Hearthstone

Official Website

Video

Introduction

Hearthstone is a free-to-play online collectable card game developed by Blizzard Entertainment. Recently entering open beta in late January 2014, Hearthstone pits players head to head in a 1-on-1 card battle, similar to existing card games, for example, Magic: the Gathering. The object of the game is to take your opponent down to 0 HP, and players can do so with the aid of minions, spells or weapons.

Lens of Rules

In a strategic game like Hearthstone, knowing the rules of the game is a key component in playing the game well. By knowing the mechanics, players will be able to optimise their game play.

A Battlecry effect targeting Minions

An example of this is the Battlecry mechanic, which takes place whenever a minion is played from the hand onto the field. However, getting a minion with a Battlecry effect onto the field by other means will not trigger that effect.

To ensure that players are certain of these rules, Blizzard has been very specific in the wording on the tooltips and even the cards themselves. Some of the terms used in the game like minion(referring to any creature on the playing field), hero(the player’s character in the game) and character(both minion and hero) have been clearly defined and worded on cards. Emphasis is also put on words ‘ALL’ so that the player is clear that these effects affect both parties.

Lens of Competition

It goes without saying that Hearthstone is a competitive game, since players are battling each other out in every game they play. However, Blizzard has implemented several modes of play so as to cater to the different competitive levels of the player.

Ranking system

Firstly, there is the Ranked mode, where each win brings you closer to ranking up, all the way to the Legend ranks. This provides players with a goal; to get the best rank they can possibly get. This mode matches players of similar ranks, so that players are matched based on relative skill levels.

There is also the Casual mode, where players can practically match-up with anyone else. This is useful for anyone trying out new decks, or for players to have just started and not want to jump straight into Ranked play. This mode also has a matchmaking system which matches players by their skill level.

Lens of Luck vs Skill

In any card game, drawing the right cards at the right time can tilt the chances of winning highly in a player’s favour. However, this does not means that the chances of winning is just purely luck.

Mad Bomber can even damage you!

Players can mitigate the need to draw the right cards by simply having more cards in their hand. This is a term known as card advantage, where the player with more cards has a higher card advantage, simply because he has more options to play his cards. In Hearthstone, certain cards have mechanics that allow for additional card draw, but are significantly weaker than their similar cost counterparts, and it is up to the player to manage when to go for card draw, and when to play more efficient cards.

As a virtual game, Hearthstone also uses effects where the results are random. This gives the game more uncertainty and leaves things to chance. However, these effects take place when cards are played, giving the player control of when these random effects happen, and this is where skill and strategy comes in.

Lens of Endegenous value

The strongest legendary in terms of stats

As Hearthstone is free-to-play, Blizzard makes money from players purchasing packs of cards with real currency. Like in other physical card games, cards have varying rarities. This gives the cards an endegenous value, as players gradually expand their card collection by opening more card packs. Cards of the Legendary rarity are hardest to find, but are the strongest and have the most devastating effects. Card packs can also be obtained via in-game gold, but this takes a much longer as time is spent to earn gold. As such, the endegenous value of cards in Hearthstone is a reward for investment, be it monetary or time.

Also, players have levels for each of the 9 playable classes. Simply by playing the game, win or lose, players get experience points and level up their characters. Hearthstone rewards players with cards that unlock every 2 levels while they level their characters to level 10. Player can thereby add more cards to their arsenal by simply putting in the time to level up their characters.

Lens of Balance

Hearthstone has had several major patches in which cards have been changed due to balance issues. An example of this is to a card which gives all friendly minions Charge, an ability that allows a minion to attack on the turn it is played. In combination with high damage minions, players were able pull off a One Turn Kill combo to win in a single turn without the opponent being able to react. Blizzard then decided to change this card so that this effect now affects minions of 3 or less attack power, so that the card does not lose its effect entirely, but also removing the One Turn Kill.

Cards of the Warrior One Turn Kill combo

Dishonoured

CS3247 Game Development Assignment 1 – Option 1

Introduction

Dishonoured is a first person, stealth, action adventure video game released by Arkane Studios, and is ranked among top games made in 2012. The game is set in the fictional, industrial city of Dunwall, where a new regime rises to power after the assassination of The Empress and the kidnapping of The Princess. Players follow the story of Corvo Attano, who, originally the personal bodyguard of The Empress, is framed for her assassination. Forced into becoming an assassin for the Loyalists, he then seeks to clear his name and restore The Princess to power from the grasp of the rebels.

(Trailer)(Website)(Gameplay)(Introduction)

Analysis

Dishonoured is a game I greatly enjoyed, and lavished hours upon hours on. The following will attempt to analyse the factors that made this game such an appealing piece not just for me, but for so many around the world.

• The Lens of Freedom

The appeal of Dishonoured lies significantly in the freedom it gives its players. Players are able to choose from a pool of multi-purpose abilities and gadgets for Corvo to use, effectively allowing players to customise Corvo to their unique play style as they choose. Unlike many games where levels are designed such that level progression is practically linear, the developers even made it so that the levels are designed to accommodate for the use of those multi-purpose abilities and gadgets. Provisions are made so that skills such as “Blink” (teleportation to a location a short distance away) can be used effectively in most parts of the stages, should the player choose to do so.

