Better Game Characters by Design- P12 doc

Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy DEVELOPER: Naughty Dog GENRE: action, platformer, adventure PLATFORM: PlayStation 2 AWARDS: International Game Developers Association Game Developers

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her to Ico’s side As Ico vigilantly protects Yorda, she returns the favor by unlockingmagical doors throughout the game, which Ico cannot do by himself.

ICO is renowned for its elegant, aesthetic environment and ambient sound, adding to the game’s immersive quality, similar to the experience within the Myst

series The dramatic scale of the environment—vast, vacant rooms and bottomlessdepths—contrasts with the diminutive size of Ico This is an interesting choice ofhero: a small boy shunned by society, rather than a powerful fighter, as seen in sev-eral popular action-adventure games Although the game was not a best seller, itacquired a strong following and was much appreciated, as evidenced by the numer-

ous awards it has received ICO is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment

Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy

DEVELOPER: Naughty Dog

GENRE: action, platformer, adventure

PLATFORM: PlayStation 2

AWARDS: International Game Developers Association Game Developers Choice

Award 2002: Original Game Character of the Year (Daxter)

GAME SUMMARY :

Jak and Daxter are adventurous best friends who disregard warnings against ing to nearby Misty Island At the game’s beginning, they have set off to investigatethe ruins of the ancient Precursor people Unfortunately, Daxter falls in an evilsubstance that transforms him into a muskrat After conferring with their mentor

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travel-back at home, Jak, with Daxter on his shoulder, sets out on a quest to find a way toreturn Daxter to his human form.

Although the game is primarily a 3D platformer, it has a bit of adventure genre gameplay as well—the player is asked to solve small puzzles, and to retrieve items forcharacters encountered along the way These elements, as well as several minigames,are part of the central story line as the two friends close in on the wise sage whoholds the muskrat cure Most of the game play is action-based; Jak can jump, kick,spin, stomp, pilot vehicles, battle enemies, and make use of magical potions toextend his powers of speed, attack range, health, and weapon selection Daxter isalong for the ride, perched on Jak’s shoulder, and occasionally offering game-play

tips or witty commentary Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy is a registered

The Legend of Zelda: The Windwaker

DEVELOPER: Nintendo

PLATFORM: Nintendo GameCube

AWARDS: GameSpot Editor’s Choice; and Golden Joystick 2003: GameCube Game

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GAME SUMMARY :

A continuation of the successful Zelda series, Nintendo’s colorful Windwaker opens

with a cut-scene of the main player-character, Link, and his sister playing aroundtheir home island The sister is soon carried away by an evil bird, and Link’s adven-ture begins Link sets out to save his sister in hopes of eventually realizing thehigher goal of defeating a growing evil throughout the islands

As Link confronts various helpers, enemies, and boss monsters on the severalislands throughout the game, he also acquires objects that enable him to performcertain actions and thus progress further in the game These objects include bombs,arrows, a grappling hook, iron boots, and power bracelets A key object in the game

is its namesake, the windwaker, a baton which allows Link to perform various ical spells, from controlling the direction of the wind to controlling the movements

mag-of another character Game play can be open-ended, especially in the latter half mag-ofthe game in which the player-character is encouraged to visit various islands toexplore, trade, collect, and to engage in minigames Alternatively, the player maychoose to be more direct in following the story line to defeat the pervading evil

The Legend of Zelda: The Windwaker may initially have shocked some fans of

the series by not offering a more realistic art style Instead, it uses cel-shaded ics that seem Disneyesque The effect seems to work, creating a lively 3D cartooninfused with excellent animation and emotion Image courtesy of Nintendo

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graph-Leisure Suit Larry 7: Love for Sail

DEVELOPER: Sierra Entertainment

GAME SUMMARY :

This is a continuation of the popular adventure game series based on an unlikely

hero’s stereotypical bachelor escapades The Leisure Suit Larry games have always

pushed the boundaries of taste with plenty of sexual innuendo along the lines of the

TV show Three’s Company The player advances by helping Larry choose dialogue

artfully with the goal of getting close to a series of women The first game was a textadventure; this edition of the game allows the player to use the text interface as well

as dialogue menu choices The game takes place on a cruise, hence the subtitle

Leisure Suit Larry is provided courtesy of Sierra Entertainment, Inc.

