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Annotated Bibliography

Finji. (2009). Canabalt [Mobile game]. Grand Rapids, MI: Last Chance Media, LLC.

Game Title: Canabalt

Genre: Endless Runner

Target Demographic: 9+

Monetization Strategy: Paid App

The setting of Canabalt is a 2D grayscale city that is beset by an ongoing invasion of presumably alien origin. The player is placed in control of a desperate human that must run and jump across as many rooftops as possible in a futile effort to escape. Due to the fact the character runs automatically, the player need only be concerned with the jump input, which is simply a tap on the screen. The length of the character’s jump depends on the duration of the tap, so learning to control the jump variability is vital towards navigating the semi-randomly generated rooftops and obstacles. The gameplay is frenetic, so an average attempt is unlikely to last for more than a few minutes.

The strength of this game is undeniable, which is its ability to convey a strong atmosphere. The game’s atmosphere is likely what makes it standout to a gaming audience that is inundated with other endless runner options. However, this game is certainly not without shortcomings. One issue with the game’s design is the blind jumps the player must occasionally perform. This becomes an issue with player agency when the character plummets to their death at no fault of the player.

The second design issue is regarding the lackluster player retention system. After having played approximately 45 minutes, I had easily gotten all the achievements. At that point, what reason is there to keep playing? You could go back and reply a level, but there is no discernable positive reinforcement for such an action. The level will be largely the same, there are no rewards, and even if you beat your previous high score, there isn’t a notification.

Despite the game’s flaws, it was an enjoyable and worthwhile play experience. I am confident that I have seen everything the game has to offer, so I have no plans of ever returning to this game. Moving forward, I will strive to create an atmosphere in my capstone project that is just as palpable as this game.

Simogo. (2014). Device 6 [Mobile game]. Malmӧ, Sweden: Simogo AB.

Game Title: Device 6

Genre: Puzzle / Text-Adventure

Target Demographic/Player Type: 12+

Monetization Strategy: Paid App

The story of Device 6 is given from the perspective of Anna, who is traveling through very peculiar places. In addition to the trails of text, the story is given through audio and parallaxing photos. Most of the game is spent searching for clues that are hidden through the text, audio, and pictures. The mechanics of the player includes swiping to guide the player along the paths of text, tilting the screen to change directions, and interacting with pictures. The best description I could come up with for the game aesthetic is mystery entwined with science fiction and the humorous bizarre. In total, the game consists of six chapters that would likely take me a total of two hours to complete.

I thoroughly enjoyed the game, but there are a few issues. The most significant issue that I found was the amount of backtracking that can be required for completing certain puzzles. This process can be quite time consuming, especially if you don’t immediately understand the available clues. My personal issue with backtracking is the potential for making players nauseous. When I played the first level it required a great deal of backtracking. Unfortunately, this required excessive rotation of the screen, which made me feel quite sick.

I played a total of approximately 45 minutes, which allowed me to complete the first three chapters. Should time allow, I would certainly like to go back and finish the game. If I were to take one thing from this game for my capstone project it would be the highly effective use of sound effects to convey emotion and narrative changes.

1337 Game Design AB. (2012). Devil’s Attorney [Mobile game]. Gothenburg, Sweden: 1337 Game Design AB.

Game Title: Devil’s Attorney

Genre: Turn-Based Strategy

Target Demographic/Player Type: 12+

Monetization Strategy: Paid App

Devil’s Attorney is the equivalent of a classic courtroom battle, between prosecutors and defendants, that has been molded into a turn-based strategy. The actual mechanics are fairly typical for the genre, but they are themed in a unique manner. The narrative revolves around an unscrupulous defense attorney who will stop at nothing to win cases and insult the other side. He epitomizes the stereotypical young male lawyer with malleable morals, quick quips, greased hair, and a nonchalant personality.