List of available skills.

Additionally, players can choose how they will achieve the primary objectives. For example, in infiltrating a building, there isn’t only that one air vent, or that unlocked balcony door. All these are available as access points, along with the main door, or perhaps even a sewer entrance. And as the player explores the stage, players uncover different ways of achieving that end goal of “assassinating” key targets. Further, following from the last point, players are also given the freedom to craft their own brand of vengeance against the conspirators who framed Corvo. Whether they choose to create a bloodbath by rampaging through the stage, or to simply sneak in quietly and take out the target, or perhaps to even decide to spare the target, all these are available as options for the player. Lastly, players are also given the option of building their relationship with the other characters the way they want to through speech options and optional quest objectives. In making all these choices, players become stakeholders in the game’s progression. This makes for a far more immersive experience. Additionally, the freedom given in the players’ actions gives tinge of realism to the game.

• Lens of Essential Experience

Dishonoured provides for a range of experiences for the player. The primary experience is that of being an assassin. A word thoroughly misrepresented thanks to the popular Assassin’s Creed franchise, Dishonoured brings back the full flavour of what it means to be an assassin – you are sneaking around in a place where your presence is unwelcome, and any one mistake could be your last. Armed guards are actively looking out for signs of suspicious activity, and traps have been set for the unwary. Players experience the excitement of doing the forbidden, and triumphing over the overwhelming odds. On a smaller part, Dishonoured also provides the experience of being empowered to right the wrongs done to you on your own terms, as per the setting of the narrative.

One of the available endings…

• Lens of Meaningful Choice

As mentioned, the player is allowed to choose how they play – do they submit to vengeance and kill, or not. How should they respond to the characters they interact with? In Dishonoured, these choices have an impact on things such as Corvo’s relationships with the other characters, as well as the outcome of the overall narrative. As a close subordinate of The Empress, The Princess looks to Corvo’s actions for guidance now that her mother is lost. How The Princess would rule, once Corvo’s mission is completed, will depend on how Corvo decides to act in the course of the game. Thus, the player’s actions are given meaning, allowing for better immersion into the game.

• Lens of Challenge

In attempting to infiltrate the large maps created by the developers, players will need to consider and plan various things, such as skill builds, equipment upgrades, as well as the timing and details of executing the infiltration. Then, upon execution the player will need to react swiftly to factors previously unknown to them, and make new plans for their next move. Overcoming these challenging problems is part of the fun of Dishonoured.

• Lens of Curiosity

Dishonoured gives players a wide variety of options – the various supernatural skills, the range of gadgets and modifications – but few of these are actually really essential to the game’s progression. Thus, players are free to wonder – suppose I played without supernatural powers, or without gadgets, or if I had to kill everyone, or if I had to spare everyone? Additionally, as mentioned above, Players may attempt stages again by progressing through different access paths. Thus, Players are free to handicap themselves, challenge themselves, and re-attempt the game to see how it would play out. This makes for hours of fun exploration.

(Challenges)(Exploration)

Lens of Economy
There are 3 basic types of “currency” in Patapon 3 – Ka-ching, Materials and Equipment. These 3 are used to upgrade the gear of your 4 men “army”. All 3 of them are earned through clearing stages (most of which are repeatable) and every stage has at least 1 treasure chest which gives a prize, usually an equipment. The stages can be cleared in a short amount of time and relatively easily. Storyline bosses may take longer (2 to 3 stages which must be cleared at 1 shot). Clearing the storyline increases difficulty as well as the rank of the items that can be obtained. These 3 resources are used to upgrade the obtained equipment at the blacksmith. Some materials and equipment become randomly purchasable from an NPC after an early part of the storyline. Farming can hence be monotonous by repeating a few stages, but there is a variety to choose from. Fortunately those are not the only type of “currency” and also grow with farming. Patapon 3 has a levelling system, a typical trait in many games. Levelling makes your army stronger, as well as unlocking different classes and set skills. Patapon 3 has two types of skills and levelling methods instead. The first is set skills which are associated with certain jobs and unlocked at certain levels. For example, Allosson (the stronger version of  a bow user) has a set skill which creates a tailwind while Fever Mode is activated, increasing his range while reducing that of your enemies (and defending your army from spore-type attacks). These set skills can be equipped by the Patapon before beginning a stage, and you are free to mix and match them (The maximum number of set skills equippable depends on the class). Patapon also has class skills which are passive. These are levelled by repeated use, which may empower a class as well as its related branch-classes. How does throwing 4 spears instead of 1 sound?