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Max Payne

DEVELOPER: 3D Realms, Remedy Entertainment

GENRE: action, third-person shooter

PLATFORM: Windows, PlayStation2, Xbox

AWARDS: Golden Joystick Awards 2002: Runner-up Game of the Year; Golden

Joystick Awards 2002: Runner-up Game Innovation of the Year; Eurogamer

“Gaming Globe” Reader Awards 2001: Best Game Cinematography;Eurogamer “Gaming Globe” Reader Awards 2001: Best Game Character;Computer Gaming World 2001: Best Innovation Destined for Overuse; IGN2001: Best Adventure Game of the Year; IGN 2001: Reacher’s Choice forBest Storyline, Graphics, Sound Use, and Game of the Year

GAME SUMMARY :

Max Payne, a young and energetic narcotics cop, arrives home to find his baby andwife being murdered upstairs before he can save them With nothing to live for, hegoes deep undercover in the hopes of rooting out those behind his family’s death.The game occurs in real time during the worst snow storm in New York’s recenthistory Max unleashes his fury-laden brand of justice on an entire drug distributionnetwork, starting at the bottom and ending literally at the top of the empire

The game embraces graphic-novel motifs to illustrate Max’s monologues anddialogues throughout the game with impressionistic images and stereo soundeffects Max provides the voiceover to his own life while annihilating everyone inhis path The game is divided into “chapters” at the beginning of which Max pro-vides the details about what he is about to do and the level of self-loathing andvengeance he is feeling His words are melodramatic and heavy with metaphor, but

it works, and works well

Max’s health indicator is a “pain meter”—a chalk outline graphic that fills withred when enemies harm him When the meter fills up to its head, Max begins limp-ing around until the level drops to the shoulders When the meter is red from head

to toe, Max dies and the player has to restart from the last saved position In order

to heal himself, Max chomps on painkillers that he takes from medicine cabinetsand from his enemies’ remains

Since the game is a retelling of Max’s life, the player does not make any sions about the direction the story takes The only influence the player has is howlong the story takes to unfold and how many people die in the process

deci-The quality writing holds the game together, and Max Payne was also lauded for showing how The Matrix’s “bullet time” effect can work in video games Max has

the ability to slow down time so that he can dodge bullets more easily, aim more

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precisely, and fly through the air just a little bit longer The effect inspired a Matrix patch that substitutes a Neo-inspired player-character for the Max Payne figure.

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

DEVELOPER: Konami

GENRE: action, adventure, strategy

PLATFORM: PlayStation 2

AWARDS: E3 2000 Award: Best of Show; Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences:

Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design, 2002

GAME SUMMARY :

Metal Gear Solid 2 is a continuation of the adventures of Solid Snake, an action

hero who combines stealth with fighting prowess The game was a landmark due

to the extensive (some would say too-extensive) use of breathtaking cut-scenesusing the game engine itself, directed by Hideo Kojima and rivaling the cinematog-raphy in an action movie The game was also noteworthy for a sound-trackdevelped by a Hollywood sound designer, which adjusted to shifts in game play.Play primarily takes place in third-person perspective, although the player can shift

to first-person for easier targeting Metal Gear, Metal Gear Solid, and Sons of erty are registered trademarks of KONAMI COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT JAPAN,

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Mortal Kombat

DEVELOPER: Midway Games

GENRE: action, fighting

PLATFORM: DOS, SNES, Game Boy, Sega Master System, Sega Genesis, Sega CD

GAME SUMMARY :

Mortal Kombat brought video motion capture and gratuitous gore to the arcades and

consoles The game pits the player against a series of fighters in a tournament-stylecompetition Each character has a standard set of punches and kicks and a set ofspecial and unique moves that influence the character’s fighting style For instance,Johnny Cage’s special moves tend to be effective only at close range, while Scor-pion’s tend to work well at a distance, and Sonya’s rarely work well at all The spe-cial moves are activated by pressing the attack and directional buttons in a certainorder for each character, which gives an edge to the experienced player

At the end of each match, the player has an opportunity to execute his opponentwith a “fatality” move After pressing the buttons in an order specific to that charac-ter, the player kills the opponent via moves like super uppercuts, electric shocks,and deadly kisses Players can also forgo the tournament mode and its tenuousstory line to play head-to-head with a human opponent

