Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
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What forms of interaction did the player have in the simulation? Did you per-
ceive the player interactions as fun? If not, why not?
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If the product did not involve the life cycle of a life form, what forms of interac-
tion did the player have in the simulation? Did you perceive the player interactions
as fun? If not, why not?
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Briefly document the interface for the game. How does the player interact with
the world, in a direct or indirect manner? How well does the interface allow the
player to interact, or does the interface inhibit or limit interaction?
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Address the game progression: Did the game change over time? How did the
player interactions affect the life form(s)?
Choose a puzzle game that you believe, from your own experience of playing it, is
an excellent example of the genre (or use one your instructor assigns). It should be
a solitaire (single-player) game where puzzle solving is the primary activity. Write a
report documenting this simulation. Be sure to cover at least the following areas:
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Describe the gameplay and game mechanics. Describe the presentation of the
game and interaction of the player.
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If the game has a physical representation in the real world (solitaire card games,
for example), what does the computer bring to the video game version? What rules
or designs were changed for the new medium?
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Does the game have levels or increased difficulty? Is it clear to the player how
the game progression works? In your opinion, does the game ramp up too quickly
or not quickly enough?
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Address the combination of puzzles: Is there more than one type of puzzle in
the game? Is the mechanism that is used to combine the puzzles into a single game
clear to the player and does it make sense?
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Discuss whether the victory condition for any level or the overall game is clear
to the player.
In your report, use screen shots to illustrate your points. End the case study with
suggestions for improvement or, if you feel the game cannot be improved, sugges-
tions for additional features that might be fun to have in the game.
Alternatively, choose an A-life or puzzle game that you believe is particularly
bad
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Do the same case study, explaining what is wrong and how it could be improved.
A case study is neither a review nor a design document; it is an analysis. You are
not attempting to reverse-engineer the entire game but simply to explain how it
works in a general way. Your instructor will tell you the desired scope of the assign-
ment; I recommend from five to twenty pages.
