Kenneth Thomas Arentz

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

April 10, 2017 by Kenneth Thomas Arentz Leave a Comment

The Zelda series has been around since 1986 spanning 18+ games on Nintendo’s major game consoles with the main attraction being the creative and immersive world that guides players through each of the stories. The latest edition, Breath of the Wild (BotW), has been released with Nintendo’s new console, the Nintendo Switch. Luckily for Nintendo, the established name of Zelda along with positive game reviews remains arguably the number one (maybe only) reason most have splurged on the new technology. The game itself remains in the same world as many remember before, where our main character, Link, is tasked with saving the kingdom of Hyrule and princess Zelda, from the evil Ganon that rules over the land. Link must adventure through Hyrule defeating enemies along the way though strength, creativity, and resourcefulness of the world around him. Luckily for Zelda and the rest of the world, Ganon is willing to wait 100+ years to destroy everything because the best parts of this game are in the little details and it might take a while to find them all.

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Compare and Contrast of Madden 2003 GBA and Madden Mobile

March 3, 2017 by Kenneth Thomas Arentz Leave a Comment

VS.

The Game Boy Advance was many kids’ first introduction into video games and as a result some nostalgic reviews may elevate the actual quality of the games. Obviously, processing power of the current generation of computers and smart phones is going to blow the gaming platforms of 2003 out of the water and even more so mobile Game Boy platforms. Graphics is only one of many new features that mobile gaming was able to improve upon and the technology of today is able to greatly influence the design of the game play itself. So the question to explore is how has the years improved the overall quality of essentially the same core game play with two very different game executions.

MADDEN 2003

Madden 2003 for the Game Boy Advance (GBA) is based on the sport of NFL football and by 2003, the Madden video game franchise has been around for about 15 years. The popular PlayStation 2 version of Madden 2003 should not be confused with the GBA version which more closely resembles Madden of the late 90s except for the players. The game play itself is as close to a representation to the game of football in a video game style of play. In as simple of an explanation as possible, the player has actions to kick the ball with timing a click creating the difficulty. The player picks the plays and controls the quarterback/ball carrier and tries to find an open receiver to pass to or can try to run around defenders. On defense, the player picks a defensive formation and controls a single player to make a tackle or disrupt a play. Control is certainly lacking in this game as a runner can run forwards, backwards, sideways, or at a 45 degree angle and as a result running is a difficult game play option. Passing is hit or miss and there does seem to be some randomness to a wide open receiver dropping the ball. Interceptions and fumbles are uncommon as there is such little control the player is actually responsible for, but instances do occur at random or maybe game balancing intervals.

So why is the game fun? [Read more…]

Stevie Longlegs – Initial Pitch

February 21, 2017 by Kenneth Thomas Arentz, nfs5129, Roger Alexander Salguero, Raymond E. Jones III and Tyler S Martin Leave a Comment

The concept of “Stevie Longlegs” is based on our team’s goal to create a simple, unique, and addicting video game that players of all ages can appreciate. The nuclear war of 2018 has caused mass extinction and terrible mutations on the few survivors left. The world is polluted with evil monsters who have tasked themselves with chasing the survivors, causing them to be on the run for the rest of their lives. Luckily for our main character, Stevie Longlegs, the effects of the initial blast have caused his skin to turn a radiation-absorbing green, his body to become aerodynamically round, and his legs to grow long and lean to support his new found hobby of running.

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