Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Dance Dance Revolution Feedback

Name: Dance Dance Revolution
Genre: Music/Rhythm Game
Rating: E10+
Developed by: Konami
Published by: Konami

Dance Dance Revolution also known as DDR is a rhythm based dance game created in 1998 and was also the first rhythm or dance game of its kind. The game is based on a series of arrows laid out across a grid with one facing left, right, up and down. This game also incorporated a feedback system that was based on how accurate players were with their hits on the arrows.

The System of Feedback


In Dance Dance Revolution there are five types of feedback for how close players got to hitting the arrow. These include Perfect, Great, Good, Almost and Miss. All of these types of feedback to the player change the game in some way. If a player strings together a group of Perfects then a score multiplier will be added for each additional hit that is scored after that. Alternatively if the player is consistently not hitting the notes the player will receive negative feedback from the game and the score multiplier will go down and the player may even eventually fail the song if they keep missing the notes. Players also get feedback from the game based on how good their scores are compared to other players and by the game's rating system ranging from AAA-F.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Character in Video Games

Name: Bastion
Genre: Action RPG
Rating: E 10+
Developed By: Supergiant Games
Published by: Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment

Bastion is a two dimensional RPG where the player controls the kid and their every move is narrated by the stranger, better known as Rucks. The player navigates through the environment which is made up of square shaped tiles that fall from the sky as the player navigates through the level. There are also many different enemies that the player will encounter over the course of the game, but the player also has access to a wide variety of weapons to deal with them. One of the most interesting aspects of the game that though there is a main character he never once speaks for the entirety of the game instead the whole story is narrated by Rucks.

Rucks, the Stranger


Rucks is one of the more interesting characters in the game because you never learn much about him other than what he tells you. In fact all the player learns throughout the course of the game about Rucks is that he was in the Celondian military and that he was one of the Mancers responsible for the construction of Celondia's rippling walls and the construction of the Bastion. Rucks also was a mason according to his comment when he says to the kid, "there are only two of us left" when the kid finishes the mason memorial. The Bastion he created was a last resort should the Ura who were the enemies of the Celondians breach their walls or some other catastrophe should take place. The game opens with one of the few survivors of the Calamity waking up on the rippling walls. Soon though you find that the entire story has already taken place and the narrated events are being told to his companion Zia, while the kid goes to his final confrontation. Rucks also gives all of the backstory of everything around you. When you find a new enemy he manages to make you feel bad for it, take this quote for example, "The windbags once kept the Workmen Ward humming along. Now they’re not so friendly." Rucks also has encyclopedic knowledge of the entire world and continually gives the kid advice.