Donkey Kong Country Analysis

[CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE]

LEVEL LAYOUT:

The level layout for DKC's Area One Level One tutorial is pretty straightforward. It is essentially a long flat road that contains secrets and a range of jump difficulty to help the player learn how to play the game. There are monsters placed in certain areas to teach the player how to jump (or you die), and bananas placed in other areas to show that the player can also jump onto higher platforms (even the trees)!

There is a barrel you come across in the beginning of the level which contains none other than Diddy Kong! He not only acts as a second playable character but also an extra hit in case you accidentally get hit by a monster while playing as Donkey Kong (DK for short). To incorporate this without telling the player until it happens is actually really rewarding because the player is surprised by the chance to keep going with the only penalty being you lose DK and have to play as Diddy (who has a weaker jump attack), or vice versa.

PACING:

As for the pacing of the level, I would have to say it works well. There are monsters in the beginning which are easy to kill by jumping on them once, even if you play as Diddy, but once you get a little further in, you find that there are stronger enemies that require two jumps, or you must play as Donkey Kong to beat them in one hit. However, if you have lost DK by getting hit early on, then you'll have to make the choice of trying to defeat them with Diddy, or jumping over them to continue on and hopefully find Donkey Kong.

The level does a great job in placing secrets, as well, as there is a point in the level where players will come across an animal helper (Rambi the Rhinoceros), who they will need for more than just disposing enemies. Immediately following the three enemies after you free Rambi, there is a cave which is almost impossible to avoid-unless jumping-that he will bust open for you, leading to a secret cave with a whole bunch of bananas and a balloon--which represents a 1-UP in DKC!

There are also golden statues you can collect--get 3 of the same kind and you will be taken to a bonus level where you get a chance to gain extra lives for every 100 of a smaller version of the golden statues you collect. In total, there are three different animal helper friends throughout the game, and each golden statue parallels the kind of animal the helpers are.

On top of all that, there are also four golden letters to find in every level that spell out the word KONG. If you find all of them, you also get a 1-UP! But sometimes it isn't easy to find them, or the risk to collect them is much greater than the reward...however, this game increases in difficulty significantly as you go, and you'll need as many lives as you can get if you don't want to get a GAME OVER.

LEARNED VS. HANDED

This game really doesn't hand the player much--you essentially have to figure out how to play it yourself, and I think that the way it teaches you how is done well--maybe even better than the first level of Super Mario Bros. In the very beginning of the level you're given one of if not the weakest enemies of the game to beat: the beaver (called "Gnawty's in the game). You have two choices: learn how to kill the beaver (there are multiple ways) or figure out a way around it. 

So, you try to go back towards the hut, hoping the beaver won't follow or that it'll despawn, but, surprise! The beaver doesn't despawn and follows you right to the bottom of the tree, killing you in one hit. Thankfully, the player isn't given a huge punishment for dying this early in the game, because the beaver is only one screen over from the starting point of the level.

There is SO much more I could talk about with how this game doesn't really hand the player anything (maybe a 1-UP or two, like the one found in the hut if you go back up and inside of it), as it's all mostly learned by the player pressing buttons (one or two at a time), but if I did this would be a much longer analysis than it's already becoming. And I'd like to add that this level doesn't even teach you everything--there is another level where you are chased by a giant rolling wheel, and if you hadn't learned how to run before, you definitely would learn it then, because you couldn't beat the level otherwise.

OBSTACLES:

There are many obstacles in the game--but within this level alone you have multiple things to overcome: enemies, jumping from platform to platform, learning how to jump on top of trees to use as another pathway and figuring out how to reach certain collectibles to name the obvious. There are also obstacles to finding secrets, such as the one I listed with Rambi; believe it or not he's used to actually find not one but TWO secrets in this level alone.

DIFFICULTY AS YOU PROGRESS:

Like I said before, the game quickly increases in difficulty not just with each area but also within each level. I can remember playing this game as a child and getting so frustrated at certain times not because the game wasn't teaching me how to do something, but because it was just a tad more difficult than I had originally thought it would be.

