Summary
The game I chose was Rainbow Six Siege, a first person shooter game. In this game you are randomly chosen for Attacking or Defending, you either attack or defend the objective, you can also win by eliminating the enemies.
Game Play Analysis
| Formal Elements | |
| The Basics | |
| Name of the game | Rainbow Six Siege |
| The platform | PC, PS4/PS5, Xbox One/ Series X |
| Time played (should be at least 30 minutes) | Over 24 hours |
| If you could work on this game (change it), what would you change and why? | I would add back old sights |
| Players | NOTES |
| How many players are supported? | The max players in one game is 10 |
| Does it need to be an exact number? | No |
| How does this affect play? | It encourages you to communicate with your teammates |
| Some types of player frameworks:Single Player – like Solitare.Head-to-head – 1 vs. 1, Chess.PvE – Player vs. Environment, or multiple players vs. the game. Common in MMOs like World of Warcraft.One against Many – Single-player vs. multiple (obvy).Free-for-all – Every man for himself (1 vs. 1 vs. 1 vs. 1..). Most common for multiplayer games, from Monopoly to Modern Warfare.Individuals Against the System – Like Blackjack, where the Dealer is playing against multiple players, but those players have no effect on each other.Team Competition – Multiple vs. multiple, i.e. sports.Predator-prey – Players form a circle and everyone’s goal is to attack the player on their left and defend themselves from the player on their right.Five-pointed Star – Eliminate both players who are not on either side of you. | Team competition |
| Objectives/Goals | NOTES |
| What are the players trying to do? | The goal depends on the mode you play but the most popular mode is Bomb where you are chosen on either Attacking or Defending the bomb site. If your on defense you stop the enemies from defusing the bomb or eliminating all of them and if your on attacking you defuse the bomb or eliminate the enemy. |
| Some common objectives include:Capture/Destroy – Eliminate all your opponents pieces (Chess).Territorial Acquisition – Control as much territory as you can, not necessarily harming other players (RISK).Collection – Collect a certain number of objects throughout the game (Pokemon).Solve – Solve a puzzle or crime (Clue).Chase/race/escape – Anything where you are running towards or away from something (playground game Tag).Spatial Alignment – Anything involving the positioning of elements (Tetris or Tic-Tac-Toe or that game at Cracker Barrel).Build – Advance your characters or build your resources to a certain point (The Sims).Negation of another goal – The game ends if you perform an act that is forbidden by the rules (Jenga or Twister). | Capture/destroy |
| Rules/Mechanics | Some important mechanics are your characters (Operators) abilities, depending on what Operator you chose, you have a unique ability you can use as an advantage, do keep in mind your teammates and enemies also have abilities. You should also keep in mind of the “leaning”, in the game you can lean left and right which helps you peek corners. |
| There are three categories of (what the book Rules of Play calls) operational rules:Setup – the things you do at the beginning of a game.Progression of Play – what happens during the game.Resolution – How an outcome is determined based on the game state. | Progression of Play |
| Controls | NOTES |
| What controls are used? | Depends on your platform but they are similar to most games, you can also change key binds if you play on PC. |
| Was there a clear introductory tutorial? | Yes, but the best way to learn is to just play |
| Were they easy to understand or did you find yourself spamming the controller? | Well at the time I had experience with similar games so it was pretty easy to understand. |
| Resources & Resource Management | NOTES |
| What kinds of resources do players control? | Barricades, reinforcements, gadgets, abilities |
| How are they maintained during play? | Well it’s important to use what you have in this game and it just helps the whole team out in general |
| What is their role? | Sometimes these resources help you win |
| Game State | NOTES |
| How much information in the game state is visible to the player? | Ammo, health, shield, gadgets, abilities |
| A snapshot of the game at a single point is the game state. The resources you have, the un-owned properties in Monopoly, your opponent’s Archery skill all count towards the game state. Some example information structures are:Total Information – Nothing is hidden, like Chess.Info per player – Your hand of cards is only visible to you.One player has privileged info – Like a Dungeon Master.The game hides info from all players – Like Clue, where no one knows the victory condition.Fog of War – In video games, where certain sections of the map are concealed if you do not have a unit in sight range of that area. You also cannot see other players’ screens, so each player is unaware of the other’s information. | |
| Sequencing | NOTES |
| In what order do players take their actions? | There’s a prep phase where defenders ready their defenses while attackers have drones to find the objective and identify who the defenders are |
| How does play flow from one action to another? | It depends on you and your team |
| Some structures include:Turn-based – Standard board game technique.Turn-based with simultaneous play – where everyone takes their turn at the same time (like writing something down or putting a card down in War).Real-time – Actions happen as fast as players can make them. Action-based video games.Turn-based and time limits – You have this long to take your turn. | Real-time |
| Player Interaction | Players can interact with allies, enemies, and certain structures like windows, doors, and walls |
| Some examples:Direct Conflict – I attack you.Negotiation – If you support me here, I’ll help you there.Trading – I’ll give you this for that.Information Sharing – If you go there, I’m warning you, a trap will go off. | Direct conflict and information sharing |
| Theme & Narrative | NOTES |
| Does it have an actual story structure? | Not really but operators do have their own backstory |
| Is it based on a historical event (or similar)? | No but I’m sure some of the events have happened before in real life |
| Does the theme or narrative help you know how to play? | Yes |
| Does it have emotional impacts? | No |
| The Elements in Motion | NOTES |
| What is the gameplay like? | Intense |
| Is it effective? | Yes |
| Are there any points where the design choices break down? | Yes in some bugs |
| Design Critique | NOTES |
| Why did the designer make these particular choices? | I guess it was the best choice |
| Why this set of resources? | It might have been the best they had at the time |
| What if they made different decisions? | I think it would probably make the game worse |
| Does the design break down at any point? | In bugs |
| Graphics & Sound | NOTES |
| Does the game art pair well with the mechanics? | Yes |
| Did you find any bugs or glitches? | Yes |
| What about sound? | It was good |
| Can you spot any technical shortcuts? | No |
| Various Stages of the Game | NOTES |
| To wrap up, some things to keep in mind (as if there aren’t enough already) as you play: | Keep in mind the leaning and who you should choose depending on the map or what your teammates choose |
| What challenges do you face, and how do you overcome them? | Sometimes you have miscommunication and you have to focus and work together |
| Is the game fair? | Yes |
| Is it replayable? Are there multiple paths to victory or optional rules that can change the experience? | Yes you can play as many games as you want |
| What is the intended audience? | Teens or older |