Game analysis

Discussion: Parking Lot 2
The graphics of this game are very simple, with the only in game view being a ‘bird’s eye view’ allowing the user to view the entire active screen from above. This minimizes the need for heavy graphic usage to be loaded, and allows the user to quickly access the game even over a slow internet connection. Here the low focus on graphics allows the player to simply click into the game, and get to the playing rather than have to wait through heavy graphic driven intros. The total time from hitting the game link to playing should be less than 20 seconds, maximizing the utility of the game.
The game-play is oriented to beating the clock and avoiding other objects such as parked cars, moving non player characters, and barriers; all this while navigating your vehicle to its designated spot. Each level gives you a finite time limit, yet the challenge is increased each level with ever more difficult barriers to your target. The user interface of Parking Lot 2 is simple mouse operated point and click with 6 options on the main screen and additional options in the sub menus. Even the most inexperienced casual gamer would be able to operate the user interface with minimal effort; this is due to the well described menu buttons and the minimalist structure of the game. The additional options become a bit more complex with the ability to edit your own levels, however these relatively complicated options are still kept very simple with the option for tutorial help if the user has questions. The in game interface is very basic, as the only buttons used are the arrow keys for forward, reverse, and steering of the vehicle. This does not allow user skill progression during game play, however does enable the same basic controls to be mastered exceptionally quickly. This means that the options users have access to during game play are almost non existent. Furthermore, the in game interface focuses on the only two changing indicators – lives and time. This shows that the information which is easily accessible to the user, life and time, are the two key rules to game play. The third piece of information which is regularly shown is the score achieved so far. This is shown between each level as the player selects to enter the next level. By having a score tracker the player can compete against past scores, however the game does not track high scores, forcing the player to memorize past scores to truly compete against themselves. The audio of the game is exceptionally annoying; thankfully the audio can be muted, allowing the user to run different audio program in the background. However, the user does not have the option to mute just the songs and must forgo the entire soundtrack including object effects which does reduce the experience of the game.
In terms of interaction mapping the user has very little choices for making choices that will cause variations on the games outcome, with the closest thing to dynamic choice being the constant ability to ‘crash’ and lose a life. However this does not really count towards an interaction map since these choices are limited to avoiding moving objects in the game, not interfacing with different characters.
Basic Information
The name of the game is Parking Lot 2, created by gamezindia.com and published by addictinggames.com. The game is relatively new, being released on 12/12/08 however has achieved strong popularity, with over 3 512 972 plays recorded since its release date. The operating platform for this game is any web browser, thereby allowing easy accessibility for all potential users. The genre of the game is definitely within the casual gaming action genre since it is easy to learn the controls (only 4) and ‘mastering’ the game will take less than 30 minutes of game play. Additionally the way that the game is presented shows to which market it is catered towards, the entire platform of the game from opening menu to between level prompts is focused on getting the user into/back into game play as quickly as possible. This is shown by the very basic prompts, and the self explanatory prompt titles which describe what will happen when clicked.
The game can be accessed at http://www.addictinggames.com/parkinglot2.html.

