okay, so Blogger wouldn't let me post another video for some reason so here's the link to my second video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQlA0zHhlEo
3) I’ve always had a fondness for architecture and urban planning, in fact, I was at one point considering taking Environmental Design at OCAD. I’m also a very urban oriented person as I was born, raised and have come to like Toronto and similar metropolitan areas. I’ve always been interested in the concept of Sim City as a city building simulator and two years ago I received "Sim City 4" as a Christmas present. Everything from the concept to the packaging to the graphics attracted and still attracts me to the game. Because the game is designed to work with internet downloads, it made me last year (as nerdy as it may sound) join a fan website called http://www.simtropolis.com where I can communicate with other fans of the game as well as download buildings, check out profiles, city journals and much more.
4) -Trustworthy: The game is considered trustworthy mostly because of how it’s a game that has been well marketed and created by EA Games, a professional, large and well known gaming company. The name “Sim City” is also famous and people tend to put their trust in things they’ve heard about as mentally we think that if we’ve heard about something it must work and be trusted. Large online fan websites work in a similar fashion. As because of their size, people will put their trust in them. Also, these sites tend to have moderators that guarantee the site works properly, that downloads function and will not damage the game or your computer and guarantee safe online chat.
-Appropriate: The game is appropriate to modern cultures in the developed world as because of the Industrial Revolution in the past, we are a very urban dwelled society and are used to city environments. Because of online communities with downloadable material, one can download buildings that match the architectural style of their urban environment. For example, a person living in Paris can download a large array of old French style buildings, while someone living in Dubai can download many ultra modern buildings to match their city. The game also mirrors power distances (three social classes), the collectivism of a city community and has the ability to easily fix mistakes for a culture with a high uncertainty avoidance.
-Smart: This is actually not a simple game and after a few years of playing it I still struggle sometimes during game play. The game will not prevent, but help players to not make mistakes, work harder than necessary or do things they have trouble with. To help beginners there are a number of tutorials that can assist players with everything from getting started to laying out good mass transit systems. The game also has multiple playing levels from easy to medium to hard to keep the game as simple or as challenging according to the player’s understanding and experience with the game. Fan sites also have tutorials and information and well as sections where users can ask questions to advanced players to help their understanding.
-Responsiveness: This is the only section where there tend to be problems. Because computer software tends to always have technical glitches and bugs, the game doesn’t always respond well to commands during game play. Usually, when a key is pressed or the cursor clicks an on-screen button, the game responds right away, but there can be delays lasting over a second that may cause the viewer to think there is a problem. The game also has a tendency to crash or freeze. Those two problems are common discussions on fan sites and there is a demand on EA Games to fix certain bugs.
-Clever: The cleverest feature to the game that creates positive emotions is the organization of on-screen buttons. These buttons are categories that group things up from roads to parks to government services and so on that are needed to properly develop and maintain a city. Also, the fact that the game was created to work with internet downloads allows the player to customize their gaming experience and get more out of the game creating positive emotions.
-Ludic: Well, considering it’s a video game, it’s very playful. The game allows users to experiment with different downloads, options and what ever else the game offers before one starts to seriously play the game. Because of the save options, players can have a little fun with the disaster options, which allows things such as tornados to wipe out their city and experience the sort of excitement one may find in a thriller or action film. If a player wishes to, they may save their city, then destroy it with a disaster, and then simply restart the game without saving the destroyed city so that when the game starts again, they’re back to their original city with no damage to it. The user’s play doesn’t trap them or have serious consequences.
-Pleasurable: A player will receive pleasure from “Sim City 4” in multiple ways. The graphics are aesthetically pleasing as they are realistic and support the simulation aspect of the game. The game also functions fairly well as it has many options to customize and add to he game play with the help of websites which are also pleasurable to the user. However, the only thing that wouldn’t create good emotions would be the responsiveness issues such as freezing and crashing. I know my self the amount of frustration that comes with software problems, especially when data is lost or damaged.
5) Two elements of the design process that I would love to participate in would include the graphics design element. I would love to create the buildings and textures in the game, it would defiantly be the most fun I would think out of the design process. Because of the game’s responsiveness problems, I would want to take part in the troubleshooting part of the game to try and fix the crashing and freezing problems as well as other bugs that negatively affect the game and its users.
6) Sources:
-The image of the "Sim City 4" video game box is from: http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu
-The commercial for "Sim City 4" is from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGwrPMm4yFs
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