Summary
I chose skyrim because it’s one of my favorite games.
Game Play Analysis
| Formal Elements | |
| The Basics | Skyrim is an RPG based in a ancient Europe type setting. |
| Name of the game | The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim |
| The platform | All 2nd, 3rd, and 4th gen Xbox’s and Play-station’s, and PC’s |
| Time played (should be at least 30 minutes) | Around 6-7 days |
| If you could work on this game (change it), what would you change and why? | Work on the bugs and glitches as they are incredibly frustrating in the game, other than that nothing |
| Players | NOTES |
| How many players are supported? | 1 |
| Does it need to be an exact number? | yes |
| How does this affect play? | It doesn’t |
| Some types of player frameworks:Single Player – like Solitare.Head-to-head – 1 vs. 1, Chess.PvE – Player vs. Environment, or multiple players vs. the game. Common in MMOs like World of Warcraft.One against Many – Single-player vs. multiple (obvy).Free-for-all – Every man for himself (1 vs. 1 vs. 1 vs. 1..). Most common for multiplayer games, from Monopoly to Modern Warfare.Individuals Against the System – Like Blackjack, where the Dealer is playing against multiple players, but those players have no effect on each other.Team Competition – Multiple vs. multiple, i.e. sports.Predator-prey – Players form a circle and everyone’s goal is to attack the player on their left and defend themselves from the player on their right.Five-pointed Star – Eliminate both players who are not on either side of you. | Player v environment |
| Objectives/Goals | NOTES |
| What are the players trying to do? | there is no real objective, but I guess finish the main story line |
| Some common objectives include:Capture/Destroy – Eliminate all your opponents pieces (Chess).Territorial Acquisition – Control as much territory as you can, not necessarily harming other players (RISK).Collection – Collect a certain number of objects throughout the game (Pokemon).Solve – Solve a puzzle or crime (Clue).Chase/race/escape – Anything where you are running towards or away from something (playground game Tag).Spatial Alignment – Anything involving the positioning of elements (Tetris or Tic-Tac-Toe or that game at Cracker Barrel).Build – Advance your characters or build your resources to a certain point (The Sims).Negation of another goal – The game ends if you perform an act that is forbidden by the rules (Jenga or Twister). | Capture/destroy |
| Rules/Mechanics | Sprinting, jumping, moving, sword swinging actions are the main character mechanics |
| There are three categories of (what the book Rules of Play calls) operational rules:Setup – the things you do at the beginning of a game.Progression of Play – what happens during the game.Resolution – How an outcome is determined based on the game state. | Setup: Character has the main story line set up. The game pushes you through harder and harder missions and dungeons so the player gets a feel for the game ad the fighting system |
| Controls | NOTES |
| What controls are used? | Basic walking, jumping, sprinting, and fighting mechanics |
| Was there a clear introductory tutorial? | Somewhat, I wouldn’t call it a tutorial but the beginning mission is how you get a beginning idea of the game |
| Were they easy to understand or did you find yourself spamming the controller? | The controls were easy to understand |
| Resources & Resource Management | NOTES |
| What kinds of resources do players control? | Swords, magic, power dependent on how the player plays the game |
| How are they maintained during play? | I’m not sure what this exactly means but they aren’t necessarily maintained |
| What is their role? | The things the player uses to defeat monsters and enemies |
| A resource is everything under the control of a single player. Could be the money in Monopoly or health in WoW. Other examples are:Territory in RISK The number of questions remaining in 20 Questions Objects picked up during videogames (guns, health packs, etc.)Time (game time, real-time, or both)Known information (like suspects in Clue) | |
| Game State | NOTES |
| How much information in the game state is visible to the player? | Not much, depends on how the player plays the game. If the play through the main story line and explore enemies forts and dungeons then all the information is visible |
| A snapshot of the game at a single point is the game state. The resources you have, the un-owned properties in Monopoly, your opponent’s Archery skill all count towards the game state. Some example information structures are:Total Information – Nothing is hidden, like Chess.Info per player – Your hand of cards is only visible to you.One player has privileged info – Like a Dungeon Master.The game hides info from all players – Like Clue, where no one knows the victory condition.Fog of War – In video games, where certain sections of the map are concealed if you do not have a unit in sight range of that area. You also cannot see other players’ screens, so each player is unaware of the other’s information. | |
| Sequencing | NOTES |
| In what order do players take their actions? | Real time |
| How does play flow from one action to another? | Real time |
| Some structures include:Turn-based – Standard board game technique.Turn-based with simultaneous play – where everyone takes their turn at the same time (like writing something down or putting a card down in War).Real-time – Actions happen as fast as players can make them. Action-based video games.Turn-based and time limits – You have this long to take your turn. | |
| Player Interaction | |
| Some examples:Direct Conflict – I attack you.Negotiation – If you support me here, I’ll help you there.Trading – I’ll give you this for that.Information Sharing – If you go there, I’m warning you, a trap will go off. | |
| Theme & Narrative | NOTES |
| Does it have an actual story structure? | Yes |
| Is it based on a historical event (or similar)? | No but it’s based in an ancient European setting |
| Does the theme or narrative help you know how to play? | No |
| Does it have emotional impacts? | Not really |
| Also, look for en media res (does it start in the middle of the game)? | No |
| The Elements in Motion | NOTES |
| How do the different elements interact? | The elements of hte game all work together well |
| What is the gameplay like? | Very smooth and interactive |
| Is it effective? | Yes |
| Are there any points where the design choices break down? | Skyrim is known for having many bugs and it shows during the gameplay. The design choices break down when a bug happens in the middle of a quest and the player must restart the whole thing |
| Design Critique | NOTES |
| Why did the designer make these particular choices? | So the game would be played correctly |
| Why this set of resources? | Because it causes the game t be played the correct way |
| What if they made different decisions? | the game would be much worse |
| Does the design break down at any point? | Yes on small glitches |
| Graphics & Sound | NOTES |
| Does the game art pair well with the mechanics? | Yes |
| Did you find any bugs or glitches? | Many |
| What about sound? | Sounds is great and the game music is also very good |
| Can you spot any technical shortcuts? | No |
| Various Stages of the Game | NOTES |
| To wrap up, some things to keep in mind (as if there aren’t enough already) as you play: | Nothing else to keep in mind |
| What challenges do you face, and how do you overcome them? | The player faces strong enemies and has to do many quests and missions to overcome this problem |
| Is the game fair? | At the beginning it feels as if the player has to level up via grinding levels. Without quickly leveling up at the beginning of the game it is much more difficult |
| Is it replayable? Are there multiple paths to victory or optional rules that can change the experience? | Yes |
| What is the intended audience? | Fans of RPG games |
| What is the core, the one thing you do over and over, and is it fun? | Fighting enemies such as dragons |
This analysis form was adapted from https://notlaura.com/a-template-for-analyzing-game-design/
Resources
- Playing Like a Designer – I: Examine Your Experiences by Extra Credits
- Playing Like a Designer – II: How to Analyze Game Design by Extra Credits
- Game Analysis Guidelines by MIT
- Level 3.2: Critical Analysis of Games at learn.canvas.net
Books
- A Theory of Fun for Game Design by Raph Koster
- Level Up!: The Guide to Great Video Game Design by Scott Rogers
- Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals by Katie Salen