Lowell Explores Game Worlds: WIP: Chess Game

Lowell Explores Game Worlds: WIP: Chess Game: "Created by: Eduardo Sanchez, Lowell Villanueva, Joseph Miller jmillergame100.blogspot.com ELSanchez31003.blogspot.com Game Objective: Score..."

"Legend of Zelda" online

1) How would you describe the level of engagement compared to more action oriented games from the same period?

I would describe the level of engagement of Zelda as slightly more than that of Super Mario Brothers. The view is top down and allows for movement in the four cardinal directions, as opposed to Super Mario which was more linear. The execution of the top down view in Zelda avoids the loss of detail inherent from a top view by drawing the objects from a view in-between that of a side view and a top down view, while maintaining the mechanics of a top down layout.

2) What role does setting and characterisation play in the game?

The setting and characterization emphasize the story and try to connect with the player emotionally. The setting helps emphasize the fantastical space you inhabit when you play the game.

3) How do spells, pickups and power-ups assist the game play?

The hearts added health, but are hidden in the bushes along with spiders that can reduce health. The risk of the spiders can be completely avoided when Link's health is full by not slashing any bushes with the sword. When his health is low however, it may be advantageous to brave the bushes to find hearts in order to be prepared to face the larger and more dangerous enemies in the game which can not be avoided.

"I, Videogame" - episode 2 in-class survey

1) What kind of company was Nintendo before it made videogame and videogame consoles?

Nintendo started out making plastic toys and playing cards.

2) What videogame system did it sell before it made its FAMICOM (known in USA as Nintendo Entertainment System)

The Magnavox Odyssey.

3) Shigeru Miyamoto was not a programmer - what skill set did he bring to the industry?

He was an artist and aspiring storyteller. He brought story to video games.

4) How did the limits of the technology affect the way Mario could be shown?

The design had to be less complicated to fit on the small screen and within the technological limitations. He had to be small, so his nose is big to see at the small size and he has a mustache because there wasn't enough room for pixels for a mouth. His colors were also chosen to be recognizable at a distance.

5) Why did US retailers think there was no future in home videogame consoles at the time just prior to the NES release in the USA?

They believed the fad of the home gaming console was over and personal computers were the future.

6) What was assumed to the be the 'next big thing' by electronics manufacturers?

Personal computers.

7) What did Legend of Zelda bring to gaming that was new?

Legend of Zelda brought leveling (he gains weapons and life energy) to video games. It was the first successful combination of RPG and action. It was story based and emotionally engaging.

8) How did the conservative values of the 1980s (Reagan & Thatcher etc) affect the culture of videogames?

The concept of collecting treasure. More money was often a goal in the games of the time, which was in line with real life aspirations of the adults in the 80s who were purchasing these games.

9) How were the PC games published by Mystery House like King's Quest different from console games?

It had graphics. It also required more patience because the story was more involved and the puzzles was deeper.

10) How did Sega's 16 big Megadrive system change home console gaming?

It had double the processing power so it could handle superior sound and graphics. The game Sonic that was bundled with the system introduced an antihero to video gaming.

11) How did "Leisure Suit Larry" differ from most genre based games of the period?

It was the first game to have racy content. It was also the first game to have a more life like world.

12) How is this aspect reflected in many games of today?

There are many realistic games on the market today.

13) What is 'motion capture'

A technology developed by hollywood where markers are placed on a person so their motion can be captured with cameras as they move and can then be mapped to an animation to make the movement more lifelike.

14) What is the 'uncanny valley'?

The negative response a human has to the uncanny looks of computer animations that are lifelike but not quite human.

"I, Videogame" in-class survey

1) Videogames emerged from the culture of the "Cold War" - what does Henry Jenkins from MIT compare the period to in terms of a famous board game?

Battleship

2) 

a) Who was the inventor of the first Video game according to the documentary?

William Higginbotham

b) What was the name of the game? 

Tenis for two

3) Steve Russell is credited with the first true computer-based videogame (in terms of its use with the 1961 PDP1 mainframe computer) with SPACEWAR - what popular science fiction book series also influenced him? 

"Doc" Smith Lensman sereis

4) What innovation did Steve Russell's SPACEWAR introduce in terms of input hardware?

The joystick

5) 

a) In the anti-war and counterculture period of the 1960s and 1970s, what new home entertainment system let consumers finally control what was being seen on the home television?

The Magnavox Odyssey

b) Who was its inventor/developer? 

Ralph H. Baer

6) PONG emerged out of the counterculture spirit of the early 1970s - its natural home was what type of entertainment setting?

Bars/Pubs

7) Who does Nolan Bushnell say were generally best at playing the game?

Women

8) "Space Invaders" emerged in the late 1970s as the first game from Japan.
How did the TAITO production team intensify the emotion of the game using the four-note in-game music theme?

They increased the tempo of the four-note tune to intensify the emotion.

9) Steve Moulder reflects that the first arcade games tended to result in the player's defeat. This he argues in turn reflected the view held by many designers during that time that war itself is defeatist.
Has this view changed since that time? Do today's latest games still convey this sense? Why? Why not? (use your own words)

Today's latest games can be beaten, so they do not convey the earlier sense of war being defeatist.

10) Have you ever played any of the games shown in this the first episode of "I, Videogame"? What was your memory of playing it? Where were you, when was it?

I've played many of the games featured in "I, Videogame" starting as a young child at the arcade. At the time I thought the games could be beaten given enough skill and time.