Computer Game Analysis and Critique: Genre - Essay Example

Student declaration Student Name Student ID Prac Class Day & Time Tutors Name Game Genre: Online role-playing game Game Title: World of Warcraft Developer: Blizzard Entertainment Publishers: Blizzard Entertainment Date of Release: 1st released on November 23, 2004 2. Computer Game Analysis The genre of the world of warcraft is online role-playing game. World of warcraft is similar to other online role-playing games in that players control avatar characters in a game world[Tra07]. These characters explore the landscape, fight several monsters, complete quests, and interact with other players or non-players characters (NPCs). Another similarity is that a player must pay for a subscription through credit/debit card or buying prepaid game cards. Prepaid game cards allow a player to play for a selected amount of time. For a player to enter the game, he/she has to select a realm/server. Each realm selected acts like a distinct copy of the game world. Realms are either player vs. Environment (PvE) or player vs. player (PvP)[Tra07]. In player versus player realms, an open combat is normally common among the players which contribute to its promotion. In player versus environment realms, the gameplay focus on completing quests and defeating monsters. Players have the capability of creating new characters on all reams, as well as moving already established characters within the reams at a fee. Characters gain several skills and talents as they develop. This requires the player to define the abilities of his/her character. Characters are able to choose from different types of professions such as mining, tailoring and blacksmithing. Characters can also learn some secondary skills, four in particular, which include cooking, first-aid, archeology and fishing[Gre04]. The structure of this game is generally based on questing. That is, a lot of play comprises the completion of tasks/missions or quests. Quests reward the players with a combination of experience items, points and in-game money. They assist the characters in gaining access to new abilities and skills, as well as exploring new areas. Much of the game story is told through the quests (scripted NPC actions and quest’s text). All quests are linked through a common theme to form a quest chain. Quests involve gathering a certain number of resources, killing a number of creatures, speaking to various NPCs, delivering an item from one place to another, visiting specific locations, interacting with objects in the real world or finding difficulty to locate an object. A character can be played on its own or players can form groups with others in order to handle more challenging content. Setting of the world of warcraft is done on the same universe as the warcraft series of real-time strategy games. Its art direction is also similar to this series. Steampunk, fantasy and science are some of the elements which are contained world of warcraft. Examples of these elements include spaceships, werewolves, zombies, dragons, elves, gryphons, alien worlds, steam-powered automata etc.[Wal04]. The game takes place in warcraft 3D representation universe. A player interacts with the universe through the character he/she has created. The game world originally was made up of two continents in Azeroth namely Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor. Later, another two separate expansions were added namely continent of Northrend and Outland[Gre04]. In major cities, several facilities are available to assist the characters. They include personal bank storage, guild banks, auction houses and mailboxes. Historical origins of the game Massively Multi-player online role-playing games origin can be traced back in the earliest multi-users games such as Mazewar which was released in 1974, and MUD1 which was released in 1978[Wal04]. A fully graphical multi-user role-playing game was first released in 1991 by the name Neverwinter Nights and was delivered through America Online. Since then, advancement of the graphical role-playing games has been evolving, and different types of games has been developed. Examples of earlier versions of graphical role-playing games include The Sierra Network: The Shadow of Yserbius (1992), The Fates of Twinion (1993). Warcraft universe was first introduced in 1994 by Warcraft: Orcs and Humans. World of Warcraft is the fourth game to be set in the fantasy Warcraft universe. It was released after Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. It first announcement came on September 2, 2001which was later followed by its release on November 23, 2004[Bli04]. Since then world of warcraft has been expanded to a number of sets. In 2007, the first expansion set of the game was released under the name The Burning Crusade. The second expansion set was released in November 2008 under the name Wrath of the Lich King. In December 2010, a third expansion set was released under the name Cataclysm. The developers announced the fourth expansion set in October 2011 which was named Mists of Pandaria[Bli12]. Currently the world of Warcraft dominates the market of online role-playing games with 10.2 million subscribers as of December 2011. It also holds the Guinness World Record of the most popular massive multi-player online role-playing game by subscribers. World of warcraft is no different from other games that came before it. In fact, it has borrowed some features from them. For instance, it has used some features such as undertaking various quests, fighting dangerously creatures etc. However, world of warcraft is so advanced and cannot be compared with any of its predecessors. Other online role-playing games lack many features that are available in the world of warcraft. The uniqueness of this game benefits it a lot as the design issues which affected previous online games are well handled in the world of warcraft. Its subtle innovations have a dramatic impact on the flow of action in each instance. The game’s design alongside its beautiful, vast, majestic world makes it look fresh and unique. Game playing strategies The game player controls the game by first selecting the