Games

Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are newer Legend of Zelda games that feature open world mechanics and the return of the collectathon, in a sense. A collectathon is a type of video game where there are items and objects to collect in order to either progress in the game or obtain an upgrade. An older example of a collectathon would be Banjo-Kazooie or Jak and Daxter. In Breath of the Wild, the collectathon element of the game is Korok seeds, except there are about 900 to collect in the game. Tears of the Kingdom increases that number.

The topic taker should see if this newer collectathon element is too much to do for the player. The topic taker is free to examine other newer forms of collectathons than the two mentioned in this topic. Research points to include:

– The time it takes to do these collecting elements

– The reward for completing the entire collection

– Player feeling about the collecting element in the chosen game or series

– The topic taker is free to also include an element of the psychology behind why collectathons work, if they wish.

Links to get you started:

Breath of the Wild Wiki: (link)

Tears of the Kingdom Wiki: (link)

An Explanation of Collectathons and how they transformed: (link)

A brief list of modern collectathons: (link)

The topic taker should analyze the requirements of some trophy lists to beat games on the "Hard" Difficulty and/or unlock special items or extra difficulties in the game. Examples that come to mind are Final Fantasy Remake and Rebirth, Kingdom Hearts III, DOOM, and the God of War series. The topic taker is free to include other games to the list that they may know about–the list serves as a jumping off point to get the topic taker started. The topic taker should consider the following for their article as well:

– Is completing a game on Hard Mode enjoyable?

– Is requiring finishing a game on a Hard mode restrictive or prohibitive in any way?

– If someone chooses to play at difficulties other than hard mode, does that mean they are more or less of a gamer in the eyes of the game's community?

– Should Hard Mode be a requirement for getting certain items or cutscenes or trophies, or should that content be available regardless of the difficulty?

The topic taker should address these points with research and examples from the games they choose that is relevant to the points. If desired, the topic taker can look at the psychological research done on this subject and how it affects players' self esteem, if the research exists.

Replayability is a measurement of how much fun a game is to play over and over again – how much new content there will be on each playthrough, how much you can vary your playstyle, how many different endings or paths the different quests/stories have for you to explore each time. It is something it is generally considered good for a game to have, especially in certain genres. Many players want to be able to play their favourite games again and again, but with enough variation that it is never boring.

However, replayability is something that cannot be (and isn't) pursued in every game. Many story focused games are not particularly replayable, as their goal is to focus on telling one very good or in-depth story – and to focus on replayability could take away from that. There is also the fact that to make a game very replayable takes a lot of time and effort to code and design all the different playstyles/endings/quests etc. This is time and effort that may be needed elsewhere or would possibly be better spent polishing the main game. Not everyone plays again and again after all, so is it really so crucial to ensure that every single playthrough is entirely unique?

This article would delve into the concept of replayability, exploring whether it is truly important for games to be infinitely replayable or more important to create a good experience the first time round.

The topic taker should explore how roguelike games can be used to tell complex stories. Specifically, the topic taker should consider The Binding of Isaac and similar games that use its roguelike mechanics, like unlocking new characters, new powers, or new stat boosters to tell a multi-layered story. For example, in The Binding of Isaac, clearing a run usually unlocks a new ending to the game, and then opens up a new path and/or character for the player to choose.

As always, the topic taker is free to include other roguelike games they know of that use the game mechanics to tell a complex story in their analysis. Things to consider would be as follows:

– The story gets told in various parts, in some manner, as referenced with my example above.

– The roguelike offers a story in some way, so, this excludes things like Brotato, to my understanding.

– The topic taker is free to add in whatever elements they might need for this article. For example, the topic taker, if focusing on The Binding of Isaac may consider looking into how the religious elements in the game tell a deeper story. Or, if the topic taker chooses to include Hades in this analysis, they could include aspects of the Greek Pantheon that highlight elements in the story and/or mechanics.

– The topic taker can consider the merits of comparing and contrasting two different roguelike games to see if storytelling is similar or different between them, but, given the nature of roguelike games, I would advise limiting this article to two games.

Here is a link to the Wikipedia for The Binding of Isaac for topic takers who may not be familiar with the game or its mechanics: (link) Binding of Isaac is,to OS X, and Linux.

Evoland I and II are games by the indie developer Shiro Games and were released in 2013 and 2015. Evoland was inspired by older games in series like Final Fantasy and Zelda, and, it somewhat takes the player through a bit of video game history in its premise. The gameplay, despite the shifts in playstyles that took place, flowed well, according to a reviewer. Evoland II definitely builds on the premise of capturing the feeling of how older games played, and has more mechanics in it than the first game. However, it could be said that there are too many mechanics that contradict and break flow.

For this topic, the topic taker should look into reviews on both games to see if these games set out to capture a truly nostalgic feeling while adding their own twist to the genres the games were influenced by or if something about the older styles of gamplay simply don't mesh in the modern era of gaming.

The topic taker can consider the following avenues of research for adding foundation to this analysis:

– Consider the history of the video game industry and the limits of technology that affected game mechanics and graphics and whether the current technology is too good to correctly capture how older games played.

– Figure out what the developer intended for their games, if possible, and if they achieved that intention.

– See if there are any other games similar to Evoland that mixes up different kinds of genre and gameplay and see if they are successful or if they fall into the same problems as Evoland.

– If the topic taker has played Evoland and Evoland II, they are free to add in their personal experience with how the games felt as it relates to this topic.

Here are links that might help the topic taker start their research:

Evoland: (link)

Evoland II: (link)

It seems like Mario and Luigi have been around since time immemorial. What began as an eight-bit video game with the goal of rescuing a princess from a dragon in the '80s and '90s, has become a veritable empire of games. From the 3-D Nintendo 64 edition of the original, which expanded Mario's worlds and took the U.S. by storm circa 1996, to the nostalgic yet evergreen Mario Kart, to the newest addition Princess Peach Showtime, Mario has reached a broader audience than perhaps any other game franchise.

Discuss the popularity of the Mario-verse and why its creators have been so successful in marketing not only the original games, but also games in completely different genres (racing, fashion and dress-up, and so on). You might choose to discuss characters and how their universes and personalities have expanded over time. Finally, you could speculate on where the Mario-verse might go next, and what worlds and ideas Gen Z and Alpha might find most appealing.

Depictions of the ideology of Karl Marx and Fredrick Engels are lacking in the world of video games. Many critics of Marxism have at best a child-like understanding of the term often reducing it to a string of buzzwords and malformed propagandist talking points.

As a result most games that feature any sort of Marxism, Socialism, or Communism, end up regurgitating the same played-out tropes. "No food, no freedom, all leaders are dictators"

One game that avoids the typical negative stereotypes of Marxism is "Victoria 3." In this grand strategy video game, players can explore and implement socialist policies inspired by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. By prioritizing workers' rights, collective ownership, and economic planning, the game allows for a nuanced exploration of Marxist principles, demonstrating their potential benefits while navigating the associated challenges. How does "Victoria 3" provide a balanced and respectful depiction of Marxist ideology compared to other video games?

Analyze the rise of cozy games and why they are becoming so popular. Jumpstart Magazine defines cozy games as "a type of gameplay that emphasizes relaxation, comfort and self-care." Cozy games tend to have calm music and a slower game pace. Look at why cozy games continue to grow. For example, cozy games are an escape from the fast paced nature of reality. When compared to games like Fortnite, they provide a much more calm experience. This resonates with a certain subsection of gamers. What is the demographic of this subsection? Additionally, the cozy game sphere tends to be more welcoming to marginalized folk such a people of color, those who identify as LGBTQIA or disabled.