Genre-melding is an easy way to justify slapping the word "unique" onto your advertisements. So many beat'em ups and rhythm games have been made that it's difficult to add anything new to either of those genres, much like there have been so many ways to prepare chicken and milkshakes separately over the years that easiest way to make your own unique milkshake would be to throw bits of chicken into it, if you catch my drift. Now, ask yourself, does that sound like a milkshake you would want to drink?...er...eat....maybe...eh...
Actually, I have a tough time classifying Resonance as a beat'em up, because even though the game has you punch and blast your way through hoards of enemies that could not have more blatantly ripped off the heartless from Kingdom Hearts (another beat'em up game thinly disguised as a different genre), the way you do that is by playing very quick games of Guitar Hero, so that ends up becoming the extent of what the game is to you: a series of 3-second guitar riffs that you try to play in time. Needless to say, it can get quite repetitive quite fast.
The game tries to spice things up by throwing in some enemies that keep their distance while others swarm you, meaning you'll have to adjust your attacks every now and again to adapt to the kind of enemies you face, but doing so in any meaningful capacity just causes such sensory overload that it becomes frustrating. Luckily, you have enough health to tank a few hits while you figure out the best plan of attack, if you so choose, but that was a pretty sloppy way to remedy the problem because since you have so much health, taking hits is almost unnoticeable, reducing the game even further to just a succession of Guitar Hero riffs.
Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of genre-melding, because the juxtaposition of two types of gameplay allow for an easier and more effective analysis of each mechanic, and that's not just from the critic's standpoint. Even the average player can see which elements work and which don't much clearer through the lens of that glorious juxtaposition. However, just throwing two diverse things into a blender doesn't mean the end product is going to be any good. I had fun with Resonance, but not because of how its mechanics play off each other. I had fun with it because of the beautiful game feel. Hitting enemies is rewarding due to the high amount of damage displayed by stringing together combos, everything is nice and colorful, etc.
I'll admit that I was a bit too harsh on this game. It's good, seriously, it is. It's just not the kind of good that I like, if that makes any sense. I like games that make me think, games that make me feel, games that challenge both my mind and my reflexes. I value depth more than I value sensory stimulation, and this game favors the latter over the former. Does that make it bad? Absolutely not. It just isn't going to rank too highly on any of my personal Top # lists.
That's all I got for now. Until next time, stay rockin'
Links
Let's Go, Soul Resonance! Huwaaaah!: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=1637
Saturday, August 3, 2013
ReLevelEd
Level design is one of those things that the layman tends not to appreciate, isn't it? I mean, when you play a platformer, for instance, you're usually not thinking about how thoughtfully the medley of blocks that you're jumping on were placed because you're too busy trying to jump on the blocks. Level design is a tenet of game design that should really be more appreciated, and games like ReLevelEd are just the way to make that happen.
ReLevelEd is the kind of game I like to call a "reverse platformer." That's a platform game wherein you do not control the character, rather you control the platforms. See also, Penguin Panic (sort of). It's a decent concept, but it can be really frustrating when done poorly, see also every tower defense game ever made. Whether or not the character dies is what determines whether or not you win, so not being able to keep the character from suiciding can be incredibly frustrating. That's why escort quests are so hated among gamers today. In order for a reverse platformer to be successful, therefore, you have to be able to manipulate the pace of the character in some way, otherwise it feels less like you're playing the game and more like the game is playing you, if you catch my drift.
ReLevelEd pulls that off rather well. If the character is about to fall into some spikes, you can trap it by surrounding it with blocks, leaving you to go to work without fear of the character forgetting that pointy things are not good things to cannonball into. The only problem is that if even a little bit of the character makes it across one block, placing a block in their path won't have any effect, leaving the character to just ghost through the halting block and into a spike pit.
