... Just Games.

I am an old school Crash Bandicoot fan (back when Naughty Dog made it). Numerous suppliers took over creation of this game, each of them changing it slightly - often enhancing the aesthetics of the game by making them more digitalised. The games began, it seems, to treat the player (no matter how experienced or inexperienced) as ignorant through a compulsory tutorial explaining the most basic of controls. This is not just restricted to the Crash Bandicoot games. In general, in previous games one was encouraged to figure the controls out through the easiest beginning levels that gradually increased to more challenging ones. Thus players’ received the satisfaction of learning something for themselves as well as their improved ability to solve issues throughout the game and thus improving their overall ability. Games have reached a wider audience and it can be argued that due to this they need tutorial stages in order for people to differentiate between other games and learn the controls for a new one. However, no matter the age or experience of a player it is unnecessary for an interactive tutorial phase to say "Press (square) to spin". These cues remove the ability to become immersed in the game as you are aware that you are not actually in the gaming world and consequently it negatively affects the overall experience. What ever happened to trial and error?

Kula World. Now there is a great game. It challenges the player mentally, there are no outrageous aesthetics to cloud the game’s aims, and its controls are basic and easy to use. In this game one is a ball that travels through different levels. To unlock the next level one has to reach the designated amount of keys and reach the exit in the allocated time limit without getting harmed by a range of different dangerous obstacles along the way. It is considered an educational game as each level is a problem solving challenge. These kinds of games are debatably among the most popular because they are frequently played by middle-aged women. This demographic is steadily increasing and most indie game developers are starting to take note of this, hence the huge surge of simplistic flash-based facebook games appearing lately. These casual games are easy to get into predominantly because there is no jargon or presumption of prior knowledge or skills. This is a different style of gaming, but it is actually very profitable and stable compared to the 3D video game industry. However, like Xbox games and other consoles, casual games such as these are pushing the “multiplayer” experience. The multiplayer experience appears to be encouraged online and with consoles as people want to play with their friends. Social networking is becoming so integrated into society that everything has to follow suit or is left behind. So games are doing just that and, in a sense, becoming social networks themselves. In addition to this, multiplayer offers developers more chances to make after sales profits from things like in-game content and tournaments.

Wanda Hart