Call of Duty Black Ops 3 Analysis

Praise

Call of Duty Black Ops 3 was a very great game that introduced a lot of new futuristic aspects into the black ops series. In this game you have a mini jetpack where you can jump and launch higher in the air for a certain period of time. The movement of this game felt very fluent and very futuristic too, where you could easily slide and jump in the air with your mini jetpack I talked about already. You also could wall run as well and jump off of those walls to shoot and kill your enemy. You also had the look of the game where it looked more futuristic than the traditional black ops games. This game mode zombies had one of the best maps in all of the call of duty games ever called Der Eisendrache. This map was so good because you were able to get very overpowered different types of  bow and arrows which would help with the easter egg and kill the zombies faster in the higher rounds. 

This is an image representing the jetpack I talked about and it comes from https://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2020/01/06/treyarch-call-of-duty-jetpacks-black-ops-5/

Overview

Call of Duty Black Ops 3 is the 3rd game made of the call of  black ops series. This game has three  different modes: campaign, multiplayer and zombies. They have a campaign mode where you can play the story of the game by yourself or even invite your friends to play with you as well. They also have a multiplayer mode which consists of a lot of different modes that you can play some of which are team core or hardcore. Core is when you play a gamemode and  it takes multiple bullets to eliminate someone and you have a mini map to help guide you. In hardcore it only takes one to two shots to kill you and you do not get a minimap unless a UAV is used by someone on your team or yourself. In these modes there are the actual  playlist of plethora game modes which include team deathmatch, search and destroy, kill confirmed, domination, hardpoint, capture the flag, etc… The other mode that is in this game is called zombies which consists of a lot of different maps that you can play where you will kill zombies and do easter eggs. 

Issues

The main issue that consisted in Call of Duty Black Ops 3 is the campaign mode. This mode was very dull and boring to play. The story was very bland and did not have any excitement towards it. It was very sad to see where you had to complete this boring campaign to unlock the Nightmares mode in the game which was a new and better storyline in the game which had zombies in it. Lastly, the second biggest issue is the lag that occurred a lot in the online multiplayer mode. This lag caused the game to crash a lot and gave many error codes. 

This is an image of one of the most common error codes that players received and this image comes from https://www.reddit.com/r/blackops3/comments/5htrjv/black_ops_3_abc_error_my_brother_has_been_unable/

Strategy

The narrative designers  can make better improvements to the story by just making it more enjoyable and entertaining. Maybe they should get younger audiences’ opinions on what their next story should be about so it would be more entertaining to the majority of the audience. Another strategy is to make it so we are not forced to play the campaign to unlock one of the best, most entertaining modes in the game. I understand they want us to play the game and do not want to give everything to us but that is a game mode and I feel like we should already have that unlocked from the beginning. Lastly, simply just improve the servers. Improving the servers would cause players to have less lag and error codes given to them.

This is an image of the nightmares mode that had to be unlocked after beating the campaign and this image comes from https://attackofthefanboy.com/guides/call-of-duty-black-ops-3-guide-how-to-unlock-zombie-nightmares-mode/

Encouragement

Call of Duty Black Ops 3 is a very good game and I actually had a great time playing this game. It was very different from the other traditional black ops games so it took time to get used to but it was still a fun time. There are things that need to be improved in the game such as the servers and the campaign. These things have shown to be improved in the latest black ops games. I hope that they continue to perfect these issues and give us the best product they can.    

Unblock Me Analysis

Praise

In the casual puzzle game called Unblock Me it is a great game and represents what puzzle games are because it makes you think and allows you to figure out how to beat each level. Each level gets more and more difficult the more you play the game which is good for puzzle games because you would not want it to be too easy all the time. For the people who want a great challenge they have a challenge mode where the levels are harder and gives players who like challenges a chance to test their abilities. This game also has a relaxing mode where the puzzles are not too hard but they are not too easy but it allows casual players who do not like that great of a challenge to play and enjoy as well. Lastly this game is a great depiction of a puzzle game because this game forces the user to play tactically because if not and you just continue to move pieces around until you get it you will not get three stars and instead will get one or two. 

