This the Personal Game History of Ilario Bello, for Game History at Full Sail University.
Created by ilibello on Apr 2, 2011
Last updated: 04/02/11 at 05:35 PM
Tags: Personal Game History Full Sail Ilario Bello
Question 1: Why was this game important to you? This game is important to me because it reminds me of my friends. My friends and I played Shadowrun constantly. We couldn’t believe that there was a game with no levels. It was a world just free to roam around in. At sleepovers, or escaping the freezing winter, we would take turns exploring this massive world, and building up our character. That’s the memories that are important to me, spending time with my friends having fun. To this day, it’s the only RPG that I have ever done co-op with other people, playing the same character. Question 2: From a Designer's Perspective, what skills was the game trying to teach? And how did the game try to teach these skills? This game taught many skills. Exploration, money management, hunting, and pattern recognition were the skills taught. This was one of the first open world games I had ever played. Exploring every inch of the map was important, and also a monumental task. I really felt like I was exploring in this game instead of being set on a restricted path. Everything in this game revolved around money. Power ups, armor, weapons, and new skills all needed to be purchased, so managing you funds was very important. Wasting all your money could be a big mistake, because you might need a certain skill, at some point, to open the next area. One way to make money was to solve pattern recognition games. Hunting was also important, because everything in this game fought back. When you decided to attack, it was important to make sure your target was put down before they could get to you.
Question 1: Why was this game important to you? I had a broken arm at the time, and I had trouble playing any games that were fast paced, or that had a time limit. Since I was confined to the house this was a problem. Being a puzzle solving game, with no time limit, made Monkey Island easy to play, and the humor helped brighten my spirits. I played the game many times through and found enjoyment every time I did. I came to love the series, and it is still one of my favorite games to this day. Question 2: From a Designer's Perspective, what skills was the game trying to teach? And how did the game try to teach these skills? Monkey Island teaches, in a very humorous way, problem solving, memorization, and exploration. The puzzles in Monkey Island are solved in different ways. Problem solving is needed to figure out what combination of items, in your inventory, can interact with each other, or the environment, to solve the puzzle. Memorization is also needed for some of the puzzle games, like being able to hurl the correct insult during sword fighting. Exploration of the entire map will help to obtain all items needed on the adventure, as well as introduce you to all the characters in the game.
Question 1: Why was this game important to you? In the summer, when I was seven, my friends’ parents bought a foosball table. My friends and I had never seen anything like it before. Once we started playing we couldn’t stop. Everyday we woke up early to go and play. By the end of the summer we had stat sheets, and even crowned and MVP. Since then it has always been my favorite game to play with my friends. Question 2: From a Designer's Perspective, what skills was this game trying to teach? And how did the game try to teach these skills? I believe Foosball teaches aiming, timing, teamwork, and power. You must be able to not only aim your shots on the opposing goal, but the timing must be just right to rifle the ball past the other teams defenders. Timing and aiming are also very important when passing the ball, and working it downfield. Teamwork is essential for passing and shooting when playing with another person on your team. If passes are out of sync, or if one person is not playing offense or defense good, then it will be hard to win. Foosball is a competition to see who can score the most. Anytime you are trying to dominate an opponent power is being, not only taught, but displayed. Through using the other skills being taught the overall end goal is to learn how to project power.
Question 1: Why was this game important to you? Punch Out is important because I can remember playing it all the time with my dad. After school we would put it on, at least for a few fights. Whether we were taking turns knocking out Glass Joe, or getting pummeled by Tyson, we always had fun. Even to this day we will still pop in Punch Out occasionally, and take another run at the belt. Question 2: From a Designer's Perspective, what skills was this game trying to teach? And how did the game try to teach these skills? The skills taught in Mike Tyson’s Punch out are pattern recognition, timing, and projecting power. Every fighter you must face in Punch Out has a specific pattern to beat them, and they also have a specific pattern that they attack in. Recognizing these patterns, and adjusting your timing for attacks and defense, is the key to being successful at this game. This game is all about projecting power. The main character, who’s significantly smaller than his competitors, has to slug it out with them. If beating someone into submission doesn’t display power, then I am not sure what does.
Question 1: Why was this game important to you? Chess is important to me because I can remember playing it throughout all of the different stages in my life. I remember my grandfather teaching me to play at the hospital when I was five, while my brother was being born. From that point on, I can remember countless games with different family, friends, and even by myself, being played. Even recently I played my grandfather again, and he still kicked my butt. Question 2: From a Designer's Perspective, what skills was the game trying to teach? And how did the game try to teach these skills? Chess is a game of war. It teaches hunting, territory, sacrifice, and power. In Chess you must strategically hunt another teams pieces, as you battle over the territory, and positioning, on the board. When occupying the proper spaces with the proper pieces it is possible to pin the enemy king into submission. This displays power as you defeat not only the enemy king, but also his entire army. Sometimes when jockeying for position, sacrifices must be made. Sacrificing certain pieces of your army may be needed in order to draw out enemy forces. Once drawn out you can then attack these pieces, because they are no longer in hiding.

