALS
There a few goals of Little Big Planet two of which are directly related to the Players and how they interact with the game and other players. One of the main goals in LBP is obviously completing all the challenges the level curators assign you at the beginning of each level.Every level has multiple stages and a unique goal/ objective. One of the side objectives of this is 100% completion of the level and locating the bonus level key (Although there isn't on in every level or stage), which rewards the players for the amount of completeness they achieve.
Another goal of LBP which ties in nicely to the games huge emphasis on the players is the optional goal to create your own content; whether it be costumes or levels. Players have the option to create their own level and stages becoming the curator of their own world where the only limitation is the player's imagination. The game really encourages players to dust off their creative side and build some crazy and fun levels as well as mix and match clothes to create your own unique costume and look.
One of the final goals of this game directly relates to the previous goal, the game designers didn't want players to simply create a level and leave it to gather dust in a dark corner of LBP's world. No, the game creators wanted players to interact with each and share their creations with the world. Another optional objective of this game is to take your magnificent, unique creation and spread the love around the world. The creators wanted players to create, share and explore others creations.
Personally I think one of the games goal was to reintroduce a sense of wonder and Awe, as well as encourage creativity in gamers, which I think they nailed it head on and really need to hurry and release a Little Big Planet 3 so I can enjoy the creative juices (eewww that sounds kinda gross when you put it like that) out of it.
RULES/MECHANICS
So there are only a few rules of LBP which mostly pertain to specific areas in the game where you need certain stickers to activate the switches which You either got in the previous level or is hidden somewhere in the next level, or multi-player sections of levels. Basically LBP is a standard run and jump puzzle game with some serious improvements, and numerous options to customize. There are a few restrictions on what kind of content is appropriate for release on the online community, not to stifle the player's creativity but instead to protect players online from being abused or discriminated against.
RESOURCES
There are a number of resources available in Little Big Planet 2 which range from their content editor to the character costumes, to the decoration stickers to even the trigger stickers. All of these are available to the player either after they have unlocked them, found them in the level or bought in DLC. All except the content/level editor can be accessed from any point, level, area, etc in the game, meaning players literally can change anything about their character or the level art (Can place stickers anywhere and everywhere, as well as edit the placement of stickers already in the level) whenever the player feels like, although there are aspects of the level that cannot be changed.
SEQUENCING
Sequencing is very important in LBP because the gameplay and storyline are revolved in a linear progression where players can only move on in the world once they have beaten the level or previous stage. Grant you this do in no ay prevent players from going back and replaying beaten levels to increase their high score and received goodies. The sequencing in LBP helps to create a sense of order and direction in a game where you can play around, edit and create to your heart's content or you know until you get bored.
PLAYER INTERACTION
Player interaction is an absolutely fundamental atom of Little Big Planet 2 not only are there sections in the levels that cannot be access unless there are 2 or more players playing, but the online community and shared player levels would be nothing with players to interaction with them and other players.
Little Big Planet was a not a game designed to be single player with a multi-player element added into it after, no this game, which thrives through player-created content, and player interactions, was clearly designed to be a mass multi-player game with single player elements attached to it (or at least in my opinion, I could always be wrong but honestly it doesn't seem likely). The multi-player of the game is so much fun and so entertaining you could play it for hours, and still not have enough of clingy to the other player while they are trying to sing across something or backslapping another player to get them out of your way. The game has specific sections where multi-player is require which mean players and their friends can go on adventures together and not have to worry that the game isn't supportive of their friendship, but actually encourages their teamwork.
The level editor that allows players to share their creations with the world is one of the most significant aspects of the game that allows players to interact with each other and explore the others creative side which isn't possible in most multi-player games like Mortal Combat or Mario Party where your main goal is to defeat or best the other player. Little Big Planet 2, instead, encourages cooperation and friendships between other players through it's sharable player-created levels and online community, bringing LBP players together since 2008.
CONCLUSION
Little Big Planet 2 is an amazing game that really puts the controls into the player's hand, quite literally. It's fun, imaginative and encourages wonder, awe and creativity. In my opinion more games need to be made like this and they definitely need to make more Little Big Planet games. If you haven't played this game yet go out and get it right now or find some friends who have the game and go play it, like right now!