Overview:
The idea or premise of the game is that you are a parking lot attendant responsible to park as many cars as possible without crashing. This is made challenging by increasingly difficult levels that bring non player characters into the game screen as moving obstructions such as dogs, people, and other cars. However any interaction with these NPCs is limited to the simple avoid/crash option, and only alters the story line to the extent of losing one life if you crash.
The story line is the same as the premise of the game, and does not have the possibility to deviate from the basic line of level progression. There are no hidden doors that allow the player to enter into micro games or to bypass levels. The objective is twofold, and as usual ties in with the story line very well, the first part of the objective is to park the car without crashing into any obstructions, and the second objective is to complete objective one in as little time as possible.
This game and the attempt to achieve the objectives is governed by the game rules which limit the users actions to moving the car forward, backwards, and steering to the left or the right. The rules further establish the need to stay on the paved road, and avoid the curbs, parked vehicles, trees, other stationary obstructions, and moving obstructions. Here the simplicity of the rules encourages casual gaming and quickly makes the user intent on progressing to the next level to see what kind of a challenging road map must be navigated.
Strengths and Weaknesses:
The strengths of the game are the controls, amount of levels, the dynamic feel in the higher levels, and the simple addictiveness factor of Parking Lot 2. The controls are exceptionally easy to learn, and are similar to the controls in most other driving games which allows the user to bring skills developed in other games to benefit during game play attempting to achieve Parking Lot 2 levels. The amount, and increasing difficulty of the levels, is a very strong strength since it allows players who have played before to still find challenge in the upper levels. These higher levels also become dynamic with moving vehicles, people, and dogs which act as NPCs to further challenge the user. At this point a further challenge created while navigating around moving objects, timing. The player must time entry into highways correctly so as not to get stuck between multiple moving objects. However this dynamic approach is only in the higher levels, allowing new players to quickly become comfortable with the game before being truly challenged. The last and most important strength of Parking Lot 2 is the simple addictiveness factor, and the speed of game play, which when combined make it easy for the user to justify ‘just one more time’ and then I will do work. Except the ‘just one more time’ often is more than once, making the game a successful platform for marketing. This ability to be addicting will attract both users, and advertising making the game successful both in popularity and financially.
The weaknesses of this game is the inability to enter a bypass code, the inability to turn off game music but keep sound effects, the lack of a high score board, and the lack in randomness of the NPCs. The lack of a bypass code becomes annoying after a several attempts to succeed at the higher levels, and after crashing three times being required to start from scratch at level one. Here the bypass code would allow you to continue game play where you left off, or at least at a medium difficulty level rather than committing the time to reach the higher levels over and over again. The inability of the game to differentiate between game music and game sound effects becomes very annoying since the music is terrible, but the sound effects add to the game play since you hear your engine starting, and different sound effects for successful completion of a level or crashing the car. Having to turn the sound off completely to avoid the game music thereby reduces the enjoyment of the game for the player. Not having a high score board is something which is upsetting, since the game does not track your progression and therefore does not allow you to aim at being on top of the high score board. The lack of randomness is potentially the biggest weakness of the game, since it becomes easy to memorize from which direction and angle the ‘random’ NPCs will approach your vehicle, and make it easy to predict a safe rout to your destination.
7 Key Elements:
Players: the player of the game is active throughout each level since they are required to navigate the obstructions. This activity also leads to the player investing small amounts of time and effort to succeed, however does not require large commitments.
Objectives: the goal is to great a high score and to continue on to harder and harder levels.
Procedures: The user must park the vehicle in the designated space.
Rules: the rules of the game limit the players rout to the goal space, and create obstructions to hinder user success.
Resources: limited amount of time per level, and a finite amount of health for the entire game.
Conflict: the user can enter into conflict with stationary obstructions, moving obstructions, and the time limit which will hinder the user from accomplishing the goal.
Outcome: the outcome of the game is measurable as there is a generated score; furthermore the outcome of each level is measurable since the score is tabulated during levels.

For some reason blogger wont let me post pics in so here is a flickr link.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/34630031@N03/?saved=1

Conclusion:
The game is a typical example of a casual game as seen by the ease of learning the basics of the game and the quick progression to more challenging levels. The games success, 3 512 972 plays and increasing by approximately 50 000 a day, shows the growing popularity of casual gaming and the emerging markets for game designers.

Life in a flowchart

I agree that flowcharts are an important aspect of game design, if only to ensure that you do not end up with structural holes once the game is in programming. I also like how flowcharts track the progression, and encourage deviations from the original idea by showing the idea as it flows through the game. Having a large whiteboard with the different storylines flowing across it acts to spark additional ideas in the designer’s minds.

Flow charts can act as a hindrance to creativity, but only if the designer is limited by original idea, if the designer is willing to think in non linear ways a flowchart can help creativity by providing visual stepping stones to tangents the designer can follow.
The flowchart example of the house, which at first seems very basic and boring, but what looked at creatively ends up hiding multiple options illustrates perfectly how flowcharting can be beneficial to game design. A designer without the use of the flow chart might have the idea that there should be secret tunnels, but not be able to illustrate these tunnels well enough for the programmers to implement the idea of the designer. This can lead to holes in game storylines. A metaphor for a good flow chart is a GPS or dynamic map which allows various users to see where they are, how they got there, and where they are going.

Flowcharts further help design teams ensure that everyone can visually follow the action as it progresses, and use different symbols to represent say a new room or a new beginning.

In a nutshell, i agree with the author that flowcharts are an important part of game design, and that we as students can really benifit from applying flowchart and storyboard principles to our work.

Do social games affect real social interaction?

The topic really says it all. But as i was reading the 'Game Analysis' article, and as we were discussing the Sims in class, i started thinking how social games affect our 'real' social interactions.

Before i get to into writing this, I understand that social interaction in games can be real too, but for simplicity in this article 'real' will refer to in person interaction.

If people get used to a specific habit in a social game like the sims, does this affect how they act in real life? I think it does, but am interested to hear what the rest of the class has to say.

For example, if you live with your parents who are very traditional and socially conservative, and the very mention of homesexuality is enough to draw their anger. But you play a sim game which does not differentiate between male and female when charectors flirt and have relationships, how does this affect your real life.

Does the sim game than open your mind to more options? does it allow you to explore without your parents knowledge? Will the social aspects of the game act as a practice run for real social actions.

By now you will have noticed that these are mainly rhetorical questions, and that in my opinion social games do affect real social interaction. However is this a widely held idea, or do people believe that social games and real social interactions are seperate things entirely.

In my opinion games allow you to expand your imagination since you gian access to multiple peoples ideas.

With this in mind, are we as potential game designers not in a subtle way creating the social constraints of tomorrow?

If this is the case, would we not be morally responsible to create games which do not further socially constructed negatives such as racism, homophobia, and sexism.

Thats my $0.02 and spcom 325 starts in 7 mins. But maybe someone else can tell me what they think about how social interactions in games affect social interactions in real life.