Game Studies Blog.
This is a rather interesting discussion when it comes to computer gaming as video game genres aren't always accurate when defining a game, and this is why. When people think of a game's genre they think about its game play mechanics. Rather than what the game actually is. For example, you hear about game genres as moba, mmorpg, fps, etc. Rather than say, medieval, fantasy, futuristic, romantic, etc. Now this can affect a games success as for people who aren't into shooting games for example may not enjoy doom, but they may enjoy a game such as portal, it technically can be defined as a "first person shooter puzzle game" however a more suitable genre for this game could "mysterious puzzle escape with plot twists" even only by changing the way we say the genre it makes the game even more appealing than it already was. Furthermore, while video game genres should be different, people may believe it should still include the same way games are divided into their respective genres based on their game play mechanics. While I would agree that it should be part of the genre, I disagree that it should be the only definitive about its genre. An example of this could be related to team fortress 2 and overwatch. They're both team based first person shooters, but have their defining differences. Their genres could both include fps, team based, and online, but for overwatch it could include futuristic heroes, and team fortress 2 could have cartoon mercenaries. In conclusion video games genres shouldn't be defined by the game play mechanics but rather the style and overall aesthetic of the game along with the mechanics partly, as without this players may miss the chance to play a game that they could have built a strong interest in.
Jake Carter - 18/07/2017 Ever since computer gaming started to take off late pre 2k there has been a strong desire to add a story into games as the technology started to be able to allow a game to have stories much easier. However is a storyline essential to a game's success? Or can a game survive without one in this time of gaming?
\n \nBefore defining the answer to this question its best to look at a sample of games. In this case let's take a look at one of the biggest well known games there are; call of duty. With this game I think it would be safe to say that people would play the games story mode as a tutorial before playing online, as generally the players spend of their time mostly in multiplayer online. However, regardless to how repetitive call of duty's plot may be its still a large success. \n \nHow about a game that's based on telling the player a story. One that they can control and affect them? Particularly the walking dead. This is another successful game with a high amount of popularity but not for its controls. But because of how the players actions affect the outcome of the story. In order for this game to have done effectively well it would have required an story with great detail and structure; as without it, the walking dead game would have done poorly. \n \nNow this only just scratches the surface as its only 2 games out of the other millions out their. However it can be concluded that the developers behind these two well known games know how their game should be and what they must do to achieve it. Call of duty's main interest is online play, so it focuses less on story where as the walking dead heavily relies on story telling. All in all, whether a storyline is included is dependent on the game that is being made, but is generally welcomed by gamers. Jake Carter - 11/07/2017 Among the gaming world there is a controversy regarding the graphical visual aspect in video games; this being whether games should use realistic graphics or be stylised. Both do have their pros and cons, where they do well, and do wrong, and also when they should be used.
The pros and cons of realism graphics is that it can be over-saturated and not bring anything new. Because the games look all the same, which increases the need to focus on game-play mechanics and the story, which sometimes isn't enough. However, realism textures can be used to give the game a different aesthetics to suit the genre of game. Say if the game was about some murder mystery along with dark themes, it's more suited to use realistic textures over stylised aesthetics as it can work along the game-play mechanics and story rather than having the story and game-play mechanics support the realism aesthetics alone. Though, realism can be suited at times. It does lose uniqueness where as stylised can make the game stand out from other games. Stylised Aesthetics are always generally unique in comparison with other games where as realism can blend in with other games. So to keep the game unique, it's generally better to have stylised. Overall, it may be said that both verisimilitude and stylised aesthetics have their strengths and weaknesses, and better suitability depending on the genre. Jake Carter - 04/07/2017 |
AboutHere is where I'll be submitting my blog pieces for my Game Studies class in Tri 2. Archives
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