Week 5

Student Name    Dan Wilbur
Today’s Date    02/02/11
Game Title Examined    Missile Command
Year of Publication    1980
game Publisher     Atari
Game Developer    Atari

1 - What is the game genre (e.g. shoot-em-up, racing, sports, puzzle, MMORPG, ‘sandbox’, music sequence following game (e.g. DDR, guitar hero)

I would classify this as an accuracy and timing based shooter.

2 -What is the type of game ‘world’ or environment (e.g. flat environment, puzzle/maze space, 3D world?)

It is a flat environment.

3 - What is the perspective taken by player (e.g first person, third person perspective, top down, isometric) in relation to main player controlled character.

It’s an isometric view.

4 - What is the actual gameplay – what does the player have to do?

The player is in control of three missile stations, and shoots the missiles in order to intercept incoming missiles that are headed towards your cities. In order to complete the level, you have to defend your cities from all of the incoming missiles.

5 - Is the gameplay intuitive? (i.e. is it easy to understand what to do without instructions?) describe.

It is incredibly intuitive. There are hardly any instructions to begin with.

6 - Is the gameplay patterned (game does the same thing over & over) or is it random (happens differently every time?)

Well, it is sort of both. The missiles always come, and there are fliers that go across the screen that bring variety to the scene. The gameplay is always the same; you shoot the missiles down before they hit your cities.

7 - What does the type of graphic approach used as well as the audio tell you about the limits of the technology at the time the game was published?

The technology was very primitive, and was incredibly limiting as to what could be displayed both audibly and visibly.

8 - Describe your views about the game from the point of view of

1. ease of play

It is pretty easy once you get the hang of it. You just need to destroy the main missiles before they break up into smaller missiles, and also you can conserve your missiles by deploying them to destroy multiple enemy missiles at once. The enemy missiles cause their own explosions too when detonated, which can start a chain reaction of explosions.

2. Enjoyability

This game is definitely a classic. However, the gameplay is incredibly repetitive, and can get old fast.

c) level of engagement/immersion

There is little to no engagement and immersion. The graphics and sounds are definitely not developed enough to bring me into the game. However, It is still fun.

9 - Had you played this game prior to this time? If so, when?

Yes, I played this on my dad’s computer in the early 90’s.

10 - what does playing the game remind you of in terms of other games/media?

It reminds me of when computers were just little babies, and DOS was king.