213 CR - Studio 11 - AGS Games Crit

213CR Concept Development for Games Design

Studio 11 AGS Games Crit Sheet

Introduction: This crit sheet was produced in order to evaluate games made using the AGS engine. When designing the crit sheet I focused heavily on Norman's model of activity:

This model is by no means the only model applicable for activity stage representation, however it does come into practice especially in adventure games. The gulf of execution and evaluation are the stages at which most commonly there are problems found within video games. This refers to how an individual understands, or evaluates the effects of actions and knows when his or her goals are satisfied.

1 Game Title

A Tale of Two Kingdoms

2 Description (your interpretation) of the games concept (100 words max):

Set in the ancient kingdom of Theylinn there are enemies surrounding the castle, a giant, mercenaries and an army. There is another kingdom within Theylinn, another realm where there are fairies and magic.
The game provides in-depth narrative, mystery, adventure, puzzles, motor-function tasks and memory based action.
The user character is a guest of the king and has to attempt to protect his daughter Rhiannon. The user must work with other Non Player Characters to complete missions. This is a classic Sierra style adventure game full of mystery and intrigue.


3 Game concept - How clear is the game concept – i.e. is there a clear goal? How quickly could you understand what this game is about and what you are supposed to do?

Very unclear (-2)
Pretty unclear (-1)
Neither clear nor unclear (0)
Pretty clear (1)
Very clear (2)

Any comments

The goals are quite easily detectable, however sometimes the actual execution falls short in the “gulf” of execution (Norman). One example of this would be the castle balcony sequence in the second Chapter, where the player is required to scale the wall to descent out of the castle. This interactive part of the task is unclear and indistinguishable.

4 Player interactions – i.e. with NPC players(AI) or with objects and interactive components? How easy(obvious)/difficult(unclear) were these?

Very difficult
(-2)
Pretty difficult
(-1)
Neither easy nor difficult (0)
Pretty easy
(1)
Very easy
(2)

Any comments (especially, what interactions in particular?)

Although often when having dialogue with NPCs, there were many lines of conversation, it was quite easy to know which questions were relevant to the on-going tasks.
The dialogue and response from NPC characters was directive and informative. Interactions with objects were pretty easy, objects that could be interacted with often stood out from the other background art.


5 Visual quality of the game – how good was the art? Encapsulating? Immersive?

Very poor
(-2)
Pretty poor
(-1)
Neither good nor poor
(0)
Pretty good
(1)
Very good
(2)

Any comments (especially, which art?)

Given the restraints the aesthetic quality of the game was good enough to keep me immersed in the Two Kingdoms World.
The attention to detail is what counts in this game, intricate art had been constructed for many small props, such as the game and the objects located in the Kings downstairs room, in the first chapter, as shown below:

From everything to the paintings on the wall, to the carefully constructed books with details (when looked at closely) and writings inside them.


6 ‘Playability’ i.e. how compelling was this game? How far were the players into it? Was there anything they said/did that indicated what they thought? How much did the storyline drive your persistence and concentration? Were the missions in the game relevant to the overall game scenario/goal?

Very dull
(-2)
Pretty dull
(-1)
Neither dull nor compelling (0)
Pretty compelling
(1)
Very compelling
(2)

Any comments

Moments in the game had good narrative, which provided good content to drive the games progression. One example of this is after escaping the castle, the player overhears a conversation going on in a large house as they walk by. This dialogue provides mystery and clues as to what’s going on in the background story. The missions were relevant and the tasks did not seem out of place.



7 Implementation – how smoothly did the game progress? Was it elegantly and professionally implemented (given the constraints), or did it feel clunky?

Very clunky
(-2)
Pretty clunky
(-1)
Neither clunky nor professional (0)
Pretty professional
(1)
Very professional
(2)

Any comments

Given the constraints placed upon the game by the AGS engine, the game felt professional and well executed. The implementation including changes of location, action sequences, dialogues and task completion was thorough and well constructed.



8 Contextual gameplay - how did you find the interfaces for interaction e.g., load menu, quit, etc.; were these easy and clear, allowing accurate and rapid control of the game?

Very difficult
(-2)
Pretty difficult
(-1)
Neither clear nor difficult (0)
Pretty clear
(1)
Very clear
(2)

Any comments (especially, what interfaces in particular?)

The menu system was satisfactory and accurately showed information. It showed some measure put in place to stop the user from making accidental mistakes, i.e. a double check whether you really want to quit during a game in the form of a dialogue asking you "If you're sure?"

9 Consistency – How well did you learn from experience as you got further into the levels? Did past goals and tasks give you an idea of what might be required in later stages?

Very badly
(-2)
Pretty badly
(-1)
Neither well nor badly
(0)
Pretty well
(1)
Very well
(2)

Any comments (especially, which relevant tasks?)

Learning that a nail could be used to pick lock a simple door latch meant that I now knew the nail was valuable to try and open other doors, progressing me further along in the game. This was one instance of educated guessing, which is often the practice when playing Adventure Games.