For this level, however, the difficulty doesn't increase much. You are given one of the weakest enemies of the game to start out with for the sole purpose of learning how to jump and defeat enemies. The next enemy you come across is a anthropomorphic alligator/crocodile that you can also kill just by jumping on them once. The only possibly somewhat difficult enemy you come across is the pink gator/croc, as they have a helmet and require two jumps from Diddy, if you're playing as him. After that they just start to introduce the other enemies that you will come across in future levels, dropping new ones in every now and then or when you start into new areas. 

POSITIVE/NEGATIVE FEEDBACK:

I'm not entirely sure if the game gives the player any kind of pos/neg feedback. You either beat the level and continue playing, die and have to start back at the checkpoint, or lose all your lives and have to start over from the beginning of the level or from the last point you saved. Other than that, I'm not entirely sure about feedback.

STORY INTEGRATION:

There is a lot the game doesn't hand to the player...and among these things is the goal of the game. While admittedly this is not the best choice for a game that has minimal cutscenes (I think the only cutscene is in the beginning after the splash logo for RAREWARE and maybe possibly after you beat the boss), the game designers DO draw attention to something in the very beginning of this level: there is a cave/hole located at the bottom of the trunk of the tree you land next to after busting out of the hut. Now, there may be some players who ignored it and kept going with the game, but I highly doubt it because you're RIGHT next to it and curiosity gets the better of you so you HAVE to go in.

Essentially what the designers have done is give the player something enticing--something they just can't resist to check out or investigate right at the beginning of the level. And when you walk into said hole you are given the sight of an empty cave and a sign with the words "KONG'S BANANA HOARD." Following this visual you are then given an auditory clue: dejected music; and if THAT wasn't enough, Kong has an animation of looking very upset/frustrated as he shakes his head and looks down. All of these clues lead you to one conclusion, and that conclusion is the goal of the game: collect bananas!

Board Game Commercial

Follow Your Instincts Print and Play

My Print and Play game is titled Follow Your Instincts. It revolves around using the senses, represented by three playable bounty hunters, to capture a monster that has hidden itself inside of an abandoned mansion in hopes of escaping. You can play as either one (or all) of the bounty hunters trying to catch the monster, or play as the monster itself and attempt to escape without getting caught.

Depending on which side and who you play as, the mechanics are a little different. For starters, no character has the same movement dynamic. The hunters all move 3 squares within their unique movements and the monster moves 5 squares in any direction they choose. The event cards are necessary to progress in the game; mainly because they tell you when to put down a hallway or room piece.

I still feel like the movement dynamics could definitely be altered some...and if not that, maybe the hallways need to be opened up? Even though this is the final version of the PnP, I'll still try to work out the small but awkward bugs along the way.

The art in the game is centered around a more semi-realistic theme, and so the character art will probably change because of that, as it is a bit too stylized at the moment.

There were a lot of problems and prototypes before I reached something that others managed to find entertainment and excitement in. My PnP has changed a LOT since its first concept(s). I hope that you enjoy it as much as my friends have so far.

The art does need to be altered; only one character right now is pretty much done. I will hopefully get the other two characters done in the next few days.

Enjoy!

Click this link to download and play my print and play game!

PnP Game: Revised

After a couple of playtests on my Print and Play game, I walked away with some pretty good feedback on how to fix or make my PnP a fun and quick game to play. The first few images are of my roommate and I playing my first revision of my board game on Wednesday (10/4), although even it is now an earlier version as I've been up all night fixing it even more. I feel like I have made the mechanics as simple as I can get it, but my issue now is with the board game size. Although the newest version looks big, the squares themselves are actually very small in comparison to the character pieces on the board.

Previous version:

Newer version (have yet to playtest with others):

PnP Game Theme

The idea I had for my PnP game revolves around utilizing the human senses to problem solve and beat the game. If I had to pick a concept statement to describe my PnP game, it would probably be:

"Using nothing but your senses-work together to escape the mansion before you become a permanent resident."

Basically, the theme of my PnP game is to use each of the human senses to solve riddles or problems in every room of an abandoned gothic mansion; all while being chased by a monster you unleash on a dare. The senses being used in the game are sight, sound, touch, and scent. The reason why I didn't include taste is because I determined that technically scent and taste are a linked sense, therefore it can be combined into one. The goal? Solve the most riddles; but most importantly, escape alive.

The game itself takes place in the present day, and the mansion is hidden in the woods several miles from any form of human civilization.