Lens of Skill
Patapon 3, like its predecessors, is a rhythm game with some elements of RTS. Hence this game actually requires a few skills – a little “music” sense, thumb-movement (in my case, I use my thumb), tactics in choosing your line-up and battle process (selection of skills, equipment, miracles etc), decision-making (when to use the said skills) and ability to keep calm while not jumbling your fingers.  The commands are issued to your “army” in the form of 4 drumbeats, getting a perfect timing for the beats will grant several advantages like being able to invoke your Uberhero’s skill (in “FEVER Mode”). Giving perfectly timed commands also speeds up charging to “FEVER Mode” when The other members of your army also gain bonuses like stronger attack or defense, and even activate some passive skills known as set skills. You also become able to use miracles. While perfect initially sounds impossible, the time-frame given is sufficiently lax and takes little practice to get the hang of it.
There is a good number of commands, not too many which become hard to remember. The variety is good as well, with retreating and jumping to evade attacks, guarding, dancing, charging and attacking. This leaves sufficient room for tactics to some degree. Decision-making applies more for bossing when the damage is from potentially one-hit kill techniques which range from grabbing and eating your poor Patapon to being stomped by the foot of a giant. The need to keep Fever activated can be challenging at times as a poorly executed command will break it and potentially cause failure.
There are also some limitations such as failing the stage if Hatapon (The flag bearer) dies. As long as there is at least one live Tatepon or a melee class, Hatapon will remain invincible. However, Hatapon’s defense and hp are like paper – so keep your tank alive.
Both new and old players can practice at the training grounds while getting low-ranked chests at the same time. Therefore, there is sufficient means of letting players get used to the commands and control system. There are also a few levels of difficulty that can be selected at a later part of the storyline, which becomes progressively harder.

Lens of Character traits
The Patapons in the game have small fragments of personality, they are mainly your Uberhero (through some choices you make through the game which affects certain events) and the anti-heroes. There are also some rather stupid ones which grants some humour (or facepalms) during the storyline. These can range from single-tracked minded enemies to those who still have honour or some who perhaps aren’t as bad as they seem. They help to bring out the storyline, as in the case of most RPGs.

Lens of Challenge
The monotonous nature of just killing all your enemies and levelling all their structures and contraptions to the ground is broken by the storyline, having stages where you go head to head against the anti-heroes which range from racing, arriving at the enemies’ base ASAP and even shooting missiles at the enemy platform. These mini-games are repeatable and have decent rewards, offering some incentive to play them. Each of these mini-games has different objectives and gives players even more opportunity to strategise and test their line-up.
The challenge in Patapon 3  is essentially to keep at least 1 tank alive, maintaining Fever mode and not jumble your fingers during boss fights which require a deeper sense of observation and prediction. The is particularly so since the Patapons only react after a complete set of 4 beats – you must already be sure of your command when you hit the first beat. Otherwise, you will likely end up breaking fever mode to react in time, or possibly result in loss if a bad decision was made.
Moreover, let’s not forget your nemesis are not called anti-heroes for nothing, they have their own special skills as well such as charging through your line-up which disrupts your attacks or putting forth a giant shield that protects their henchmen.

One of the “mini-games” where you have to reach the opponent’s flag before they reach yours.

Lens of Feedback
The feedback a user receives mainly come on 3 occasions occasions, during and after clearing a stage and during loading screens. The loading screens often offers tips on how to play the game or reveal the class trees that can be unlocked – useful for beginners. Hoshipon, who takes the role of a knowledgeable old geezer will guide you through the storyline, giving brief tidbits of information about the next stage. After clearing stages, there is also usually a short animation about what your adversities are doing, be it internal strife or a prelude to a nasty welcome prepared for you in the next stage.
During battles looking at the eyes of your Patapons also offers some information, such as if they are within attacking range of an enemy, depicted by having slanted irises. They also give a rather sad cry when they perish in combat. They also offer various forms of audio feedback, such as disappointment (“I knew it!” – in Japanese) when you messed up a command and more enthusiasm during Fever Mode.

Tip shown during loading screens : Spear-class tree

Another useful tip on upgrading equipment to make your army stronger

NEO RUI SHAN

Game: League of Legends (2009)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DehYAG7698Y

• Introduction
League of Legends (LoL) is a Multiplayer Online Battle Arena game which is similar to Defense of the Ancients (DotA). For every game, each player will get to choose a character, also known as champion and are teamed alongside with other players to destroy the enemies’ base. Similarly to DotA, the players earn small amount of gold passively during the game and by killing minions and enemies’ champions. After each game, players will earn experience points after each game which allows them to level up their Summoner (personification of player) till a maximum of level 30. Gaining levels will unlock mastery points and tune slots which help to improve the overall strength of the player’s chosen champion in-game.

