Choose a favorite video game from your childhood and apply a brief game analysis as described in section 7.2 of the Digital Games chapter. What about the technology of the time made the game leave such an impression on you?
Looking back on my childhood, two distinct games come to mind. They are Neopets and Adventure Quest Worlds. For the sake of this discussion I will be talking about Adventure Quest Worlds, (AQW), but Neopets was probably the “OG” browser/flash game for many kids in my generation, and I still see memes time to time referencing it. However, AQW provided a more complete experience of the four C’s Darran Jamieson coined for games.
Challenge: AQW regularly set up events for players to participate in, with the storyline often culminating in a boss fight or special event. This, alongside completing normal sidequests or storylines, gives players a sense of purpose and direction to take when playing the game.
Choice: AQW is a MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role playing game) and has a large explorable world with many different storylines to follow. This gives the player a multitude of choices, whether it is places to visit or quests to complete, AQW has something for everyone.
Change: As mentioned in Challenge, AQW is regularly updated with new storylines or sagas to complete. This gives players a reason to come back to play and offers a refreshed experience.
Chance: Even more common in today’s games than in AQW, cosmetic items or powerful gear can be found across the map and from completing quests. The opportunity to find this gear and gain power gives many players a compelling reason to keep playing.