game design

My experiences playing donkey kong and Proteus

Donkey kong

What are the mechanics of this game?
You can go back and forward and jump over barrels. Go up and down ladders.

Who are you?
Jump man (Mario)

What are the verbs associated with this game?
Running, Jumping.

What emotions/feelings did you feel when playing this game?
I felt frustration and great achievement when I overcame an obstacle.

Proteus

What are the mechanics of this game?
You can freely roam an island.  You can solely walk around and explore.  The only controls are the arrow keys plus escape which closes you eyes and ends the game.

Who are you?
You are an unnamed body less character.  You are viewing the island in the first person.

What are the verbs associated with this game?
Exploring, walking, discovering.

What emotions/feeling did you feel when playing this game?
I felt relaxed and inquisitive.  It is quite immersive.  I felt wonder at discovering new things/places.  The sounds make you feel more involved and it influences your emotions.

Analysis

I preferred Proteus to Donkey Kong.  I found Donkey Kong quite frustrating and progression was difficult.  Each time you failed you had to start from the beginning again.  This made me feel like the progression I had made was worthless.  It is very goal orientated but there is huge sense of satisfaction when you complete a level.  I found Proteus very relaxing.  I liked the freedom to explore.  Initially I was confused as to the aim of the game as there are no goals to achieve.  Once I realised this I really enjoyed exploring and being immersed within a world.  I think the gaming style of proteus suits me better.  I like games that enable me to make choices more and discover new things.

Jetpack Joyride

Who developed the game? Halfbrick studios

Who published the game? Half brick studios published the game on their own for Android and IOS. Beat shapers and big ant studios published the game for PlayStation platforms.

What other games have this company developed? Monster dash, age of zombies, radical rappelling, colossatorn, Fruit ninja.

Is the company independent or does another company own it? The company is a privately owned independent company.

what platforms were jetpack joyride and fruit ninja released on? Jetpack joyride was released on IOS, android, adobe flash player, Microsoft windows, windows phone, blackberry. Fruit ninja was released Android, IOS, Xbox one, Microsoft windows, Xbox 360, windows phone, playstation vita, Symbian, Bada. 

What platform do they develop games for? IOS, android, flash, HTML, PSP, PS3 and PSV.

What software did they use to make the game? They used c++ for the programming language. They also used software such as Microsoft visual studio and apple xcode.

What games is this company well known for? Fruit ninja and jetpack joyride.

What genre of games does this company typically develop? Arcade, action and puzzle games.

The regulatory body that oversees age ratings for video games released in Europe is PEGI and the regulatory company in the USA is ERSB.

The game that I looked at which was jetpack joyride used PEGI for its age rating on the game released in Europe and it used ERSB for its release on platforms in the USA.

Review Comparison        IGN's Review               Touch Arcade's Review

	IGN	Touch Arcade	Comparisons
Genre	They did not talk about the genre at all.	They called it “an endless runner/flier game”.	Touch arcade was the only one to mention genre. Touch Arcade went more in depth with the genre.
Gameplay	Over 50% of the review was written about the gameplay. They give the reader tips as well as information on the game play itself. IGN Tip: “feather the jetpack, to ensure a nice smooth ascent- too much upward or downward momentum will catch you off guard, leading to an early death”. This shows that the reviewer is confident in the game and has obviously played the game a lot. It feels informal and quite personal to the reader.	40% of the review was written about the gameplay. The preview part of the review talks more in depth about the game play than the review itself. The review itself comments more about the gameplay and the writer gives their opinion about the game rather than explaining what the gameplay actually is. For example “Half brick hasn’t done anything particularly innovative with the game, instead they’ve taken a tried and true gameplay package and in essence turned it up to 11”.	IGN’s review is much more gameplay based than Touch Arcade. IGN’s feels more informative, whereas Touch Arcades feels more opinion based.
Platform	2% of the review has been written about the platform. It only really talks about how good the controls of the platform are. “Responsive controls”.	10% of the review has been written about the platform. It mentions what platform the game is on. It also say’s where the game can be purchased. It talks about the controls specific to the console. “The controls are rock solid, and work via the standard tried and true single button approach where you touch the screen to power up the thrusters of Barry’s jetpack, and release it to send him falling back down”.	So touch Arcade talks way more about the platform than IGN. IGN only really scratches the surface. It only really mentions the platform in passing and doesn’t say anything else whereas Touch Arcade addressed it a lot more and went in more depth.
Personal recommendation	IGN’s personal recommendation was written at the very start and very end of the review. It was very positive. “Jetpack joyride is Halfbricks most ambitious game yet. It surpasses the seminal Fruit Ninja” This is a big statement to make because Fruit Ninja was an incredibly successful game.	Touch Arcade’s review didn’t recommend it at the start of the review. It mentioned it as the review went on, with most of it being mentioned at the very end of the review. The last line of the review was a personal recommendation. The writer talks a lot about his experience of his game but doesn’t recommend it until the very end. “ You simply need to play this game”.	The only real differences of the two reviews in regard to personal recommendation is that IGN mentioned it as the beginning of the review whereas Touch Arcade mentioned it at the end of the review. Both reviews were very positive about the game.
Target audience	IGN does not mention the target audience at any point in the review.	Touch Arcade has written an entire paragraph about the target audience. It doesn’t give one specific type of target audience to the game and describes it as a universal game that can really appeal to anyone. “Everyone I have handed my phone to in the past week to try the game has reluctantly handed it back with a massive smile on their faces”.	IGN does not mention the target audience at all. In contrast Touch Arcade dedicates a whole paragraph to it.
Character	IGN mentions the characters name in passing. They give a brief description of the character. “ Mascot Barry Steakfries, wearing a stolen machine gun Jetpack”.	In Touch Arcades review they mention the main character a couple of times but they don’t go into to much detail. “Deploying Barry Steakfries and adding all the kind of hooks to keep you playing”.	Neither of the reviews goes into much detail. IGN goes into more detail than Touch Arcade because it describes what the character is wearing. Touch Arcade only mentions the characters name in passing.
Story	IGN tells us the bare bones of the story. They tell us that Barry Steakfries has stolen a machine gun jetpack. “To escape the lair of an evil scientist”.	Touch Arcade does not write about the story at all. It is not mentioned anywhere in the review.	IGN mentions the bare bones of the story whereas Touch arcade doesn’t talk about the story at all. This might be because there isn’t much of a story and the story is just an excuse for the gameplay.
Conclusion	IGN is to the point in regards to the gameplay. It mentions the gameplay a lot. The writer’s personal opinion does not overshadow the review.	Touch Arcades review seemed very opinion based and talks about the experiences of game from the writer’s point of view.	IGN’s review is more factual whereas Touch Arcade’s review is more opinion based. You do get the opinion in IGN’s review but it isn’t as prominent as it is in Touch Arcade review.