One of the game’s best qualities is its humor. The witty pre-trail banter between the defense and prosecutor is a vital part in making each case seem fresh. Otherwise, the player would likely begin to feel an uncomfortable sensation of sameness between each trial. Combined with the turn-based gameplay, it helps create a player experience that feels light, humorous, and yet challenging enough to keep the player engaged.

One issue I had with the game was how it set up its highest difficulty. In the majority of situation, the player just needs to make the wisest decisions at every step. However, there are certain levels that can only be won through a move that is highly variable in damage and thus reliant on luck.

In total, I played this game for approximately 90 minutes. I don’t have any intention of playing more because I was able to fully experience the gameplay and reward structures. There may not be much room for humor in my capstone project, but it would be nice to have something humorous to reward the player.

BitMonster. (2013). Lili [Mobile game]. Raleigh, NC: BitMonster, Inc.

Game Title: Lili

Genre: Adventure

Target Demographic/Player Type: 12+

Monetization Strategy: Paid App

The story of Lili revolves around a young college student named Lili who travels to the island of Geos in search of magical flowers in support of her thesis. While in search of these flowers she discovers they grow from spirits that terrorize the island. Naturally, Lili embarks on a quest to defeat all of the spirits and collect their magic flowers. This brings us to one of the main mechanics of the game, which is to defeat spirits by ripping out flowers from their backs. Before this can happen though, the player must be able to jump on the back of a spirit. This can be accomplished by simply chasing down the spirits or by sneaking up on them. The collected flowers can then be used at stores to upgrade the ability of the character to perform these various tasks. Th actual player input includes tapping to control speed, swiping to turn the character, clicking to interact, and dragging to pull flowers.

I was quite upset by the game’s heavy reliance on invisible walls. What made the use of invisible wall even worse was the extreme inconsistency in their placement. Instead of simply having unexplainable barriers, it would be highly preferable to have area rationally inaccessible through means of debris, terrain, and fences, rather.

Another area that left me questioning some of the game’s design principle was the tutorial. The player is made to go through a strange process of preforming an action and then having the character’s position and rotation reset. It would be more immersive if they simply started the player in a larger area where they would be able to experiment with everything that is needed.

I played the game for just over an hour, which was enough to get me into a new section of the map. I have no plans to continue playing this game because the storyline really doesn’t peak my interest and it is not very challenging. Even on the hardcore difficulty, I had no issue getting the max rating on every spirit that I battled. I have very limited time to play games, so I must be very discerning. Challenge is a very important aspect when choosing what games I play, so this game certainly doesn’t make the cut.

Andreas Illiger. (2016). Tiny Wings [Mobile game]. (n.p.): Andreas Illiger.

Game Title: Tiny Wings

Genre: Arcade

Target Demographic/Player Type: 4+

Monetization Strategy: Paid App

The narrative of this game is based around birds that love flying, but their wings are too short, so they must use the momentum from the hilly landscape in order to achieve flight. The major mechanic

One of the best feeling in the game is when you make a series of perfect launches, which are reinforced through visual and audio feedback. However, there are times when a perfect launch can be detrimental to the player. One such case is when launching from sharply angled hills, which cause the bird’s trajectory to follow a sharp angle off of the clouds, rather than a curve. This angle will generally result in the player shooting straight into the ground, which is a very jarring experience.

The other major issue I had was the game’s combination of blind jumps and water traps. Where use of blind jumps and water. Blind jumps severely limit the player’s ability to plan ahead and instead promotes mastery by simple repetition. Water traps further feed into the game’s heavy positive reinforcement feedback loop. Each success is met with continued success. Whereas mistakes can compound depending on the map. When these two things are combined you have the potential to harshly punish the player at no fault of their own.

In total, I played this game for approximately 40 minutes. I have no plans to return to the game because it is too simplistic for my tastes. One of the cleverest tricks the designer employed was the use of small particles, moving in the opposite direction of the player, in order to give the player an enhanced sense of speed. Tricks such as this are certainly something that I would consider using in my own capstone projects.

