Core Principles of Games Design

Everyone, players or developers have different opinions and tastes when it comes to videogames, resulting in a diverse range of products on the market. I will be producing an unbiased comparative gameplay review of three games, “Fortnite”, “Destiny 2” and “Kingdom Hearts 2”. I will be critically evaluating these products and discussing their use of core game aspects such as Visual Style, Gameplay, Storytelling, Challenge and Risk & Reward. I will be considering how effectively these games can utilise the aspects I mentioned and how it affects the player’s overall experience.

Fortnite is a Free-to-play, Third-person shooter in the battle royale genre. Fortnite has a distinct cartoon-like art style, however, still has some realistic visual aspects like the grass textures or the textures on buildings. The art style is appealing to younger audiences due to its cartoon-like art style and is visually pleasing due to the game’s day and night cycles, completely changing the overall atmosphere for the player. I personally like the visuals as they feel unique in the video game industry, yet familiar like a cartoon show. The UI & HUD are easy to understand due to distinct icons and images that inform the player of their health, weapons and materials. Furthermore, the menu screens are easy to navigate for all players and each option is defined.

Fortnite has unique mechanics in the gaming industry, even when multiple other battle royale games released around the same time. First, the game is a third-person shooter, and the game lets players battle up to ninety-nine other players (depending on what mode you play). The game lets the player use many guns and weapons, many inspired by real weaponry. The most unique mechanic though is the building element; essentially allowing players to build structures using the floors, walls, stairs and roof options. I believe the building mechanics work well and players are encouraged to use them to succeed and improve their gameplay. The game also lets players glide around the map using a “glider” in certain occasions such as when the player is dropping onto the map at the start of a match. In my opinion the gliding and overall movement in the game is fluid and intuitive. I especially like the constant updates that add items and weapons that can change how the game plays and feels in a match.

Fortnite is a live service game, meaning that content and story is added over time in a constant stream. The storytelling of Fortnite is very convoluted and is constantly being added to over time, leaving some players confused. Some players haven’t played the game the entirety of the game’s life, so they have missed out on important plot points. Also, some of the plot points are hidden and abstract, considering a large player base of young children wouldn’t pick up on them.

In terms of challenges in Fortnite there are some that come with the games levelling system where players can complete weekly and daily challenges to gain experience points to earn cosmetic rewards on their “battle pass”. Related to the challenge are the risks in Fortnite. Players can be encouraged to adopt an aggressive playstyle and try to eliminate other players to take their weapons and items. Players that can make risky plays will be rewarded with more items and weapons to then have an advantage in trying to win the match. I believe these risks make the game flow well and encourage people to actually engage with each other.

Destiny 2 is an online first-person shooter, like Fortnite, which has free-to-play elements for all players. The game uses a photo realistic visual style for a creative and unique interpretation of space. The characters and locations in the game are distinct and fascinating, due to the developer’s innovative imagination. The UI & HUD show the player their health, weapons and abilities. Each part of the HUD stands out by using contrasting colours, allowing the player to see it clearly. The menu screens are simple and fast to navigate. The main world map for instance shows images of each planet the player can visit, engrossing them into this world.

The core gameplay is similar to other first-person shooters with its familiar gunplay, however the abilities each class in the game can use are completely unique and feel amazing. The entire game is based around the loot that the player can collect. This allows the player to gain higher level gear that will then allow them to play the endgame content such as the teamwork-based six player raid activities. The abilities are what makes the three different classes so different, and players must combine these to succeed. In my opinion the polished gunplay mixed with the constant loot the game provides, creates an addictive and fantastic experience.

The storytelling in this game is like Fortnite due to it also being a live service game. The story is being told as the game is updated. This means a lot of players will miss out on the major plot points if they don’t play throughout the game’s life. The story in this game is also very complex and most players will need to search online to understand it. I think that the game should have something to sum up the main plot points for players so they can understand it easily.

In terms of challenges players have access to difficult endgame content such as the raids or higher difficulty “Strikes”. I believe the endgame content is fun and players must come together to beat these challenges, resulting in a very social experience. Players also have access to the “PVP” modes where players get to fight each other for exclusive rewards.

As for the risks, players can play the raids; where players must work together, or they won’t complete them. Raids awards the player with high-level exclusive items that players need to increase their level. There is also a mode called “Trials of Osiris'' where players must win seven “PVP” matches in a row to earn more exclusive items. If a player loses a game, their progress gets completely reset and they must start again. I believe these risks are worth taking due to the weapons and armour rewards being very powerful and exclusive to those modes.

Kingdom Hearts 2 is an action roleplay-game, the game is a collaboration of Disney and Final Fantasy. The art style is exaggerated and looks like it has elements of a cartoon, like Fortnite. I personally enjoy the art style because of how creative and imaginative it can be. The UI & HUD show things like the player’s health bar, magic bar and actions they can perform. I believe that it works well in showing everything essential to the player and it also looks very appealing, due to the art used being unique to the world the player is currently in. The menu screen can be confusing to new players however, as a lot of the options aren’t explained to the player.

Kingdom Hearts uses a real-time battle system that allows the player to fight enemies using a wide variety of attacks and spells, considered by some to be a “Hack and Slash” game. The combat is generally exciting and has a fast flow to it all. The game is an RPG and uses many core elements from that genre such as magic for instance. Players also will have two other characters in your party that you can customise. You can change the character’s items, spells and attacks.

The game has a story that works well considering the odd collaboration of characters, unlike Fortnite and Destiny 2 the game’s story is all readily available. The story can be complicated if the player wishes to know the full extent of it. If the player needs to, they have access to a journal in the game that briefly sums up characters and plot points. Moreover, the story can seem predictable at times as it can be cliche.

There are many challenges in the game such as the colosseum fights, where players can fight hordes of enemies leading up to a unique boss fight. In addition, players can play the game on a special difficulty option (unlocked after beating the game) called “Critical Mode”.  This mode is especially challenging to complete, however feels rewarding when you finally do. Players can also craft the fabled “Ultima Weapon” by collecting rare materials.

In terms of risks players can play on the “Critical Mode”, rewarding them with an in-game “certificate” that essentially does nothing for the player. There aren’t a lot of risks in the game or many meaningful rewards, resulting in most players only playing through the story and not attempting anything else.

I personally believe these games are all great in some ways however have some small glaring issues that hinder the player’s experience. For example I believe all of the games, in terms of storytelling, are somewhat lacklustre. This is shown especially with Destiny 2 and Fortnite due to them both being live service games and having stories that are added to over time. I also believe Fortnite and Destiny 2 are alike because of their encouragement of teamwork within the online play. Fortnite and Destiny 2 are both shooters, just both having different perspectives. Kingdom Hearts 2 is the most different but still shares similar RPG elements to Destiny 2 with the wide range of customisation of weapons and items in the games.