The main interaction the player had with the game was how the character interacted with the moving blocks of lava, and the goal was a static endpoint at the edges of the level. The moving blocks of lava provided a feeling of suspense to the player as it slowly inched towards the player. The interaction between the character and the lava blocks at first did seem like an inconsistent occurrence, but with more experience playing the game, the lava block function eventually made sense to me. It dealt with a “line of sight” kind of function, where the block would move the number of squares that the player was within the line of sight of the lava block. I think that the game developer really kept this function in mind as the levels progressed, since some of the levels became very open rooms where the character was meant to dance around in different patterns, desperately avoiding the lava blocks at all costs, waiting for a hole to open up for the player to sneak by and eventually reach the goal. The goal placement was also a challenge for the player to reach, and no level of the game ever felt too easy. Each challenge was fairly difficult, and the feeling of getting around the lava blocks was a great feeling of relief, escaping the claustrophobia-inducing lava blocks. Completing each level gave a satisfactory feeling, a feeling of accomplishment, and I credit the game developer for invoking many different emotions in a puzzle game.
Waterdrop’s Escape communicates its rules to the player through pre-level text, hinting at both the upcoming new rules for the level and how one can interact with them. The goal of the game is to get the water drop (player) through the pipe, without getting incinerated by lava. I had the urge to continue solving the puzzles in this level through my desire to better understand how the lava moves with the user’s movement. Although I never really could understand exactly all the movements, as I continued to play I got a better feel for different combinations of movements that would free spaces formerly covered by lava. The glass in the game almost subconsciously gravitates the player to move towards it, due to the fact that lava cannot move through glass, and that it’s a safe place for the user. The puzzles help convey the story of a lonely water drop trying to travel its way through the lava and to the pipe in order to free itself from the heat and death that is lava. The tile that acts as the player directly identifies with the story, as you are literally playing as the water drop that is trying to escape. The sound effects in this game also add quite a lot to the experience of the game. When the player moves the water drop through the level, each step makes a drop noise, as if the water drop is literally dropping. The sound the game makes when you die in lava, is very fitting to the puzzle genre, moreover the sound of defeat.
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Prompt 3
The main interaction the player had with the game was how the character interacted with the moving blocks of lava, and the goal was a static endpoint at the edges of the level. The moving blocks of lava provided a feeling of suspense to the player as it slowly inched towards the player. The interaction between the character and the lava blocks at first did seem like an inconsistent occurrence, but with more experience playing the game, the lava block function eventually made sense to me. It dealt with a “line of sight” kind of function, where the block would move the number of squares that the player was within the line of sight of the lava block. I think that the game developer really kept this function in mind as the levels progressed, since some of the levels became very open rooms where the character was meant to dance around in different patterns, desperately avoiding the lava blocks at all costs, waiting for a hole to open up for the player to sneak by and eventually reach the goal. The goal placement was also a challenge for the player to reach, and no level of the game ever felt too easy. Each challenge was fairly difficult, and the feeling of getting around the lava blocks was a great feeling of relief, escaping the claustrophobia-inducing lava blocks. Completing each level gave a satisfactory feeling, a feeling of accomplishment, and I credit the game developer for invoking many different emotions in a puzzle game.
Prompt 5:
Waterdrop’s Escape communicates its rules to the player through pre-level text, hinting at both the upcoming new rules for the level and how one can interact with them. The goal of the game is to get the water drop (player) through the pipe, without getting incinerated by lava. I had the urge to continue solving the puzzles in this level through my desire to better understand how the lava moves with the user’s movement. Although I never really could understand exactly all the movements, as I continued to play I got a better feel for different combinations of movements that would free spaces formerly covered by lava. The glass in the game almost subconsciously gravitates the player to move towards it, due to the fact that lava cannot move through glass, and that it’s a safe place for the user. The puzzles help convey the story of a lonely water drop trying to travel its way through the lava and to the pipe in order to free itself from the heat and death that is lava. The tile that acts as the player directly identifies with the story, as you are literally playing as the water drop that is trying to escape. The sound effects in this game also add quite a lot to the experience of the game. When the player moves the water drop through the level, each step makes a drop noise, as if the water drop is literally dropping. The sound the game makes when you die in lava, is very fitting to the puzzle genre, moreover the sound of defeat.