Summary
- Minecraft is a fun game to try and survive like the last person (or the last people) on earth going against creepers, spiders, zombie and anything in the dark. But if survival is not your thing there is also creative mode where you can just build what your haert desires.
- I chose this game because it was one of the first games I had played on the xbox
Game Play Analysis
| Formal Elements | |
| The Basics | |
| Name of the game | Minecraft |
| The platform | PC iOS Android. Any XBox Nintendo’s 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 don’t know if i would really change anything |
| Players | NOTES |
| How many players are supported? | 1 – 30 |
| Does it need to be an exact number? | No |
| How does this affect play? | Not really sure |
| 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. | Minecraft is almost all of these |
| Objectives/Goals | NOTES |
| What are the players trying to do? | Survive or build |
| 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). | Build |
| Rules/Mechanics | there is not really any rules |
| 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? | console controls, phone, tablet |
| Was there a clear introductory tutorial? | Yes |
| Were they easy to understand or did you find yourself spamming the controller? | there were easy |
| Resources & Resource Management | NOTES |
| What kinds of resources do players control? | they can controle anything in this game |
| How are they maintained during play? | |
| What is their role? | In a wierd way, God |
| 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? | any wher they can walk to or fly to |
| 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. | |
| Sequencing | NOTES |
| In what order do players take their actions? | any order |
| How does play flow from one action to another? | very easy |
| 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. | Can be Direct conflict and Trade |
| Theme & Narrative | NOTES |
| Does it have an actual story structure? | Yes and 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)? | Mo |
| The Elements in Motion | NOTES |
| How do the different elements interact? | Like the real world |
| What is the gameplay like? | Fun |
| Is it effective? | yeah |
| Are there any points where the design choices break down? | No |
| Design Critique | NOTES |
| Why did the designer make these particular choices? | Not sure |
| Why this set of resources? | cuz why not |
| What if they made different decisions? | |
| Does the design break down at any point? | No |
| Graphics & Sound | NOTES |
| Does the game art pair well with the mechanics? | Yes |
| Did you find any bugs or glitches? | No |
| What about sound? | |
| Can you spot any technical shortcuts? | Nope |
| 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 dark |
| Is the game fair? | Yes |
| Is it replayable? Are there multiple paths to victory or optional rules that can change the experience? | |
| What is the intended audience? | |
| What is the core, the one thing you do over and over, and is it fun? | Building and yes |