I think where ReLevelEd fails most is in 2 areas: conveyance and iteration time. I'd been playing for far too long before I realized how to delete blocks, meaning if I accidentally placed a block in the wrong place, I'd just have to watch as the character flies into a depth charge. Similarly, at one point I thought the game was simply broken because I couldn't get the character to clear a jump that was a bit too long. Then I realized that you could change the intensity of the effect a certain block has by using the mousewheel. I only learned that by playing the tutorial, so if that weren't there, I'd have ragequit way earlier than I did.
the real reason I quit was because of the iteration time. This is a game where you will die a lot...rather, the little red man who thinks spike balls are comfy will die a lot. There are checkpoints, but they aren't nearly close enough together. Sometimes, you will have to clear 3 separate distinguishable areas before you get to the next checkpoint. This kind of design would be fine if the game were about reflexes rather than problem solving, but if I already demonstrated that I know which blocks go where, having to demonstrate that again is just frustrating. And when people get frustrated, they make careless errors, for which there is no room in ReLevelEd.
Now, as frustrating as this game is, as I said earlier, it does make the player gain a bit of appreciation for level design, especially when they go into the level editor and try to create their own levels, quickly realizing how much skill it takes to design levels that are even functional, much less as gargantuan and varied as the ones this game's developers made.
All in all, this game is definitely appreciable, but not all too fun. It's the same feeling one gets from watching one of those preposterously complex and artsy movies like Memento. You can see how much skill, thought, and effort went into the production of the project, but so much flies over your head and keeping up with it is so exhausting that you just want to give up, turn off your brain, and play Saint's Row. In fact, Imma go do that.
That's all I got for now. Until next time, stay safe.
Links
StUpiDly stYlIzeD: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=481
ReLevelEd is the kind of game I like to call a "reverse platformer." That's a platform game wherein you do not control the character, rather you control the platforms. See also, Penguin Panic (sort of). It's a decent concept, but it can be really frustrating when done poorly, see also every tower defense game ever made. Whether or not the character dies is what determines whether or not you win, so not being able to keep the character from suiciding can be incredibly frustrating. That's why escort quests are so hated among gamers today. In order for a reverse platformer to be successful, therefore, you have to be able to manipulate the pace of the character in some way, otherwise it feels less like you're playing the game and more like the game is playing you, if you catch my drift.
ReLevelEd pulls that off rather well. If the character is about to fall into some spikes, you can trap it by surrounding it with blocks, leaving you to go to work without fear of the character forgetting that pointy things are not good things to cannonball into. The only problem is that if even a little bit of the character makes it across one block, placing a block in their path won't have any effect, leaving the character to just ghost through the halting block and into a spike pit.
I think where ReLevelEd fails most is in 2 areas: conveyance and iteration time. I'd been playing for far too long before I realized how to delete blocks, meaning if I accidentally placed a block in the wrong place, I'd just have to watch as the character flies into a depth charge. Similarly, at one point I thought the game was simply broken because I couldn't get the character to clear a jump that was a bit too long. Then I realized that you could change the intensity of the effect a certain block has by using the mousewheel. I only learned that by playing the tutorial, so if that weren't there, I'd have ragequit way earlier than I did.
the real reason I quit was because of the iteration time. This is a game where you will die a lot...rather, the little red man who thinks spike balls are comfy will die a lot. There are checkpoints, but they aren't nearly close enough together. Sometimes, you will have to clear 3 separate distinguishable areas before you get to the next checkpoint. This kind of design would be fine if the game were about reflexes rather than problem solving, but if I already demonstrated that I know which blocks go where, having to demonstrate that again is just frustrating. And when people get frustrated, they make careless errors, for which there is no room in ReLevelEd.
Now, as frustrating as this game is, as I said earlier, it does make the player gain a bit of appreciation for level design, especially when they go into the level editor and try to create their own levels, quickly realizing how much skill it takes to design levels that are even functional, much less as gargantuan and varied as the ones this game's developers made.
All in all, this game is definitely appreciable, but not all too fun. It's the same feeling one gets from watching one of those preposterously complex and artsy movies like Memento. You can see how much skill, thought, and effort went into the production of the project, but so much flies over your head and keeping up with it is so exhausting that you just want to give up, turn off your brain, and play Saint's Row. In fact, Imma go do that.
That's all I got for now. Until next time, stay safe.
Links
StUpiDly stYlIzeD: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=481
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