Battleships first originated as a paper and pencil game where the art of guessing and knowing your oponment is greatly involved. Being that the game was invented in the early 1990s and takes the concept of WW1, it has grown so world wide that it seems strange if you come across someone who dosen't know what Battleships is.
I had the pleasure of picking my good friend Michael to play this game with me and I was excited to find out that we could change or add aspects of Battleships after playing various times.
The first time we played we did what anyone else would do, put our ships in random areas of the board then pick a square of the opponents side and hope for the best, by us doing this I won the first game by complete random, but by doing so I also studied where he put his ships throughout the game and what squares he chose of my side of the board. After much time of playing Battleships, I decided the best way to place my ships while facing Michael was next to the obvious. For example, the obvious place to put them would be on the edges of the board so the entire board is empty, so I would put a few ships a square or two away from the edges, while at the same time there being plenty of free space everywhere else for a better chance of a missed hit.
Eventually we both decided on what tweeks we would make to the game and the outcome made the game more exciting and rewarding.
Our idea was to have three power-ups fitting one square individually where the player can place anywhere he or she wishes. So if the opponment hits a power-up on your side of the board then it can be used to his or her advantage.
Power-ups
Big bomb - a 3x3 radious bomb
Multi shot - 4 free shots
Denied - Fully repairs a ship with the ability to move it anywhere they like.
* Power-ups may only be used once and used immediately.
Sunday, 14 November 2010
Thursday, 7 October 2010
My chosen game using Newman's terms
Newman refers to the terms "paidea" and "ludus" to define what a game is
The game I have chosen is Metal Gear Solid because I like the fact that its Ludus in the sence that the whole object of the game is to fight for peace by going through multiple stories which the series bring to us otherwise the bad will all take over, so Snake (who you play) has the world in his hands.
The game makes you emotionally attached to the character, portraying himself as alone and whos always in combat and never gives up. The storylines are deeply emotional, with the player only doing the best they can to get snake through the missions, you can only hope for the best when the cinematic scenes come on.
The main object in the game is to obviously have fun, but to have fun you need a balance in difficulty so this is when struggle occurs. How Metal Gear Solid achieves struggle is by mixing a set of simple rules to get from A to B successfully by keeping to that balacne.
to be continued...
The game I have chosen is Metal Gear Solid because I like the fact that its Ludus in the sence that the whole object of the game is to fight for peace by going through multiple stories which the series bring to us otherwise the bad will all take over, so Snake (who you play) has the world in his hands.
The game makes you emotionally attached to the character, portraying himself as alone and whos always in combat and never gives up. The storylines are deeply emotional, with the player only doing the best they can to get snake through the missions, you can only hope for the best when the cinematic scenes come on.
The main object in the game is to obviously have fun, but to have fun you need a balance in difficulty so this is when struggle occurs. How Metal Gear Solid achieves struggle is by mixing a set of simple rules to get from A to B successfully by keeping to that balacne.
to be continued...
Tuesday, 5 October 2010
The elements of games
We all read through the booklet to discover a in-depth amount of information which we all summed up in a line or two.
Interaction- If the game is not interactive then it becomes a puzzle, interaction is what makes a game work.
Goals- One or more goals are required, othwerwise it becomes meaningless. So the player becomes motivated and not bored.
Struggle- if a game dosen't have struggle then the game is to easy and gets completed to fast. But then again, it can't be to hard otherwise people would get too frustrated.
Structure- Structure is required so a game can be played by some rules to goven how people play in the game.
Endogenous Meaning- Objects, components, structure/rules only apple to the game and are worthless in the real world. This alo helps keep the game fictional.
We then looking at a Key stage 1 maths game where you have to choose between 3 answers, one being correct and the others false. The difficulty settings were... Normal, Hard and Very Hard. As a group the whole class joined in, first playing easy and then very hard. There was a big difference between them, from deciding what shape has three sides to what shape has this many lines of symmetry.
I reviewed this game using the "what makes a game" method i mentioned before...
Interaction- Very basic, you can only click a few buttons and dont tell you why you're wrong or right.
Goals- One goal, to win. To select the right shape, and to see whats behined the curtain at the end for a sence of satisfaction.
Struggle- Again, very basic. you cant lose the game, it just re-starts the level. It only takes a bit longer to finish the game if you don't know the answers, seeing there is only 3 to choose from.
Structure- Must do as you're told, there is no freedom.
Endogenous meaning- You learn certain things about maths in the game, and the flash characters and elements helps you remember what you have learned.
Evaluation- Overall very simple core machanics, it could be a lot better. It would greatly imporve with a feedback system which told you why you're correct or wrong, but a good game for the target age group.
Interaction- If the game is not interactive then it becomes a puzzle, interaction is what makes a game work.
Goals- One or more goals are required, othwerwise it becomes meaningless. So the player becomes motivated and not bored.
Struggle- if a game dosen't have struggle then the game is to easy and gets completed to fast. But then again, it can't be to hard otherwise people would get too frustrated.
Structure- Structure is required so a game can be played by some rules to goven how people play in the game.
Endogenous Meaning- Objects, components, structure/rules only apple to the game and are worthless in the real world. This alo helps keep the game fictional.
We then looking at a Key stage 1 maths game where you have to choose between 3 answers, one being correct and the others false. The difficulty settings were... Normal, Hard and Very Hard. As a group the whole class joined in, first playing easy and then very hard. There was a big difference between them, from deciding what shape has three sides to what shape has this many lines of symmetry.
I reviewed this game using the "what makes a game" method i mentioned before...
Interaction- Very basic, you can only click a few buttons and dont tell you why you're wrong or right.
Goals- One goal, to win. To select the right shape, and to see whats behined the curtain at the end for a sence of satisfaction.
Struggle- Again, very basic. you cant lose the game, it just re-starts the level. It only takes a bit longer to finish the game if you don't know the answers, seeing there is only 3 to choose from.
Structure- Must do as you're told, there is no freedom.
Endogenous meaning- You learn certain things about maths in the game, and the flash characters and elements helps you remember what you have learned.
Evaluation- Overall very simple core machanics, it could be a lot better. It would greatly imporve with a feedback system which told you why you're correct or wrong, but a good game for the target age group.
Thursday, 30 September 2010
Critical Game Studies Interview
What is the title of the book (fiction) you are currently reading (or the last fiction book you read)?
-The Lord of the Rings, the Return of the King.
-What is the last live performance (music, drama or dance) you attended?
-Q dance, Amsterdam.
What is the title of the last film you saw in the cinema/ online or watched on dvd?
-Resident Evil 3D.
How often do you read a newspaper? (which one?)
-The Independant
Which art gallery/museum/ exhibition did you last visit?
-Tate Modern.
How many hours a week do you spend playing video games?
-15
How many hours a week do you spend playing games other than video games?
-3
-The Lord of the Rings, the Return of the King.
-What is the last live performance (music, drama or dance) you attended?
-Q dance, Amsterdam.
What is the title of the last film you saw in the cinema/ online or watched on dvd?
-Resident Evil 3D.
How often do you read a newspaper? (which one?)
-The Independant
Which art gallery/museum/ exhibition did you last visit?
-Tate Modern.
How many hours a week do you spend playing video games?
-15
How many hours a week do you spend playing games other than video games?
-3
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