week 3
game systems
In part to the MDA design process within video games and the eight kinds of fun associated with the aesthetic portion of said design there is another aspect designers have to take into consideration when designing a game; the game system. The game system is portion of the game which keeps the user or player playing, this is done by constructing a balance between challenge and ease as to maintain that the user dose not get bored or frustrated while playing. However, another method to keep a player playing; is performed by offering some sort of internal motivation within the game. Typically though, this balance and draw is constructed by maintaining a balance between punishment and reward portions a game.
punishment
Punishments within video games are created to establish a degree of challenge and frustration for the user as one plays. These punishments very greatly between games they can include but are not limited to repetition, puzzles, a lack of objectives, hidden solutions, and traps.
rewards
Rewards are a portion of video games which push a player to keep playing usually by offering some new edge for the character within the game. There are four types of rewards typically imbed within a game; game play rewards, hidden rewards, impetus rewards and finally visual rewards.
Game play rewards offer something to the user which helps push the user forward throughout the game. These kinds of rewards are designed to be a necessity to the game which without completing or acquiring beating the game becomes an impossibility. More often then not these rewards include the acquisition of a new weapon which posses a new attribute or an increased strength level, the retrieval of a key or key like device and the learning of a new power within the constructs of the game.
Hidden rewards are portions of the game which offer an added bonus the user should one find them, these rewards can very greatly and could in theory be pretty well anything with in the game that benefits the user in some way. However, these rewards must not be beneficial to completing the game.
Impetus rewards, are rewards within the game that move the narrative forward. Typically his includes actions within the game that are not major events but are crucial to the story all the same.
Finally visual rewards are rewards within the game that usually consist or involve a cut scene or animatic within a game. These can include level introductions, conversations between characters, character introductions or elaborate movies within the story.
motivation
Motivations within games are aspects of a game which push the user or player to keep playing. Typically these motivations are either direct correlations with the narrative and take the form of quests or they are branches from the narrative and take the form of sub quests. However, some motivations can also be considered a tantalizing draw; such as the promise of something good to come if the user only goes a little further. Finally, there is the sheer curiosity of events to come which can further motivate a player to go just a little further.
legend of zelda: the ocarina of time
Throughout the “Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time” there are a variety of methods through which the game can punish the user throughout the game. The most predominate of which is repetition upon the avatars death. The life force which operates acts as the avatars health is that of hearts. As the user moves the avatar through the various stages, damage can be inflicted upon the avatar and once the character runs out of hearts the game over screen is triggered and the option to continue is asked.
Should the user select yes, they are faced to deal with the punishment of repetition and play from their last check point. In most cases of the game the last checkpoint was the entrance to a specific temple or stage.
However there are ways to counteract or at least prolong the act of dieing within the game. The most pronounced way involves the use of hidden rewards; throughout the game six glass bottles lay hidden and if the user can find them one can use said bottles to trap fairies of which upon death will fully revive the player with no penalty.
Between this act of dieing and the punishment associated with it and utilizing the hidden rewards to prolong the user’s life is a good method in which the designers balance the degree of challenge relative to rewards available. The overall result and potential balance pushes players to explore the maps more thoroughly in an attempt to make the game easier and more amusing for users.
The larges problem encountered through “The Ocarina of Time” however is that of dealing with large complex maze based systems in which the user can get lost in easily. The worst of which consists of the Water Temple located at the bottom of Lake Hyalia; that particular level utilized a large sum of intricate locations that could often be missed by a user if one was not paying a great deal of attention. On a side a note though, the designers utilized a relatively ease boss in correlation to the sheer size and difficulty of this particular temple.
“Zelda” utilizes a re large sum of reward based systems to progress through the game. The most common of which consists of game play rewards where the user acquires new weapons to progress through the game. A new weapon or tool is awarded with the completion of every level, stage or temple. However within each level there are items such as keys, and a singular boss key which must be found in order to move through and complete each stage.
The entire “Zelda” saga is narrative driven game as a result objectives become a key aspect of the game and help move the narrative forward. Throughout the game there are core objectives which the user must complete however there are also sub objectives which the user or gamer can explore on their own accord. This sense of user exploration is a great motivator for users to keep playing on the soul reason that there are a great deal of sub quest available and all yield positive results towards making the game more entertaining to play.
