Game Studies: Exercises
23/4/2025
ALTAIFI, LEEN MAAN A (0367698)
Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media, Taylor's University
Game Studies
Table of Content
1. Instructions & Tasks
2. Exercises
3. Reflections
1. Instructions & Tasks
Module Information Booklet
2. Exercises
Exercise 1: My favorite video game/table top game & what makes this game playful.
I wouldn't consider myself someone that games very often, but if I had to think of game I always find myself gravitating back to, it's gonna be Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood.
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| Fig.1.0: Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood Cover Art |
Sonic Chronicles is a Nintendo DS role-playing game. It officially released in 2008, and it is by no means an objectively great game, as it received a lot of mixed reactions and critiques on its gameplay, story, dialogue, graphics, sound track...etc. Nonetheless, it holds a special place in my heart. Despite my attachment to it being fueled by nostalgia, I'll try my best to technically reason why I love this game.
1. It's a Sonic the Hedgehog game
I promised I would refrain from bias, but I just needed to get this out of the way first. As a kid, I grew up with Nintendo and Sega games, and fell in love with the Sonic franchise. So when I got my first Nintendo DS and could play an RPG Sonic game, I was immediately hooked.
2. The Story, Characters, and World-building
One notable thing about this game is the thorough lore and characters. There are so many playable characters from the franchise that each has their own characterization and storylines, and since it's a dialogue-heavy game, there were a lot of moments for the characters to converse and connect with one another in a way you're free to choose which dialogue options. The story was a very entertaining blend of humor and darkness that makes you immersed in the game world. In the game, you get to travel across distances and go through portals that lead you to an alien world, which as a kid, was my first exposure to that type of fiction. I was so fascinated by the depth of detail that went into the designs of the alien worlds and creatures.
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3. The Game-play and Mechanics
As mentioned prior, Sonic Chronicles is a role-playing game that consists of adventure fields and combat. Since it's a DS game, most of the mechanics is controlled by the DS stylus; you move, interact, and fight with the stylus. Normally, you navigate the game with one character of your own choosing, as you progress more in the story you can unlock more characters to choose from. The trick is, navigation requires certain characters to be in the lead for the story to progress, since you take advantage of the character's special abilities, which interacts with the environment. There are also puzzles throughout the game, whereby it requires a team of characters that you can control and switch one by one.
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| Fig.1.0: Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood Battle Gameplay |
4. The Music and Atmosphere
Now, this point is quite controversial, seeing how people were really hating on the sound track. And to be fair, the composers only had a week to compose it. But i'd argue that it played a big role in shaping the game, and building the environment. Even listening to it now, in hindsight, the retro crunchy sound of 8-bit chip and MIDI-style compositions I still enjoy. I find it oddly charming and evokes a unique mood. Even one of my favorite artists, Tyler the Creator, sampled one of the sound effects in the Sonic Chronicles game in his song Jamba.
Exercise 2: Non-digital to digital - Evolution and Remediating this game
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| Fig.1.0 Codenames Board Game |
Codenames is a turn-based word association game played in teams. Each team has a "Spymaster" and several "field operatives." A 5x5 grid of word cards is laid out. The Spymasters know which words belong to their team (red or blue), which words belong to the opponent, which are neutral, and which one is the assassin (instant loss). Spymasters give one-word clues with a number (e.g., "Ocean 2") to help their teammates guess multiple words on the board. Operatives try to guess their team’s words based on the clue, avoiding the other team’s, neutrals, and especially the assassin.
Physical Board Game Vs Digital Game
The board game and the digital version of Codenames bare many similarities; In both versions, the core mechanics remain the same: the turn-based structure, word association gameplay, and role of Spymaster versus operatives are preserved. However, the digital version, such as Codenames Online or the Steam version, introduces automatic word grid generation, private Spymaster views, integrated timers, and the ability to play remotely with others via the internet. While physical gameplay allows for face-to-face communication, body language, and social interaction, the digital version increases accessibility and convenience, especially for long-distance play.
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2D Vs 3D
Since Codename is primarily a 2D game centering around reading and selecting words, there are no official 3D versions of this game. However, there have been attempts made to present it in 3D using augmented reality to enhance the experience and immersion of the game by the community. An example of the 3D mechanics is to use AR to overlay the key card info onto the real world. However, according to reviews, most people prefer the 2D layout due to it being simple, direct, and focuses on the main point of the game which is word association and logic. So, while 3D may be more visually appealing, the 2D format is most effective for maintaining the game's pace and clarity.
3. Reflections
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