GAMES STUDIES _ EXERCISE 1&2

 

• STARTING DATE       :  23/4/25

• ENDING  DATE          :   3/6/25
• STARTING WEEK      :    1

• ENDING WEEK          :    7

• NAME                         :    LIANG LIWEN

• ID NUMBER               :    0369625

• MODULE NAME        :    BACHELOR OF DESIGN CREATIVE MEDIA

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  Table of Contents 

1. Instruction 

2. Exercise 1 

3. Exercise 2 

4. Reflections

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 Instruction 

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EXERCISE 1

My favourite video game/table top game & what makes this game playful

Introduction to 《Plants vs. Zombies》

Plants vs. Zombies is a tower defense video game. Players deploy various plants to defend against waves of zombie attacks on their homes. The game features various gameplay modes such as adventure mode, mini-games, and puzzle mode, each offering unique challenges.

Character design

• Plant Camp: There are a rich variety of plants, each with its own unique abilities. For example, the Pea shooter is a basic attack plant that can shoot peas. The cherry bomb can explode to eliminate multiple zombies within its range. A variety of plants allow players to try different combinations and explore the most effective defense strategies.

• Zombie Camp: The types of zombies are also diverse, ranging from slow-moving ordinary zombies to pole zombies that can jump over obstacles. Each type of zombie has its unique behavioral patterns and weaknesses, adding a sense of surprise to the game and requiring players to constantly adjust their defense strategies.

Gameplay

• Tower defense mechanism: The core gameplay involves placing plants at strategic positions to defend against zombies. Players need to consider the plant's range, attack speed, and cost (with sunlight as the game currency). For instance, placing a nut wall in front of vulnerable attacking plants can protect them from being gnawed by zombies.

• Resource Management: Sunlight is generated by sunflowers. Players need to manage resources carefully, deciding when to consume sunlight to deploy new plants for defense and when to accumulate sunlight to exchange for more powerful plants. This resource management adds decision-making complexity to the game.

what makes this game playful？

I think surprises and random elements make this game fun

• Random zombie waves: The composition of zombie waves is not entirely predictable. Sometimes, rare and powerful zombies will suddenly appear, forcing players to quickly adjust their defenses. This sense of surprise keeps the game exciting and prevents the process from becoming rigid.

• Special Items and bonuses: Occasionally, lawn mowers (capable of urgently eliminating entire rows of zombies) or items that enhance the abilities of plants will randomly appear, bringing a turning point to difficult levels and increasing the excitement of the game.

Exercise 2: Non-digital to digital - Evolution and remediating this game (from tabletop to video game)

1. Suppose the board game version

a. Game components

• Game board: Simulate the player's lawn and house, dividing them into grids (similar to the layout in video games).

• Plant Cards: Each plant card is marked with attack power, range, and cost (calculated in Sunlight tokens). For instance, the Pea Shooter card might indicate that it can directly attack a zombie per turn, consume 1 Sunshine token, and has a durability of 3 (capable of withstanding 3 zombie attacks).

• Zombie Cards: Different zombie cards have different movement speeds, abilities and durability. Ordinary zombie cards may be set to move 1 square per turn, have an attack power of 1 (able to eat 1 plant per turn), and a durability of 2.

• Sunshine Tokens: As the currency for "purchasing" plant cards, they are generated at the beginning of each round from Sunflower cards (similar to the Sunshine system in video games).

b. Gameplay

• Initial Arrangement: Players place starting plants (such as a few sunflowers and pea shooters) on the chessboard. After shuffling the cards, they place the first batch of zombie cards at the starting point of the zombie path.

• Turn-based process: During the player's turn, they can generate Sunshine tokens (if there are sunflower cards), play plant cards (consume sunshine), and move animals and plants (if any). Then the zombie moved one square towards the house, and the plants along the path launched an attack. The battle is settled by comparing the attack power of plants and the durability of zombies.

• Winning and losing conditions: The player wins if they successfully fend off all zombie waves and protect their house. If zombies arrive at the house or the player runs out of plants and sunlight tokens and is unable to defend, it will fail.

2. The evolution towards video games

a. Advantages of digital improvement

• Enhanced visuals and animations: In the electronic version, plants and zombies "come alive" through smooth animations. For instance, the animation of Pea Shooter shooting peas is more dynamic, and the zombie movement is more flexible and diverse than the static images of board game cards.

• Automation mechanism: Video games can automatically handle the cumbersome calculations in board games. Sunlight is automatically generated at fixed intervals, and plant attacks do not require manual dice rolling or card comparison, which speeds up the game pace and lowers the entry threshold.

• Dynamic sound effects and music: Digital technology supports rich sound effect design. The music can change dynamically according to the game scene (such as becoming more tense when a large wave of zombies attack), and the sound effects are also more immersive (such as the sound of zombies gnawing through the nut wall).

b. New functions brought by digitalization

• Level progression and unlocking system: Video games can be designed with structured adventure modes, featuring multiple levels. After players clear a level, they unlock new plants, zombies and game modes, which brings a sense of achievement and long-term appeal, something that is difficult to achieve in board games with fixed components.

• Online multiplayer and community features: The electronic version of Plants vs. Zombies supports both online cooperative defense and competitive "zombie attack" modes. It also allows players to build communities to share custom levels, strategies, and mods, expanding the replay value and social interaction dimensions.

• Dynamic difficulty adjustment: The game can automatically adjust the difficulty of each level based on the player's performance. If the player suffers setbacks, the number of zombies will be reduced or the supply of sunlight will be increased. If the performance is excellent, powerful zombies will be increased or the generation of sunlight will be reduced. This adaptability ensures that players of different levels can remain engaged.

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Reflections

These two practices on Plants vs. Zombies have taught me to re-examine the game from a more analytical perspective. In Exercise 1, the analysis of the game's fun made me understand that a successful game design needs to closely combine the core gameplay with the emotional experience. For example, "Plants vs. Zombies" enhances players' emotional resonance through core mechanisms such as resource management and strategic layout, combined with humorous characters and sound effects. Exercise 2 demonstrates the evolution logic from board games to video games. Digitalization not only optimizes the operation experience but also expands the playability of the games through functions such as automated computing and dynamic difficulty adjustment.

These exercises have brought a lot of inspiration to my final project. I will draw on the analytical framework of "pain points - opportunity points", combine the needs of the target users, and rationally utilize digital technology to enhance the depth and social attributes of the gameplay, ensuring that the gameplay design, technical implementation and players' emotional needs match, so that the work is both strategic and interesting.