video game

1. 1.Case Study
The Witcher 3

2. Terminology
• Game world: The environment in which the game is set and the player
interacts.
• Terrain: the environment in which you interact and travel through.
• Architecture: these are the non interactive parts of the environment;
buildings or non-interactive props.
• Objects: interactive assets in the game world, things the player can effect.
• Playable Character: An in game character that the player can embody and
control.
• Non-Playable character: An in game character that cannot be controlled by
a character and who's actions are dictated by its AI

3. Terminoligy
• Feedback interface: This is how an action in the game world can effect the plyer in the
real world, usually this is done by vibrations through controller set of by an in game
action.
• Perspective: how the game is viewed through the screen by the player.
• Cut-Scenes: these are non-interactive videos usually CGI, used within a games
storytelling
• Avatar: this is know as the playable character that the player is currently controlling.
• Single-player: one player off-line games.
• Multiplayer: Any game that allows more than one player to play at once.
• Narrative: this is the games story
• Setting: this is where the game is set

4. Tereminoligy
• Player goals: these are objectives that the game sets that the player
has to achieve in order to progress.
• Rewards: This is what is awarded to a player for completing a goal.
• Artistic styles: this is the aesthetic style that the game is shown in;
Photorealism, Cell-shading, Abstract, exaggeration.

5. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Mana bar: Indicates how
much mana the player
has remaining
Playable
character: Geralt
Health Bar: indicates
how much health the
player has remaining
Consumables: these can be used by
the player to temporarily improve
there stats
Map that shows
surrounding terrain
as well as quest
markers and
important locations
This shows the
current
contract/quest you
are on as well as the
next action required
to progress in the
Quest.
This shows weapon
equipped as well as
the actions the
player can currently
take
This is the
photorealistic
style the game
has chosen.

6. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Enemies level
Enemy
Damage done by player
to enemy
Enemies health and stamina
Possible
moves for
player,
Attacks
that the
player can
perform.
Enemy
shown on
map

7. Console the
game is
sold on.
Awards the game has
won. A good selling
point and so put in a
prominent place.
The games title
put in the middle
of the game box
so that it stands
out. It is also large
so easily read on a
shelf.
White background helps main character
to stand out and creates a sense of
importance about him.
Age rating:
required.
Focus on the face and intense eyes,
this man is on a mission. The eye
colour suggests something
fantastical.
A simple cover that draws the eye and begs for you
to investigate further what the game might be about.
Swords showing how most
enemies will be fought, this
one has an engraving again
suggesting something
mystical/magical.

8. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
• This game is photorealistic and was a pioneer
as one of the most realistic and beautiful
looking games when it first came out. This helps
ground this fantasy game in reality.
• It uses an over the shoulder 3rd person
perspective.
• It is a 3-D game.
• It is also a single player open world story driven
RPG(role playing game). This means you level
up your character (Geralt) as you progress
through the game. It also means that that there
are not linear levels but rather a game map that
you can explore how you like and can accept
missions when you chose.

9. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
• It is a game set in a fantasy universe with technology similar to the
middle ages but with monsters magic and different races the gameplay
is therefore mostly hand to hand combat with magic mixed in. You
have a main quest line along with a number of side missions you can
chose to do or not do.
• In the universe you are a monster hunter on a quest to find a missing
magically gifted girl.
• You are rewarded for completing challenges/quests with experience
and also money and loot (items useful within the game).
• The hand to hand combat is well designed, it does however limit the
different kinds of combat you can be involved in. the gameplay is
therefore kept interesting using a number of different elements. One
of these is a wide variety of enemies and mission types and another is
by slowing down the pace of the game using story elements and
longer cut scenes. All of this keeps the gameplay from becoming
stagnant and boring

10. Supporting arguments
All the same, you’re probably expecting more
from a review than breathless hyperbole. Well,
imagine a game that takes everything you love
from The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings, Skyrim,
The Legend of Zelda from Ocarina of Time to
Twilight Princess and Red Dead Redemption.
The game’s combat – fast, smart and tactical
There’s been a lot of talk recently amongst the
gaming literati about whether systems engage
players more than storyline, but Wild Hunt binds
the two together in ways that make the question
seem nonsensical.

11. Supporting arguments
Each time I stepped off the well-beaten path to blaze my own trail, it
turned into a wild, open, exhilarating fantasy roleplaying experience,
rife with opportunities to make use of its excellent combat
This new open-world map obviously has ramifications for
the structure of the story, and though there are flashes of
greatness, the main story is ultimately the least fulfilling
part of The Witcher 3.
side from the bevy of standard side-quests, monster lairs, and
bandit camps generously littered about The Witcher 3’s
gargantuan land mass, you also get a bunch of monster-hunting
Witcher contracts to pursue. Geralt's quarry ranges from
ethereal wraiths that need to be made tangible before you can
harm them, to Foglets who conceal themselves in thick smog,
waiting for a chance to strike. The payoff here is twofold: in
keeping with the lore, these represent your most reliable stream
of income, which is refreshingly significant due to an
appropriately stingy in-game economy.
Vince Ingenito. (2015). The Witcher 3
Review. Available:
http://uk.ign.com/articles/2015/05/12/the-
witcher-3-the-wild-hunt-review. Last accessed
20th Jan 2018.

12. Skyrim and The Witcher
• The biggest game of recent years of this genre is
probably Skyrim, this is also an open world RPG that
focuses on hand to hand combat with magic also used.
Both use photorealistic graphics.
• They also share the idea of a lot of side quests and an
overarching main quest line.
• However I believe the Witcher expands on the ideas
presented in Skyrim, in that the Witcher has a wider
variety of enemy NPC's and a wider range of quests
and tasks to complete. It also has an in game card
game(Gwent) that has become its own stand alone
game, showing just how deep and how many different
game mechanics the Witcher has.

13. Gamming addiction
Gaming addiction is a philological disorder which is classified by gaming habits
taking over everyday interests and hindering living life outside of gaming, and is a
rising problem in modern day society with more of the population having access to
home gaming. This is especially a concern amongst the youth of our population and
is now being recognised by the world health organisation as a philological disorder
(BBC NEWS), showing just how seriously this has to be taken. Dr Richard Graham,
lead technology addiction specialist at the Nightingale Hospital , claims he sees at
least 50 cases a year, he sees the addiction affecting a lot of everyday activities
from eating and sleeping to education (BBC NEWS).
The growing publicity of this addiction is now shining an unwanted light on the
gaming industry on how they plan to help deal with this problem. But for many
within the industry and outside the question is who the responsibility falls to,
especially if we are talking about children. After the publisher releases a game is it
there responsibility how it is used and if not who needs to take responsibility and
make sure that there is not a generation raised with an alarming reliance on
gaming.