This an image of a level in the game and this image comes from https://coolmomtech.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2013/11/mzljzghtdqs320x480-75.jpg

Overview

Unblock Me is a slider puzzle game where you have to move blocks around in order to get the main (red block) out of the level. This game is more of a jigsaw slider puzzle game and tests the thinking skills of users to try and get out of the level. This game has a score system of stars to which in order to get three stars you need to get the main block out of the level in a certain amount of moves and if not you will get two or one star. Lastly this game has two different modes where one is the relax mode for more casual players and a challenge mode for more players who are looking for a challenge.

This is an image of part of the startup screen of the game and this image comes from https://www.bluestacks.com/apps/puzzle/unblock-me-free-on-pc.html

Issues

The issues with this game include the levels being way too easy at times. The other harder levels make up for it most of the time but in some harder levels they seem a bit too easy. Another issue with this game is for some users the game can get boring. I know that there is not much that can be done about that aspect of making the game more fun unless making the levels way more difficult but the game can become boring at times. Lastly the soundtrack can use a bit more work where there can be some background music in each level. Only hearing the sound of the blocks gets dull and again makes the game boring at times.

Strategy

There are plenty of ways to fix the issues in this game. For example the first issue where the levels are too easy at times. The fix for that is to just make those levels harder or more of a challenge. Another fix can be to make the levels bigger in size and have it be more blocks to move. The second fix to the issue of the game being boring is to put more soundtrack into the game to make the game seem more exciting. The other fix includes making more unique levels in the game especially making it more appealing art wise. Lastly there can be a different theme in each level or theme for each season and just make updates in terms of that and that would give it that more appealing look. 

This is an image of the Christmas theme they had done for the game long ago and should do more themes and this image comes from https://is4-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/PurpleSource113/v4/02/a4/39/02a4391f-3d9e-fe99-a713-1a31dc3e9a85/58f16776-1dcf-468f-867f-4dc7bb7b8c7a_ipad04.png/576x768bb.png

Encouragement

Unblock Me is a very successful game because it is a fun game that when you are in the car sitting or just waiting around somewhere or even in class you can take your phone out and play it and have fun in that moment. This game has great levels where it can be relaxing for the relaxing players and hard levels for the players who love challenges. This game has a lot of levels and makes it so you can play this game for a very long time without playing the same level. You can also strive to get 3 stars for every level in this game as well. This game can use some work but overall it is a good game that almost anyone that does not hate puzzle games can enjoy.          

Persona 4 Golden Game Review

Praise

Persona 4 Golden is a RPG game that has an entire story about victims being thrown into TV’s by a killer and faced by their inner selves where they possibly can be killed. The highs of this game contains the story. It is one of the best stories in the whole persona series in my opinion and has a great plot twist. I like the aspect of the social links and how that matters with getting better abilities, perks, and help in battle. The relationship aspect that you can have with people throughout the game and how it affects the story was really well thought out as well. Lastly, I like that unlike games in this day and age, there are multiple endings of the game where you can get a bad ending, a good ending, and a true ending. This aspect of the game makes the game replayable if you somehow did not get the true ending.

This is the social links in Persona 4 Golden and this image comes from https://techraptor.net/gaming/guides/Persona-4-Golden-Social-Link-Guide

Overview

Like I have said before Persona 4 Golden is one of the 5 games in the Persona series where it is an RPG game that has an entire story about victims being thrown into TV’s by a killer and faced by their inner selves where they possibly can be killed. You play as the protagonist who you can name any name but is the “hero” of the game where you go into the TV’s and save the people who were thrown in and most of them joined the team to try and catch the killer. When you go into the TV’s to save each person you have to go through their dungeon where they have multiple floors with shadows lurking in every corner ready to attack you. Once you get to a certain floor in the dungeon you will be faced with the boss of the dungeon. Occasionally in some dungeons you are faced with mini bosses before you get to the main boss. Lastly, outside of the fighting you are able to go to school and take exams, answer questions asked in class, hang with friends, join a club or even work. 

This is a image of the whole entire Persona series and this image comes from https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DGU4kNCFB7-I&psig=AOvVaw1mC6tk9L44Pze0vE3TvpdM&ust=1674583858108000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CBAQjhxqFwoTCIiQi5Kl3vwCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE

Issues

There were not many issues with this game when I played through it. The most glaring issue with the game is the difficulty level. When playing on the normal difficulty level it felt like I was playing on one of the hardest difficulties at times because of the level you would have to be to fight in each dungeon. Another problem that I had with the game is the look of some of the early dungeons in the game. The look of them felt very bland and coming from playing Persona 5 it was a little hard at first. Lastly, another problem that I have with the game is the lack of the shadows and bosses giving you the right amount of experience points when beating them. I had to farm golden hands to be able to level up the way I needed to to fight the next boss in the dungeon.