When the characters get punched or kicked, they scream and, in the noncensored

version, they spurt blood Mortal Kombat’s popularity in the arcades and on the Sega

systems made Nintendo reconsider its ban on realistic violence Nintendo released thegame as a heavily censored fighter, changed all of the fatalities to be more “familyfriendly,” and replaced the blood with a white liquid that was interpreted as sweat.Nintendo’s version did not sell nearly as well as Sega’s, which kept the bloodand gore The game’s graphic violence was cited as the cause for formation of the

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industry’s Entertainment Standards Review Board, after a public critique by SenatorsJoe Lieberman and Herb Kohl Mortal Kombat ©Midway Amusement Games, LLC.

reserved Mortal Kombat, the dragon logo, Midway, and the Midway logo are

regis-tered trademarks of Midway Amusement Games, LLC

NBA Live 2004 continues a tradition of NBA basketball games from developer

Elec-tronic Arts This popular series focuses on realistic team basketball in which youplay as one NBA team against another Teams are composed of the real-life 2004season NBA rosters For example, you could be playing as the 2004 SacramentoKings against the Los Angeles Lakers, complete with realistic statistics for everyplayer Other modes of play include one-on-one practice and dynasty, in which youbuild up a team franchise

During the game, the currently activated player is indicated by a blue circle at hisfeet The player can execute offensive or defensive moves or can switch to controlanother player on his or her team Players on your team who you are not control-ling act as one might expect on the court, positioning themselves to cover an oppo-nent or to accept a pass

The game, and its predecessors in the series, have focused on a realistic NBAbasketball experience, from the player’s probability of making that three-point shotand the realistic arena representations down to the accuracy of players’ tattoos andbrands of sneakers Commentary is provided by well-known Marv Albert and MikeFratatello, and hip-hop music supplies an upbeat backdrop for the game Anima-

tions in NBA Live 2004 are successful, thanks to 10-man motion capture during

pro-duction, and famous athlete faces also seem realistic

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DEVELOPER: Neopets (www.neopets.com)

GENRE: online, multiplayer

AWARDS: 2003 “Best of the Web” from WiredKids.Org

GAME SUMMARY :

Neopets is a Web-based “virtual pet community,” where children (and some adults)

choose and care for a virtual pet They engage in a variety of pet-related activities,such as feeding, training, and caring for pets as well as entering them in contestsand games The game’s developers earn revenue through targeted advertising aswell as through expansion into a real-world card set, plush toys, CD-Rom games,

and porting of the pets to handheld and mobile platforms Neopets, characters,

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PaRappa the Rapper

DEVELOPER: NaNaOn-Sha

PLATFORM: PlayStation

AWARDS: IGDA Developers Choice Awards: Best Game Soundtrack, 1998; Japan

Game of the Year, 1997

GAME SUMMARY :

This game confused those who first viewed it at games trade shows—some ulated that it was designed to teach players how to operate the buttons on the

spec-PlayStation controller The rest is history: PaRappa launched the rhythm-game

genre—games in which the player must hit buttons in time to music The

player’s button-mashing in PaRappa causes the player-character to rap, and he must rap well enough to make it through the game’s simple story PaRappa was

also noteworthy for its original art style—characters rendered in 3D but bling flexible cardboard cutouts that the player could see the edges of as theymoved onscreen The game was designed by Masaya Matsuura, now a legend forhis innovations in the rhythm-game genre ©1997 Sony Computer Entertainment

resem-America Inc PaRappa the Rapper is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment

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AWARDS: Design Distinction in I.D Magazine’s 1997 Interactive Media Review

Issue for “Catz”; 1998 Interactive Design award from Communicaion Artsfor “Petz”; Bronze in 1998 NewMedia Invision children’s entertainmentawards for “Petz”; Best Animation, 1997 Int’l Digital Media Awards for

“Petz”; Platinum Award from 1997 Oppenheimer Toy portfolio for “Petz”;Silver for Best Overall Design, CDRom, 2000 NewMedia Invision awardsfor “Babyz”

GAME SUMMARY :

Originally released in 1995, with sequels released in 1998 and 2003, Dogz and Catzwere the world’s first virtual pets, on the scene before Tamagotchi and Nintendogs.These artificially intelligent, emotional, 3-D characters, rendered in a cartoony style,come in a wide variety of breeds and personalities including grumpy bulldogs,finicky siamese cats, lovable mutts, snooty poodles, crazy alley cats, and so on The