Welcome one and all to the wonderful realm of the
Angry Game Dev Girl's blog which today will be reviewing my dear friend
Chrystal's 1st Portal 2 level (WHOOOOOOH). Chrystal's blog can be found here if
you so choose to take a look at it, CLICK HERE. Well enough random chit chit ON
TO THE REVIEWING!!!
First I'd like to start with some Pro's of Chrystal's level I really like:
Pros
Chrystal's level is a reasonable size, it's not too big or too small, and isn't overly complicated with multiple rooms or sections nor is it overly complecated with traps or obstacles. In fact all the traps and obstacles have their own space and are not overshadowed by one another. The clear connection lines help dictact and direct the direction of the level and do not confuse the player by overlapping the lines. The exit is clearly visible and not hidden in some secluded or hidden in a remote areas on the map, which helps give players a clear direction and end goal. Every button and switch has a clear purpose and doesn't activate multiple aspects which can create confusion and make players lose direction.
The level is clearly set up in a linear way, meaning players do not have to double back and repeatedly go back and forth through areas. This prevents players from getting confused or lose their place in the level, like many of the more complicated levels cause when players lose track of where they are and their objective in large mulch-directional levels. Even with it's smaller size, and more simplistic design, the level still presents a good amount of difficulty and challenge for more novice player without being too hard or overly complicated.
Next I'm going to focus on a few things I was 100% on board with or didn't like
about the level:
Cons
Now Chrystal's level in my opinion is really well made however there are a few issues I have with it specifically the pit trap where the first cube spawns in, if a player falls into the this pit before they are able to look around the map properlyit is very difficult to get out of, which I feel was a poor design choice especially be cause an essential cube spawns in the pit. This could be easily fixed by place more accessible portable panels on the ceiling in line with the pit.
My next issue with Chrystal's level is although it's a good design, it is slightly too simple and easy to beat for more advanced place, who can easily figure out how to be the level and how to avoid many of Chrystal's obstacles. In fact I was completely able to skip almost every one of Chrystal's obstacles with clearly placed portals, actually it took me less than a minute to see a quick way to fly through the level only having to deal with 2 of her obstacles. In the images below you can see just a few of the ways I slipped right past Chrystal's obstacles with complete easy.
Now my final issue with Chrystal's level was the cubes and the weighted and cube buttons they activated, there about 4 buttons and three cubes, obviously you are meant to reuse the first cube from the first on the last button however I didn't even need to use the first button, meaning it was kinda a waste of space. All of this skipping obstacles and threw the level could have been avoid have Chrystal been more strategic with the placement of portable panels. Below are a few more pictures showing how I bypassed most of her obstacles and barriers:
While giving the player freedom to choose how they want to play the level is a good thing and in my opinion a good design aspect of the level, if it means that players completely bypass your mechanics and aspects of your level maybe reducing the number of ways players can hack through the level would be an important thing to look at and think about before creating another level. In addition, have a lot of poeple playtest through the level to see if they find anything you overlooked while making it. They can give you good suggestions on what worked and what didn't which is critical in creating game levels.
Now my thoughts overall on Chrystal's level:
Personally I thought Chrystal's more simplistic approach to creating her level
was a great choice for her 1st Portal 2. I can clearly see for the way she
designed that she has a good understanding of how the level editor tools work
and has a good grasp of many game design concepts we covered in class. Her
level spacing was well thought out and the level wasn't cluttered with tons of
buttons, traps, cubes and obstacles that may end up confusing players. Although
there a few things I wasn't found of in the level overall Chrystal's Portal 2
level was well designed and fun to play. It offered a bit of challenge without
being boring or too difficult. I feel like there are a few areas to improve on
like the placement of portable surfaces but other than that I enjoyed the level
and I think it was a good design. If you are interestedin playing her level, here is the link to the
level available on Steam: CLICK HERE!