This is an image of one of the early dungeons in persona 4 golden and this image comes from https://thegamefanatics.com/persona-4-golden-game-review/

Strategy

Persona 4 Golden can make improvements by making the difficulty play as how the difficulty is supposed to be. The normal difficulty can be a bit more easier to play where you do not have to be the exact level to fight the bosses.  Another strategy is by giving the shadows and bosses you fight more experience points drop when defeating them instead of having to rely solely on the golden hands to be able to level up. Another strategy which was done in persona 5 is giving the early dungeons more spice and making them more appealing for the players. 

Encouragement

Overall I had a great experience in Persona 4 Golden. The story was better than the newest game Persona 5 where it was more thought out and better executed. Though Persona 4 could have used some improvements in some areas like the difficulty level, the experience points and the look of the dungeons the game is still really great. The story keeps you on your toes and the diversity of where you can get a different ending depending on player choice is just beautiful to have in a video game which more story games today should have more of. Persona 4 Golden is a great video game and I would highly recommend it to anyone with the interest of games in that nature.

Unity Engine Review

Praise

Unity is a very user- friendly game engine where it is great for people who are just starting out as a game developer. The engine is very easy to use and has a lot of great features that are good to use for creating games. This engine is free to users which is the biggest reason why most people use the engine as well. First they have a lot of ready to use assets that you can import into your project that you can use in the creation of your game. Next they have a huge range of supported platforms from the web to mobile to consoles as well. Unity is also one of the biggest communities which means you can receive plenty of help if you are just starting out as a first time user. Lastly, the engine gets better every release and has more to offer each update.

This image is of the unity logo and comes from https://unity.com/

Overview

Unity is a game engine that is very commonly used by early game developers that are just getting into game development. Unity has been around since 2005 and was released by unity technologies. This engine uses the coding language of C# to form scripts to put on any objects in the scene. The engine is free to use unless you choose another plan to use. In this engine you are able to make any 2D or 3D project of your choice and be as creative as you are able to be. Notable games made by unity include Hollow Knight, Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout and the world famous Pokemon Go. These are just some of the notable games that were made and as you can see this engine has made pretty great games.

This image is the cover of the game Fall guys and comes from https://www.fallguys.com/en-US/news/fall-guys-is-going-free-on-june-21-launching-on-playstation-nintendo-switch-xbox-and-the-epic-games-store

Issues

There are some issues with the unity engine that have caused some people to not choose the engine or not stay with the engine. The first problem includes that the performance of unity is very intensive. This means that people who have older devices may not be able to run the project smoothly on launch. The second issue with the engine is that it is a bulky system that takes up a lot of space when downloading the content. This has caused problems for old apple users where they were restricted to so much space. The third and last problem is that the asset store is very limited. When it comes to 3D assets unity lacks in supply when it comes to this. 

Strategy

The biggest pluses of this engine is that it is still a free engine to use and that a first time user can go on to use the engine and create something of their choice. Something that unity can work on which I have seen them working on is having more 3D assets added they can just import some in the engine. Also they could also try to downsize the content that needs to be downloaded so it does not take up that much space. Another plus of the engine is that it is very simple to understand once you use it a couple times and know what you are looking at. Lastly this engine can be used to create a game for any platform. 

Encouragement

Like I have stated before, unity engine is one of the best to use when starting out as a first time game developer. This engine may have some downsides to it like the lack of 3D assets but has user friendly easy to learn features with many tutorials and help from all across the world to help with your project. This engine has a big community and is growing everyday by the second. Unity is getting better each release and hopefully in the future it will be the best free gaming engine to use with the limitations that are there now not there anymore. 

