One of my favorite parts of being a video game design student is getting to play games for homework. This week, my assignment was to play Donkey Kong, the Game Boy title from 1994.

Usually, my main focus while playing a new game is the fun factor. An academic setting can really help to break me out of my narrow point of view and see a game in a new way. While playing Donkey Kong, I was supposed to look for design elements and good ideas to inspire a class game project.

What strikes me most about Donkey Kong was the simplicity of the levels. Many levels were entirely visible from the start – making for easy strategizing. It reminded me of the simple mazes I used to have in travel fun activity books, but better. This maze involved a couple of stops and active enemies to avoid.

The foes in Donkey Kong were refreshingly different from the 3D platformer enemies I’ve grown accustomed to defeating. Some enemies can be easily avoided, but their heads can be used as platforms to jump to a higher level. Other enemies wouldn’t kill you outright upon contact with them, but they could knock you off ledges and be a general nuisance. These annoying enemies didn’t have complex A.I. behavior, but the level design was sophisticated enough to make them a formidable obstacle.

I had a hard time getting past the first level in Donkey Kong. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m very bad at Mario games, so it should come as no surprise that I had trouble controlling Mario in Donkey Kong. This game is much older than games I normally play, and the control scheme was much more simple. Instead of worrying about all the angles to make a jump, timing was most often the most important factor. I found myself climbing up the broken ladders, sure that I was out of the deathy barrels’ range, only to discover that the collision was slightly less accurate than newer games and I would soon be dead.

I hold no grudge against Donkey Kong. In fact, I really admire all the creativity in the level design and the simplicity in the puzzles. It’s great to see a game that focused on design before graphics and made the most of the limitations of its time. While this game may not be fun for someone like me accustomed to modern mechanics, I still find it an admirable classic.  

Today in class we had the chance to play some old games. I got a chance to check out Real Myst, Doom, Quake, and Castle Wolfenstein. I rarely take the time to try out the older games, and it was fun to go “out of the box” a little – I’m used to my happy children’s games and RPGs.

Real Myst was probably the game I played for the least amount of time. I was playing with a friend, and both of us had grown frustrated by the puzzles of the original games. I had the advantage of a strategy guide, but I quit before playing five hours simply because I felt so lonely in the first Myst. After discussing the exciting ability to move more fluidly through the world in Real Myst, I was excited. However, as soon as I encountered the first puzzle, I decided that I had seen enough of the pretty graphics and wanted to move on. The Myst series appeals to a very select audience, especially in this age (with more variety in games). I think it takes a very patient person, and many people in my generation simply aren’t used to waiting around to appreciate the beauty of a game.

Castle Wolfenstein was not what I expected. When I first heard the game, I thought it would be an 2-D platformer/adventure game, not a shooter. I played it for a short period of time, in which I was confused by the number of identical doors and the limited mise-en-scene. I had little idea of what to do (other than shooting) and shooting didn’t interest me much. After I had seen some of the Germans, I decided that I had the general idea and moved on.

Quake and Doom helped me realize once and for all why I never play FPS games. I was playing Quake and I died in almost no time, even on easy mode. I simply am not motivated to run around in the dark and kill things. I always seemed to be running low on armor, which made it even worse. I felt like I was on suicide missions. I am also very jumpy. I thought I was doing okay when I was playing Doom. I had worked out a strategy where I would strafe behind newly opened doorways so I could scout out enemies and scan the area. If I ran around shooting at the slightest hint of movement, I seemed to eliminate most enemies. The dated soundtrack and growling sounds didn’t seem to bother me too much. After hearing an irregularly large number of growling sounds, I assumed that there could be a monster nearby. I spun around in the dark and saw nothing. Then, I suddenly realized that I was being harmed and screamed aloud in terror as a pixilated monstrosity appeared out of nowhere. Seeing as I was wearing headphones at the time, my classmates all turned to look. My friend, who was watching, stated that it was probably best that I didn’t play FPS games. I think he’s right.

While I do appreciate returning to some of the classic games, it is very clear to me why gamers often stick to genres they love. My friend, who had played many shooting games, picked up the controls easily and found the game design easy to navigate. Many genres, like FPS, RPG, or racing games have similar strategies that experienced players can master. I think I will still devote most of my time to the genres I most enjoy, since it’s much more comfortable, creating a more enjoyable experience.