Welcome internet goers, friends, TAs, blog readers (which I'm still actually surprised that people really read this thing voluntarily cause I'm not, this is my school work, I'm snarky and sarcastic at best when I'm not lazy, and other than my emotional blog about Assassin's Creed 2 my blogs are very entertaining [A few of my friends seem to disagree with my belief that I'm not funny but I don't believe then] so I really don't understand why people who don't have to read this thing actually do but you know whatever) to my latest blog which will be dedicated to deconstructing an analyzing the game design atoms of a game of my choosing. Now there are numerous games I could choose but I think I'm going to have to go with one of my most recent games that I bought (which 1 I've almost beaten, 1 I played a bit with friends in our school's gamer lab where we have our gaming systems, 1 I just got an haven't started yet cause I'm super busy and probably won't start it until I've finished school and my first game), which will be the newest generation of Pokemon (yeah guys I'm gonna analyze Pokemon, clearly I am the coolest of the cool), Pokemon X.
So in the Pokemon series, you play as a young Pokemon trainer (seriously guys I'm pretty sure these kids are like 12 and they are sent out into the world with a single weak Pokemon and a good luck. What is wrong with the parents and adults of the Pokemon universe like seriously! Irresponsible much?) who travels the region collecting gym badges, catching Pokemon and making friends along the way, Oh and you know single-handedly defeat an evil organization who are trying to like take over the world or some other evil reason.
For this blog I'm going to be focusing on the game design atoms (Players, Objectives, Rules, Resources, etc) found in Pokemon and how they interact with the game. Now I am warning all readers right now that there will be major spoilers for this game so read at your own discretion. SPOILERS BELOW BEWARE!!
Players
So the Pokemon games are generally made for kids around the ages 10 and up but the amount of 21 years who nearly wet themselves in excitement for this Gen's games was ridiculous (myself and my friends included in this). In fact there are over 4 million people who bought this game and are playing the game which is saying some because if you have played one game you kinda have played them all especially since the basic plat never really changes the details, but for dedicated players that doesn't really matter to much for them. New games means new rivals to beat, new pokemon to catch, new areas to explore, and a new evil team with evil intentions to defeat.
Without the players Pokemon wouldn't be what it is today and with some of the new changes Game Freak has made to the game the fan base is even stronger than ever. Without players accepting the games as they are, Pokemon wouldn't be as successful as it is, the players and fans are literally the most important game atom of the Pokemon franchise. Now a normal generic adventure in Pokemon is generally the player against the game system, however players can face and interact with each other through the battling and trading mechanic.
Objectives/Goals
So Pokemon always starts out as a basic quest of explore the world, catch all the Pokemon (There are over 600 pokemon and your pokeboxs can only hold less than half that number, good luck), and become the best there ever was. Eventually you get new goal which is to constantly beat your rival at every turn cause it's fun and if you are playing the first Gen games, Gary is kinda of jerk so its all about getting even. Collecting all the gym badges and beating the Elite Four to become the Pokemon champion is another goal of the game and kinda ties into a lot of the other goals in the game. Not only does knowing you are stronger than the gym leaders who are like the strongest of the strong, you also get cool stuff and unlock cool moves like cut and surf, which if taught to the right pokemon can get you into new, unexplored areas. The following are the numerous objectives/goals found in Pokemon X:
Defeating Rivals
Now in Pokemon X, unlike any other pokemon game, the player has 4 rivals (Technically you have 4 but really you only need to take 1 seriously) who are constantly interacting, competing and battling with you. They are the ones who give you your first pokemon, Pokedex and constantly show up throughout your adventure and are either helpful or just useless sometimes. Each rival has something different about them and you have to fight them multiple times in order to progress in the game.
Catching Them All/ Filling the Pokedex
So in every game the player is given a job of going out into whatever region the game takes place in to find, catch and train all the pokemon, (which is a ridiculous goal cause there are over 600 Pokemon and it's extremely hard to do especially with version exclusive pokemon) and fill up the pokedex. Despite the difficulty many players strive to catch them all and by trading, evolving, and breeding catching all isn't as daunting as a task.