The following images represent the kind of art style I would like to pursue while I make this game. Considering the theme and genre, I figured a more semi-realistic art style would be best:

BOARD GAME ART:

               -The board will be black and white to start out with until the players begin to solve each room's riddle. Once the players have solved the riddle of a room, the piece will be flipped over to the color side, showing the players that room has been solved.

"CHARACTER" CARD DESIGNS:

          -Something like this for the front, with different designs drawn in the background representing each sense. Each color will also represent a different sense:

And something on the back such as a symbol or design either representing that sense or the board game itself.

CLUE CARDS:
          -Each card will have the exact same design for each sense in terms of color (see above image), with the back showing that each sense will have their own pile of cards to pick from.

PLAY PIECES:
                 -Play pieces ("character" pieces) will be color coded and will most likely represent the sense in some way other than color alone.
                 -Dice will be used to move players around the board. I was thinking of making the dice out of wood to give it a more rustic or "old" feel. Almost like you found them lying around the very mansion you're attempting to escape from.

Obviously there is a lot more for me to think about with this idea, and I'm still working a lot of things out; mainly the rules.

PALLETE CHOICES:
        -Since the game takes place in an abandoned mansion, I decided to go with a lot of dark, almost totally neutral colors to fit the game's atmosphere. I'm trying to avoid using too many reds and greens so if somebody who is color blind wants to play the game, they can do so without having to worry about distinguishing each piece or card from someone else. Although even if I did use reds and greens, I don't think anybody who is color blind would have too tough a time as there are going to be other physical ways for someone to tell what each piece or card is with or without color.

**Note that all colors below were checked with the vision simulation option on Paletton's website. I picked the colors that worked or had enough of a contrast that I thought they could be used.

POSSIBLE BOARD GAME COLORS:

POSSIBLE PLAYER PIECE COLORS:

Learning How to Texture

As an aspiring Video Game Cinematic Artist, it's important for me to not only be savvy in 3D modeling programs like Maya, 3Ds Max, or Z Brush, but also know how to manipulate texturing programs to create hyper-realistic (or as close to realistic as possible) textures for my models. After all, the point of a cinematic trailer is to show how awesome the game looks with the technology we have today. As an artist that likes to pay close attention to even the smallest detail(s)-despite my very sketchy drawing style-I'm hoping this helps, rather than hinders, me in the long run.

I recently just began the texturing section of my 3D modeling class, and I hope within a somewhat short amount of time-at least before I graduate-that I can learn how to not only make, but enhance the textures to a point that they look real and, to an extent, professionally made. Granted, I'm still just a student, but if I want to be a cinematic artist for video games, I need to get it as close to real life as possible (this changes depending on the style of the game, of course).

I would have to say I'm pretty excited to start the texturing section. My class is building a level based on the theme "Renaissance of Machines," and after modeling and unwrapping our modular kits, we are now on to creating textures for the walls, stonework, fresco, plaster-anything that might be needed to make the finished versions of our levels. I know I won't be making the most amazing looking textures-I've never even used Maya until this class-but I definitely am going to try and get it as close as I can.

I would also like to point out that I've never used Maya until this semester, and I felt pretty accomplished with the models I'd created for our modular kit, especially when I received a B for them. I will hopefully post pictures of the models soon.

Film Language in Game Design

A lot of people don't really notice the fact that a video game is basically an interactive movie. A lot, if not all, of the choices made when filming-whether it is lighting, camera angles, editing, and a whole lot more-are also incorporated when designing a game. I took two film classes back at my community college and learned a lot about film there, which I didn't think much about at the time. However, I recently just completed a reverse edit assignment for my Game Design one class in which we had to note the different camera movements in a scene; as well as any other things like music, sound effects, cutting on action, etc. I was also assigned to draw thumbnails of the scene(s) as well as describe them.

Without learning (and incorporating) elements of film, the cinematic trailers you see for video games wouldn't be nearly as appealing as they are now. There may be a small chance you'd be interested in the footage of the gameplay, but personally, I feel like the cinematic trailers, out of everything else, sells the game. And the film elements don't stop at the cinematic trailers; they're in (or at least SHOULD be in) every video game you play when you watch cutscenes.

As someone who is interested in becoming a video game cinematic artist, it's very important for me to know film language probably just as much as I know art; and if you're going into the game design/art field, you probably should, too.