Summary
- IN ONE TO TWO SENTENCES, DESCRIBE WHAT GAME YOU ANALYZED FOR THIS PROJECT AND WHY YOU CHOSE IT
- DELETE ALL OF MR. LE DUC’s ALL UPPERCASE INSTRUCTIONS ABOVE
Game Play Analysis
| Formal Elements | |
| The Basics | REMINDER: PLACE YOUR RESPONSES IN THIS COLUMN (DELETE THIS MESSAGE BEFORE YOU WRITE) |
| Name of the game | Terraria |
| The platform | PC |
| Time played (should be at least 30 minutes) | 200 hours |
| If you could work on this game (change it), what would you change and why? | Expand the summoning class more, since even after several updates, it feels lackluster compared to the other 3 classes. |
| Players | NOTES |
| How many players are supported? | infinite |
| Does it need to be an exact number? | no |
| How does this affect play? | You can play with friends. The more players you have with you, the more health bosses have to balance the game. |
| Some types of player frameworks:Single Player – like Solitare.Head-to-head – 1 vs. 1, Chess.PvE – Player vs. Environment, or multiple players vs. the game. Common in MMOs like World of Warcraft.One against Many – Single-player vs. multiple (obvy).Free-for-all – Every man for himself (1 vs. 1 vs. 1 vs. 1..). Most common for multiplayer games, from Monopoly to Modern Warfare.Individuals Against the System – Like Blackjack, where the Dealer is playing against multiple players, but those players have no effect on each other.Team Competition – Multiple vs. multiple, i.e. sports.Predator-prey – Players form a circle and everyone’s goal is to attack the player on their left and defend themselves from the player on their right.Five-pointed Star – Eliminate both players who are not on either side of you. | PVE |
| Objectives/Goals | NOTES |
| What are the players trying to do? | Defeat bosses to get better gear so that you can defeat more bosses. |
| Some common objectives include:Capture/Destroy – Eliminate all your opponents pieces (Chess).Territorial Acquisition – Control as much territory as you can, not necessarily harming other players (RISK).Collection – Collect a certain number of objects throughout the game (Pokemon).Solve – Solve a puzzle or crime (Clue).Chase/race/escape – Anything where you are running towards or away from something (playground game Tag).Spatial Alignment – Anything involving the positioning of elements (Tetris or Tic-Tac-Toe or that game at Cracker Barrel).Build – Advance your characters or build your resources to a certain point (The Sims).Negation of another goal – The game ends if you perform an act that is forbidden by the rules (Jenga or Twister). | Collection |
| Rules/Mechanics | Health, damage, accessory and armor slots which can boost your stats. |
| There are three categories of (what the book Rules of Play calls) operational rules:Setup – the things you do at the beginning of a game.Progression of Play – what happens during the game.Resolution – How an outcome is determined based on the game state. | Setup: You begin by gathering up resources, usually through mining and exploring, and defeating enemies to get gear Progression of Play: You get stronger, and can defeat stronger enemies and go to new places without dying. Resolution: You beat a boss, and unlock new areas and items to use. |
| Controls | NOTES |
| What controls are used? | Keyboard and mouse |
| Was there a clear introductory tutorial? | No |
| Were they easy to understand or did you find yourself spamming the controller? | the controls and movement is easy to understand, but hard to master. |
| Resources & Resource Management | NOTES |
| What kinds of resources do players control? | Players control the amount of ore they have, amount of loot from dead monsters, and weapons/armor to use and wear. |
| How are they maintained during play? | The more you explore and gather, the more you have. When you craft items, you lose resources. |
| What is their role? | Most resources have a use, like potions, or can be crafted into something, like ore. |
| A resource is everything under the control of a single player. Could be the money in Monopoly or health in WoW. Other examples are:Territory in RISK The number of questions remaining in 20 Questions Objects picked up during videogames (guns, health packs, etc.)Time (game time, real-time, or both)Known information (like suspects in Clue) | |
| Game State | NOTES |
| How much information in the game state is visible to the player? | Most stats like health and damage are shown to the player. Other stats can be unlocked by finding accessories that reveal them, like a stopwatch that tells you your speed. |
