Most people reading this have probably heard of the game Osu!, as it is widely recognized and popular in the rhythm game genre. To new players having just downloaded the game, you are given a tutorial and the game comes with beatmaps you can start with before downloading or making your own. There are variations of gameplay that nearly anybody could find enjoyable; classic osu!, osu! mania, osu! taiko, and osu! catch. Most people, including myself, would typically play classic, but the variation available allows the game to catch the attention of a wider audience, and gives the player the opportunity for a more unique experience. Compeition is another key aspect; what makes the player strive to improve their scores, and their ability to complete increasingly difficult maps. For the average player, this can come from the leaderboards - the want to constantly improve personal best's to reach higher on the leaderboards. These leaderboards are made even more competitive with the introduction of the mods which can either increase or decrease your score multiplier. Mods can be not only an important tool for increasing your score and placement on leaderboards, but also can be a learning tool to make the maps easier on newer players. Another aspect of competition would be the multiplayer aspect. Being able to play maps in real time against other players can drive players to do better, continue playing and practicing in order to get a higher score than others. I played multiplayer with my friend, Madison, and it was even more fun than playing on my own as we could also share maps that we enjoyed and talk with one another, along with friendly competition. This also brings in an aspect of community which is key to a lot of successful games. Through the game chat you can meet new people with shared interests, but also since beatmaps are produced by the community you can play maps that relate to your own interests. Osu! has reached such popularity, in my opinion, because it is so accessible. The game is free to download and so are the wide range of maps available for download. In Summary:
0 Comments
Moving ahead we are going to be working on level design and creation, and the steps, process, and details that make a level fun and playable. One of the most important aspects of level design goes back to flow, a concept discussed earlier in the year. Your design should always keep in mind difficulty vs. fun, so as to be difficult enough to make for an interesting challenge, but not enough to the point where the game is no longer enjoyable, or even unplayable. Issues with difficulty vs. fun can be mediated by things such as spawn points; another good example would be the Osu! mods I went over in my last game review. Setting up diagrams is a key part of the process when designing levels. This is how you can set up your puzzles/challenges/obstacles and solely focus on those aspects to be used later in the process when actually creating the level. This will allow you to set up your obstacles, challenges, opponents, etc. without having to include aesthetics or art, so it's purely a reference for the level setup. The art behind level design is still important too, though. Making sure you have a consistent theme in your art and environment will help make the game more immersive and enjoyable for the player, jarring changes in aesthetic or art style can take the player out of the immersion.
In Summary:
|
About meI am a Senior at DSA and currently taking the Advanced Game Art and Design course. I enjoy playing video games and drawing in my free time. The opinions expressed within this blog are my own, and do not reflect that of Durham School of the Arts of Durham Public Schools Archives
May 2022
Categories
All
|