Lucas Baltes

So you’ve decided to plunge yourself into the world of game development, have assembled a team of mighty warriors to tackle all the big issues and are ready to create the next best game in the industry… trumping WoW, Guild Wars… (you get the point). You’ve chopped up all your brainstorming and assembled some really keen concepts for a storyline and you’re ready to go. But amongst all the programming, the character concepts, the dungeons, and the quests – what are truly the most important aspects of your game that will determine whether someone enjoys themself? Read on, and allow me to share with you what I think.

When we do decide to take that plunge into the development of a new game, there are five things you should consider very carefully, and pay a great deal of attention to. There are probably more of these that will hinder or help you along your way, and your ordering may be different than mine, but these are what I always hold to be the most important. Over the next week we will reveal each aspects, and at the end of the week culminate with the complete article. For today we’ll begin at the top, with number 5.

Number 5: Storyline

1. Final Fantasy VII

My favourite game of all time (yes over hyped these days with all the spin-offs) but I can not fault it. I love everything about it, I actually like the old chunky block graphics! I used to want a remake of this in HD but now I think no, leave it alone, it’s a masterpiece already. As much as I would love to see it re-made I fear with the way Square are at the moment they may ruin it!

I am not saying I would not jump with excitement if they did remake it but I don’t want them to ruin it, I do still play this game (I can’t seem to stop) and I do go through the game imagining it in the graphics of Advent Children now which is why a remake would be good if they didn’t change any of the story or combat! I actually think it would be great if they did add a little something to the remake, and that’s the arena/side missions. I think if they added more to do there it would not ruin the game at all, just giving us something extra to do after the main story has being done (now I know there is a lot already but imagine being able to do more with the arena, imagine being able to go online with that and fight real people!). Anyways not going to say anymore about this game as I could literally type away for hours!

2. Xenogears

Today, the young people – teenagers – have different searches or goals. Whether they are avid readers or they prefer to do homework, it’s easier and more pleasant to choose a modern version of a laptop. The laptop is a faithful friend of many of us, especially those who like to play games on laptops.

But first of all, it’s particularly important to know what a laptop demands from all points of view; I think the most demanding part is the price. Regarding the technical side, we must have deep knowledge in order to buy it according to our needs. If you want a special design or a different brand, you should definitely know that you must be prepared with a fairly large amount of money. If not, you will have to limit yourself to the budget that you have.

For those who want a gaming laptop, the design is not so important or…shouldn’t be. Quality matters to them. They need a good configuration. The video card must be the best, and if you don’t know what to choose, it’s better to ask an expert, because, in my opinion, the video card is almost everything for gamers. Without a video card, your patience will suffer, the games will run slowly enough and you will lose all enthusiasm. So you have to pay attention. Be careful what you are looking for. My advice is to search, however, on the internet for any information; it happens that some “experts” are not up to date on the latest technology.

It is a common scene in most households with teenagers that parents will observe their adolescents glued to the latest video game for hours on end, at the detriment of chores, homework or social interaction. Many parents assume that video games are unproductive and that their kids spend too much time playing them and not on other things. It seems that digital entertainment may have some effects on teenagers that are not bad at all. In fact, research shows that digital games might help teenagers develop great skills that will come handy on day to day life. This is a subject definitely worth looking more into.

Society has even gone so far in its controversial view of video games as to suggest that games are responsible for violent behavior in young people. No matter what your stance on this type of entertainment is, there is little data to substantiate the claims that video games are responsible for violent youth. If anything youth who were already violent to begin with are attracted to violent materials, TV, media, or other violent activities.

For many parents it is hard to see the appeal or the benefits of their kids playing digital games. But research shows that certain kinds of games may be educational and actually stimulate the prefrontal cortex, a region of the brain responsible for what is called executive function. Executive function refers to the ability to integrate multiple stimuli, organize and analyze them, and determine an appropriate response or course of action, taking into account the probable consequences of the action taken. Most parents would be ecstatic if their teenager possessed those seemingly rare abilities. And parents are correct in assuming that this behavior does not happen as frequently in adolescents as in adults, because the adolescent brain has not fully developed this region yet.