NBA 2K23 Game Review

Praise

This year’s edition of NBA 2K which is called NBA 2K23 is a slight improvement from the prior game NBA 2K22 because in this year’s game there is more of a skill gap and you have to actually play the game to be good at it. To elaborate more on my statements this year’s version of the game has seen a vast improvement on shooting where anyone cannot just make any type of shot. You have to have enough skill to time your jump shot and to learn when to release it to have a higher chance of making it. Dribbling in the game has vastly improved as well where it is more realistic dribble styles and you cannot just simply go left to right and get open to shoot your jump shot like prior years. The mode called MyCareer has seen a vast improvement as well where they brought back quests, have brought in the rapper J Cole in the game and have various other things you can do if you just want to have a relaxable experience. MyCareer also allows you to walk into the stadium of where you get to play at and go to the coaches office to talk and to give you the option to talk to the press and do optional scrum as well. This game has little improvements but the improvements make the game more enjoyable

This is an image showing the shooting in NBA 2K23 and this image comes from https://segmentnext.com/nba-2k23-shot-meter/

Overview

NBA 2K is a franchise that has been going on for a longtime making many different NBA games using all 30 teams in the NBA. This year’s NBA 2K23 has many different modes such as MyCareer, MyTeam, Play Now, MyLeague and MyGM. The most popular mode which is MyCareer is a mode where you get to create a player of your choice going from the look to how the person plays and you are able to play through a story of your time in college and the NBA. You are also able to take the player that you create and play as to the park and play against other people who have created players in a 3v3, 2v2, or 1v1 game. You can also form a team or go into matchmaking to play a 5v5 game in a stadium setting against other people as well. Lastly you can form your own team with your friends and play another mode in MyCareer called Pro-am against other people that has created a team whether that be 3v3 or a 5v5 game. In the mode MyTeam you are able to create a team of your choice and play challenges to get cards to build your team up more. You can also play against other people who have created teams or even choose three players from your team and play a 3v3 match against people who choose 3 people off of their team. In the mode PlayNow you  are able to choose any team in the NBA and play against either an AI or against a person who may be there in person with you or online. In MyLeague you can choose any NBA team and be the coach of the team where you play through a whole NBA season with that team and can make trades, sign players or cut players. In MyGm you can be a general manager of a team and make decisions based on the team needs to help improve the team to achieve the ultimate goal of winning a championship.

This image is of the NBA 2K23 loading screen and cover and this image comes from https://store.steampowered.com/app/1919590/NBA_2K23/

Issues

There are three main issues in 2K23 that need to be addressed and are mostly towards the MyCareer side of things. The first issue is defense. Defense in the game is not very great where the lateral quickness is slow and players cannot stay with other players no matter what their level of lateral quickness in the game is because of speed boosting. One minute you can be guarding someone and stay with them then the opposing person will make one move and speed right past you and there will be nothing you can do about it. The second issue is the adrenaline boost in the game for dribblers. When it comes to dribbling in real life most NBA players do not get tired really quickly or use an adrenaline boost to speed up their movements. This makes it hard to dribble effectively but most players try not to use their adrenaline and end up only needing to use one boost because the defense in the game is so bad. The last issue is the lack of diversity with builds in the game. You can play MyCareer in the park against other people and 9 times out of 10 you will see someone with the same build as you.

Strategy

To fix the issues that I have discussed above the developers can tune the defense to make sure the lateral quickness actually matches what the user player has. The other issue of adrenaline boost can just be completely removed from the game in my opinion. I find this to be completely inefficient and useless in the game. Most people who actually dribble barely even use the boost. The last problem that i have addressed which was the lack of diversity for builds can be where every build that you can create is very effective when playing against other people online. Additionally this is a hard fix because the people who make the game cannot tell people what player to make but, they can make it to where if someone chooses to build something and they want it to do a particular thing then it can do that thing whether that be just shooting, dunking, or locking people down. 

Encouragement

NBA 2K seems like it is improving every year and that the game is so far very enjoyable. Although many people do not play NBA 2K as much as they used to in the prior years. People still buy the game and play and have fun when playing. This year’s game has seen vast improvements on skill with shooting and dribbling. Other improvements include the realism of dribbling and a better looking MyCareer mode. There are some more things that need to be improved in the game such as defense and the adrenaline boost. All in all this game is still fun to play and is an improvement from last year’s game.           