The core quest consist of a grand goal which is to inherently to save the princess Zelda from the evil Ganandorf, however there are a series of smaller core quests which must be completed to reach the end and primary goal. These small core objectives must be completed in order to complete the game, as the game carries on each objective becomes more challenging and involved.
As the user moves through the game a degree of feed back between executables events and the users avatar must take place in order to ensure that the user effectively interacts with objects imbedded in the game. The primary method in which “Zelda” gives feedback to the user is through the use of Navi a fairy who acts as your partner in the game. Essentially she will highlight key functions or give you hints; such as to where to go next or how a specific item works to ensure you can beat the game with relative ease.
It is this series of actions and events which construct the game system for “The Legend of Zelda; The Ocarina of Time.”
resident evil 4
The entire “Resident Evil” series is renowned for punishing their users throughout the game, however that is a trend very familiar to horror based video games. The two most common forms of user punishments with in “Resident Evil 4” are a lack of ammo and a difficulty acquiring more and the presence to booby traps within the environments that the user must navigate through.
As a means to counteract the difficulty of finding ammo and maintaining ammo stock holds the designers of the game added a new feature “Resident Evil 4” not ever seen in any previous game; the ability to purchase guns and ammo. This action was achieved by introducing a new character to the game, a wanderer who appears throughout game play to offer assistance in the form of sales.
This game play based award is an excellent way to balance out the challenge of not having ammo and the act of acquiring more providing the player can survive long enough to reach said points.
The other most common punishment would be the presence of physical traps with in the game, be them trip mines, spikes, or bear traps among other things. These actions serve a variety of functions within the game the primary of which is to inflict physical damage onto the user. The second function of the booby traps is an attempt to raise the user’s attention while playing the game; the result of this being a level of shock and a potential physical shriek of terror should they not be paying attention while playing. As a result the punishment is terror within the game.
Throughout the game there are a variety of rewards for which the user can receive many of which are game play rewards and visual rewards however there are a bulk of hidden rewards strewn about the game as well.
Game play rewards present within the game include key or key like objects which the user must find or fight for in order to unlock specific areas within the game and allow one to move forward accordingly. As well as the acquisition of new and stronger weapons in which the user can use to deal an ever expanding a more difficult enemy library to face. Without these weapons, namely the rocket launcher completing the game could become a relative chore and a near impossibility.
Hidden rewards throughout the game include different objects the stranger asks you to find, for instance 10 out of 15 blue medals. Upon completion of these miniature scavenger hunts the stranger offers you rewards, typically in the form of stronger weaponry. In no way are the rewards required to complete the game however they do offer a great deal of help be it in killing stronger adversaries or selling said items back to the stranger for monetary gains.
In relation to “Zelda” “Resident Evil 4” utilizes a much more linear objective base, offering very few sub branches from which the user can deviate. Objectives follow a story line which involves first finding the Ashley, the president’s daughter, and second of all escape with her while avoiding a slew of monstrous zombies.
The overall drive which pulls the user into the game initially is the first action which occurs when you begin questioning a town folk as to the location of Ashley when said town folk spontaneously attack’s the avatar known as Leon. From that juncture in time one is pulled into the world under the sheer curiosity to figure out as to why a seemingly normal looking sprite went crazy and attacked the user.
From start to finish the objectives begin to pull the user more and more into the game out of sheer curiosity as to what will occur next within the narrative. Time after time again as the user moves into through the game more events and dialogue between characters pushes the user to try and figure it all out and form ones own theories in an attempt to figure it all out before everything is revealed to the user.
The final game system to be discussed in regards to “Resident Evil 4” is the presence of feedback within the game. Throughout the game there are a variety of methods of feedback present to the user the first of which is a radio in connection to a home base, the sprite on the other end offers a level of guidance which helps direct the user to the correct locations within the maps. The next form of feedback is a internal dialogue present within the users avatar who talks openly to himself when something ill advised is being performed, and the final level of feedback within the came is the use of visual cues which mark specific items as out of place and cue the user to perform actions with said objects.
It is these events which make up the game system within “Resident Evil 4.”