Core Game Design Concepts

I’ve chosen to review Spider-Man PS4, produces Insomniac Games. My daughter recently purchased the game, and we have spent the last few nights playing it late into the early morning.  Not a good look for getting up the next day for work, but I have found this to be a remarkably well-organized game as far as its design and playability. I did more watching others play than actually playing myself.  The views of Manhattan are so realistic its as if you are actually flying over the city yourself with old Spidey. If you have ever been to New York, you can easily identify landmarks and look across the water to see New Jersey. The character’s appearance reminds of the movie Beowulf that was done in CGI (Computer-generated imagery) which was also used in parts of the Hobbit for Gollum, Star Wars for Yoda and the Hulk’s exaggerated muscles in The Hulk. The realism was unsurpassed in any CGI I have ever seen. As I know very little about other superhero games, this one captured me and drew me in as I observed my daughter and her friend manipulate the characters through fight scenes and interactions with other characters in the game. I even tried my hand at the controls.  The game system console made a remarkable visual impression with its bright red color with the Spiderman logo on top.The items I focused on, just because of what I have learned recently about games and their development, was the little items around Peter Parker's apartment; the way the street scenes appeared and how smooth the transition from flying through the city to having an active and aggressive fight scene. No stops just a smooth move from one aspect of the game scene to the next aspect of the game.
I’m sure as the game is viewed by more users they may find some weaknesses or disadvantages in how it was designed but as a newbie, I can’t see any. My daughter and her friend describe this game as raising the bar on all other video games, and even with my limited game experience I wholeheartedly agree. Check out reviews from such game reviewers as ScreenRant, IGN, and GamesRadar the commits where all strong and positive. The features of the game are amazing, and every character has their own motivations that are easily identified by the game player. Business Insider list five ways PlayStation 4’s Spider-Man games raise the bar for all other video games. (Smith, 2018)

1. Traversal feels the best it’s felt in any video game (movement throughout the city smooth and just plain fun).
2. “Spider-Man” for PlayStation 4 respects player’s time. Some of the features that they listed and I noted as well were:
   1. You can save and quit at any point in the game, even in the middle of a scene
   2. You can abandon any mission, or skip any cutscene, at any point
   3. You can change your suit at any time, even in the middle of a scene or fight (which I found so cool)
   4. Loading times are quick
   5. Navigating your menu is fast and easy to understand ( even a newbie would have no trouble understanding how things work)
   6. You can retry some missions for higher scores, or reload from past checkpoints if you mess up (As a newbie I found that feature very helpful, it lowered the frustration levels)
   7. The game provides plenty of fast travel checkpoints in case you don’t feel like swinging  (I always wanted to swing, for me, I could swing continuously through New York.) (Smith, 2018)
3. “Spider-Man” raises the bar for alternative costumes for your character. This aspect reminds me of the game of the Sims game, but I did not like the costume changing in this Role Play game.
4. The game constantly gives you new powers and tools so you can customize the way you play. (That I really enjoyed as you advanced through the game. I have other games that you can earn weapons and tools, but this was the best.  Again this is based on my very, very, limited experiences with games.)
5. The story is well-written and makes you care about the characters. (Since I love Spider-Man this aspect did not need to be in place since I love the characters, but it made you have compassion even for the villains. (Smith, 2018)

As I played the game, I felt as if I had found my flow as described by Csikszentmihalyi's Ted Talk. I could easily identify various conditions that he described that are conditions of flow, such as:

1. Step 1 Completely involved in what I was doing—totally focused and concentrated
2. Step 4 The feeling that the activity was doable and that my skills where adequate enough for the task (As a game newbie that was really a step in the right direction). The game developers had folks like me in mind when they created this game.
3. Step 6 Timelessness because I was thoroughly focused on the present, and the hours did get away from us.

After playing this game, I feel as I have found the game that would take up a lot of my allotted game time.  It was exciting and easy to play.  I had only limited frustration with the game itself my problem was getting familiar and comfortable with the game controls. But I feel that will definitely get better with time well spent. I can see games like this having an effect on student literacy skills as described in Harper’s articles about games and literacy. It was a fun read, but it was also loaded with food for thought.
It was easy for me to identify some of the system interactions in this game even with my limited knowledge of games. I had never heard of “Magic Circle” as it relates to  games, but only as it related to crocheting. The authors define the magic circle as it relates to games is where the game takes place. When you play a game, you are entering the “magic circle.” Salen and Zimmerman (2004) described it as a physical component of a game like the game board or the playing field. I definitely felt that way as I played Spider-Man PS4 almost, otherworldly as if I had been transported into in an alternate reality. I definitely felt a lusory attitude as I became more involved in the many ins and outs of the game.
Websites:
https://www.ign.com/articles/2018/09/04/marvels-spider-man-ps4-review
https://www.gamesradar.com/marvel-spider-man-ps4-review/
https://screenrant.com/spider-man-review-ps4-game/
References
Salen, K., & Zimmerman, E. (2004). Rules of play: Games design fundamentals. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Smith, D. (2018, September 6). The new Spider-Man game raises the bar for all other video games. Retrieved from Business Insider: https://www.businessinsider.com/spider-man-ps4-review-marvel-playstation-4-2018-9