GAME 100 EXPLORING GAME WORLDS – VIDEOGAME IN-CLASS APPRAISAL TEMPLATE

Student Name_____________Russell Miller________

Today’s Date____________________2-1-10___

Game Title Examined______________Battlezone__________

Year of Publication___________________1980______

Game Publisher_________________Atari_____

Game Developer _____________________Atari______

Game Genre (e.g. shoot-em-up, racing, sports, puzzle, MMORPG, ‘sandbox’, music sequence following game (e.g. DDR, guitar hero)

shoot-em-up

Type of game ‘world’ or environment (e.g. flat environment, puzzle/maze space, 3D world?)

flat environment

Perspective taken by player (e.g first person, third person perspective, top down, isometric) in relation to main player controlled character.

first person

Gameplay – what does the player have to do?

destroy the tanks while avoiding getting hit

Is the gameplay intuitive? (i.e. is it easy to understand what to do without instructions?) describe.

very intuitive

Is the gameplay patterned (game does the same thing over & over) or is it random (happens differently every time?)

random

What does the type of graphic approach used as well as the audio tell you about the limits of the technology at the time the game was published?

This is an early use of vector graphics, unusual in that most shoot-em-up games in 1980 used primitive bitmap images. They were limited by the processing power of the platform, and had to use basic structures, but did well given the limitations

Describe your views about the game from the point of view of

1. ease of play

fairly easy to play

2. enjoyability

very enjoyable

c) level of engagement/immersion

high level of immersion

Had you played this game prior to this time? If so, when?

Yes, in the eighties

Describe other games it reminds you of. How does it do this?

Defender, because it too used vector graphics, and required a high level of concentration, and immersion.