Monday, April 4, 2011

DMF203 Assignment 1: Reflective Essay

Darn. These aren't easy questions to answer, not only because my primary method of playing games is VIDEO games, but because they require deep thought on the subject.

Well, I've got to say late night Hide and Seek is one of my all time favorites. Plus, I'd like to include a couple similar games under the same heading that don't exactly have "names." One is a game I liked playing where I'd hide specific objects for others to find. (Would that be called an "Easter Egg Hunt"?) The other was similar except that each player had a weapon and if you were "hit", you had to give a hint as to where a specific hidden object was located. What I guess I loved so much was the chance to be creative in coming up with my hints or the places I could hide. Successfully deciphering the puzzle aspects of the games was always quite rewarding for me too.

In these particular games, there were strong visual components, not only in simply being able to find things that were hidden, but also--and this was something I really loved--in being able to find things that were sometimes sitting right out in the open. I fondly recall placing something that was red right on top of something decorative that was ALSO red and watching my friend search endlessly for it while it was right under her nose.

I think it's easy to see how this could be used in my design. At least, in terms of puzzle games like the ones I'm interested in making for this particular class. Hiding things that are right in front of the player is something designers in that genre are generally very good at. However, when it comes to simpler fare like platformers and action games where the focus is on movement with minimal thought, I don't think these ideas have quite as much use to them. They are inherently ideas that require conscious thought as opposed to subconsciously putting yourself into someone else's shoes, so they don't work as well outside of puzzle games. Either way, though, these ideas are VERY useful.

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