Written Assignment #2: Zork/Myst/GTA III: San Andreas
Zork: The first thing that you notice when you begin to play Zork is its lack of graphics. The game begins with the user standing in an open field west of a white house, with a boarded front door. Already you are positioned in some unbeknownst environment. What country are we in? What time of day is it? Who am I with? These questions don't really matter because the game immediately targets on the individual user's curiosity and intrigue. Since Zork is a text-based game, the only way to know where you are is to read where the game tells you that you are. For example, "North of house", "Forest path", "Kitchen", etc. To begin to explore your newly found environment, simply type commands like "Go North" or "Go South." After each command you type, the game will tell you where your new position is and what is around. Since the game runs from the command prompt all of the previous locations and actions remain in the console, simply scroll up to see where you have been and what you have done. Space was traversed in this game by creating a giant grid-like environment. You can move from grid to grid by typing movement commands, and once you arrive in a new grid there's usually choices for you to make. Whether to pick up objects, open mailboxes, open doors, drink water, and other things of this nature. The game does an excellent job of giving the user choices to make. Each choice you make affects the rest of the game, for example, if you're carrying too many objects then you won't be able to pick up a weapon and defend yourself from a troll. This game does a great job of getting people to use their imaginations.
Myst: Myst is a game of transient lands and lonely exploration. The graphics in this game are very detailed, especially for its time (1994). The "worlds" that are seen in Myst are magical and mysterious and beg to be explored. The eerie music heightens the atmosphere, and so does the feeling of being lonely. Interestingly, the game consists of many still landscapes that can be traversed by the user with a compass-like fashion. I would have to say that Myst is Zork's graphical companion. The game begins with the user on a first-person journey discovering a mysterious book. By opening the book the player is immersed in a world of fantasy with an equally mysterious environment. Myst is a mouse-driven game with a small, pointing hand cursor for navigation that changes shape to an open hand for operating objects. There is no inventory, as you don't need to collect more than one item at a time. Another interesting point about this game is that there are no other characters in the game to assist you on your journey. The only resources for you are a small library, a few scattered notes, and an assortment of mechanical devices. Your goal is to operate these devices so that you can be transported to yet more fascinating places than where you came from. Myst is the type of game appreciated by gamers who enjoy quiet, serene, and self-discovering. Space in Myst is organized by the "sequence" of still images, where each image dictates the user's "movement" through the game.
GTA III: Grand Theft Auto III: San Andreas was released for the PlayStation2 console in the Fall of 2004 and was hailed as one of the greatest PS2 titles of all time. One of the reasons for this claim has to do with the vast improvement of features. The biggest of these features being the actual playable environment--how much stuff is there to explore? As opposed to its predecessor, GTAIII: Vice City, San Andreas feels like ten Vice City games crammed into one ultimate game. In addition to the size of the environment increasing, the user is now able to navigate the skies, with the aide of helicopters, planes, and hang gliders. With amazing new features like this, it's no wonder San Andreas feels like one of the most enormous environments ever seen in a video game. The game is divided into three subdivisions of San Andreas, and they are: Los Santos, San Fierro, and Las Venturas. This style of subdivisions has been seen in the GTA line ever since the original bird's-eye view Grand Theft Auto was released in October of 1997. A convenient almost GPS-like map is located on the bottom right-hand corner of the screen and makes it very easy to get around the massive city. Movement of your character, Carl Johnson, is pretty much limited to walking, running, jumping, driving, swimming, flying, etc. The options of movement are actually very broad and add a unique flavor to the game. It's quite easy in fact, to walk up to any car, throw the driver out and onto the street, and drive off like nothing happened. This is basically the mentality that the game creates in its players right from the beginning. I mean why walk the streets of San Andreas when it's easier to drive? The actions (missions) in the game are given to you in the form of jobs by different people. You have to start on the bottom of the totem pole and work your way up to the top. If you screw up a mission or piss off the wrong people, then it just makes it harder for you to do well. The game as a whole is amazing and can easily be played for hours and hours at a time, that's just the way the game was meant to be played.