Critique #2

Journey

Gameplay Modes:

Journey is an experience-based game and it is considered as the art of game. Although it’s hard to criticize it as traditional games, Journey definitely follows a lot of classic game design principles which make it not only funny but also unique. The primary gameplay mode is exploration and collection. The player controls a robed figure in a vast desert, traveling towards a mountain in the distance. Along the way, the player has to look for glowing symbols scattered throughout the levels to lengthen the initially vestigial scarf and activate monuments. Another gameplay mode is puzzle solving, based on dynamic environments. In later levels, the player encounters hostile creatures made of stone, which upon spotting the player rip off parts of the figure’s scarf. Besides, the environments change a lot and add more puzzle-solving elements which requires the player perform differently. Another way to distinguish gameplay modes of Journey is single-player mode and two-player mode. The player can choose play alone or in the company of a fellow traveler and explore its vast world together.

Functional Flowboard:

Core loop and smart depths:

The core loop of Journey is explore the world, collect the symbols, lengthen the scarf. To increase the playability, the designer of Journey adds a lot of smart depths:

• Dynamic Shifting Environments: As the game progress, the environments change dynamically. The player has to adapt to new environments quickly to pass through it.

• Two-player mode: other players on the same journey can be discovered and the assistance between two players reduce the difficulty of the game , add more fun and extend the meaning for playing games. When two players come close to each other, their scarf are recharged. So with the company, actually we can say that the source for flying is unlimited.

• The white robe: The default color of robe is red, but after the player have collected and activated all the monuments, the player can choose to switch the color from red to white. It is considered as an achievement which

promotes a lot of players to replay this game. With the white robe, the player gets more resources and starts with a longer scarf.

Pros and Cons:

Journey is not a traditional game. It requires the player to put into emotion to understand its profound meaning. Some people judge and criticize its simple gameplay modes and mechanics, but in my point of view, it is the simple gameplay modes and mechanics make players focus more on the game’s hidden meaning and it is the simple gameplay modes and mechanics allow players have time and space to contemplate during Journey.

However, I still have some suggestions for Journey. I have just spent 2 hours to finish this game, so I think It is better that Journey could add more challenges and enrich its environments and stories. Besides, Journey has single ending and whatever the player performs in the earlier levels, the single ending leads to only one possibility. Sometimes it discourages the player. Since in real life, different performances lead to different endings as a saying: no pain without gain. Therefore, multiple endings might be a better choice.

Even though I have given some cons, I think that if Journey changes its gameplay, perhaps it is no longer Journey which has touched players so much and arouses their resonance.

Alice: Madness Return

(Since I change the game, i will quickly introduce the background of Alice: Madness Return)

Alice: Madness Return is a sequel to American McGee’s Alice: A fire at Alice home killed her parents and sister, leaving both her mind and her imagined Wonderland in shambles. She eventually triumphed over the Red Queen and her own madness in American McGee’s Alice, but she is still under medical care, struggling to remember all the dark memories. She once again lost in her imagination, where Wonderland lies in ruin. To save herself, she must save Wonderland and therefore the story of Alice: Madness Return begins.

Gamaplay Modes:

Alice Madness Return has several different gameplay modes like many other 3D action platforming games. But this system not only has action elements, it also has puzzle solving elements and adds a lot of narrative elements and cutscenes to involve the audiences more in this crazy and imaginative wonderland.

The primary gameplay mode is exploration and collection, which the player spends most of the game time with. In this mode, the player has to explore

the world and overcome the obstacles created by dynamic environments. Along the way, the player also need to collect two different types of items: one is called memory flakes used for activating storylines, the other is called teeth used for upgrading weapons in both power and appearance.

Another gameplay mode is the battle mode. Alice’s combat plays out as both a melee fighter and a third person shooter. It is a traditional third person affair, with the usual lock-on mechanic, crosshair aiming for the guns, blocks and rolls. When the player goes to some specific locations, the battle is triggered and enemies are awakened. As the game progress, Alice’s arsenal expands from a classic Vorpal Blade and an umbrella to include Wonderland’s equivalent of a hammer, a machine gun and a grenade launcher. After defeating an enemy, the player collects items to extend life or golden teeth which weighs more points to upgrade weapons.

Alice also has other secondary gameplay modes which can be summarized as puzzle solving minigames. The chess puzzles, the doll head obstacle course and the side-scrolling shooter section and so on all provide entertaining distractions. These mini games - and a few survival levels - also make up the optional challenges, useful in that they allow the player to increase their life bar. In this mode, the perspective is switched from 3D to 2D.

Functional Flowboard:

Core loops and Smart depths

Alice’s core loop is quite traditional like many other action and puzzle-solving platformers: The player first need to pass dynamic environments and solve puzzles, then defeat enemies and collect items, at last level up and upgrade weapons in both power and appearance. The core loop well matches anticipation, action and reward.

Although the core loop of Alice is quite simple, there are a lot of smart depths which definitely increase the playability.

• Dynamic shifting environments: For different levels, there are new or changes to environmental features which require the player implement differently. The main implementation is jumping onto floating surfaces and into gusts of air so that the player can flip a switch that creates another set of surfaces and gusts. When the level goes up, sometimes the player need to drop bombs to weigh down pressure plates, shrink to minuscule size to bring invisible platforms into view, or run under a spiked ceiling threatening to slam down on the player. Besides, when the player comes across floating pig snouts and can shoot them full of pepper from the pepper grinder to uncover new pathways.

• Switching and upgrading weapons: In Alice, there are a huge amount of enemies. Each of them requires a slightly different technique to bring down and the player need to choose the right tools and know how to use them together to defeat enemies. First up is the returning blade which is a light attack. The hobbyhorse does strong attack duty, while the pepper grinder is the player’s basic ranged assault weapon. Then there’s the teapot, which the player can think of as grenade launcher, as well as the parasol. which the player uses to block incoming attacks. Besides, the player need to use collected teeth to upgrade the weapons. Since the teeth is limited, the player has to balance among different weapons and consider how to maximize the usability of them.

Pros and Cons

Wonderland itself is Madness Returns’ finest attribute. Each chapter explores a different visual theme, some of them impossible to describe in a few simple words which most of the time refresh my ideas and surprise me. Besides, Alice’s clothing changes from chapter to chapter, and her flowery prints and blood-red fabrics subtle match the level art. In my point of view, I really appreciate Alice’s imaginative and creative settings.

However, the action doesn’t display the same kind of creativity, unfortunately. The game recycles the same basic ideas over and again. Although it does add a lot of smart depths, its failure to grow and challenge further leads to occasional tedium. The player frequently perform the same actions in the same context. Monotony too often results, particularly when the objectives are simple fetch quests. Therefore, I think the level design is a fatal cons of this game.

Luckily, combat freshens things up, due in part to the horrific enemies the player faces. Hideous monsters dripping with black ooze fling projectiles from above, and goblins wielding dinnerware threaten to stab the player. Each enemy requires a slightly different technique to bring down. Although after several battles, the player gets accustomed to the patterns and weaknesses of enemies, facing multiple enemy types at once still requires the player to switch weapons fluently and frequently which definitely makes the game more funny.

Nevertheless, leaping the floating through an eerie oversized dollhouse and a Japanese-inspired dreamland is a joy, and there are enough hidden secrets to make it worth inspecting Madness Return’s grotesque nooks. In general, I think Alice is a fun game that takes place in an extraordinary setting.