Game Designer Analysis

Background

I contacted an individual in the gaming industry who has worked on projects such as Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Smite, Destiny 2, Stormland and currently working on Spider-Man 2 focusing on the gameplay AI’s . His name is Westley Waligora and he is a gameplay programmer who works for the gaming company Insomniac Games. As I have said before he has worked on games such as Destiny 2 and Spider-Man: Miles Morales which has influenced me to want to work for a video game company to make games. He worked on Spider-Man at Insomniac Games studio and worked on Destiny 2 for Vicarious Visions which is a small company in New York that helped Bungie with the production of the game. Westley Waligora went to college at Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester New York where he majored in Game Design and Development. He also minored in Computer Science and got an immersion in Psychology which if you do not know is half a minor. 

The game Westley is working on and this image comes from- https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Finsomniac.games%2F&psig=AOvVaw1Q63o5shoQQu9NfrpRYRe0&ust=1666645059630000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAwQjRxqFwoTCKiK6-ie9_oCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAU

Path to the Industry

Ever since Westley Waligora was as he said “a wee lad” has played video games or games and knew that that was something that he was very interested in doing in the future. He said he was sitting in the middle of his German class in high school and was talking to one of his friends and said “I got it. I want to be a quality assurance tester for games” where his friend told him that that idea does not sound very good. After Westley was told that he said “Fine I want to be a programmer for video games”. After He figured this out he found out that his school had offered two computer science courses where he took both and enjoyed them. This led him to wanting to go to college for it and began the college search for a decent college that provided the major that he wanted to go into. Rochester Institute of Technology was his first choice and got accepted with a little bit of struggle and got his degree from there. The first big gaming job that he got was a job his parents helped him get for a slot machine company. He ended up having a quality assurance running test on the slot machines. He hoped that could get more programming experience but did not because it was more of just testing the machines and was very boring. He ended up finishing the summer there and went back to school. His first actual job from a gaming company was from Hi Rez Studios which he got because his college program required you to get two internships before you graduated. He worked the summer of his Sophomore to Junior year of college as a programmer and learned that he knew very little and was not very good. After this he did not get another internship but after college got a job with a small company in Albany, New York called Vicarious Visions where he worked as a developer support engineer. After the contract of that job expired he found a job at Insomniac Games and has been working there ever since. 

The company that Westley is currently working for and this image comes from – https://insomniac.games/news/

Words of Wisdom for the Future

Westley Waligora had some words of wisdom for the future game developers who want to succeed in the industry. He said “experience is going to teach you a lot more than getting taught at school”. He said things like working on small and he meant very small game side projects or even doing game jams which he prefers helps also. He says “It’s not about what you know now which can be a little, a lot or nothing at all but, there is more that you don’t know or don’t realize”. He lastly said “ the people that you work with will very often help you out and teach you about things that you do not know.”  What he is basically saying is go out there and just do it and even as you face struggles always know that it is a learning process and you will learn something new almost every time you try to make a game.  

Persona 5 Analysis

Praise

Persona 5 is a really great game because all of the game elements are either solid or really really good which makes the game very enjoyable. For example, the challenge element of the game is really good and gets harder throughout the game. The challenge in the game is to go into each opponent’s palace to take their treasure which gets harder in each palace you go too because the opponents are stronger and the map of the palace is more complex. The play element in the game is really good as well because you can do various things throughout the game. For example, you can fight monsters in the palaces and outside the palaces you can go to the gym, movies, read a book and more. The premise of the game is great as well as you go into palaces to steal peoples treasure to “steal their hearts” and change them as a person from bad to good. The characters in this game are amazing as well because you can hang out with friends in your free time and learn more about everyone’s past and even help them out with a current situation. Finally, the story in this game is one of the best in the Persona series because throughout the whole story it kept you in suspense and wondering what was going to happen next as you played.   

Image is of one of the battles in Persona 5 and this image comes from: https://citrixnews.cz/category/persona-5-royal/

Overview

Persona 5 is a role-playing game that takes place in modern-day Tokyo and follows a high school student who is called Joker where he transfers to a new school after being falsely accused of assault and put on probation. In the early part of this game you discover an app on your phone which takes you inside this place called the metaverse. The metaverse has cognitive beings such as monsters called shadows, cognitive of yourself and cognitive version of the person’s palace you are in. You are also given a persona which is given to you to use to fight the shadows and leader of the palace. Throughout the game you are going through palaces fighting shadows and fighting the boss of the palace changing their hearts. In this game you can also hang out with your friends in your free time. You can also go to the movies, read a book, gym and to shops where you can get items like guns and healing potions. 

