Hello, my name is Nick Weld. I’m currently a junior studying Information Sciences and Technology in the Design and Development branch of the major. Video games (as well as “traditional” board games) have had a large impact on my life since I was very little. I started playing video games with my dad: We played games like Goof Troop and Contra III on the Super Nintendo when I would go to his house. From there, I sort of expanded the types of games I played as I got older. Now, I’m interested in practically every genre of game under the sun; from horror to grand strategy to sandbox games.
Out of my top three favorite genres, I would have to say that exploration/sandbox games tend to be my favorite. Titles in the exploration/sandbox genre could be Minecraft, Subnautica, and quite a few others. The first one that comes to mind, I mentioned the first day of class: Terraria. I said you could badly describe it as “like Minecraft in 2D,” but that doesn’t do it justice. It’s a game focused on exploring and finding better, more effective, gear in order to take on massive, seemingly overwhelming, bosses. That’s not to say there isn’t a creative aspect to it. There are people who exclusively play the game to create large structures, shrines, houses for NPCs, and anything else you can think of. The mechanic I find most interesting in Terraria is it’s “corruption” mechanic. Three of the in-game biomes will expand and take over other biomes if certain conditions are met. This presents a challenge to the player: Should I let this biome be destroyed, or should I invest time into protecting it? The fact that these biomes expand at different rates at different times can create a sense of urgency when playing the game.
My second favorite genre would have to be RPGs. My favorite series in this genre would have to be the Dragon Age series (with the Elder Scrolls series coming in close second). These games are so packed full of lore and interesting choices. It makes it really easy to find yourself, not your character, actually taking sides in conflicts. This series also features many different companions in each game that each have their own crafted backstory and they each add a little personal flair to your adventures around the world of Thedas. The best mechanic is easily the story telling. I refer to the story as a mechanic because the player has an impact on everything, and those decisions carry over to later games. Depending on the decisions you make in the first game, you’ll see different characters appear in the second and third games. All of these choices are viewable and editable via BioWare’s Dragon Age Keep web app. This allows for some serious world customization.
After those two, the competition sort of drops off, but I’d say that simulation games come next. I like Cities: Skylines, Elite Dangerous, and The Sims, as well as some other titles. Cities is probably my most preferable as of now. The game gives you so much freedom in terms of what you can build and what you can create. If you want to name a random pedestrian walking down the street, I’m pretty sure you can do that. The main idea of the game is obvious, just build a city and don’t go bankrupt. My favorite mechanic would be the freedom the game gives you in terms of energy, building placement, and whatever else the game allows you to do. If that’s not strictly considered a mechanic, then the ability to look and see the name of every car, person, house, and business. That really adds to the immersion of your city.