Summary
- I analyze how the game introduces itself to new players and the rewards they give.
Game Play Analysis
| Formal Elements | |
| The Basics | NOTES |
| Name of the game: | Dragonball Fighterz |
| The platform: | Pc, Xbox one and up, Ps 4 and up, and switch |
| Time played (should be at least 30 minutes): | 1 hour |
| If you could work on this game (change it), what would you change and why? | I would change some of the character’s reach and damage output. |
| Players | NOTES |
| How many players are supported? Does it need to be an exact number? How does this affect play? the connection might be bad depending on other’s 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. | 1-6 1, 2, 3 and 6 is the amount you can play pvp |
| Objectives/Goals | NOTES |
| What are the players trying to do? 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). | deplete opponents health |
| Rules/Mechanics | NOTES |
| 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. | |
| Controls | NOTES |
| What controls are used? All the basic buttons Was there a clear introductory tutorial? Were they easy to understand or did you find yourself spamming the controller? This section is mainly relevant to videogames. | yes Very easy to learn |
| Resources & Resource Management | NOTES |
| 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) What kinds of resources do players control? They control attacking and blocking How are they maintained during play? They must figure out how opponents play and attack accordingly. What is their role? Opponent is also attacking and blocking. | |
| Game State | NOTES |
| The 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. More relevant to videogames, but good to think about in general. | |
| Information | NOTES |
| How much informaton in the game state is visible to the player? Total information. 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 priviledged info – Like a Dungeon Master. 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. | |
| Sequencing | NOTES |
| In what order do players take their actions? How does play flow from one action to another? Some structures include: real time fighting Turn-based – Standard board game technique. Turn-based with simulatneous 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. | |
| Player Interaction | NOTES |
| Some examples: direct conflict 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. | |
| Theme & Narrative | NOTES |
| Does it have an actual story structure? yes Is it based on an historical event (or similar)? no Does the theme or narrative help you know how to play? yes Does it have emotional impacts? yes 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? There is attack low and high, block low and high, and command grabs. What is the gameplay like? real-time fighting Is it effective? yes Are there any points where the design choices break down? no | |
| Design Critique | NOTES |
| Why did the designer make these particular choices? They made the game in a way where new players still have a chance against others without being overpowered Why this set of resources? Player can mash one attack button to do a full combo. Eventually, they will learn other tricks. What if they made different decisions? The fighting style would probably be different. Does the design break down at any point? no | |
| Graphics & Sound | NOTES |
| Does the game art pair well with the mechanics? The art is very very good. Did you find any bugs or glitches? Sometimes some characters automatically turn around and counter the opponent that is trying to do a cross up. What about sound? The music and sound effects are amazing 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? I face some moves that I can’t counter well, so I practice in training. | |
| Is the game fair? Some characters have a slight frame advantage against others. | |
| Is it replayable? Are there multiple paths to victory or optional rules that can change the experience? You can win, lose, tie and it is replayable. | |
| What is the intended audience? 13 and up | |
| What is the core, the one thing you do over and over, and is it fun? You fight others over and over again for battle points which is you ranking. The game is very fun and easy to pick up than Mortal Kombat or some others. |
Adapted from: https://notlaura.com/a-template-for-analyzing-game-design/