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animation and behavior of the Petz are very fluid and dynamic, allowing players todirectly touch, pet, and pick up the characters using a mouse hand-cursor, causingthe Petz to react in very immediate and lifelike ways Players adopt them as puppiezand kittenz at an adoption center, and they grow up over the course of severalweeks to full adult size Although they never die, if neglected or abused, they canrun away Players feed and nurture their Petz, play with a variety of toys in or out-side a house, and dress them up in a wide selection of clothin Through positiveand negative reinforcement (treats and a water squirt-bottle), as well as voice recog-nition, Petz can be trained to do tricks and to modify their their behavior in general.Petz can mate and produce offspring, inheriting the characteristics of their parents.Over 2 million copies of Petz have been sold worldwide; other products includeOddballz (1997) and Babyz (1999) ©Ubisoft Entertainment Ubisoft is registeredtrademark of Ubisoft Properties, LLC Petz, Catz, Dogz, and Ubisoft are tradmarks

AWARDS: BAFTA 2002 (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) for

Interactivity; 2001 CGN Gamer’s Choice Award: Best “Other” Game;

2001 GameSpy GameCube Game of the Year; 2001 Japan Media Arts

Festival Excellence Prize

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GAME SUMMARY :

Created by design heavyweight Shigeru Miyamoto of Mario Brothers fame, Pikmin

provides a cute and fun game experience that has become synonymous with tendo releases In this strategy and problem-solving game, the player instructs smalllemming-like creatures to engage in certain tasks to achieve the goals of the maincharacter, Captain Olimar This space cadet has crashed on an unknown planet that

Nin-is inhabited by tiny creatures resembling carrots, which he has named “Pikmin.”Captain Olimar uses the creatures to find parts to fix his broken ship, which allowshim to further explore uncharted territory

Certain numbers of Pikmin are required for a given task For example, a cal part may require 20 Pikmin to carry it back to the ship In addition, different Pik-min have different skill sets Some Pikmin can carry bombs, some survive in water,and others are fire-resistant A smart player delegates the Pikmin efficiently to get thetasks accomplished before the end of the day At dusk, all remaining Pikmin mustbeam up into the space ship for a safe night’s sleep Pikmin left on the groundovernight will die Pikmin are also killed by various other creatures in the world or

mechani-by natural elements such as fire and water Pikmin provides a lush environment

steeped in nature, with colorful, entertaining characters and ambient sound Imagecourtesy of Nintendo

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DEVELOPER: Infocom

PLATFORM: DOS, Amiga, Apple II, Atari ST, Commodore 64, PC Booter, TRS 80

GAME SUMMARY :

Listed as Infocom’s first “Comedy Adventure,” Planetfall is a classic text adventure.

The player navigates through interstellar challenges using text commands whichmust be supplemented (for most players) by a large sheet of paper upon which you

try to reconstruct the terrain of the game Planetfall was written by Steve Meretsky

and includes the famous NPC Floyd—a robot who becomes the player’s sidekick.Many players still remember the powerful feelings they had when Floyd sacrificedhimself during play—early evidence of the possiblity for strong player feelings

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Prince of Persia

DEVELOPER: Nintendo

GENRE: action, platform

PLATFORM: Apple II, Mac, DOS, NES, Game Boy, Atari, Sega Master System, Genesis

AWARDS: PC Gamers Ranked 43rd“Best Games of All Time,” 1999;“Game of the

Decade,” Generation 4/Canal, 1997

GAME SUMMARY :

The Prince of Persia has 60 minutes to break out of the kingdom’s dungeon inorder to save the Princess Jazmin from marrying the evil vizier, Jaffar The Princeruns, jumps, climbs, and fights his way through the dungeon’s levels by avoidingtraps and using a variety of helpful potions to gain strength and replenishhis health

Prince of Persia uses the natural-looking character animations that Jordan ner pioneered in Karateka The Prince really looks like he strains to hold on to the

Mech-ledges and is slow to recover when he takes damage from a fall He leans forwardwhen running and throws out his arms when leaping across chasms Even in theblack and white version, the Prince comes across as a sympathetic character thatthe player is compelled to take care of to ensure he rescues the princess He criesout in pain when he is injured, screams as he plummets to his death, and groanswhen he runs into a wall

Along the way to the princess, the Prince encounters an interesting helper,increasingly challenging enemy guards, and more and more difficult jumps and

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