When theme is brought up in any discussion about video games, I immediately think of Dark Souls and the amazing amount of care put into making this game's theme. The Dark Souls theme is a experienced based theme which is focused on perseverance by challenging increasingly difficult opponents that are nearly impossible to beat. You have to gain experience in order to learn enough to beat the the various enemies. The first boss is an incredibly difficult boss fight but it sets the theme well. It shows the player that he needs to observe and find weak points, manage his health, and keep trying until he finds success. Even if you have to fail over and over again, the game rewards experience. The atmosphere and ascetics of Dark Souls is dark, gloomy, and looming. It feels very daunting and overwhelming. This feeling is reinforced by the setting of massive castles that spiral off into the heavens. The landscape is vast, harsh, and has been taken over by the undead. The mechanics in Dark Souls relate to the theme because the equipment that you carry feels real. You only have human strength and unless you train to become stronger, you won't succeed. The story of Dark Souls is non-existent at first glance. There doesn't seem to be a coherent plot, but if you look closely at item descriptions and at context clues you will find an incredibly elaborate, high fantasy tale that is driven by the task of trying to re-light the first flame. To become strong enough to fight the person who is guarding the first flame, you must persevere through many battles, monsters, and challenges. The monsters are difficult to predict because of their spastic move sets and hard-to-time attacks. Early bosses are huge, destructive beasts that are terrifying. Over the coarse of the game, the bosses shrink and become the size of the player, but the bosses become faster and have stronger attacks.
1 Comment
Mr. B
10/3/2016 05:04:44 am
Where is your response to the prompt? All you posted was the prompt itself...
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Miles RomanHi, I am a student at Durham School of the Arts, and this blog will be documenting my experiences with my Game Design class. Categories
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