Vintage Gameplay Activity

Student Name: Marielle Atanacio

Today’s Date: March 6, 2011

Game Title Examined: Centipede

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)

Arcade Classics

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

Puzzle/Maze

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.

Top Down

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

The player has to avoid or destroy the insects as they come down the playing field.

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

It is easy to understand because there are only directional controls and a firing button. All you need to do is attack the only other moving objects in the screen that are headed towards your way.

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

The game is patterned, however, as the levels advance, so does the speed of the opponents.

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 graphics and audio of the game tell me that the 80's did not have very many audio effects as well as the graphic capability to create anything near the games that are released today. The games they created were really pixelated and the simple.

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

1. ease of play: It is very easy to play and needs very little explanation.

2. enjoyability: It is a very classic and simple game that is easily enjoyable, but may also not provide enough thrill to today's gaming society.

c) level of engagement/immersion

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

I have this game at home, but do not play it because I prefer Galaga more, but I was interested to see if the concept is any different from Galaga.

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

This game reminds me that concepts of games in the 80's were very simple in that there is you and the opponent and it is either that you avoid or destroy them such as in pacman and galaga. It also reminds me how complex games have become or evolved to and now people play with others all over the world and come up with tactics and strategies on how to defeat their opponent. (ie. Modern warfare, gears of war, etc.)