How does this process relate to smaller, indie productions? The work you’re doing?
The process described in the tumblr post involved pre-production, a long production, and an even longer alpha/beta/final phases. In the work we do in classes, our process involves brainstorming, coming up with our concept, and putting that concept into action through many iterations. These two processes are very similar in the fact that a lot of testing goes on when producing a game. The game developer who wrote the post even mentioned that a lot of “tests” will go on with fine tuning and adding new components to games. This is similar to class work where we are constantly testing and getting input from peers and professors.
Discuss the difference between knowing a good game when you play it vs. having the insight to describe WHY a game works
A good game will keep you engaged and have you feeling a certain way, whether it be scared from a horror game or excited from an intense rhythm game. You can describe, with words, how a game works if you are able to break down the components that make it “scary.” It is easy to go into autopilot when playing a game and enjoying it, but you have to think about every move to describe what actions make the gameplay powerful and vital to the game.
How can Anna Anthropy’s analysis of Mario Bros influence the game you’re working on now?
Anna Anthropy touched upon how Mario Bros world 1-1 teaches the player how to play through playing. The main point of the game is to jump. You jump on enemies, you jump into blocks to get power ups, and you jump over enemies and holes to advance through the level. The analysis of the level went into every element of gameplay that taught the player what they should be doing in game to advance. This can help with how I introduce power ups and the action of shooting. The game can slowly introduce new power ups or enemy moves, one at a time, so the player can learn how to play as they play.
