Name of game, creator, platform
The game that I chose was “The Walking Dead”. It is an episodic game that is set in the fictional post zombie apolcalypitic world in Georgia. You, the player, take on the role of Lee. But you see the world from a sort of third person view and that is quite interesting.
The game was developed by Sean Vanaman, Jake Rodkin, Mark Darin, and Sean Ainsworth and published by Telltale. It is available on a variety of platforms including Android, iOS, PlayStation, Xbox, Windows OS, Mac OS.
Target Audience
The premise of the game is not lighthearted at all and it can get very visual and dark and I therefore believe that it is for audiences that are mature (at least 15-16+ years in my opinion).
Important Formal Elements of the game
- Characters
- Moving and walking around
- Talking to other characters
- Examining objects
- Using weapons
- Making choices
Analysis
Walking is a huge part of the game as it is required to uncover details of the story and make progress in the game. By walking, you explore and analyse objects and surroundings, chat with people, move on to new places, and much more. You would make basically no progress in the game if you did not walk.
This ability to walk and move around creates a mechanic of wanting to explore the world and progress in the game and these contribute to the following aesthetics :
- “Narrative” – as the story develops as players explore the space of the game
- “Discovery” – by walking around and discovering and examining objects, the player is able to uncover new information that helps them progress in the game. Discovering information can be useful when making decisions.
- “Fantasy” – through the game, you get to explore a world that you would not otherwise get to explore in the real world. This experience transports you to a new place.
Moments of particular success or epic fails
While I really enjoyed playing the game, at one point (I was out exploring a bandit camp with another player), I did not know how to get out of a certain area of the camp. I kept walking in somewhat circles for more than 10 minutes, trying to figure out how to exit the area and in my opinion, this was a huge fail. There was not really any guidance for me to use and that made me feel stuck in the game. Although feeling stuck for short periods of times can make games more exciting, since mine was very long, it led to me getting frustrated and annoyed and feeling like I wasted game play time on something that was not as important to the story.
Things you would change to make the game better
I would give more guidance on how to move out of places so that players are not stuck in one place for extended amounts of time. Additionally, while taking your own time to explore places is something that players appreciate, I would allow for external players to nudge the main character to do something new if they have just been exploring the current surrounding for a long time (rather than the main character having to go to other players and talk to them for this to happen).