| A snapshot of the game at a single point is the game state. The resources you have, the un-owned properties in Monopoly, your opponent’s Archery skill all count towards the game state. Some example information structures are:Total Information – Nothing is hidden, like Chess.Info per player – Your hand of cards is only visible to you.One player has privileged info – Like a Dungeon Master.The game hides info from all players – Like Clue, where no one knows the victory condition.Fog of War – In video games, where certain sections of the map are concealed if you do not have a unit in sight range of that area. You also cannot see other players’ screens, so each player is unaware of the other’s information. | Total Information |
| Sequencing | NOTES |
| In what order do players take their actions? | They take them at the same time |
| How does play flow from one action to another? | The movement is very fun, especially once you unlock grappling hooks and can quickly swing around from place to place. |
| Some structures include:Turn-based – Standard board game technique.Turn-based with simultaneous play – where everyone takes their turn at the same time (like writing something down or putting a card down in War).Real-time – Actions happen as fast as players can make them. Action-based video games.Turn-based and time limits – You have this long to take your turn. | Real-time |
| Player Interaction | |
| Some examples:Direct Conflict – I attack you.Negotiation – If you support me here, I’ll help you there.Trading – I’ll give you this for that.Information Sharing – If you go there, I’m warning you, a trap will go off. | Trading/information sharing |
| Theme & Narrative | NOTES |
| Does it have an actual story structure? | No |
| Is it based on a historical event (or similar)? | No |
| Does the theme or narrative help you know how to play? | No |
| Does it have emotional impacts? | No |
| Also, look for en media res (does it start in the middle of the game)? | No |
| The Elements in Motion | NOTES |
| How do the different elements interact? | Enemies will chase the player or other NPC’s, while the NPC’s will fight back against them. |
| What is the gameplay like? | You fight monsters using your weapons. They usually have very basic attack patterns, so it’s a lot of dodging while attacking. |
| Is it effective? | Yes, it’s incredibly addicting, although it can be a lot of grinding. |
| Are there any points where the design choices break down? | Sometimes it can take forever for an enemy to drop the thing you want. |
| Design Critique | NOTES |
| Why did the designer make these particular choices? | The designers made the game incredibly addicting and replayable. |
| Why this set of resources? | Resources in the game are effectively infinite, as long as you gather more of them, allowing for you to never run out of items. |
| What if they made different decisions? | If the game was more linear, it would lose its charm and would become boring. |
| Does the design break down at any point? | Sometimes bosses are so hard that the best option is to just find a glitch or setup that beats the boss easily. |
| Graphics & Sound | NOTES |
| Does the game art pair well with the mechanics? | yes |
| Did you find any bugs or glitches? | Terraria has several glitches and bugs, but the team consistently updates the game and either removes them or makes them intended features. |
| What about sound? | The music is incredibly memorable, and the bossfight music is very intense, leading to much more engaging gameplay. |
| Can you spot any technical shortcuts? | No |
| Various Stages of the Game | NOTES |
| To wrap up, some things to keep in mind (as if there aren’t enough already) as you play: | |
| What challenges do you face, and how do you overcome them? | The challenges you face are boss fights and resource gathering. |
| Is the game fair? | Mostly, although some items are ridiculously hard to get. |
| Is it replayable? Are there multiple paths to victory or optional rules that can change the experience? | It is very replayable, since their are four different classes with unique playstyles, allowing you to play through it again. Also, the world is randomly generated each time you play. |
| What is the intended audience? | The intended audience is players who like a challenge or who like grinding out a game. |
| What is the core, the one thing you do over and over, and is it fun? | The core is fighting enemies, and it is very engaging. |
This analysis form was adapted from https://notlaura.com/a-template-for-analyzing-game-design/
Resources
- Playing Like a Designer – I: Examine Your Experiences by Extra Credits
- Playing Like a Designer – II: How to Analyze Game Design by Extra Credits
- Game Analysis Guidelines by MIT
- Level 3.2: Critical Analysis of Games at learn.canvas.net
Books
- A Theory of Fun for Game Design by Raph Koster
- Level Up!: The Guide to Great Video Game Design by Scott Rogers
- Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals by Katie Salen