Gym Badges/ Pokemon League/Become Champion
So like every game before it in Pokemon X you need to go and battle through a series of gyms (which in this game are really over the top and made me question the sanity of the gym leaders like seriously) in order to unlock certain moves outside of battle, move onto different areas, heck even unlock new clothing in the boutique. With the defeat of each gym and trainer standing in your way, you are constantly working to the ultimate goal, the defeat of the elite 4 (basically they are 4 trainers who are really strong and have nothing better to do than chill around waiting for a trainer to come challenge them) and the Pokemon champion (the greatest trainer of them all, this trainer is the one you are training and plotting to replace the whole game).
Team Flare
So while becoming the best there ever was you run across a bunch stylish weirdos in red suits claiming to be from Team Flare, the main antagonists of the game who at first seem a little silly because of the whole you got pay a million dollars just to be part of Team Flare. Now at first Team Flare's main goal seems to be a Get Money Get Paid sort of deal which isn't really all that evil aside from you know stealing a bunch of Pokeballs and electricity, until the game drops a huge plot bomb when you discover Team Flare's main goal isn't Get Money Get Paid but actually MASS GENOCIDE (Well Played Game Freak I didn't see that one coming), so as any responsible adult, Professor Sycamore gets a bunch of kids (This becomes a major goal after revealing their evil plan, rather than just a small secondary objective) to stop Team Flare, save the legendary pokemon and all of the Pokeworld.
Although you have to admit for being a bunch of crazies who want total annihilation, they look fantastic! I mean look at those outfits they are seriously styling.
Rules/Mechanics
So like every game there are a few rules in place in Pokemon X, mostly they pertain to specific areas where you access when at a certain level or number of badges, like Victory Road or the Poke Village, certain moves that cannot be taught to certain pokemon (I mean you wouldn't want a Pikachu knowing Aerial Ace that just doesn't make sense and is totally not fair). There are certain rules like you cannot run from a trainer battle or catch another trainer's pokemon which are reasonable. There are also rules pertaining to how many pokemon you can have in your party, when certain pokemon become available to find and capture and what moves can be used during battle.
Resources
There are numerous resources available to players in Pokemon X, in fact I'm pretty sure this generation has the greatest number of resources especially since the introduction of customized clothing and Pokemon Amie. Some of the resources available are as followed:
Your captured Pokemon
TMs & HMs
Pokeballs
Potions, Revives, Status Heals, Etc
Berrys
Rollarblades, Bicycles, Fishing Rods, Town Map, etc.
Clothing
Pokepuffs & Vitamins
Sequencing
Sequencing is a large aspect of Pokemon X, especially with how the battle system works and game progression. The battle system is entirely turn base in which trainers must make strategic moves either attacking switching pokemon or using items. Every action uses up one turn and players cannot make any actions until all turns for both the player, an ally and enemies have been completed and the cycle starts again. In addition, to the battle system the game's story as well as the gyms are sequenced in a specific order which cannot be skipped if the player wishes to continue through the game world, for example players cannot reach the Poke Village (which is seen above) until the have reached the 8th gym city.
Player Interaction
Normally Pokemon is a single player game with limited player interaction outside of battling and trading pokemon with your friends and family, however player interaction have increased tremendously in Pokemon X and is greatly encouraged. With version exclusive pokemon it's always good to have a friend with a different version but in Pokemon X players can easily connect with other players around the world by simply activating their devices wifi capabilities.
With the introduction of Wonder Trade, a random trading mechanic that randomly matches up 2 trainers to trade mystery pokemon, the friend safari, which utilizes player's registered friends to give players access to areas that have special and generally unavailable pokemon, and the Battle spot, an online battle area that allows players from all over the world to battle and find out who the true champion really is. In additions, players have the ability to request certain pokemon from the pokemon community for a trade as well as give other trainers power boosts called O-Power to help them out during their adventure.
Conclusion
Pokemon X and Y are by far the best pokemon games ever released, not only did they introduce a new type which is super awesome, but the story is great, the main villains are actually really evil, its so much easier to interact with other players whenever you want, and they introduced character customization, which is what everyone has been wanting since the introduction of customizable secret bases (which I really want back). If you haven't played or picked up this game do it! It is seriously epic!!