5TH Cell. (2017). Run Roo Run [Mobile game]. Bellevue, WA: 5TH Cell Media LLC.

Game Title: Run Roo Run

Genre: Platformer

Target Demographic/Player Type: 4+

Monetization Strategy: Paid App with In-App Purchases

Run Roo Run is a platformer game that places the player in control of an adult kangaroo that is trying to rescue a small blue kangaroo. In order to do so, the kangaroo must journey across 4000 miles of dangerous land in Australia. The primary mechanic of the game is the ability to jump, which is achieved by tapping the screen. Once the player taps once, the kangaroo automatically moves to the right of the screen. Each level is very short, often capable of being completed in about three seconds.

This game appears to be primarily for small children, as the main levels are quite easy. Whereas the I suspect the extreme levels are there to garner adult engagement, which would hopefully lead to bonding with their child and an eventual purchase. For an audience of children, the game introduces new elements into the game at a great pace. The player is allowed as many as 15 levels to practice something before they are introduced to a new mechanic. The instructions for each mechanic are always concise and clear through an effective combination of text and visuals.

Due to the easy nature of this game, I was looking forward to playing through the extreme levels, but I was sorely disappointed. My disappointment stems from its reliance on frame perfect jumping. Rather than feeling like an increased challenge, I instead felt aggravated because from my perspective I was doing the same thing over and over again until it just happened to work. I don’t necessarily think it is a fault of the designers, rather it is a result of the space they are constrained to. Each level is always the same distance from the green start flag to the checkered end flag. This limited space means that designers can only fit a fixed number of objects within each level. Additionally, the objects in the extreme levels are limited to the objects the player has been introduced to. Therefore, the only viable option to provide a more challenging experience is to further condense the levels, which results in the need to perform nearly frame perfect jumps by the player.

I was forced to stop playing on 12-2 because of a technical issue. On my device, the level is smaller than the width of the screen. This causes the bird to spawn outside of the level at a distance that doesn’t allow the player to jump on its head.

I played Run Roo Run for about 35 minutes, which allowed me to get the maximum rating on the first 11 chapters, with the exclusion of some extreme levels. I might return to this game in the future if I wanted to show a child how to play a platforming game. In regards to my capstone project, I would like to teach my game mechanics to new players just as clearly as this game did its mechanics.

Disney. (2016). Where’s My Water? [Mobile game]. Burbank, CA: Disney Electronic Content, Inc.

Game Title: Where’s My Water?

Genre: Puzzle

Target Demographic/Player Type: 4+

Monetization Strategy: Paid App with In-App Purchases

The general story of this game is about a friendly alligator named Swampy whose primary desire in life is taking baths. As Swampy’s water pipe is constantly broken, the player is tasked with getting fresh water into Swampy’s pipe. The only ability of the player is digging dirt by dragging their finger across the screen. The player can use this ability to route the freshwater around various obstacles and into Swampy’s tub. Each level can generally be completed within a minute of play.

Despite clearly being targeted to a younger audience, the rate of progression in the game is reasonably paced and the puzzles still require critical thinking. This was one of the few children’s games that I found any pleasure in playing. I attribute this quality of audience versatility to the presence of optional challenges. These optional challenges include a time bonus, duck bonus, and overflow bonus. The time bonus is simply a measure of how quickly a player can beat a puzzle. The duck bonus depends on the number of ducks the player is able to collect in a level. The overflow bonus is awarded when the player gets excess water into Swampy’s tub. Getting the best score in each of these categories can be surprisingly challenging and enjoyable.

The only issue I found with the game’s design was the occasional absence of an automatic restart condition, which is triggered when there is not enough water left to fill Swamp’s bath. Originally, I rationalized this absence by considering that perhaps the young players would respond better if they chose to restart on their own volition, rather than being forcibly restarted. However, it turned out they did in fact make use of automatic restarts and in some cases, they punished the player by giving them a sad animation of Swampy. The designers had simply forgotten to account for all cases.

