Investigation

1. What makes a “good” game enjoyable to play?
There are many good games but not all are enjoyable to play. This is partly based on the person’s interest. It plays a major role in supporting what type of game you would like to play. For example, I might prefer Platform style games while my brother prefers Shooting type games, even if both games are well-made. Another aspect that makes a “good” game enjoyable to play is its level of difficulty and struggle. The level of difficulty should start at about 5/10. If the game is too easy or too hard at the beginning, the player looses his/her interests, which is not really favorable by the game maker. Towards the end of the game or in some parts, the level of difficult should increase so that the player can have a challenge. Other aspect could be the originality. The player should find the game original with an interesting and new concept. He/she should be able cling to its concept when they play it the first time. Lastly, the game should have one or a couple of “climaxes”. This is where the player has to go past a point which is challenging. You have to do something extra to attain victory. In conclusion, there are many things that affect the enjoyableness of a “good” game and most of them are listed above. Only one of them could affect the enjoyableness or all of them could affect the enjoyableness.

2. What makes a “bad” game not enjoyable to play?
A “bad” game is a game that is not enjoyable, interesting or/and fun to play. One thing that mainly affects the player’s choice in picking between Platform style and Shooting type games is his/her preference. If there interest is in Platform style games, then they would dislike Shooting type games. It could be called a “bad” game according to them. Some main aspects that affect a player’s choice, if we ignore preference for a while, could be the level of difficulty, originality and the number of climaxes. The level of difficulty shouldn’t be too easy or too hard at the beginning. If the game is too easy for the gamer, he/she might continue to play the game but if they don’t find challenges, they might not like to play it. Same goes with a hard game. If the game is too hard for the gamer, he/she might play it but if there character keeps loosing, why would they continue to play it? Therefore, the difficulty should be just right for the gamer. Originality also plays a role in affecting the enjoyableness. If the game is not original or it doesn’t consist of a new concept, the gamer might find it boring because they have played a similar game before. So, the game maker should be careful about the concept. There should be a number of climaxes to give the player a chance to go past their skills and try to attain something. There shouldn’t be too many or too less climaxes. Also, the climaxes shouldn’t be repetitive. There should be new and different climaxes each time they come across it. These are some aspects that make a “bad” game not enjoyable to play. Only one of them could affect the enjoyableness or all of them could affect the enjoyableness.

****Age and the theme is one of the major affecters of the enjoyableness. The age and theme should match. For example, you wouldn’t want a 5 year old child playing violent games. ****