Paper prototype Critiques 1

Ant Lion is a game mainly for educational purpose through casual gameplay. This allows the players to think about things beyond the game. Overall, this game prototype is balance since it has clear rules and results, which are ant must escape pit and Ant Lion must eat ant. Its game model is formal and abstract as it is well-defined and widely applicable. For the aesthetics, it is discovery and submission. Besides, the game is original since there is no similar existed game that combines the fun and educational factor about Ant Lion. The physical prototype they use is a turn based board game, which materials include a board with squares, a dice, and a player token. This physical prototype and the actual game have the same mechanics, dynamics, and aesthetics because they have same game concepts, run-time behaviors, and desirable emotional responses evoked by the game dynamics.

The premise of the game Fins of Fury is a tadpole develops into a frog on a search and rescue mission. This game prototype is balance supporting by its background storyline and the level goals. Its game model is formal and abstract as it is well-defined and widely applicable. On the side, its aesthetics model is competitive since the player is emotionally invested in defeating the bad guys and the end boss. The physical prototype they use is a board game, which materials include a hex grid board containing 4 levels, a paper slip of player’s health meter, dices, and a player token. This physical prototype and the actual game have the same mechanics, dynamics, and aesthetics because they have same game rules, run-time behaviors, and desirable emotional responses evoked by the game dynamics. Overall, the aesthetics is fantasy, challenge, and discovery. For the originality of this game, there is a RPG game 46 Okunen Monogatar—English version is called E.V.O—from Japan released in 1992, which is similar to the concepts and activities of this game. Both games contain several levels and the player completes a level, by defeating the enemies, in order to transform into an advance form of being.

The goal of the game Mizu is to find the elemental gems through exploring in different environments and defeating the evil chaos. The player’s activities are determined by a roll of dice and depended on the life and attack charts. Thus this game prototype is balance supporting by its charts that show the relation between player’s heath and attack points, and different roll numbers of a dice. Its game model is formal and abstract as it is well-defined and widely applicable. Moreover, its aesthetics model is competitive since the player is emotionally invested in defeating the enemies. Besides, this game is original since there is no similar existed game, which both background and characters are focused on the four natural elements in our world. The physical prototype they use is a board game, which materials include a board with art works, a dice, the pieces of player and evil chaos, and an instruction sheet. The gameplay of this physical prototype and the actual game are not related since their run-time behaviors have much different. Winning the prototype broad game is more depended on luck by rolling the dice, but not the actual game, which requires exploration. Overall, the aesthetics is fantasy, discovery, and submission.

SCHOOL’D is a team based adventure game, which combines puzzle solving and enemy fighting. Its prototype is balance since the rules for each character and enemy, and the setting of the game board is carefully created. Its game model is formal and abstract as it is well-defined and widely applicable. On the side, its aesthetics model is competitive since the players are emotionally invested in defeating the enemies. The physical prototype they use is board game, which materials include a board, the character and enemy models, the stat sheets for both characters and enemies, and a manual. This physical prototype and the actual game have the same mechanics, dynamics, and aesthetics because they have same game rules, run-time behaviors, and desirable emotional responses evoked by the game dynamics. Overall, the aesthetics is narrative, challenge, fellowship, discovery, and expression. For the originality, this game is a simple version of the RPG game Dungeons and Dragons, which was first released in 1974. The concepts, activities, and requirements of the two games are very similar.