Game Analysis: Code Vein

Summary

  • I choose this game because of the nice story telling and game play. It’s a jrpg that’s on xbox and playstation.

Game Play Analysis

Formal Elements
The Basics
Name of the gameCode Vein
The platformPlayed on Xbox One, but is also on Playstation4
Time played (should be at least 30 minutes)2+ hours
If you could work on this game (change it), what would you change and why?I would probably add more types of weapons because there is a limited amount of them but that would be to add more customization.
PlayersNOTES
How many players are supported?1
Does it need to be an exact number?Yes it does
How does this affect play?It gives a more intimate story telling experience.
Some types of player frameworks:Single Player – like Solitare.Head-to-head – 1 vs. 1, Chess.PvE – Player vs. Environment, or multiple players vs. the game. Common in MMOs like World of Warcraft.One against Many – Single-player vs. multiple (obvy).Free-for-all – Every man for himself (1 vs. 1 vs. 1 vs. 1..). Most common for multiplayer games, from Monopoly to Modern Warfare.Individuals Against the System – Like Blackjack, where the Dealer is playing against multiple players, but those players have no effect on each other.Team Competition – Multiple vs. multiple, i.e. sports.Predator-prey – Players form a circle and everyone’s goal is to attack the player on their left and defend themselves from the player on their right.Five-pointed Star – Eliminate both players who are not on either side of you.
Objectives/GoalsNOTES
What are the players trying to do?They are trying to find information about the world and things going on to help people and to do that they have to solve puzzles and defeat monsters.
Some common objectives include:Capture/Destroy – Eliminate all your opponents pieces (Chess).Territorial Acquisition – Control as much territory as you can, not necessarily harming other players (RISK).Collection – Collect a certain number of objects throughout the game (Pokemon).Solve – Solve a puzzle or crime (Clue).Chase/race/escape – Anything where you are running towards or away from something (playground game Tag).Spatial Alignment – Anything involving the positioning of elements (Tetris or Tic-Tac-Toe or that game at Cracker Barrel).Build – Advance your characters or build your resources to a certain point (The Sims).Negation of another goal – The game ends if you perform an act that is forbidden by the rules (Jenga or Twister).
Rules/MechanicsDuring Setup you create your character and what they look like and then you go through the beginning prologue which also acts as a tutorial. Through the progression of play you level up gain new and more powerful gear, and gain new abilities. Opening up new areas and fighting new monsters. As I haven’t finished the game I don’t know it’s ending but at the completion of missions and objectives you gain resources and the like but if you die you lose all the experience used to level up and you respawn but you still have a chance to gain them back by going back to where you died and picking them up but if you die again before picking them up you lose them forever.
There are three categories of (what the book Rules of Play calls) operational rules:Setup – the things you do at the beginning of a game.Progression of Play – what happens during the game.Resolution – How an outcome is determined based on the game state.
ControlsNOTES
What controls are used?All but the big xbox button on the controller. These allow you to jump, walk, run, dodge, attack, block, use abilities, use items, open your inventory, equip new gear, use items, switch abilities, and pause the game, switch settings and such.
Was there a clear introductory tutorial?Yes it’s at the beginning of the game and is part of the prologue it teaches everything you will need to know to play the game.
Were they easy to understand or did you find yourself spamming the controller?They were easy to understand but since the controls were simple there was a lot of spamming to continue to attack or dodge or use abilities.
Resources & Resource ManagementNOTES
What kinds of resources do players control?The player controls health and skill points, money, upgrade points, and gear
How are they maintained during play?Health is maintained by either taking damage or healing one takes away the other gives back, skill points are maintained by using them to use abilities and then gain them back by waiting or using items. Money is maintained by killing enemies, finding it around the world, earning it by completing missions and objectives and you lose it by spending it on items. You gain upgrade points by killing enemies, finding them around the world, and gaining them from missions and objectives and you use them to level up and gain new abilities and level them up. Gear is gained by killing enemies and finding them around the world, and also from completing certain missions and objectives, after gaining them you can either keep them and use them or sell them for money and other resources.
What is their role?Their role is to give you a possible “lose condition” as well as to give you rewards for doing well and to give you motivation for going around and doing everything.
A resource is everything under the control of a single player. Could be the money in Monopoly or health in WoW. Other examples are:Territory in RISK The number of questions remaining in 20 Questions Objects picked up during videogames (guns, health packs, etc.)Time (game time, real-time, or both)Known information (like suspects in Clue)
Game StateNOTES
How much information in the game state is visible to the player?You know just about all your information and there is a fog of war for areas you haven’t been to yet.
