Game Research

I went on the website http://www.kongregate.com/ and tried a few fish themed games out. By doing this I hoped to have an idea of what works well and what doesn't in these simple games.

Pour the Fish:
- The colours and graphics on this game were very strong, as was the interactivity of the buttons, which would change colour and size when hovered over. It made it feel more professional
- There was music on the home screen
- It included an intro video which gave more of a story behind the fish character, which you could also skip
- The actual game wasn't relevant but the score screen at the end of each level gave you something to work for, and also gave you more options

Go Fish:

- There was no interactivity on the menu at all, only music, which made it feel boring and not well put together.

- There was too many instructions and they were confusing

- The game was barely playable

 Flying Fish:

- The animation style and colouring was consistent and appealing

- There were no actual buttons on the menu, you just had to click in approximate places which didn't feel very intuitive

- Instructions were again too overwhelming and the game didn't explain why you had died

Fish and Chips:

- The menu was very bland. There was only a title and the rest of the images were from the sponsors, so not very inviting

- Instructions appeared on the second page and again there was quite a lot but they made more sense than the others

- Despite expectations the game play was actually good, the fish was easily controllable and there were power ups and lots of extras to keep you coming back

- Simple graphics but effective enough for the game

- When a fish was eaten there was a small cloud of green

From this I can conclude that for my game I want simple but effective looking graphics using simple shapes; I want a highly interactive menu and button system; music and sound effects; simple instructions and a simple enough concept.