Analysis of Reversi
Big Bang Reversi is just one of the casual games within the Big Bang Games collection, produced by Ian Lynch and Colin Lynch Smith, and copyrighted by Freeverse software. The collection is registered to Apple OEM (2.3.4), and trial versions are available at http://www.freeverse.com/games/game/?id=4015&view=goodies.
There are very few elements to the game: an eight-by-eight square grid and pieces for both players. In terms of inventory for each player, players simply have an abundant supply of their own pieces. The object of the game is for players to have more of their playing pieces on the grid by the time the board is filled and players accomplish this by turning their opponents’ pieces into their own by sandwiching the pieces of their opponents in between pieces that are theirs. Pieces of Player A may only be placed at the end of a row (horizontal, vertical or diagonal) of Player B’s pieces that have a piece of Player A’s at the other end. The functions of these pieces are only to transform the pieces of the opponent and to add another piece to play.
Players get to choose which side they would like to play on at the beginning of the game. The sides are distinguished by avatars (Sun White and Moon Black), which are unnecessary for game play, but increase the sense of competition. At the bottom of the window the score is shown and for emphasis the background of the interface adjusts to reflect the score. The following pictures demonstrate how the score determines whether day or night is depicted in the background:
Players cannot see their avatar during play so the character they choose is actually the character they see the least. This creates a first player perspective and simulates the feel of a live chess-type game in reality. Even more, the opposing character that a player would see comments on the events during the game and hurls insults audibly and in text that appears on the screen. These avatars are not meant to look like humans. They are a cartoon Greek god and goddess and are portrayed as complete opposites: White and bright like the day vs. Black and dark like night.
When a player places a piece on the grid, other players will change, but other than that there is no need for a storyboard. The grid will always be eight-by-eight and boxes on the grid with pieces in them will never become empty. Animation adds interest to the game in between turns and, again, the changing background draws emphasis to the score. The game offers no mechanism for saving progress, but a Reversi game only lasts five minutes in most cases.
The interface of the game is designed to make the game easy to learn, which is why the game does not automatically explain the rules to new players. Blue dots signify where a player may play a piece, and after observing the results of one turn a player should be able to understand the affect placing a piece on the grid has on the game. A player cannot place a piece where there is no blue dot so there is no opportunity for broken rules. The world of the game constrains players by the rules.
Reversi is an ideal casual casual game. It does not require a lot of attention or effort to learn or to play, but the opportunity to win with a higher score may attract more competitive players to play for long periods of time. The nature of this game has its strengths and its weaknesses. Arguably, its greatest strength is that the interface and restrictions that guide and limit the actions of the player cause the game to be easy to learn and play, which is an enjoyable part of the game experience. The downside to the simplicity of Reversi is that the game has a limit to how much it can engage a player and how long it can hold a player’s loyalty. Once the game has been exhausted, Reversi has nothing to offer. An option for Big Bang Games would be to create additional levels and to introduce other elements to the Reversi grid.
What other elements do you think could be included to the grid?
ReplyDeleteI think it would be interesting to see what would happen if walls were introduced to the game. The grid could expand walls could be used so that players would have to adjust their strategies.
ReplyDeleteIf the game could somehow become a points-based game (instead of measuring pieces on the grid) certain squares could also be worth more, like Scrabble.
Great job. ahah at first, i read your review on how to play the game and i was so confused an it seemed like a complicated game. But once i started playing with it, it's a lot easier to catch on. I think this is the case for a lot of casual games, explaining the rules with words make it seem a lot more complicated than it is. Hmm.. i wonder if there are any ways to explain our game on our actual game interface without having to explain it in a lot of words, perhaps a demo video? just a thought.
ReplyDelete