Game Analysis: T.A.B.S

Summary

  • The game I chose to analyze is call Totally Accurate Battle Simulator, or T.A.B.S for short

Game Play Analysis

Formal Elements
The Basics
Name of the gameT.A.B.S
The platformWindows
Time played (should be at least 30 minutes)30
If you could work on this game (change it), what would you change and why?The physic is not at all consistent if it is totally accurate than it need to be the same every time.
PlayersNOTES
How many players are supported?1
Does it need to be an exact number?Yes
How does this affect play?The game will be more fun if it’s two player playing against or with each other.
Some types of player frameworks:Single Player – like Solitare.Head-to-head – 1 vs. 1, Chess.PvE – Player vs. Environment, or multiple players vs. the game. Common in MMOs like World of Warcraft.One against Many – Single-player vs. multiple (obvy).Free-for-all – Every man for himself (1 vs. 1 vs. 1 vs. 1..). Most common for multiplayer games, from Monopoly to Modern Warfare.Individuals Against the System – Like Blackjack, where the Dealer is playing against multiple players, but those players have no effect on each other.Team Competition – Multiple vs. multiple, i.e. sports.Predator-prey – Players form a circle and everyone’s goal is to attack the player on their left and defend themselves from the player on their right.Five-pointed Star – Eliminate both players who are not on either side of you.
Objectives/GoalsNOTES
What are the players trying to do?Capture/destroy kill all enemy unit within budget.
Some common objectives include:Capture/Destroy – Eliminate all your opponents pieces (Chess).Territorial Acquisition – Control as much territory as you can, not necessarily harming other players (RISK).Collection – Collect a certain number of objects throughout the game (Pokemon).Solve – Solve a puzzle or crime (Clue).Chase/race/escape – Anything where you are running towards or away from something (playground game Tag).Spatial Alignment – Anything involving the positioning of elements (Tetris or Tic-Tac-Toe or that game at Cracker Barrel).Build – Advance your characters or build your resources to a certain point (The Sims).Negation of another goal – The game ends if you perform an act that is forbidden by the rules (Jenga or Twister).
Rules/MechanicsYou have a certain amount of money and you deploy unit in your budget. if you unit can win against enemy’s unit you move onto the next
There are three categories of (what the book Rules of Play calls) operational rules:Setup – the things you do at the beginning of a game.Progression of Play – what happens during the game.Resolution – How an outcome is determined based on the game state.
ControlsNOTES
What controls are used?left mouse deploy unit. right mouse delete unit.
Was there a clear introductory tutorial?No
Were they easy to understand or did you find yourself spamming the controller?It’s only have some controller
Resources & Resource ManagementNOTES
What kinds of resources do players control?Money.
How are they maintained during play?have a certain amount of money at the start of each stages and spend them by deploy unit, gain by delete deployed unit
What is their role?To dedploy unit
A resource is everything under the control of a single player. Could be the money in Monopoly or health in WoW. Other examples are:Territory in RISK The number of questions remaining in 20 Questions Objects picked up during videogames (guns, health packs, etc.)Time (game time, real-time, or both)Known information (like suspects in Clue)
Game StateNOTES
How much information in the game state is visible to the player?Total information
A snapshot of the game at a single point is the game state. The resources you have, the un-owned properties in Monopoly, your opponent’s Archery skill all count towards the game state. Some example information structures are:Total Information – Nothing is hidden, like Chess.Info per player – Your hand of cards is only visible to you.One player has privileged info – Like a Dungeon Master.The game hides info from all players – Like Clue, where no one knows the victory condition.Fog of War – In video games, where certain sections of the map are concealed if you do not have a unit in sight range of that area. You also cannot see other players’ screens, so each player is unaware of the other’s information.
SequencingNOTES
In what order do players take their actions?After you deploy your unit and pressed start the game will carry out automatically
How does play flow from one action to another?automaticlly
Some structures include:Turn-based – Standard board game technique.Turn-based with simultaneous play – where everyone takes their turn at the same time (like writing something down or putting a card down in War).Real-time – Actions happen as fast as players can make them. Action-based video games.Turn-based and time limits – You have this long to take your turn.
Player Interactiondirect conflict
Some examples:Direct Conflict – I attack you.Negotiation – If you support me here, I’ll help you there.Trading – I’ll give you this for that.Information Sharing – If you go there, I’m warning you, a trap will go off.
Theme & NarrativeNOTES
Does it have an actual story structure?No
Is it based on a historical event (or similar)?No
Does the theme or narrative help you know how to play?Yes
Does it have emotional impacts?No
Also, look for en media res (does it start in the middle of the game)?No
The Elements in MotionNOTES
How do the different elements interact?smoothly with each other but roughly with the physic simulation
What is the gameplay like?simple
Is it effective?Yes
Are there any points where the design choices break down?No
Design CritiqueNOTES
Why did the designer make these particular choices?I don’t know
Why this set of resources?I don’t know
What if they made different decisions?I don’t know
Does the design break down at any point?No
Graphics & SoundNOTES
Does the game art pair well with the mechanics?Yes
Did you find any bugs or glitches?No
What about sound?It’s chaotic with every unit fight each other
Can you spot any technical shortcuts?No
Various Stages of the GameNOTES
To wrap up, some things to keep in mind (as if there aren’t enough already) as you play:Even if you got the same unit placing in the same place, going up against the same enemy the result will still change so if you are so close to winning run the simulation over and over a few time you may win
What challenges do you face, and how do you overcome them?Each unit have a different weakness and strengths, it’s not easy to find the troops that is perfect to take them down. Overcome by using all troops and run the simulation in my head and see how it would go
Is the game fair?Yes
Is it replayable? Are there multiple paths to victory or optional rules that can change the experience?Yes. There is multiple way to win in the same match.
What is the intended audience?5+
What is the core, the one thing you do over and over, and is it fun?Find the combination for different troops.

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