This shows you hanging out with one of your friends and this image comes from: https://www.rpgsite.net/feature/9382-persona-5-futaba-hermit-confidant-choices-romance-guide

Issues

Persona 5 does not have too many issues in my opinion but one issue which is really glaring is the final boss level. At this level I was unable to go to the store when I had to climb the tower to get the top outside of the mementos. This was an issue for me because it was the final and strongest boss in the game and barely had enough health potions to be able to beat the boss at the end of the game. One last issue is I wish I had more time in the game to engage with each character and learn more about everyone’s past.

Strategy

Player engagement in the game can be improved a bit more by first by making the game last a bit longer and making the time limit for when we have to steal the treasure longer. Another way to make the player engagement in the game a bit better is to make it so it is easier to max out the skill level of your player so you can interact with everyone quicker. There were times in the game where I could not continue learning about someone’s past unless I had the skills of charm or kindness for example up to a certain level. That can be a solution for that or even the solution above of where I say make the game last a bit longer. 

Encouragement

Persona 5 had a lot of things to like about. The story in this game was really good in my opinion because the mystery kept me interested and engaged. The challenge in the game again was really good where it was not too hard but it was not easy where you can just run through the game with a breeze. I loved the premise of the game where you are a character who is falsely accused and ends up becoming the savior of the world using persona’s. The character development in each character is really great and each character could have been the main character in the game if they would have chosen to. I really enjoyed this game and think it is one of the best Persona games in the whole entire series.       

NBA 2K Franchise

Praise

NBA 2k21 and NBA 2k22 current generation  were two very decent video games in their respective rights and have brought enjoyment to different fan bases. In NBA 2K21, this game had many great defensive mechanics and the shooting was not overpowered to where anyone with below a certain shooting overall can make jump shots. In NBA 2K21 this game in the MyCareer mode was played on a boardwalk which gave off beach vibes. In NBA 2K22 this game brought in a lot of new things that were good for the game  from what was in the previous game. For example, The shot meter in this game was bigger than the previous year. The shooting in the game was way easier and the dribbling was better.  This game in the MyCareer brought in seasons and levels that went to level 40 which is something similar to the battle pass in Fortnite. Lastly, this game in MyCareer was played on a yacht which during events would land on an island that would be hosting the event you can play at. 

This image shows the seasons of NBA 2K22 and comes from: https://nba.2k.com/2k22/courtside-report/nba-2k22-seasons-pre-launch

Overview

NBA 2K is a gaming franchise that started in 1999 when 2K1 came out with NBA superstar Allen Iverson on the cover. This franchise consists of only basketball games which have all 30 NBA teams in the game and even great teams for the past such as the team Micheal Jordan played on with the Chicago Bulls or the Lakers team that Magic Johnson has played on. NBA 2k21 is a basketball video game that has many different modes, most notably MyCareer and MYTEAM. NBA 2K22 has the same modes but the game is not the same because of the gameplay differences. 

This is the Logo of NBA 2K and this image comes from: https://support.xbox.com/en-US/help/games-apps/game-titles/NBA-2K

Issues

NBA 2K21 has many issues in the game which caused the game to become a little un fun too many. The first problem with the game was the shooting. Yes, I said that it was one of the praises but, the shooting in this game was very inconsistent. It did not matter if you had a rating of a 95 three pointer if you could not time your jumper to perfection every time you were going to miss your shot sometimes. Additionally to the shooting even if you times the shot perfectly you can still get a white and miss your shot which would enrage players. The next problem with this game is that slashers were too overpowered. People in this game with any type of slashing and finishing ability can just take an angle or do a spin dunk and will either get a contact dunk animation or will finish with a crazy layup animation almost every time. It did not matter if you had a defensive build guarding that person you will get dunked on. Lastly, the dribbling at one point in this game consisted of one move which was called the curry slide. If you do not know what the curry slide is, well it was a behind the back move that will get you open almost every play on defenders and most offensive players abused this move and got open almost every play. In 2k22 even though the game was seen as a big improvement from NBA 2K21, this game had its fair share of problems. For example, the new levels system was too easy and people were hitting level 40 within a week which made the game boring. Additionally to the new levels system, the rewards of when you hit level 40 were not very great all of the time and even if you hit level 40 in four different seasons the legend reward was much worse which was a pet parrot that sat on your shoulder and did not do anything for you. Another issue in this game was the dribbling again because people were now just spamming side to side and not actually forming dribbling combinations to get open. Lastly, the shooting was too easy. I know I said the shooting was one of the praises but, in this game anyone can make a shot consistently as long as you have a 69 three pointer and up and know your jump shot by heart. This caused people to make outrageous contested shots which enraged a lot of players. This game was seen as a major improvement from the prior year but, due to it becoming boring after the first week of every season people progressively stopped playing the game. 

