Another Landscape Audit

Learning about the difficulty I could run into in the future on developing my own 3D role-playing game, I have decided to take a look at another game genre. After all, writing code and tweaking on minor application bugs is not the nature of design, and I  do not want my thesis to be just another design document. The genre of my choice is very different from what I've been looking at for the past few weeks - text based adventure games. The reason behind this choice is that while text games may lack visual stimulations for the players, they do provide more room for interpretation and imagination. Furthermore, it allow the players to less distracted by the graphics and more focused on the choices.

The following are some of the games I tried out recently.

The Colossal Cave Adventure
Colossal Cave Adventure (also known as ADVENT, Colossal Cave, or Adventure) is one of the earliest computer adventure games and a precursor form of role playing video game. The original version was designed by Will Crowther, a programmer and caving enthusiast who based the layout on part of the Mammoth Cave system in Kentucky. (from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossal_Cave_Adventure)

Being probably the oldest computer games in the world, this games still attracts a wide range of demographic. People are fascinated by the world it presents, along with the non-linear map ( going north from one room to another does not necessarily mean you can go back where you came from by going south) and almost endless mazes. With all the details being reduce to zero, players can better appreciate the core elements of the game and make the experience more memorable.

Click here to play the game yourself. 

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Lifeline
Lifeline is a playable, branching story of survival against all odds. Using your iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch, you will help Taylor make life or death decisions, and face the consequences together. The  writer weaves a gripping interactive story through the aftermath of a crash landing on an alien moon. Taylor is stranded, the rest of the crew are dead or missing, and Taylor’s communicator can only reach you. A totally unique experience enabled by modern devices, this story plays out in real time. As Taylor works to stay alive, notifications deliver new messages throughout your day.  (from https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/lifeline.../id982354972)

​This particular game caught my eyes because it obviously is using a non-linear story telling mechanism yet is using it as a game. It not only allows the player to explore the different story line, but also allow them to achieve something with a better choice. And the rewind function is also clever, allowing players to alter their choices without the frustration of going through the story from the beginning every time. Furthermore, it made the time for game interaction chunked and short, reducing the possibility to cause frustration on the player.

​But of course, the best part that attract the players to actually go through to the end is the story itself. Making a game as such requires careful researching and innovative story writing.

It also included a version that can be played on wearables (Apple Watch).

Click here to download and play on your iPhone, and here for Android. 

The Storyline of Lifeline