In-Depth Games Analyses
One thing I love to do, is to really understand how a game works. To appreciate what makes it tick. I love delving deep into a game to discover its quirks and hidden secrets. The unusual elements. The bugs and the nuances.
One thing I do not understand is game coding. So I cannot (even if I saw some) look at the lines of code that make up a game and then understand how it works. Therefore, what I do is play the game a lot and make very careful observations as I go along.
Because I like accurate reporting, I often get a bit despondent with many online comments & reviews of games (especially old ones). This is because they are frequently full of inaccuracies and misplaced statements.
For example, take this sentence about R-Type (which I've lifted from the Arcade-Museum.com website):
"The longer you hold down the fire button, the stronger your shot will be. When at full strength your shot will kill every enemy that it touches. A normal shot will only kill one enemy."
- This is such a lazy sentence! It contains an element of truth but also manages to be misleading and flatly wrong too.
If you want to be totally accurate, you could say that the longer you hold down the fire button, the stronger the shot will be until it reaches its maximum power. Furthermore, all enemies are not killed by a full strength shot. This can be disproved by playing for two minutes on the game's first level!
Unfortunately this sort of thing is rife all over the web and people continually make these sweeping, easy comments just because of that - they are easy. It takes great patience and understanding, coupled with careful wording in order to do it well.
For a superb example of how it can be done brilliantly, please do take a look at Jamey Pittman's wonderful Pacman Dossier. This is an awesome piece of work and demonstrates (at least to me!) just how enlightening accuracy and clarity can be. I only wish I could write as well as him!
One thing I do not understand is game coding. So I cannot (even if I saw some) look at the lines of code that make up a game and then understand how it works. Therefore, what I do is play the game a lot and make very careful observations as I go along.
Because I like accurate reporting, I often get a bit despondent with many online comments & reviews of games (especially old ones). This is because they are frequently full of inaccuracies and misplaced statements.
For example, take this sentence about R-Type (which I've lifted from the Arcade-Museum.com website):
"The longer you hold down the fire button, the stronger your shot will be. When at full strength your shot will kill every enemy that it touches. A normal shot will only kill one enemy."
- This is such a lazy sentence! It contains an element of truth but also manages to be misleading and flatly wrong too.
If you want to be totally accurate, you could say that the longer you hold down the fire button, the stronger the shot will be until it reaches its maximum power. Furthermore, all enemies are not killed by a full strength shot. This can be disproved by playing for two minutes on the game's first level!
Unfortunately this sort of thing is rife all over the web and people continually make these sweeping, easy comments just because of that - they are easy. It takes great patience and understanding, coupled with careful wording in order to do it well.
For a superb example of how it can be done brilliantly, please do take a look at Jamey Pittman's wonderful Pacman Dossier. This is an awesome piece of work and demonstrates (at least to me!) just how enlightening accuracy and clarity can be. I only wish I could write as well as him!
Below are my in-depth game analyses that I have completed so far. It is very difficult to ever declare them complete and I welcome any additions, feedback, corrections and comments you may have. (Please contact me for this).
Skool Daze
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Slap Fight
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R-Type
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Super Sprint
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