This is an example of the Curry slide. This image comes from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zV6QN46YAdE&ab_channel=Bryzelo

Strategy

Improvements to the next game which I hope was implemented in 2K23 is to have better season rewards each season to keep people playing. Make leveling up take a little longer so people can stay playing the game and have the motivation to continue playing. Make the shooting in the game balanced so people who should be able to shoot make their shots every time and people who should not be able to shoot, possibly only hit shots occasionally or not at all. Lastly, I hope the next game can vastly improve the events and even bring some of the old ones back that they have had in prior years like court conqueror or ruffles. 

Encouragement

I loved the defense in 2K21 because it was more realistic besides people dunking on you. THe shooting in NBA 2k22 was a vast improvement from 2K21 that should be used moving forward but tuned down just a little bit. The NBA 2K franchise has been doing a great job with giving us something a little different every year and I hope that they continue in that direction. This is the only basketball game franchise that is existing so I want to see them go in the right direction rather than go downward because that would mean I would not be able to play a basketball game for the year. This franchise is trending in the right direction and I hope that they do not take a step back this year.   

Back to School Global Game Jame Review

Praise

This year’s back to school global game jam was a success in my opinion because me and my team were able to make a solid game with amazing artwork in it. This was my first game jam and I felt like I learned a lot and can use what I learned and apply it to the next one in January. The first thing I learned is that you have to stay positive throughout the whole process of making a video game and believe that it will happen. I also learned to be patient while trying to figure out how to code and make the code work the way I want it to in the game. This experience at the back to school game jam has given me a lot of knowledge and I feel as though this has given me a little bit of preparation for the future when I go on to work as a game developer.

Image of the cover image of the game we created.

Overview

The game jam that I participated in was the back to school game jam that was sponsored by photon and that was hosted by all the universities across the US. In this game jam you had 48 hours to make a game and submit it to itch.io where the judges can play and judge the game. The theme of this game jam was multiplayer because photon is a networking framework for realtime multiplayer games and applications with no punch through issues. At the end of the game jam when we finished our builds, we had to present it in front of everyone and even had volunteers to play test our game. We lastly had to submit a trailer for the game as well on youtube for the judges to see as well.

Image of the global game jam icon and this image comes from https://globalgamejam.org/media

Issues

The main issues that I had with the game jam that I was in was that we did not have any more time to make the game as solid as possible. The game me and my team created was a very solid game especially for only having 48 hours to do it but, I just would have liked more time to be able to add in more mechanics. Our main mechanic of the game which was magnetism was not able to be added to the game because we were just trying to get a playable build out so we can be judged. My last issue about this was GitHub. Github is not the best to use in a group project because you can have a lot of errors which me and my team experienced causing a little bit of a stoppage in work. Luckily we were able to overcome those shortcomings of GitHub but it took communication from everyone to know when things were being pushed into each branch. 

This is an image of GitHub and this image comes from https://medium.com/tiket-com/why-should-data-analyst-use-github-57442beedd41

Strategy

Improvements could have been made to the game jam by first maybe giving us a little bit more time instead of 48 hours because we teams are technically not using the full time because people need to rest up. Other improvements by us that we could have made is that we could have communicated a little bit better when it came to pushing and pulling changes from GitHub. Other improvements can be made such as not having us make a multiplayer game using something most people have not used or touched before or if we make it in a different way at least do not take points off. Lastly, knowing how to use GitHub better so we can not have a stoppage of work like we did.

