A look at the 5 games that influenced my development as a person and an aspiring game designer.
Created by derrickpair on Oct 30, 2010
Last updated: 10/30/10 at 07:39 PM
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Question 1: Why was this game important to you? This game is yet another 3d platformer but unlike Super Mario 64 it focused more on exploration than platforming. This game is probably the game that I hold as my favorite gaming experience. I love the characters in this game and I love the story. The story is simple but is so well sprinkled with humor that you really enjoy every minute of it. Question 2: From a Design Perspective, What made the game fun? This game taught me that you can still gain skills like aiming, exploration, and reaction times while not taking itself too serious. It looks like you are playing through a cartoon and I love that. The best way for games to teach us skills is for the player to not even know that they are learning them. Now if only schools could figures this out! This game made me fall in love with Rare as a game company and I have always wanted to be a part of their team.
Question 1: Why was this game important to you? This was a 3d game that was still a platformer at heart. Mario had once again came and blew me away with simple style, bold colors, and great level design. Somehow they managed to keep everything that made the originals fun but also added everything that made the new generation of games fun. It pushed what we thought was possible in a game and it's release will always be in my mind as an inspiration to what can be accomplished through innovation. Question 2: From a Design Perspective, What made the game fun? This game taught me what can be done when you bring 2d to 3d and do it in a way that still teaches the skills that 2d games do so well and adding more lesson that are more easily achieved in a 3d environment such as exploration. While in this 3d world the camera would sometime swing to the side letting you have that great 2d platforming experience that was all about timing.
Question 1: Why was this game important to you?
This game taught me one thing more than any other game I had played before and that was exploration. I love spending hours upon hours search for artifacts and treasure with my best friend. I remember playing all night when he would stay over and I'm glad so many hours were put into this game. Not only were memories created but so were skills that would help in all the future games I would play.
Question 2: From a Design Perspective, What made the game fun?
This what I call an everything game. It tested your exploration, puzzle solving, reaction times, hunting, aiming, and even right from wrong. If I knew what I know now back then, I probably wouldn't have gotten my step dad in trouble for buying me a game with such a seductive cover (for the time), because I would be able to argue the skills it could help a child develop and also be a great reference in level and story design.
http://www.mobygames.com/game/sega-saturn/tomb-raider
Question 1: Why was this game important to you? This game is super speedy type of platform game that amazed me as a child coming form Mario. I was so impressed with the graphics and the speed that everything flew by on the screen. For a kid nothing seemed cooler than showing your friends that still had the NES, what the new generation of gaming could do. I sharpened my skills and would show off how fast I could beat levels. I will never forget first time I got to experience a new console generation. I now look forward to console updates like it's an election year. Question 2: From a Design Perspective, What made the game fun? This game has taught me that speed, while impressive, can not replace clever level design. While the game was mind blowing to me as a child I look back now and see that as far as level design goes it doesn't compare to competitors such as Super Mario World. Sonic sure got the fun element right but they never grasped level design as well as they could have and this has only been proven time and time again as their sequels have become more flawed. One thing this game did contribute to is a generation of kids with super fast reaction times. I think like this one really helped players develop this skill.
Question 1: Why was this game important to you? This game is a platformer game and is important to me because it is my first game that I remember playing. Just looking the cover art brings back so many memories of my childhood. At the time I was playing this game I was too young to understand just how great this game truly is. Now that I am beginning to look at games through the eyes of a designer I can understand why it captivated a generation of gamers. Question 2: From a Design Perspective, What made the game fun? This game taught me skills that I have utilized throughout my life. From simple memorization, like remembering what pipes take you where, to exploration, by building level design that lets you chose different paths to take. This game really helped evolve the arcade style games of the past to a more enriching experience where we learn that our choices can change out future.
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