• Lens of Character Function
– Every champion is unique in their own ways. They play different roles in a game too
– There exist several character functions such as the junglers, assassins, fighter, mage, support, tanker and marksman
– For instance, a support champion naturally plays the role of healing wounded allies and strengthening their stats, such as providing them with higher defence or speed for several seconds. They can also be used to stun the enemy champions to buy time for their allies to escape. A good such support in LoL would be Sona

– Not only should a team have well balanced characters, they must also decide which champions should run the top, mid and bottom lane, depending on the functions and equipment, for more advantages

• Lens of Competition
– LoL is a Player VS Player (PVP) or Player VS Bots game
– Playing with bots will be pretty boring for advanced players as the enemy bots are very predictable since they are programmed to do their every action
– Each game in LoL PVP is a trilling competition since every player have different playing styles
– and thus, playing frequently and gaining experience is really important for serious competitive players as they must be exposed to different styles and learn how to counter them

• Lens of Cooperation
– Nobody plays to lose, especially in a team game. Therefore they will be more pressured to contribute to the team in one way or other
– It is important for teammates to look out for one another’s backs and help each other to escape whenever their champion is at the brink of death
– Newer and weaker players usually are more selfish and complain a lot during the games, especially when other players make a kill steal (KS) or they will fight over which lane to use
– On the other hand, stronger and experienced players cooperate to take down enemies together even though they did not get the kill, they will offer the lane to someone who needs it for than their champion
– Communication is very important when playing LoL. Most of the time, I would sign in to Skype to talk to my other teammates about the strategy we should employ in the game according to the way our enemies play

• Lens of Skill
– LoL is not really a difficult game once you get a hang of it. Most of the time, a win and lose is highly dependent on the players’ skills on how they use the champions and good teamwork
– A team with an extremely skilful and strong player and four other weaker players can still win a team of five average players and of course, it also depends on how well the other team can cooperate too
– Memorising all the skills and abilities of every champion is definitely a plus point as you can predict and avoid the incoming attacks
– The timing to stun opponents and to use skill shots on them is really important as well. For instance, one of my favourite champion Anivia, has a skill called Flash Frost which flies really slowly for a short distance in a straight line, thus I must always predict the movement of my enemies before firing Flash Frost, a hit can damage and slow down the movement of enemy champion by 20% for 3 seconds which is very crucial for the enemy to escape and for myself to take the kill

– Adding on, players should also know what to equip their champions during the game. Strong players know how to vary the equipment used during late game, while less experience players would google their champion’s guide beforehand and follow the recommended equipment set

• Lens of Chance
– In every game, there bound to be some chance and luck too. Although LoL is a game that depends on skills, players do have chances to finish off their enemies even though it seems near impossible
– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiu5quoGvoU
– In the above Youtube clip, it portrays the chances that the champion Ashe has to finish off opponents from far with her Enchanted Crystal Arrow. The players must be really skilful in estimating the timing to make those kills

– Furthermore, equipment such as the Phantom Dancer allows the champion which wields it to have an increase chance of 30% critical strike which is extremely crucial during a 1-1 battle in game

Although chance plays a part LoL, I believe that experience players, who balance their team well with the correct champions, along with good teamwork and skills can still dominate the game. All in all, I believe LoL is a well-balanced game of fun and skills which is why they are extremely successful in the gaming industries. They are rumoured to be able to be on par with DotA or even surpass it.

Assignment 1 – Option 1

Game: World of Tanks
Link to game: http://worldoftanks.asia/
Gameplay video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8whsF5JJfM

Description of the game: World of Tanks is a team-based massively multiplayer online game featuring armoured warfare in the mid-20th century. Players can choose from an arsenal of over 240 tanks from seven different nations, including iconic tanks such as the German Tiger and Soviet T-34. There are five different classes of tanks – heavy, medium, light, tank destroyers, and self-propelled guns. Each of these five classes has a unique characteristic, and they each play a different role on the battlefield. Players are put into 15 minute 15 vs. 15 battles where they either attempt to eliminate all enemy tanks, or capture the enemy’s base.

2 – The Lens of Surprise

• As World of Tanks features human players, the element of surprise is inherently present as you rarely know what the other players might do.
• Random number generator (RNG) system that is implemented in the accuracy of guns and critical module damage can give pleasant surprises to the player. For example, if one manages to destroy the ammo rack of a tank, the tank blows up, regardless of how much health it has. This is known as a 1-hit KO. Sometimes, RNG sends your tank shell flying to an unintended location, and it actually manages to kill an unintended enemy (or ally)!
• The physics system in the game allows players to pull off stunts such as flying off a cliff and landing onto another tank. This happens very rarely and it is always a nice surprise to see it happening, even if you are not the victim or the one performing the stunt.
• The link below is a playlist of lucky and interesting physics going on, that appear in gameplay from time to time.
  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?annotation_id=annotation_3562690471&feature=iv&list=PLYgipOCaRI034tH_5LvnL2crptt-fG6I1&src_vid=ri3bk3NIQqk

German Tech Tree

17 – The Lens of Pleasure

• The tanks available in game are placed in a tech tree, from tier 1 to 10. The higher tiers feature the more iconic tanks, as well as tanks that look simply sexy. It is a pleasure to finally see your coveted tank sitting in your virtual garage, especially after working so hard to get it.
• Once in a while, your team fails you and you find yourself in a, for example, 1 vs. 4 situation, and you manage to emerge victorious from the engagement. Or sometimes, you manage to do a monstrous amount of damage, or manage to get the killing blow on half the enemy team. Pulling off such achievements gives the player a since of pride and happiness.

Leopard I. What a sexy tank.

