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

Student Name__________________Russell Miller___

Today’s Date_______________2-1-10________

Game Title Examined________________Lunar Lander________

Year of Publication_____________________1979____

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)

simulation

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?

land the lunar module before running out of fuel

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

no. you have to get the hang of it over several plays

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

patterned

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 vector graphics game, using the most rudimentary structure possible, but very effective nevertheless, they were limited by the memory and graphics card available to Atari in 1979

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

1. ease of play

not easy at all to play, very challenging, at least for me

2. enjoyability

enjoyable once you get the hang of what you need to do

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?

There was a Commodore 64 game that involved landing a spacecraft and rescuing stranded spacemen which had some similarities, not as difficult to land however, can't recall the name.