Wednesday 7 March 2007

Blog 4
Iteration within ‘Abe’s oddosee’
Personally one of the main reasons I find myself playing the same games for hours is because of the whole notion of iteration. Iteration often occurs when the player gets stuck on a certain level and at a certain part of the level, for example jumping over a bridge or something similar. The player would appear to be consistently repeating the same actions to a possible viewer. However this is not the case as the player tends to try something a little bit different every time to get past this stage. It is this challenge or this possibility to finally get it right and pass the stage which keeps the player addicted to the game. Whilst playing Abe’s oddosee, I found myself stuck on the part of the game where Abe must set a bomb off by pressing down on it as it flashed from green to red. Although I repeatedly missed the green light and got killed, it was the possible consequence of what would happen if i got it right that kept me repeating the level, however trying something a little bit different, (trying to get my timing right). Although my character would repeatedly die and i would replay the same section again i found myself imaginatively engaged to the possibility of being the active part of the game who is controlling what happens thus playing differently each time.
Eventually after getting the timing right and passing this stage, I’d find myself stuck on another section, (jumping over from one rock to another with out being hit by other falling rocks). Again it was this same feeling of iteration which kept me playing, as i knew that just as I got past the last difficult level, there was this same exciting possibility of getting it right and feeling the difference within my active part. It is within my active part of the game which gives meaning to my actions and to the game as a whole.
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