This simple assignment begins the process. For this week, we had to blog about our favorite electronic game, using the following structure below.
My Favorite Game: It is not my favorite game but this is what comes to my mind when I think of PC games. I have not played much PC games as I have been very active outdoors (played all sorts of games that could be imagined) and liked playing in the field, much more than just playing indoors. However I have played Need for Speed during my Engineering and that too because of peer pressure. That is when I realized that games on computers can be as or more interesting than outdoor games. I have played Need for Speed Underground and seem to like it more than some of the other games that I have played online and on PC.
Platform: Mac or PC or game console.
Description: Need For Speed is a racing game. You begin by choosing a car. You have a lot of options and you can compare the cars under different categories from horsepower to cost peak speed, ease of maneuvering etc. You can also choose cars of different companies. Sometimes you need to have enough money to choose a car, which you need to earn by winning the game with other cars.
After you have chosen a car, you can choose a track. The tracks are from different locations and have different levels of difficulty. Once a track is fixed, you get to choose the number of opponents. You can play against the computer or multiple players can play it on LAN. You can choose to increase the difficulty of the game by adding or reducing traffic on the road. Once the race begins, you are marked on your driving abilities. Correct drifts and drags will give you more points. More points will allow you to buy parts for the car. Maximum points are earned when you win the race. You can choose to play the game as a Single race, Knockout or Tournament. Different modes will have different rules and different levels of difficulty. The realistic graphics and motions give you a feel of a real race.
Player Objective: Your aim is to complete all levels by winning all the races. With every level, the difficulty of the race increases and thus you master them by honing your driving skills. You can choose to spice up each race with more added challenges and rules. Especially when you play it on LAN, you can frame your own rules which the game might not be having. Final goal is to defeat others and win the race in the least amount of time. You can actually just race against time and still improve your driving skills.
Challenge: The challenges are many. You not only race against opponents but also against time (analogy from real life). You race under various conditions. Sometimes wet roads and at other times the slope and curve of the road proposes challenge. Just getting the most powerful car will not solve the problem. Which car is suited under what condition and mix and match of these features would actually let you win a race.
Forms of Fun: The act of winning, achieving is in itself fun. Racing in simulated environment that matches the real world makes it more enjoyable. Competition and challenges along with analytical ability to choose a correct car for correct situation is challenging. Visual perception and matching your speed along with the banking of the roads is also fun. Finally learning from the mistakes and continually improving to defeat opponents is my definition of fun.
Get Serious: The game can be tactfully changed by introducing engineering mechanics and highway planning into it. To begin with we can educate the drivers about the banking of roads. At what speed you need to travel so as to prevent the toppling of cars at the curves. The angle of elevation can be explained through this. “Toppling effect” could be taught. The concept of speed and distance could be introduced wherein the racers not just make visual perceptions but can calculate the speed that they need to maintain at a particular situation. Management and Ecommerce skills (something similar to decision making on Ebay and other E com Sites ) can be inbuilt into it while choosing cars so that they make informed decisions. On a later level even concepts of liquid propulsion and internal combustion within an engine can be introduced. Even jet propulsion and higher level automobile engineering can be taught if we can achieve a balance between fun and learning.
