Game Play Log 2

11/3/2016

Game Play Log 2

Did linear storytelling in your chosen game(s) engage and excite you as a player? Explain why or why not.

Prince Of Persia

The game itself I found boring and hard to engage with even though I was watching someone else play. It was a very narrative based game with a story that the player followed closely while playing. During the game after completing a certain action a cutscene appeared to lead the player to the next move but I found the combination of visual clues and the cutscenes drew the player away from discovering things for themselves. In other words most things were spelled out to the player and lacked a sense of ‘exploration’. At certain points in the game the player was required to follow certain prompts otherwise they couldn't proceed to the next stage. The controls were also annoying and uncomfortable, possibly because I often don't play computer games but I felt it would be more comfortable using a ps3 remote or something of the like. For the camera, the control seemed simple enough, just use the mouse to move/ control the camera but during the games it would move itself to weird angles that did not benefit the player and ultimately drew the player out of their immersion of the gameplay. 

The game itself I felt followed a very ludus structure. A ludus game, as defined by Marie-Laure Ryan “are strictly controlled by pre-existing rules accepted by the participants as a part of basic game construct.” I felt that this was definitely the type of game ‘Prince of Persia’ was. There were pre-existing rules that the player was to follow and was accepted by player in order to proceed through the game. 

In conclusion, the game ‘Prince of Persia’ did not excite me and was hard to engage with during gameplay because of control factors and a controlling linear narrative that lacked any creative pleasure to the player.