10 Now add up your score and write it here:

+8 – generally positive comments: game is pretty good, enjoyable and worth playing. Not something you would pre-order months in advance, but good content and well delivered implementation.



Key:

Red text indicates selected score

-14 plus negative comments: game is dreadful on all counts

-8 plus negative or indifferent comments: game has a lot of problems

0 plus indifferent or qualificatory comments: game is take-it-or-leave-it

+8 plus generally positive comments: game is pretty good, and enjoyable

+14 plus positive comments: game is outstanding

AGS Games Crit Sheet 2


1 Game Title

Once Upon A Crime



2 Description (your interpretation) of the games concept (100 words max):

You are Red, the slightly older Red Riding hood, that has given up her job delivery baskets around cottages in local forests, and taken a position as a Private investigator in Parodise. Someone killed the Big Bad Wolf, and Red must find out who did it, why, and how! Uses charismatic characters to tell a tale of good hearted humour and tongue in cheek jokes. Classic puzzle solving.



3 How clear is the game concept – i.e. is there a clear goal? How quickly could you understand what this game is about and what you are supposed to do?

Very unclear (-2)
Pretty unclear (-1)
Neither clear nor unclear (0)
Pretty clear (1)
Very clear (2)
Any comments

The goals are quite easily detectable, however sometimes the actual execution falls short in the “gulf” of evaluation (Norman).One example of this would be in the third scene, where Red must open the package using a sharp edge of some sort. This interactive part of the task is unclear and indistinguishable.

4 Player interactions – i.e. with NPC players(AI) or with objects and interactive components? How easy(obvious)/difficult(unclear) were these?

Very difficult
(-2)
Pretty difficult
(-1)
Neither easy nor difficult (0)
Pretty easy
(1)
Very easy
(2)
Any comments (especially, what interactions in particular?)
Although often when having dialogue with NPCs, there were many lines of conversation, it was quite easy to know which questions were relevant to the on-going tasks.
The dialogue and response from NPC characters was directive and informative. Interactions with objects were sometimes puzzling, because the objects were not clear enough to be perceived as interactive.




5 Visual quality of the game – how good was the art? Encapsulating? Immersive?

Very poor
(-2)
Pretty poor
(-1)
Neither good nor poor
(0)
Pretty good
(1)
Very good
(2)
Any comments (especially, which art?)
Given the restraints the aesthetic quality of the game was good enough to keep me immersed in the Once Opon a Crime world.
The colours in this game are basic, but the overall look of the game still feels adequate enough to be immersive.

The background setting is basic, but the scene is clear and the details stand out because the setting is so simple.


6 ‘Playability’ i.e. how compelling was this game? How far were the players into it? Was there anything they said/did that indicated what they thought? How much did the storyline drive your persistence and concentration? Were the missions in the game relevant to the overall game scenario/goal?

Very dull
(-2)
Pretty dull
(-1)
Neither dull nor compelling (0)
Pretty compelling
(1)
Very compelling
(2)
Any comments


Moments in the game had humorous narrative, which provided good content to drive the games progression. These dialogues provide mystery and clues as to what’s going on in the background story. The missions were relevant to the game concept and the tasks were related to Red’s role as a PI.



7 Implementation – how smoothly did the game progress? Was it elegantly and professionally implemented (given the constraints), or did it feel clunky?

Very clunky
(-2)
Pretty clunky
(-1)
Neither clunky nor professional (0)
Pretty professional
(1)
Very professional
(2)
Any comments
The game felt clunky for some reason, this could have been due to the slow speed at which the character moves, and because the movement/action interface is hard to control rapidly.





8 Contextual gameplay - how did you find the interfaces for interaction e.g., load menu, quit, etc.; were these easy and clear, allowing accurate and rapid control of the game?

Very difficult
(-2)
Pretty difficult
(-1)
Neither clear nor difficult (0)
Pretty clear
(1)
Very clear
(2)
Any comments (especially, what interfaces in particular?)






9 Consistency – How well did you learn from experience as you got further into the levels? Did past goals and tasks give you an idea of what might be required in later stages?

Very badly
(-2)
Pretty badly
(-1)
Neither well nor badly
(0)
Pretty well
(1)
Very well
(2)
Any comments (especially, which relevant tasks?)
Learning that most actionable items and interactive objects show information regarding affordances and uses when hovered over, enabled me to “text hunt” throughout the usability criticism.






10 Now add up your score and write it here:

+4 – Halfway between being indifferent to generally positive. Not something you would pre-order months in advance, but some good content with enjoyable aspects.



Key:

-14 plus negative comments: game is dreadful on all counts

-8 plus negative or indifferent comments: game has a lot of problems

0 plus indifferent or qualificatory comments: game is take-it-or-leave-it

+8 plus generally positive comments: game is pretty good, and enjoyable

+14 plus positive comments: game is outstanding