Friday, December 17, 2010
Google Sketchup
A fun exercise with Google Sketchup. This scene could be something from Tarzan, or maybe one can play the life of an animal. Perhaps a PETA promotion against poaching?
Hero Machine
Brunga is the heroine. She was born without any powers, but her strength and wit make up for it. She must overcome her sister, Freiga, even if it means she must kill her.
Freiga is the antagonist, the evil villain. She was born with powers to manipulate ice and water. Freiga wants to control all the nearby kingdoms and cleanse the population of those who do not possess power. With that mentality, she looks down on her younger sister Brunga.
Korbos is a mystery. When Brunga encounters him she does not know whether to trust him or not. Sometimes he aids her in her trials, but he has his own intentions in mind. He may be just trying to get what he wants, something Brunga wants to find out.
Garageband Exercise
An ambient track reminiscent of Half Life 2. (Again, I was unable to upload the file as a video.)
Audacity Exercise
A simple track for exploring while wind blows in the background. I picture a scene at night, maybe up on some cliffs. (I was not able to upload as a video.)
Sunday, October 31, 2010
The Tetris Effect
I have experienced the Tetris effect. Not only did I experience the effect with Tetris, but also with another game, Fallout 3. I have dedicated so much time to Fallout 3 and was totally immersed with the story that I thought about it several times outside of the magic circle. I have even dreamt about it. I believe the Tetris effect is capable in most, if not all, people. The repetitiveness gets to our brain and we obsess over it.
Tetris Online Evaluation
Student Name Maja Perez
Today’s Date 10/29/10
Game Title Examined Tetris
Year of Publication 1984
Game Publisher Various
Game Developer Alexey Pajitnov
Game Genre (e.g. shoot-em-up, racing, sports, puzzle, MMORPG, ‘sandbox’, music sequence following game (e.g. DDR, guitar hero)
Puzzle game
Type of game ‘world’ or environment (e.g. flat environment, puzzle/maze space, 3D world?)
Tetris is a flat, 2D environment, usually displaying a black background.
Perspective taken by player (e.g first person, third person perspective, top down, isometric) in relation to main player controlled character.
The player sees the game screen on its side, with 2D blocks coming from above and hitting the floor, which is the bottom of the screen.
Gameplay – what does the player have to do?
The player must rotate each falling piece to fit the stacked pieces on the bottom. When the player fits the blocks in a whole row, the corresponding row disappears. This gives the player points and progresses through the game, increasing the speed at which the blocks descend.
Is the gameplay intuitive? (i.e. is it easy to understand what to do without instructions?) describe.
The gameplay is extrememly intuitive, which makes it one of the most successful games of all time. Due to the simplicity of the gameplay, Tetris has a broad demographic.
Is the gameplay patterned (game does the same thing over & over) or is it random (happens differently every time?)
The gameplay is patterned in which the player is always expecting a piece falling from the center. This is actually essential to the gameplay, since the player can think ahead to implement where the next piece will be placed. The sequence of the block types are, however, random. The gradual increase of speed is also patterned, but the player may not know exactly when the speed increases.
What does the type of graphic approach used as well as the audio tell you about the limits of the technology at the time the game was published?
The game was released during the mid-1980s, so the game technology was extremely limited. The audio was a simple electronic beat that looped. The graphics were 8-bit, which was not a complete limitation since all the pieces were simple shaded blocks. Tetris could not have released at a better time. The game is simple.
Describe your views about the game from the point of view of
a) ease of play
Tetris is a very easy game to play, and it caters to casual and core gamers, and young and old alike. The rules are simple and self-explanatory, so the player can just jump right in.
b) enjoyability
Tetris is a highly enjoyable game. There is no definite end to beat the game. The game ends when the player loses. The gameplay reflects our innate human psychology of wanting to organize and categorize chaos so we are able to identify and manage these blocks. I believe that is one of the reasons why Tetris is a memorable and effecive game, easily enjoyed by so many types of people.
c) level of engagement/immersion
It is difficult to pry oneself away from Tetris. The player is more willing to start over and achieve a higher score. A high level of concentration is required to play, especially when the rate at which the blocks fall increases.
Had you played this game prior to this time? If so, when?
I have played this game since the early 1990s, when I was an adolescent. I have played it on a couple of handheld devices, including the Nintendo Game Boy and a TI-83 Texas Instrument Calculator. I have played it on the personal computer.
Describe other games it reminds you of. How does it do this?
I cannot think of any other game that reminds me of Tetris. This may be that Tetris is a definitive and widely known game, and this is one of the first games I have been exposed to.
Today’s Date 10/29/10
Game Title Examined Tetris
Year of Publication 1984
Game Publisher Various
Game Developer Alexey Pajitnov
Game Genre (e.g. shoot-em-up, racing, sports, puzzle, MMORPG, ‘sandbox’, music sequence following game (e.g. DDR, guitar hero)
Puzzle game
Type of game ‘world’ or environment (e.g. flat environment, puzzle/maze space, 3D world?)
Tetris is a flat, 2D environment, usually displaying a black background.
Perspective taken by player (e.g first person, third person perspective, top down, isometric) in relation to main player controlled character.
The player sees the game screen on its side, with 2D blocks coming from above and hitting the floor, which is the bottom of the screen.
Gameplay – what does the player have to do?
The player must rotate each falling piece to fit the stacked pieces on the bottom. When the player fits the blocks in a whole row, the corresponding row disappears. This gives the player points and progresses through the game, increasing the speed at which the blocks descend.
Is the gameplay intuitive? (i.e. is it easy to understand what to do without instructions?) describe.
The gameplay is extrememly intuitive, which makes it one of the most successful games of all time. Due to the simplicity of the gameplay, Tetris has a broad demographic.
Is the gameplay patterned (game does the same thing over & over) or is it random (happens differently every time?)
The gameplay is patterned in which the player is always expecting a piece falling from the center. This is actually essential to the gameplay, since the player can think ahead to implement where the next piece will be placed. The sequence of the block types are, however, random. The gradual increase of speed is also patterned, but the player may not know exactly when the speed increases.
What does the type of graphic approach used as well as the audio tell you about the limits of the technology at the time the game was published?
The game was released during the mid-1980s, so the game technology was extremely limited. The audio was a simple electronic beat that looped. The graphics were 8-bit, which was not a complete limitation since all the pieces were simple shaded blocks. Tetris could not have released at a better time. The game is simple.
Describe your views about the game from the point of view of
a) ease of play
Tetris is a very easy game to play, and it caters to casual and core gamers, and young and old alike. The rules are simple and self-explanatory, so the player can just jump right in.
b) enjoyability
Tetris is a highly enjoyable game. There is no definite end to beat the game. The game ends when the player loses. The gameplay reflects our innate human psychology of wanting to organize and categorize chaos so we are able to identify and manage these blocks. I believe that is one of the reasons why Tetris is a memorable and effecive game, easily enjoyed by so many types of people.
c) level of engagement/immersion
It is difficult to pry oneself away from Tetris. The player is more willing to start over and achieve a higher score. A high level of concentration is required to play, especially when the rate at which the blocks fall increases.
Had you played this game prior to this time? If so, when?
I have played this game since the early 1990s, when I was an adolescent. I have played it on a couple of handheld devices, including the Nintendo Game Boy and a TI-83 Texas Instrument Calculator. I have played it on the personal computer.
Describe other games it reminds you of. How does it do this?
I cannot think of any other game that reminds me of Tetris. This may be that Tetris is a definitive and widely known game, and this is one of the first games I have been exposed to.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)