Tuesday 6 January 2009

Gameplay

I'm actually going to start by going back to characters as i re started prince of Persia, two thrones i think its called. I think that this is a perfect example of the game building up a characters personality, using not only cut scene, but in the actually game, with the constant voice overs of the price talking to himself, and that weird demon thing. Unfortunately although the game does this well and shows exactly who he is and what his personality is, I find him irritating and whiny. And i think that this proves my point that if the player doesn't like the character then they don't care if they die.

However going back to the actual task, I do think that the "gameplay" (which i associate with the actual playing of the game) for Price of Persia is awesome, I also think that because its so varied and theres so many moves that the price can do it makes the game interesting. I however haven't finished it for one simple reason- the massive statue bit, i got it all the way down the other side of the room and he fell off.

This extract taken fro wikipedia explains, basic terms what some people view the word gamplay to mean:

"Some gaming reviews give a specific score for gameplay, along with graphics, sound, and replay value. Many consider "gameplay" to be the most important indicator of the quality of a game."

However i have never really judged the graphics and sound to be part of the term gamplay i have always thought of gameplay as being the actual playing of a game- how much there is to do within a game, how easy it is to use the combos etc.

This is taken from www.game.co.uk/lowdown.aspx

"Gameplay: A general term that's difficult to define, but on the whole relates to the way a game responds to a player's control, and how enjoyable the overall experience proves as a result."

Which generally would mean, for me, the controls, and the moves etc as this is what the user interacts with most while using the game, and proves what i believe that gameplay generally referes to the controls and the things the player will interact with.

This is why i games like devil may cry (1+3, not 2, 2 was crap) and prince of Persia appeal to me because theres lots of moves which are not easy but not too hard to master. I don't think that this is the entire meaning of gameplay but its probably the most interesting as this is probably the factor that will keep the player playing the game for longer.

Alone with the story if the gameplay isn't interesting enough the player probrably wont be using the game for long.

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