2. 8 Reverse Engineering and Professional Reviews

3. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Explain intellectual property as it relates to video game development. Analyze various aspects of a game, such as rules, gameplay, and longevity of design. Describe techniques used by the video game industry to analyze games.

4. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Determine if a game has met its design objectives. Conduct a critical review of a video game. Analyze game environments. Compare the plot, interactivity, and reward system of commercial video games.

5. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Reverse Engineering Deconstructing an existing game Find out how it works Understand the USP of competition Leads to copycat game designcopycat game Competition may design a substitute productsubstitute product

6. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Reverse Engineering A copycat game may not be made by a competing company

7. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Reverse Engineering Reverse engineering Spiko interactions: IF Spiko collides with a coin, THEN destroy the coin AND add 10 points to player score

8. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Copycat Games Reverse-engineered games have similar characters and characteristics Cannot use the same character Copyrighted character design Mario is copyrighted by Nintendo Mario cannot be used by other companies Permission needed from Nintendo to reuse Nintendo can use Mario however it wants

9. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Copycat Games Similar gameplay Gameplay cannot be copyrighted Game programming code is copyrighted Substitute product to the original Satisfies the same need or want Entertains in the same way Does not need to be a copycat game; may just be in the same genre

10. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Copycat Feature Think about one of your favorite games What substitute games have been made that have similar gameplay? What copycat games have similar characters?

11. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Copyright Legal protection Intellectual property is protectedIntellectual property Cannot use without permission Games protected by copyright Characters are copyrighted Game code is copyrighted Burning a DVD or disc copy is illegal

12. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Copyright Intellectual property, such as games and videos, are protected by copyrights

13. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Why Copyright? Games are expensive to produce Developmental costs Marketing costs Copyright protects the company’s investment By protecting the company, copyright also protects employee jobs

14. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Why Copyright? Copyrights protect game manufacturers

15. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Copyright Violations Pay fines Pay damages Amount the company lost due to your actions Pay attorney fees Pay punitive damages Extra amount to punish Jail time

16. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Copy Protection Copy protection prevents unauthorized copiesCopy protection Unusual disc size Unique disc format Embedded copy-resistant code Online activation codes Software key

17. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Copy Protection Software keys are a common form of copy protection for games

18. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Game Evaluation Performed by critics and userscritics Determination of effectiveness of game elements Summary of key game elements Informs consumers so they can make a purchasing decisionconsumers

19. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Critics Critics are not reverse engineers

20. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Critics Have high knowledge of games and gaming Understand differences in games Know about new technologies Can identify USPs of games

21. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Game Evaluation Evaluations may be unbiased or may contain biasunbiasedbias Bias is an intentional slant on evaluation of key elements Positive bias Negative bias

22. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Positive Bias Overstated positive key features Understated negative key features Examples: Manufacture’s website Review on game cover

23. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Negative Bias Overstated negative key features Understated positive key features Examples: Competitor’s website TV commercial comparison by competitor Blog by unhappy former employee

24. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Unbiased Not influenced by outside opinions Properly weighs positive and negative key elements

25. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Key Game Elements for Evaluation Quality of rules User interface Navigation Performance Gameplay Artistry Longevity of design Player interactions Plot Reward

26. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Quality of Rules How well the rules are explained and enforced Will the player understand: Game purpose What they are supposed to do How to overcome obstacles Game objectives Fan sites often have walkthroughs to helpwalkthroughs

27. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. User Interface The way in which the player interacts with the game world Easy-to-handle game input Intuitive controls

28. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Navigation How the player moves in the game world Can player move well through each level? Can player see obstacles in time to avoid them? Game needs reasonable checkpointscheckpoints

29. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Navigation Inset maps are used to help players navigate a level

30. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Performance How well the game operates on the intended game system Does the game play smoothly? Is the game glitchy? Do graphics move properly? Does avatar move as expected? Does avatar move without lag or delay?

31. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Gameplay What the user experiences in the game Is concept well developed? Does the character have the necessary movements to overcome the challenges? Can the player win? Is the game challenging? Do players want to replay? Why do players want to replay?

32. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Artistry Visual appeal and design of the game Colors contrast and complement well Mood and theme are appropriate Setting and background are appropriate Characters and avatar are visually appealing

33. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Artistry This poorly designed game art shows flaws when the player moves

34. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Longevity in Design and Structure How long the game will be sellable Can the game be made into a series? Will there be a long-term market? Are there many substitute games? Does the game use new technologies? Is the game seasonal or a fad? Is the game a substitute product?

35. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Player Interactions What the player is doing Do the player interactions fit the theme? What interactions are required (shooting, jumping, battling, conversational, etc.)? Is a linear sequence needed?linear sequence What interactions are expected in sequence?

36. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Player Interactions Many games feature a linear sequence

37. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Plot The main storyline of the game Do player actions fit the game story? Is there a well-developed backstory?backstory Do we care about the characters? Is the story fully told during the game? Does the storyline add to immersion?

38. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Reward Something positive provided to the player for completing a task Is adequate reward given for each risk? Do high-risk moves provide higher reward? Are rewards unique? Are tasks trivial or meaningless? Are rewards linear to allow the player to overcome a final challenge?

39. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Summarizing the Evaluation Five-star rating system

40. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Summarizing the Evaluation Point-rating system Summarizes evaluation into a single number Scoring a 5 is a perfect score User reviews Game players post feeling about a game Unbiased review

41. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Summarizing the Evaluation User reviews can be a source of very valuable unbiased information

42. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. What is intellectual property? Something original from someone’s mind or intellect

43. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. What are the ten key game elements that must be evaluated? Quality of rules, user interface, navigation, performance, gameplay, artistry, longevity in design and structure, player interactions, plot, and reward system

44. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. What type of system is typically used by critics to indicate their evaluation of a game? A star-rating system; the five-star rating system is most common.

45. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. If the player needs documentation or a walkthough just to figure out what is supposed to be done, which game element has not met its objective? The quality of rules.

46. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. If you are to conduct an unbiased review, what must you do? You must remain neutral, not providing either positive or negative bias in the review.

47. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. What are four components of good gameplay? Well-developed concept, a character with the necessary movements to overcome challenges, a challenging game, and significant replay value

48. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. How should the player’s rewards compare to the risk taken? Low-risk task should receive low rewards, while high-risk tasks should receive high rewards.

49. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Backstory History of why and how the protagonist or main player is in the situation. Bias Opinion overemphasizing either the positive or negative attributes. Checkpoints Place in a game level where the player receives additional time or other resources or the location where a respawned avatar is placed in a game level.

50. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Consumers End user or final link in the supply chain; purchaser of goods and services. Copy protection Method used to prevent unauthorized copying of a game. Copycat game Has gameplay similar to another game already on the market. Critics Evaluate a game to provide a summary and opinion of the key elements of the game.

51. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Five-star rating system Visual rating system for the key elements of a game. Intellectual property Product that is an original creation. Linear sequence Story is presented in a straight line whereby the player must complete objectives or levels in a set order. Negative bias Opinion that emphasizes negative attributes.

52. © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Substitute product Game designed to play and entertain in the same way as another game. Unbiased Opinion that fairly evaluates both negative and positive attributes. User reviews Comments about a game from a game player. Walkthroughs Instructions on what needs to be done to complete a game or level.