32 – The Lens of Meaningful Choice

• World of Tanks is a game where you have to make choices in every moment of the game.
• The player’s ability to make these choices also translates to their level of skill in the game, as well as whether or not you emerge victorious from the battle. The following is a general idea of the thought processes and choices the player can make.
• Start of the battle
  • Where should I go?
• When the enemy is sighted
  • Am I in cover? Should I take cover or keep moving?
  • Should I move out of cover to engage the enemy?
  • Who should I prioritize?
  • Am I able to damage or kill the enemy? Will they damage or kill me?
  • Should I attempt to immobilize the enemy (harder to pull off, but it is an advantageous move), or go for an easier hit?
• Near the end of the battle
  • Should we capture the enemy base, or should we destroy all enemy tanks?
  • How much time is left in the battle? Will it influence the above choices?

What will you do?

42 – The Lens of Simplicity/Complexity

• Simplicity: The game mechanics and controls are similar to any first-person shooter out there. The WASD keys are for movement, and the mouse is for aiming and shooting. This is sufficient enough for the player to contribute to the game, especially at the lower tiers. The more intricate mechanics of the game do not make a big impact on the battles yet.
• Complexity: However, to become a better player, especially as one advances to higher tiers, you need to properly understand the complex mechanics the game has. Concepts such as angle of ammunition impact, and the vision and camouflage system are very important skills to master later on in the game.
• Simply put, this is a game which is easy to learn or play right off the bat, but hard to master.
• Even veteran players will have to practice to use these concepts well in their battles.
• Complexity of battle mechanics: http://wiki.worldoftanks.com/Battle_Mechanics

62 – The Lens of Inherent Interest

• A purely tank-based battle? There are very few games like this, unlike the crowded market of first-person shooter games. Surely it must pique the interest of some people.
• Driving a tank around, blowing other tanks up? How often do you get to do such a thing, or even see it happening? Awesome!
• Wait, I can drive the Tiger and/or the Maus? Awesome!
• Ever wondered how the Leopard would fare against the Centurion? Or maybe the Tiger against a King Tiger? How about the performance of prototype or unmanufactured tanks? Now you can find out.
  

  The Tiger I

MapleStory Gameplay URL :  http://youtu.be/T6Sudtsmsf8

Description of Game :  MapleStory is a side-scrolling multiplayer online role-playing game. Player can choose any character roles, each with different abilities and skills. Depending on the type of character that is chosen, the player will learn about skills and how to attack monsters with given abilities. There will be quests and missions for the player to complete.

[ Option 1 ] Analysis of MapleStory:

#5 The Lens of Simplicity/Complexity

Compared to strategic games, MapleStory possesses a good simplicity and is suitable for all ages. It is not surprising to see players ranging from children to adults and even elderly.

Examples

1.1 Beginners can find themselves unlocking many quests in a short period of time, but as time goes, the quests get harder to complete and more skills are required from the players.  Same goes to hitting the monsters, the introduction of monsters with different personalities increases the difficulty of the game.

1.2 The goal of the game is to gain experience points to level up the character role. This can be done through completing a quest, fighting boss or killing monsters.

1.3 Players only need to learn how to navigate the character roles and learn to attack and they are good to go.

Knights of Pen and Paper is a turn-based retro style pixel-art role-playing game. The player can build his own party, by choosing from multiple classes and characters to control those classes, to take on the loads of quests and monsters littered throughout the game.

Game website: http://buy.knightsofpenandpaper.com/

Gameplay link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCGLS4g12J8

1. What parts of my game are fun? Why?

   • The game parodies a lot of popular culture, for example, including celebrities like Paris Hilton as a playable character and quoting lines from popular movies like Lord of the Rings. The dialogue between the playable characters and non-playable characters is also very interesting as it breaks the fourth wall at times.Figure 1. Player is able to choose both a character and a class

2. What parts need to be more fun?

   • Combat system might need to be more dynamic as it is quite simple, making it repetitive after long hours of game play.

1. Does my game have clear goals? If not, how can I fix that?

   • The game has clear goals in terms of storyline quests that the player has to clear in order to progress in the game.

2. Are the goals of the player the same goals I intended?

   • The player is able to grasp the goal of the game pretty well with the use of dialogue between the characters in the game.

3. Are there parts of the game that distract players to the point they forget their goal? If so, can these distractions be reduced, or tied into the game goals?

   • There is a multitude of side quests and optional areas for the player to explore which may distract the player from their goal. However, storyline quests are always tagged with a star icon on the game map, allowing the player to return to the intended goal at any time.

4. Does my game provide a steady stream of not-too-easy, not-too-hard challenges, taking into account the fact that the player’s skills may be gradually improving?

   • The game provides a steady stream of gradually increasing challenges as the player will encounter a variety of different monsters with different movesets as the player progresses through the game. This calls for the player to be flexible and adaptable to be able to counter the new monsters.

5. Are the player’s skills improving at the rate I had hoped? If not, how can I change that?

   • As this is a role-playing game, even if the player is less skilled, the player can level up their characters more to make the game easier.

