Game Analysis Worksheet: Minecraft

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 gameMinecraft
The platformPC
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
PlayersNOTES
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/GoalsNOTES
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/Mechanicsthere 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.
ControlsNOTES
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 ManagementNOTES
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 StateNOTES
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.
SequencingNOTES
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 & NarrativeNOTES
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 MotionNOTES
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 CritiqueNOTES
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 & SoundNOTES
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 GameNOTES
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

Game Analysis Worksheet: Among Us

Summary

  •  Among Us is an online version of Mafia that you can play with people all over the world.
  • The game I chose is Among Us and the reason I chose it is because it a game i play all the time.

Game Play Analysis

Formal Elements
The Basics
Name of the gameAmong Us
The platformIOS, Nintendo switch, Android, Xbox One, Microsoft Window, PC
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?If I could change something in the game I would change it’s so you could Friend request people in the game
PlayersNOTES
How many players are supported?4-10
Does it need to be an exact number?no
How does this affect play?less players the faster the game goes. more players the longer the game goes
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.one aginst many
Objectives/GoalsNOTES
What are the players trying to do?Imposters are trying to kill everyone. Crewmates are trying to do all their tasks while trying not to get murdered
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).Capture/Destroy, Chase/race/escape, Solve
Rules/MechanicsCan’t talk during the tasks
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: Everyone runs off to do tasks. Progression of play: The imposters try to kill the crewmates, Crewmates try to figure out who the imposters are. Resolution:Either imposters win and they killed everyone or crewmates figured out who the Imposter was.
ControlsNOTES
What controls are used?Phone, Controls, or keyboard
Was there a clear introductory tutorial?Yes
Were they easy to understand or did you find yourself spamming the controller?They were easy to understand
Resources & Resource ManagementNOTES
What kinds of resources do players control?Imposters control the ability to sabotage, everyone controls the ability to vote someone out each round.
How are they maintained during play?Imposters wait a certain amount of time until they can sabotage,Crewmates can call emergency meetings and Report bodies
What is their role?Imposters and crewmates (sometimes hackers)
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)There is sabotage that the imposters  control or imposter and then there is no known information that all the crew mates can gather.
Game StateNOTES
How much information in the game state is visible to the player?There is the taskbar that is visible to the players if enabled. And there is visual test if enabled.
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.
One or more player has the privileged information Along with not being able to see other people’s screens.
SequencingNOTES
In what order do players take their actions?Crewmates all scattered to do their tasks and that is their first actions Imposters try to fit in till they’re able to kill.
How does play flow from one action to another?Players just roam around doing tasks until someone calls an emergency meeting or find a body 
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.Turn-based with simultaneous play, and Real time
Player InteractionYou can see other players and you can chat with other players when the charge for is open and also when you die you can talk to other ghosts.
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.Among Us has none of these it´s more like I killed this person will anyone find out and everyone else accusing each other.
Theme & NarrativeNOTES
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 MotionNOTES
How do the different elements interact?The different elements in this case are the  the players and they interact through chat at certain times and also the players interact with the task.
What is the gameplay like?Gameplay is like an online version of Mafia.
Is it effective?Yes
Are there any points where the design choices break down?I don’t think that design choices breakdown.
Design CritiqueNOTES
Why did the designer make these particular choices?It’s a fun Twist on an old game bring it new life in the era of Technology.
Why this set of resources?why not
What if they made different decisions?Depends on what decision they made.
Does the design break down at any point?No
Graphics & SoundNOTES
Does the game art pair well with the mechanics?100% yes
Did you find any bugs or glitches?Yes when you have bad connetion
What about sound?Fun Sounds
Can you spot any technical shortcuts?If you are the imposter
Various Stages of the GameNOTES
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 is having trust issues when being around people in the game And you overcome them by not going near anyone.
Is the game fair?Sometimes
Is it replayable? Are there multiple paths to victory or optional rules that can change the experience?Yes
What is the intended audience?Anyone
What is the core, the one thing you do over and over, and is it fun?Voting random people out.

This analysis form was adapted from https://notlaura.com/a-template-for-analyzing-game-design/

Resources

  • Me playing the game for an hour