I played the game, Gorogoa, on my iPhone.
The story is about the boy who is trying to collect 5 apples of different colors with his blue bowl. The mechanics of the game is to shift around the puzzles in the 4 squares provided. When the player explore one of the map, it is possible for the player to zoom out or in depending on the puzzle and how it can manipulate the whole game. (It’s a little hard to explain) It is possible to connect different frames together to make it a fuller picture as well. And that helps in progressing the game. The story is simple to understand and players can grasp the concept easily without much instructions. There are some frustrations that I face, because I do not know what the next progression on the game will be next. However, this makes sense, because it is a puzzle game. The story and the mechanics are rather interlinked, and as the progress goes, the mechanics did not water down to complete the game quickly. Since the game requires the player to move pieces around, which is part of the mechanics, there is a high dependency on the two. There is no music to this game. I think the lack of music is to allow serenity for the players. I think the game allows the player to think through without distractions on the best next possible movement for them in the game. I think the game also reflects the need to think before acting.
Personal Opinion: I have never been a big fan of puzzle games, but I think this game is really interesting in terms of the need to scope out or in, depending on where you would like to find the clue. I think the game can teach the players on the importance of perspectives, and how changing perspectives can shape how they view different opinions. I feel like this approach could potentially be implemented in my adventures of creating more board games, and how I could use the matters of perspective to change the objectives of the game.