1. Are my players here to be judged (skill), or to take risks (chance)?

   • The game requires the player to both have skill and take chances. As the combat is turn-based, the player will be judged by their ability to maximise the utility during every single turn. The player can even choose to encounter more monsters at one go if he/she is confident. The chance element comes from the player having to go through a check(20-sided dice roll) when upgrading a piece of equipment or when deciding whether the party encounters a monster ambush when travelling between areas.

Figure 2. Dice roll is used to determine monster encounters while travelling

2. Skill tends to be more serious than chance: Is my game serious or casual?

   • The game is quite casual as the player is given a lot of room for error. For example, even if the party gets wiped out during a monster encounter, the player is still able to resurrect the party with the use of gold.

3. Are parts of my game tedious? If so, will adding elements of chance enliven them?

   • As monster encounters while travelling between areas is decided by probability, it can get tedious later in the game when the party keeps encountering low-level monsters that provide marginal benefits when killed.

4. Do parts of my game feel too random? If so, will replacing elements of chance with elements of skill or strategy make the players feel more in control?

   • Although the success rate of upgrading a piece of equipment is decided by chance, there are items in the game that can increase that success rate, giving the player slightly more control.

1. How can my players earn money? Should there be other ways?

   • The player earns gold by killing monsters.

2. What can my players buy? Why?

   • Gold is used to purchase consumable items(potions), accessories, upgrading equipment at the blacksmith, hiring new party members.

3. Is money too easy to get? Too hard? How can I change this?

   • As gold is not readily available, the player has to make the choice to either make the current party members stronger by purchasing new accessories and upgrading their equipment or to hire new party members that have better skillsets to complement the party setup.

4. Are choices about earning and spending meaningful ones?

   • Earning gold is very straightforward while care has to be taken while spending else the player would have to spend more time to earn more gold.

5. Is a universal currency a good idea in my game, or should there be specialized currencies?

   • The game uses a universal currency (gold) for all purposes which is suitable as it simplifies the economy of the game.

1. What does it mean to make progress in my game or puzzle?

   • Progress is made in the game when the characters in the party levels up and when the player completes the storyline quests.

Figure 3. Characters level up and can put points into several skills

2. Is there enough progress in my game? Is there a way I can add more interim steps of progressive success?

   • Progress in the game is sufficient as leveling characters is not tedious.

3. What progress is visible, and what progress is hidden? Can I find a way to reveal what is hidden?

   • Progress in terms of the character levels is explicitly shown on the character screens while progress in terms of the storyline is implicitly reflected as the player explores the various locations in the game world.

In 2010, Bethesda released a “sidequel” to the highly successful Fallout 3, titled Fallout: New Vegas. This time it was developed by Obsidian Entertainment, many of whom had previously worked for Black Isle Studios on Fallout and Fallout 2. As a result, New Vegas became an amalgam of Fallout 3′s potential along with Fallout and Fallout 2′s spirit. Players start off as a Courier who returns from near-death and explore the Mojave Wasteland as they seek revenge.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-x-1fm2cq8

The Lens of Judgment

The player’s actions are judged by the game through both the ‘karma’ and ‘faction reputation’ system. Their choices will change how NPCs react to the player’s presence.

‘Karma’ is a reflection of all good and evil choices the player makes during the game. Having a consistently negative karma can adversely affect the player. For instance, an NPC in the game named Cass can be the player’s companion throughout his or her adventures. If the player continues to have bad karma, Cass will eventually leave the player’s company.

Regarding ‘faction reputation’, certain choices the player makes can result in a ‘tug-of-war’ situation, such as completing the quest ‘Ghost Town Gunfight’ will raise the player’s reputation with Goodsprings, but decreases reputation with the Powder Gangers. Completing the quest ‘Run Goodsprings Run’ will have the opposite effect. As a result, a high rep with a faction or town may give certain benefits, such as gifts from the people of the town, while a low rep may lead to hits being taken out against the player. It can even give the player access to new areas in the game.

The Lens of Meaningful Choices

At certain points in the game, the player will be forced to make tough decisions. Based on the player’s own mentality, morality, and intentions, they have a few options to choose from in order to progress further into the game.

For instance, when meeting the NPC Boone for the first time, the player will undergo a quest called ‘One for My Baby’ where Boone will request the Courier to find the person who kidnapped his wife. The player is given the option to either painstakingly find the real culprit through interviewing the townsfolk and even breaking into a safe (resulting in loss of karma), or frame any one of the other townsfolk. Other alternative playthroughs can be done, but ultimately, the positive result is to have Boone, a skilled sniper, as a companion throughout the game.

In another quest called Birds of a Feather, the player is given the task of sending their companion Cass to her execution at the hands of the quest-giver. The player is now forced to make a choice to either lose a companion for monetary and XP gain or to enter a fairly difficult gunfight with the quest-giver and his gang, resulting in failing the quest but keeping Cass’ companionship.

The Lens of the Story Machine

From the two lenses above, the player’s actions and choices will change the political and environmental landscape of the Mojave Wasteland. As a result, the player will be given access to more avenues to advance further into the story. However, this is not restricted to the main storyline, as the player’s interactions with NPCs, including their companions, will allow them to involve themselves in the NPCs’ lives, hopefully making the player more invested in the inhabitants of the Mojave Wasteland.