I played this game for roughly 35 minutes, which allowed me to beat the initial 20 levels and unlock the second section. While I won’t be returning to this game for enjoyment, I would consider returning to study how the designers created emotional attachment to their characters. The ability to create near instant emotional attachments, such as the one I felt towards Swampy, is a powerful tool I would like to use in my capstone project.

Vlambeer. (2017). Ridiculous Fishing – A Tale of Redemption [Mobile game]. Utrecht, Netherlands: Vlambeer.

Game Title: Ridiculous Fishing - A Tale of Redemption

Genre: Arcade

Target Demographic/Player Type: 12+

Monetization Strategy: Paid App

This game’s narrative is about Billy the fisherman. While he may be called a fisherman in the game, his actual goal is to kill as many sea creatures as possible. The first step towards this slaughter is dropping his fishing line as deep in the water as possible. The player taps the water to begin the initial drop and then is tasked with steering the hook around fish by tilting the phone. As soon as the line hits the bottom, reaches its limit, or hits a creature, the line start reeling back up to the surface. On the way back to the surface, the player attempts to get as many creatures stuck on the hook as possible by tilting the phone to aim. Once the hook reaches the surface, the fish are automatically cast into the air. The player then shoots and kills as many of the fish as possible to tapping on the screen. The length of this process varies greatly throughout the game, but it generally only lasts a few minutes.

One of this game’s strongest qualities is its reward structure There are two primary types of rewards the player can earn. The first type of reward is additional fishing spots. Unlocking new fishing spots gives the player access to new types of fish and greater fishing depths. The second type of reward is items the player can purchase at the fishing shop. The shop offers items to make fishing easier, add new mechanics, increase reel length, and modify Billy’s appearance.

Another strong quality of the game is in its background audio, which marks the transition between gameplay phases. Prior to fishing, there is a windy and mysterious track that makes the player question what may be below the surface. When dropping the line, a calm adventurous song is played that gradually changes as the player reaches new depths. When reeling the line, the soundtrack becomes more upbeat to help the player prepare for the fast action ahead. Finally, when shooting the fish, the music becomes more somber.

I played the game for a little over 30 minutes and was able to make it to the third area. The absurdity of the game was initially enticing, but it quickly grew stale and repetitive. As a result, I don’t have any interest in continuing to play the game. The only thing that I would carry forward from this game is the changing of background music to help differentiate phases of gameplay.

Deceased Pixel. (2016). Super Mega Worm [Mobile game]. (n.p.): Deceased Pixel, LLC.

Game Title: Super Mega Worm

Genre: Arcade

Target Demographic/Player Type: 12+

Monetization Strategy: Paid App with In-App Purchases

This violent arcade game places the player in control of a wyrm that is prophesized to cleanse the entire world of humanity. The main mechanics in the game revolve around the wyrm’s health bar. The bar constantly depletes due to hunger, so the player must frequently consume flesh to restore the bar. The also reduces whenever the wyrm is attacked by military units that become increasingly powerful with each passing level. While fighting against the military, the player must have the wyrm consume a certain number of humans in order to progress to the next level.

One of the first problems I had with the game was its control interface. It was clear that the game had been designed with a classic console controller in mind, rather than tailored to a mobile device. I was able to use the digital controller just fine, but I could never shake the feeling that the game would feel significantly better on a different platform.

Excluding theme and looking at the game from a strictly mechanical perspective, I thought it was well executed. The movement and control of the wyrm was extremely fluid and everything went together towards making the player truly embrace the role of an ultimate destructive being. However, when considering the game as a whole, it is simply an exploration into mindless and violent destruction with very little challenge. I began to lose interest in the game the moment that you were required to consume a mother that is pushing a baby carriage. Perhaps it was for shock value, but I really didn’t understand the allure of that design choice.