Top 10 wii u games
source: https://www.chart-track.co.uk/index.jsp?c=p/software/uk/latest/index_test.jsp&ct=110039
1. New super Mario bros u + super Luiigi
2. Mario kart 8
3. Splatoon
4. Donkey kong country tropical freeze
5. pokeen tournament
6. The legend of Zelda: The wind maker
7. super Mario maker
8.Lego city undercover
9. Book of unwritten tales 2
10. super smash bros

Three trends
1. They are family friendly.
2. only two of the top 10 games are not Nintendo IP's. These are Lego city undercover and the book of unwritten tales 2
3. The higher age rating games are less popular on the Wii u. The top 8 on the list all have an age rating under 7 years old.

Top 10 Best Selling Games June 2016:

PS4

1. The Division
2. Uncharted 4
3. Black Ops 3
4. Far Cry Primal
5. GTA V
6. Starwars Battlefront
7. FIFA 16
8. Rachet & Clank
9. UFC 2
10. Lego Marvel's Avengers

Trends: 

1. 7/10 games are shooters here
2. 6/10 have an age rating of 16 or above
3. Most of these happen to be action games

Xbox One

1. The Division
2. Black Ops 3
3. FIFA 16
4. Far Cry Primal
5. GTA V
6. Starwars Battlefront
7. Forza 6
8. Rainbow Six Siege
9. Quantum Break
10. Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2

Trends for xbox one:

1. 7 of the games on the top 10 list have a pegi age rating of 16+ with 5 of these having an 18+ age rating. 

2. 8 out of the 10 games on the list have shooting elements in the game. 7 of these are classified as shooters. 

3. Quantum break and the division are the only games on the list that are not sequal 

PC

1. Overwatch
2. Football Manager 2016
3. DOOM
4. Sims 4
5. Total War: Warhammer
6. Mirror's Edge Catalyst
7. sims 4: Get to work
8. Fallout 4
9. Sims 4: Get Together
10. Starwars Battlefront 

Trends:

1. Half of the top ten games are made by EA GAMES, these are the Sims 4 games, and Mirrors Edge Catalyst, and Starwars Battlefront.
2. All of the games apart from one are for above twelve year olds. The only one that isn't is Football Manager 2016.
3. Six out of the ten games are action games, these are Starwars Battlefront, Fallout 4, Total War: Warhammer, Doom, Overwatch, Mirror's Edge Catalyst.

Google Play Store

1. Slither.io
2. Brain It On! - Physics puzzle
3. Tankio
4. UEFA Euro 2016 Fantasy
5. Color Switch
6. Traffic Rider
7. Disney Crossy Road
8. 8 Ball Pool
9. Candy Crush Saga
10. Criminal Case 

Trends:

1. Most of these games tend to be simple and repetitive such as Crossy Road and Candy Crush
2. They happen to be games that went viral on social media because of their playability and simple game mechanics e.g. Candy Crushes swiping to play or Color Switch's tapping to progress
3. They all have a low age rating

iOS

1. Clash of Clans
2. Candy Crush Saga
3. Mobi Strike
4. Game of War - Fire Age
5. Clash Royal
6. Candy Crush Soda Saga
7. 8 Ball Pool
8. Episode - Choose your story
9. Boom Beach
10. Marvel Contest of Campions

1. 5 out of the top 10 are strategy  games. This is the most popular genre in the IOS top 10.

2. the highest age rating in the top 10 list was 12. 

3. 9+ was the most common age rating for ios game in the top 10 list.


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