Another way the player can affect the story is before the final battle at the Hoover Dam, where the player will have to choose to either support a specific faction or independently claim the territory of New Vegas. This is done through completing quests given by the specific faction in order to gain a positive reputation with them.

Whichever option the player chooses at every junction in the story will result in completely different endings. All the endings can be seen here: http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Fallout:_New_Vegas_endings

The Lens of Challenge

Hardcore mode is an optional setting in New Vegas which makes gameplay more realistic, which in turn makes things a bit tougher for the player. Effects include:

–          ‘Stimpaks’ heal over time instead of instantly

–          Ammunition has weight

–          Companions can die

–          The Courier must eat, drink, and have proper sleep cycles or they will suffer increasingly negative effects, up to immediate death

The Lens of the World

 The world that New Vegas encompasses is essentially a world that is stuck in the 1940s, but flung forward in time where technology has progressed to the level of science fiction. Most of the planet is still a desolate wasteland and hasn’t recovered from the nuclear fallout. The Mojave Wasteland is home to giant bugs, ghouls, mutants, and the terrible Deathclaws. Finding clean water is a luxury as most of it is irradiated, and radiation medicine is as important as food.

However, the focus of the Mojave is on the people who live and work there, who struggle everyday to see tomorrow. The player will experience their plight as The Courier is one of these survivors. They will hunt and scavenge for resources in order to fight another day. Considering the game is set in a post-apocalyptic Las Vegas, the inhabitants who visit there often indulge in hedonistic acts in order to forget their suffering. It is not unlike the Las Vegas in the real world, except there’s a casino/restaurant where a secret group of cannibals dressed in fancy garb reside.

The world in Fallout is a dark and morbid place, but setting it in Las Vegas makes things much more lively as it steals the attention away from the horrors of the world, much like what videogames do.

The Game

Plants vs. Zombies 2 is a free-to-play tower defense video game which is the sequel to Plants vs. Zombies. In this game, the player is a homeowner and has to decide on the type of plants to use to fight off waves of zombies so as to keep his garden alive. Each type of plant has its own unique role on the field, and zombies also differ in terms of health level. New and more powerful plants/zombies are unlocked or appear as the game progresses. This game requires the player to think and plan the strategy on the spot as the waves of zombies appear.

Official Website: http://www.popcap.com/plants-vs-zombies-2
YouTube Tutorial/Demo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvYGXpPhv7Q

Analysis using Lenses

#1 – The Lens of Essential Experience

The main experience that players get is the trill of killing the zombies using different types of plants, which also requires some skills and tactics when planting the plants. The ultimate goal is to prevent the zombies from reaching the end point, hence players need to act fast. They need to think and plan carefully, or even change the type of plant halfway through the game when the zombies are too difficult to tackle.

However, in Plants vs. Zombies 2, a new way of killing the zombies is introduced, though at a cost (using the gold earned in the game). This new experience involves players using finger actions like pinching, swiping and flicking zombies away, and electrocuting the zombies by long pressing the screen. This makes the game more fun to players and brings more interactivity as players can directly “touch” and kill the zombies instead of just placing plants around the area and waiting for the plants to shoot the zombies down.

#2 – The Lens of Surprise

Several surprises are incorporated into the game, which adds an additional element of excitement for the players:

• Completing each level unlocks a new item: New plants, power ups, costume, gold, key to a new world, etc. The surprise involved here is that players cannot guess what they will be unlocking for the next level, which makes the game more interesting as the player is more motivated to want to complete the goal for the level and get rewarded with a surprise, which is something they can anticipate for but at the same time not knowing what they will get. The big boss will also randomly appear in some levels, adding on to the surprise as well, as players have to frantically fight it off.
• Graphics-wise, there is also an element of surprise when players use the new power ups or plants and watch how they are used to kill the zombies. The overall effects in the game (e.g. plants exploding zombies, burning zombies that suddenly appear, etc) are also pleasurable surprises to the player’s eyes, hence making the game more engaging to players.

#3 – The Lens of Goals

The ultimate goal of the game is to prevent the zombies from eating your brains, when they managed to walk to the end point. This goal is clear to the players, and is told to players at the very start of the game during the tutorial. The goal is generally achievable for the players, and if in any case the goal cannot be reached, the player is allowed to replay the level at no cost, hence there is no demotivation involved if a player loses the game.

Some small goals are introduced randomly throughout the game as well, which makes the game a little more challenging and different, such as using only a specific number of plants to complete the level, or to protect three plants from being destroyed by the zombies.

#4 – The Lens of Time

Each level in the game takes roughly 4 minutes to complete. It’s an adrenaline rush during the entire level as the waves of zombies appear, and the player has to fully concentrate during the game to defeat them. Although 4 minutes doesn’t seem very long, this is definitely one of the bad point for Plants vs. Zombies 2. In this version, it is specifically catered to the mobile platform hence the game play seems a bit too long especially for people who play this game when they travel. Looking away from the screen just for a while can be damaging, hence this is a game that requires absolute attention and should be played when you have ample alone time when nobody is there to disturb you. In this case, each level can be shorter or the waves of zombies can appear within a longer time interval, to give players more time to react.

