assignment 1

the story

The story is quite simple: the main character is the cricket Zapper and the other important figure is his brother Zipper who is kidnapped while the two were playing (in fact, Zapper was using Zipper as a television antenna). The last important figure is the thief Maggie the Magpie who kidnapped Zipper.

Zapper loves his brother and is now on his way to rescue him.

This plot is introduced through a short video sequence before the opening mission.

the genre

Zapper is a 3D version of the classic game Frogger. Hence, the game relies on hand/eye coordination and the player needs good reaction speed.

Even if the game concept is based on Frogger, the realisation is quite different. In contrast to Frogger Zapper can "zap" which adds a new dimension to the game because the player is not restricted to avoid enemy contact but he or she can also attack. Hence, Zapper has got a more active role than Frogger.

playing the game

The player takes on the role of Zapper in third person view. Gameplay is laid out in a grid so that Zapper can jump to the left, right, front and back but cannot move diagonally which takes a while to get used to. Apart from normal jumping Zapper can do "super jumps" which means jumping twice the distance or twice the height of a regular jump. To eliminate or stun enemies and gain access to the power-ups and treasures of the levels, Zapper can "zap" with his antennas.

Players can chose two different game modes. By Choosing "Story Mode" the player is put at the start of six worlds and 18 Levels. The levels are relatively short lasting about ten to fifteen minutes at most but involve a variety of enemies and obstacles to pass.

Zappers way in each level is straight on, collecting the eggs Maggie left behind. Six eggs are needed to enter the next level. Apart from collecting the eggs and finding secret rooms, there are no mental challenges in the game.

In the early stages, Zapper runs across a few helpful pads where he can stop and get a quick gameplay tips from other insect friends.

Zapper is told how to perform a double-jump, how to "zap" and that freeing fireflies by pouncing on their spherical prisons which allow them to summon their assistance at key points for a bigger "zap".

The "Arcade Mode" lets players go back and play levels that they have completed in the Story Mode, so that they can try to gain better times or set new records by choosing: time trial, ghost, or collect-the-fireflies.

the design

The game design is probably the best thing of this game. The environments are colourful and well represented in the spirit of this game's cartoon nature. The special effects such as Zapper's electrified antenna are pulled off nicely. Each level varies in appearance.

Even if the design is very nice sometimes the player will see some polygon edges at some figures which could definitely be better smoothed.

The music has mostly a happy character and the sounds fit well into the game concept but after some while both, music and sounds become bothering.

Due to the design of the game, the target audience are kids. Some adults, who remember Frogger, might want to play Zapper because of nostalgic feelings but I think they will be disappointed. In fact Frogger was based on the principle of doing fast movements at the right time. Compared to this, Zapper is not as simple as Frogger. Zapper's movements are too complex and there are a lot of other things to do in each level.

my opinion

The game is really funny even it is very simple. The environment is nice and reminds you of "a bug's life". The characters in the game vary in appearance and behaviour which makes the game interesting and motivates the player to continue playing.

But the nice and funny appearance of the characters also bears risks and the player will loose several lifes because of the fact that the he or she does not know exactly who of the other figures are friends or enemies.

Unfortunately sometimes the game is a little bit annoying. For instance, if Zapper wants to "zap" enemies he will have to face the insects which means that you have to turn in the right direction and then "zap" the enemy or obstacle. Using the arrow key would let jump the cricket towards the enemy which sometimes could mean losing a life because of direct contact.

Hence, sometimes the game gets tedious when the player has to control Zapper in complex areas like jumping over rivers or running through a crowd of demonstrating animals.

Some ethical values are implicit promoted by the game story and also by Zapper's tasks. The reason for Zapper to find and free his brother is of course brotherly love. But apart from this, Zapper can free flies during the game who will help him later. This shows that the game promotes fairness and cooperativeness.

In contrast to those values Zapper has to crush the eggs which Maggie left behind which includes some kind of punishment for "bad people".

Playing the game with two players would be interesting and perhaps more funny but due to the control problem (mentioned above) also more difficult.

So, my concluding remark is that this game is funny but not so exciting that the players want to spend more than one day playing.