realm/server or the game world. There are normally three realms namely normal (PvE; Player vs. Environment), player vs. player (PvP) and roleplaying (RP). Normal ream is good for new player because other players are not capable of attacking you without your consent. This means that, a new player will be in a position to explore the vast valleys and combat against non-player characters that are well distributed in the world of warcraft game. Player versus player realms are set for a competitive game play. In these realms, opponents will be able to attack you because you will be placed in one of the opposing factions (Alliance vs. Horde)[WoW09]. These realms require high-speed internet connections. To play this game as a character, you have to choose roleplaying realm (RP). This realm allows an individual to create a character as well as selecting a fantasy theme for their characters. The player pretends to be the character and creates his/her own destiny in the ream. To play with friends in this realm, you have to select the same server they are gaming on. During the creation of your character, you have to select your character’s class, race and appearance. A screen aimed at creating the character will guide you in all the steps and choices you wish to achieve in your character. NPC’s characters are never controlled by other players. They assist in quest giving, skills training, and they are also the merchants of the world of warcraft[WoW09]. Whenever a NPC has quest information for a player, a symbol pop up or appears directly above the character’s head. The symbols appear as either yellow exclamation points or grey exclamation point. A yellow exclamation point means that the NPC character has a quest for the player while a grey exclamation point means that the NPC character will have a quest for the player in the near future. In the world of warcraft, there is much fun because a player is in a position to choose from numerous colorful races and powerful classes. Content on display in the world of warcraft sheer volume and breadth is very impressive. Its settings has the capability of connecting a bunch of wildly different looking places making their appearance look as if they form one whole thing. This game has a design innovation that helps in keeping the players coming back. Whenever someone is not playing, his/her character is kept in a rest state. During this rest period, the player gathers some bonus points which will help him/her when he resumes playing. The longer you stay off the game the more bonuses you gain. This innovation is meant to keep people coming back and not feel bad for been left behind by others players who kept playing when you were off. Good and bad points of the game Most of good and bad points of the world of warcraft game are discussed on the summary of other reviews of the game section. Good points of the game include seamless, huge, beautiful world, conducive and highly streamlined for long or short play sessions, user-friendly interface, action-packed and exciting combat, and good sound and music[Gre04]. The bad points include PvP elements are incomplete, and stability issues. Screen presentation and format Screenshots presentations of the world of warcraft are as follows: Source: http://www.latenightpc.com/pictures/view/screenshots/world-of-warcraft/change-realm2.jpg.html Source: http://internetgames.about.com/od/worldofwarcraft/ig/Warcraft-Christmas-Screens/wowc07-jpg.htm Summary of other reviews of the game This game is very approachable. Although it is complex, it complexity has been hidden by highly legible, simple, an impressive 3D graphics and uncluttered interface engine. This engine helps in delivering high performance on a variety of systems without skimping on pure flash. The game’s interface is so easy and slick to learn as well as understand and the gameplay itself does not require any tutorial to learn it. For those who might not click the gist of the game easily there are some helpful pop-up tools tips and a superb reference manual that explains everything into details. World of warcraft is user friendly and runs faster and smooth. That is, loading time is very brief and it only delays when one is entering higher-levels zones for fresh challenges. Therefore, the game is easy to get into with only one limitation of requiring prepaid game card or a credit card that enables someone to create an account. Another possible limitation of the game is to decide on which category of character to play as almost all of them seem interesting. This game is very flexible as it allows someone to create multiple characters on numerous available realms which are capable of hosting a great number of simultaneous players. This game is very engaging reason being that it is not monotonous and repetitive like other online role-playing games. It keeps throwing variety of features to the player making the game fun and intense, whether playing it alone or in a group. This game is addictive, and it is not easy to stop playing it when you have started because it makes you as a player feel rewarded irrespective of the time invested in a single sitting[Gre04]. Although the world of warcraft has successfully overcame most of the design issues which affects other online real-playing games, there is one issue that is not forthcoming. Sometimes a player has to wait for a longer time before quest object or an enemy re-spawns, while at other times, the rivals spawn too fast that the player is never given enough time to rethink about the next move to make. There should be a balance of the two cases. Other minor issues include monster corpses appearing as if they are alive and a few quests not performing as expected. 3. Summary Key features of the game Key features of this game include: Realms or game worlds NPC Created Personal rating out of 10 According to other people reviews and my own personal views I would give the game a score of 9 out of 10. 4. References List Tra07: , (Wilson, 2007), Gre04: , (Kasavin, 2004), Wal04: , (Milford, 2004), Bli04: , (Blizzard Entertainment, 2004), Bli12: , (Blizzard Entertainment, 2012), WoW09: , (WoW Strategy Expert, 2009), Read More