#5 – The Lens of Beauty

The graphics definitely suits the image of the game that is being portrayed, not too cute and not too mature; it is a game for everyone. The maps, characters, zombies, plants, power-ups and upgrades are all nicely designed and serve their purpose well. Animations and in game effects are appropriate and not too cluttered, which makes the game a pleasure to play. The graphics certainly supplements the game play, which is the main pull factor (especially for me) to play the game, and make it more interesting and engaging for the players.

Basic Description

Genre: Arcade and Action | Platform: Mobile, Android (4.4 Star Rating)

Story: Princess Peach has been caught by a stupid programmer and player taking on the role of Warrior (assumed IQ>250) will try to save her.

Features: Warrior are suppose to pass through all obstacles laid path(rightwards direction) in all levels and stages. There seems to be only 1 unique solution for each level and stage. Warrior can walk left/ right/ jump.

Link to Website/ Youtube/ Gameplay Demo: http://youtu.be/XC5Y-b_lzak

Lens #71: The Lens of Freedom

Basic Description of Lens: This lens investigates player’s feeling of freedom must be maximized.

Features that match the Lens (2x Images):

• + There is no world time limit to how much time the player can take to solve the obstacle (unless the obstacle is timed). This allow the player to take extra care in solving the obstacle.

• + Players are free to die as many time as they want to test the obstacle. Doing so, will allow the player to have less frustration as they can continue the game without any loss.

• – Players feel constrained because there is only 1 unique solution for each stage. Therefore, they would have to accept the feeling of losing (death) for many many times before able to pass the stage.

Critics on Feature and recommendation:

• The game offers more constrained than freedom gameplay which is the main point of the game.

• 1 Recommendation would perhaps to introduce special bonus stages that will allow them to pass the obstacles or offer alternative solutions (more freedom) in the game.

Lens #57: The Lens of Feedback

Basic Description of Lens: This lens suggest the importance of player’s feedback from judgement, reward, etc.

Features that match the Lens (2x Images):

• + The main feedbacks of importance are the simple storyline and the “losing” message when player died.

• + The simple storyline with the on-screen controls (< >, Jump) basically creates the instruction to play the game without any further tutorials. Players are in fact encouraged to explore the obstacles and space in the game to reveal the solution.

• + The “losing” message is more of a “troll” that describes the player’s IQ, which is suppose to incur rage and make the player try the stage again.

Critics on Feature and recommendation:

• The game could have offer more feedback messages e.g. hints or similar if the player stuck in the same stage for too long. These would provide a more interactive approach to help players achieve their goals.

Lens #4: The Lens of Puzzle

Basic Description of Lens: This lens ensure the puzzles are doing enough to to shape the player’s experience in solving it:

Features that match the Lens (2x Images):

• Using the 10 Puzzle Principle to evaluate, Strange Adventure generally meets the most principles in practise, some worthy principles to note are:

• +, – Puzzle Principle #4: Give a Sense of Solvability + Puzzle Principle #6: Parallelism lets the Player Rest

  • The game has a bottleneck which is a double edged sword. It is good as it implies that there is at least 1 solution to solve it.

  • But is bad in that player are unable to continue further if they do not solve 1 of the obstacle in the stage as there is high chances player might abandon the game totally by assuming that they can’t figure things out.

• + Puzzle Principle #7: Pyramid Structure Extends Interest

  • In some stages, the current obstacle requires the clues from previous stages to be solved which extends the interest for the players

Critics on Feature and recommendation:

• The game could work more on “Puzzle Principle #9: Give the Answer!” since the essential experience that players want to achieve is to get the “Aha!” or “realization” moment.

Lens #27: The Lens of Skill

Basic Description of Lens: This lens ask to look at the skill of the players who play the game

Features that match the Lens (2x Images):

• + The most essential skill that is required to play the game is patient. Players need to be very patient to try out the possibilities and therefore have to lose many times.

• + The possibilities are not easy from stage 1, it requires the player to think out of the box.

• + The way to think out of the box is hindered by the creator’s advanced design of the puzzle. The + creator predicts the player’s general movement and puts an extra traps to hinder natural movement.

• + Thinking out of the box/  Ability to react instantly and differently is difficult for most people who does logical routine everyday which therefore creates a superior experience for players seeking the “Aha!” moment.

Critics on Feature and recommendation:

• The game can be improved by allowing different level of level difficulty/ easier obstacle at the beginning of the game so player can adapt themselves to the game better.

Screenshots:

Additional Information:

Music and Sound: From http://www.playonloop.com/ and http://sc.chinaz.com/yinxiao/
Artwork: ASCII art from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:ASCII_art.
Similar genre games: Super Mario
Link to Android Play Store: http://goo.gl/zsbXKZ
Link to creater site: http://rage.thankcreate.com/
Player User Type: Philanthropists and Achievers (http://goo.gl/Tkdr1E )