World of Warcraft Analysis pt. 2, or: Burying a Computer and "Just Like Bart(le)!"

(This entry was written for SNHU's GAM-205 class in the Fall 2017 semester.)

    Unfortunately, this blog post will be a little bare bones when it comes to pictures. My desktop computer, which has been with me for about six or seven years is finally dying. Until I can transfer my stuff onto my high-powered but heavy laptop, I won't really be able to access much of the stuff on my desktop, like Steam pictures. Anyway, I'm talking more about WoW this week, and mostly it's on character identity and the Bartle Test.

    The Bartle Test is a online test that sorts the players of online games into four groups based on what they enjoy. These groups are achieving, exploring, socializing, and killing.  When I took the test this week for class, my readout was as an EASK. This meant I enjoyed exploring the most, achieving second, and killing last. I want to apply that rating to my experience this second time with WoW:

    Exploring: These people enjoy exploring the world and discovering its lore. While this was my highest ranked group in the test, I don't really feel this way with WoW. Sure, I can tell you all about what the endings in The Binding of Isaac mean or I'll go running around underground in Terraria, but the story/world is contained in those individual games. WoW has a whole backstory involving the RTS Warcraft games, books, and all sorts of other media I'd need to read to learn all about the World... of Warcraft. And when you count world events that happen in WoW, there are some things I might not experience that could give important context to the lore of the world. Some people enjoy buying multiple products to get the whole story for something, but I don't feel that way.

World of Warcraft Analysis pt. 1, or: Holy Cow, I'm Actually Back

(This entry was written for SNHU's GAM-205 class in the Fall 2017 semester.)

 
    Well, pigs are flying and the planets have aligned. I actually got back into World of Warcraft. Granted, it's only for a few weeks on the 'free until level 20' plan as part of a college course, but it's still a minor miracle, I suppose. Now sit down, because I've got a story about my first time playing WoW.
     I was about 13 or 14 when I got into WoW for the first time. It had been around for a year or two, but I didn't really pay it much attention until a friend of mine and my sister's then-boyfriend mentioned that they played it, and suggested I join. I started it up, got on the same server as my friend, and created Holayle, the Tauren Shaman. Unfortunately, I wasn't easily able to play with my friend because he's several years older than me and thus had a busier schedule. Eventually, he and the then-boyfriend stopped playing. I stayed playing for a few months, but without anyone I knew playing, the charm had left, and I eventually resigned Holayle to the void.

Just pretend Isaac has horns here. And hooves. And that Afterbirth+ came out in like 2007.

Braid Analysis, or: Embedded Narrative in Gameplay

(This entry was written for SNHU's GAM-205 class in the Fall 2017 semester.)

        Today, I'm going to tell you a story. Rather, I'm going to talk about something and details in what I say will come together to imply a story. That's how embedded narrative works. It's a type of narrative structure where the story (or a story) can be found through details that are present in the narrative. I'm going to show a good example of how this can work through the classic 2009 puzzle-platformer Braid.

Don't cry, Don't raise your eye, It's pro'bly nuclear wasteland.

Limbo Analysis, or: Narrative Elements in Gameplay

(This entry was written for SNHU's GAM-205 class in the Fall 2017 semester.)

    Today, we're going to be talking about LIMBO.

No, Percy. LIMBO. Not 'Limbo of the Lost.' Benny Briggs isn't in that game. As far as I know.

    LIMBO is a game developed and published by the studio 'Playdead.' It's a monochrome puzzle-platformer where you run, jump, and explore eerie environments. If you don't read any external information about the game, that could be all you know, as the game gives no details on who you are, what you're doing, or anything else. But a quick peek at the Steam description reveals everything about the story (at least the concrete details) in one sentence: Uncertain of his sister's fate, a boy enters LIMBO. This is all the story given as we control this boy as he tries survive a harsh world with giant spiders, other kids (or are they older?) who set traps for him, and brain worms that make you walk to your doom. Or it just gives you a serious craving for some fast food.

"I'm thinkin' 'bout Burger King, 'cause he's a Burger King parasi- whoaahoah. No, McDonald's is the best."

Card Hunter Analysis, or: Talking about difficulty in games

(This entry was written for SNHU's GAM-205 class in the Fall 2017 semester.)

    For this week, we were supposed to do a deep analysis of the free with paid content game Card Hunter. Unfortunately, we wound up having some problems with the reading. As such, I won't be able to do as deep of an analysis as I was supposed to do. However, when we were talking about our experiences in the game, a discussion came up about difficulty in games.

Real, otherwise, and involving the cruel fiend known as the RNG.

    For those who don't know, Card Hunter is a turn-based tactical game based off D&D where your party uses cards to battle monsters, with the cards you have based off of your equipment, class, and race. Going to the discussion, the game starts with a pre-made mid-to-late game party to give you a taste of how a stronger party will function as you fight some mooks and an acid-breathing dragon (although I thought black dragons breathed acid, not green.) After that, you start with a first level party that eventually consists of a fighter, a wizard, and a cleric. One of the students in my discussion group felt that the enemies were too powerful and able to move more than he was, leading him to rage quit the game after a while. The other student in my group said that the difficulty felt fair to him. After playing through the game a few hours, I feel like I have to side with the second student. I'll try to explain why.