This week's robust round of New Business is merely a prelude to the heady feature topic: What is gameplay, anyway?
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/rfn/29305
This week's show begins with a quick celebration of Nintendo's downloadable news, with Hulu Plus, the Wii Virtual Console's resurgence, and the expansion of the 3DS Virtual Console to include NES games. Greg's New Business flows perfectly into impressions of Wario Land and the Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D demo. James shares a few final thoughts on Rhythm Heaven Fever to accompany his full review here on the site. Jonny is down on Mario Kart: Super Circuit but more positive on the Mass Effect 3 demo. Finally, Jon completes not one but two games this week: God of War 3 and The Simpsons Arcade Game.
The latter half of this episode takes an idea from fellow staff member Minoru Yamaizumi, who needed to translate the word "gameplay" into Japanese and asked us to try defining the concept itself. It's a murky subject fraught with semantic traps, but we tried our best to get around the idea, how Nintendo leads in this regard, and how gameplay factors into our favorite games ever. We'd love to hear what you think of the discussion and of the topic itself, so please comment below or shoot us an email.
To me, the only games that I can think of in the last generation where gameplay and story were both equally well-done and integral are Portal and Portal 2. Other games like the Mario series, the Uncharted series, Ghost Trick, the Zelda series, and many, MANY others have really nailed one of the two, but not both. IMO, the Portal games are the best of the past generation.
To me, the only games that I can think of in the last generation where gameplay and story were both equally well-done and integral are Portal and Portal 2. Other games like the Mario series, the Uncharted series, Ghost Trick, the Zelda series, and many, MANY others have really nailed one of the two, but not both. IMO, the Portal games are the best of the past generation.
I haven't played the sequel, but story was minimal with the first game. Hell, you didn't even notice the story unless you tried to paid attention to it and it was not integral to the game.
I havent played the demo (i dont even own a 3ds) but i do know that you cant see in 3-d if you have one eye.
For me, gameplay is all about the game mechanics, i.e., the core actions you're performing in order to play the game. Everything else serves to enhance these core game mechanics, or make them more meaningful to the player.
- The story provides context for a player's actions, and makes their actions significant in some way.
- The presentation/graphics engage the player, immersing them in the game's world or keeping them interested.
- The music heightens the overall experience by giving aural cues as to how the player should be reacting to the game at any given time (happiness, sadness, exuberance, thoughtfulness), or by providing feedback by changing in relation to the player's actions.
At the core of everything is that constant mechanic-based feedback loop known as gameplay.
I havent played the demo (i dont even own a 3ds) but i do know that you cant see in 3-d if you have one eye.