Encouragement

This was my first time doing a game jam and overall the experience was a success. I loved the way that my team clicked and were able to quickly put something together. The funny thing about my team is that we were two different teams at one point and were combined together which worked out really well for us in the end. We all learned a lot through the experience such as staying positive and realizing that you will do it. We also learned the struggles of github but we know how to get through it now. This game jam has given us all experience and will help us all prepare for the future as game developers that is looking to work in the industry. 

 

Madden 23 Review

Praise

In Madden 23 this game has brought a lot of improvements from a very disappointing year in Madden 22. I would first start by talking about the gameplay where last year the gameplay was strictly for offense and there was absolutely no defense in the game and no skills gap. In this year’s game there is a new passing system where it has a meter that can dictate the passing accuracy and passing power which gives a skills gap into the game. Another improvement seen in this year’s Madden is the new cutting mechanic for runners where they can hard cut into holes smoother and not lose a lot of speed. The defense has seen a big improvement from last year where people are not putting up big numbers and defensive players react in their defensive assignments and pass rushing. For example, in zone coverages defensive players will stay and play in their respective zones better than than the prior years. Another example includes, flat zones actually jump to pick the pass off this year instead of standing there and watching their assignment catch the ball. Man to Man coverage has seen improvement as well where cornerbacks are not getting beat off the line every play if they press their man. Pass rushing has better animations this year and is better where you can see more defensive linemen get off their blockers more frequently. Quarterback containment is better this year too where opponents cannot run out of the pocket every play and run for a lot of yards. 

This image shows the new passing meter in the game and this image comes from https://www.operationsports.com/madden-nfl-23-skilled-based-passing-improved-defensive-coverage-breakdown-via-ericrayweather/

Overview

Madden 23 is a football video game that is composed of all 32 NFL teams with all of the players in the league on their respective teams that you use to go against CPU opponents, random online opponents or even your friends. This game has a variety of modes such as play now, face of the franchise, ultimate team, the yard, superstar KO and franchise. Play now is a mode where you can choose any team in the NFL and play against CPU opponents, a random online person or your friends. Face of the franchise is a story mode where you can be a quarterback, wide receiver, running back, linebacker and a cornerback playing through the story. Ultimate team is a mode where you build your own team by getting players that are cards from packs, auction house, trade block or challenges. The yard is a mode where you can create your own character and play a 7 on 7 football game with your friends, random people or by yourself against CPU opponents, your friends or random people. Superstar KO is a mode where you can draft a couple of great players on an already built team to play against other online opponents with your friends or even by yourself. Lastly, franchise is a mode where you can be a head coach, player or even a GM and go through multiple NFL seasons getting the most realistic experience of what is done during the season and even the off-season.

This image shows all the modes in madden and comes from: https://www.psu.com/reviews/madden-nfl-23-review-ps5/

Issues

In Madden 23 as there has been a lot of improvements to the game there are still some issues that are glaring. For example, in the face of the franchise  the story in this mode is rather boring and some of the features in the modes that made the game a bit more exciting are taken out like playing in high school and college. Another example includes the lack of customization in the game where you are very limited in customizing your player and also cannot make any custom teams, stadiums and uniforms. The offensive line has been an issue and has looked a little bit worse from the previous game where the linemen do not recognize blitzes and even let people walk in on a regular pass rush. Lastly, the commentary has been the same in the game for years now and is getting very boring where I feel as though they should add new commentators in the game or at least change the lines up in the script.

Strategy

Improvements for the game should start with better AI detection for the offensive linemen so that blitzes get picked up better and that they do not let someone run right past them. Other improvements include, as I said in the last paragraph, changing the script up for the commentary announcers in the game to make it more exciting to listen to. The face of the franchise can see a better story and can add more features such as playing in college again. Lastly, there should be more to the customization of a player feature such as more hairstyles and even adding a face scan feature like NBA 2k and NBA Live has done before.

Encouragement

Even with the glaring issues in the game, Madden 23 is still an improvement from the previous Madden 22 game. I really like how the gameplay is played a lot including the new passing system. The defense took a really big step this year which I am really proud of about the game. Man to man and zone coverage is played how it is supposed to be played where the players are more reactive now. Like I have said before, pass rushing saw a great improvement as well which I loved as in the previous game it was tough for pass rushers to get to the quarterback. Overall the game has seen great improvements and is on the right track for being a great football game. I can not wait to see what more fixes they will make over time.