I played the game for a little under 30 minutes, which allowed by to reach the 20th level. At that point, I had grown quite weary of the unnecessarily long levels that boasted nothing but prolonged violence. I have absolutely no interest in continuing to play this game. My takeaway from this game is that I will certainly not be using a digital controller, as it detracts from the sense that the game was made specifically for a mobile device. A game should feel natural to the device it is played on.

Ubisoft. (2015). Rayman Fiesta Run [Mobile game]. Rennes, France: Ubisoft.

Game Title: Rayman Fiesta Run

Genre: Platformer

Target Demographic/Player Type: 4+

Monetization Strategy: Paid App with In-App Purchases

From the limited time that I played this highly-polished platformer, it has been challenging to understand the narrative. The main character Rayman, along with other player characters, is on a journey to free creatures called teensies. The number of teensies the player frees in each level depends on the number of “Lums” they can collect. For reasons unknown, this journey takes places in a world primarily composed of sweet foods and festive music. As far as player inputs are concerned, there are only two main abilities of the player. The player can make their character jump by tapping one side of the screen and hit by pressing the other side. Each level that makes up the start of the game can ordinarily be completed in about a minute.

The first praiseworthy design quality is how the game handles instructing new players. The only explicit instruction they give in the first level is that you can jump by tapping on the screen. Everything else is up to the player to discover. The level is arranged in such a way that the player can’t progress until they discover various different uses of their jump ability. With no presence of threat nor chance of failure, the player learns how to collect lums, that water can be jumped into and out of, how to wall-jump, swing, and launch from limes. At the end of the level, the player is shown a nice visual that clearly show the relationship between collected lums and rescuing teensies.

I made sure to play enough of the game to unlock the punch, but I stopped shortly after once I had played for 30 minutes. Even with the introduction of the punch, this game was relatively easy compared to my skill level, so it is unlikely that I will ever return to this game. One thing that I would like to take from this game is its effective display of numeric information in the form of a representative visual. Finding interesting and novel ways to display the data of my capstone project would certainly be worthwhile to keep people from being overwhelmed with pure numbers.  

Hemisphere Games. (2017). Osmos [Mobile game]. Nelson, Canada: Hemisphere Games Inc.

Game Title: Osmos

Genre: Physics-Based

Target Demographic/Player Type: 4+

Monetization Strategy: Paid App

There is a slight hint of narrative in the game, which indicates that the player is in control of a blue mote that is always seeking to grow by absorbing smaller astrological bodies and enemy organisms. The base mechanic that makes up the entire game is the process of absorption, which occurs when two bodies collide. The mass of the smaller body is absorbed into the larger body. While never referred to as organisms, the enemies display behaviors that are akin to those exhibited by intelligent organism. These behaviors include aggression, avoidance, and disruption. In order to properly utilize the mechanic of absorption, the player is able to expel mass to propel their mote in a desired direction or orbit.

The vast emergent gameplay that this game offers is certainly one of its strongest qualities. Utilizing only a few types of enemies, two types of maps, and a random assortment of astronomical bodies, there are near limitless combinations of interesting scenarios that can be created. This emergent gameplay is further aided by the ratio of operative actions to resultant actions. Consider the player’s ability to expel mass. This one action can be used to move the player, keep enemies away, store mass, influence the absorption between bodies, and change the movement path of other bodies.

In total, I played for about 45 minutes, which was enough to complete the first two chapters of the Odyssey mode. This was by far my favorite game to play out of this entire bibliography, so I certainly intend to keep playing this game when I get the chance. The emergent gameplay of this game is something that I would like to capture in my own capstone project. This quality is critical considering the limited time I will have for development.

Popcannibal. (2012). Girls Like Robots [Mobile game]. Atlanta, GA: Adult Swim.

Game Title: Girls Like Robots

Genre: Puzzle

Target Demographic/Player Type: 4+

Monetization Strategy: Paid App