A snapshot of the game at a single point is the game state. The resources you have, the un-owned properties in Monopoly, your opponent’s Archery skill all count towards the game state. Some example information structures are:Total Information – Nothing is hidden, like Chess.Info per player – Your hand of cards is only visible to you.One player has privileged info – Like a Dungeon Master.The game hides info from all players – Like Clue, where no one knows the victory condition.Fog of War – In video games, where certain sections of the map are concealed if you do not have a unit in sight range of that area. You also cannot see other players’ screens, so each player is unaware of the other’s information.
SequencingNOTES
In what order do players take their actions?The game is a real-time battle game so you take your turn as soon as you press a button but the enemies will be making their turns too.
How does play flow from one action to another?Pretty smoothly but for the most part you can’t do something until you have finished with the previous action, there is a little bit of a hesitation before it will do something.
Some structures include:Turn-based – Standard board game technique.Turn-based with simultaneous play – where everyone takes their turn at the same time (like writing something down or putting a card down in War).Real-time – Actions happen as fast as players can make them. Action-based video games.Turn-based and time limits – You have this long to take your turn.
Player InteractionFor the most part you attack monsters and they attack back, but you can trade with certain friendly NPC’s as well as gain new and more information.
Some examples:Direct Conflict – I attack you.Negotiation – If you support me here, I’ll help you there.Trading – I’ll give you this for that.Information Sharing – If you go there, I’m warning you, a trap will go off.
Theme & NarrativeNOTES
Does it have an actual story structure?Yes it does, it for the most part is very linear as you are playing the story but there is a function in the game where you can see memories of the past to gain more information and story.
Is it based on a historical event (or similar)?No it’s not based on a historical event as it is post-apocalyptic where a section of an area got sealed off from the rest of the world with what characters call the red fog.
Does the theme or narrative help you know how to play?You get notifications about what can be done and stuff like that but over all to know how to play you should go through the tutorial at the beginning of the game.
Does it have emotional impacts?Yes, and no there are definitely emotional impacts but I don’t know how effective they would be to others.
Also, look for en media res (does it start in the middle of the game)?No, as the game is about trying to find out how everything happened and how to make things better for the people stuck in the area.
The Elements in MotionNOTES
How do the different elements interact?When an enemy hits you, you lose a certain amount of Health, when you use an ability you lose a certain amount of skill points.
What is the gameplay like?Gameplay is paced well I would say if you watch the enemies and figure out their patterns its then all about rinse and repeat.
Is it effective?I would say for it yes it is effective it is a souls-like game but not at the same time.
Are there any points where the design choices break down?Not that I could find but I may just be inexperienced and not have seen them.
Design CritiqueNOTES
Why did the designer make these particular choices?I think that the designer made these choices because it fit what they wanted for the game and also because it fit the theme and might pull people into the game to play it.
Why this set of resources?Probably because it fit the style of the game and had chances of pulling in lots of people to play the game.
What if they made different decisions?If they made different decisions it could feel very different and have a different theme which would change how the story impacts players as well as the characters.
Does the design break down at any point?Not that I could find but I may not have seen any points of break down.
Graphics & SoundNOTES
Does the game art pair well with the mechanics?I feel that they pair well it fits the theme and the setting though the art may not fit some peoples preferences and likes.
Did you find any bugs or glitches?Not that I could find but as I haven’t done everything there is to do in the game I just may not have found them.
What about sound?The sound fits really well with the game and gives it a really foreboding and serious feel.
Can you spot any technical shortcuts?I couldn’t find any technical shortcuts, but I haven’t played the entire game yet to find any.
Various Stages of the GameNOTES
To wrap up, some things to keep in mind (as if there aren’t enough already) as you play:
What challenges do you face, and how do you overcome them?You face difficult enemies, puzzles, having to gain upgrade points and leveling up, but to get past the enemies you may have to learn their patterns and use that to defeat them, the puzzles you have to find hints and clues to complete them, and upgrade points are gained by completing the other things stated.
Is the game fair?For the most part yes, it’s meant to be a bit difficult and if you aren’t up for it then it may seem unfair.
Is it replayable? Are there multiple paths to victory or optional rules that can change the experience?I would say it’s not very replayable but you could play it again and choose a different set of abilities to use the next time.
What is the intended audience?JRPG lovers, anime lovers, and age range of roughly young adults to mid twenties.
What is the core, the one thing you do over and over, and is it fun?Fight enemies, I find it fun because of the different enemies and different weapons and abilities that can be used to defeat them.

This analysis form was adapted from https://notlaura.com/a-template-for-analyzing-game-design/

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