Summary
The game I analyzed is Five Nights at Freddy’s, it is a indie horror game made in 2014, which was made popular by the youtuber Markiplier, which his first video has 87 million views, in the game there are 4 main animatronic animals, and one extra one which is rare to find named ‘Golden Freddy’ and you have to watch a monitor/tablet to find where the animatronics are, but there have been strategys where you minimize the usage.
Game Play Analysis
| Formal Elements | |
| The Basics | You learn what you are supposed to do from the ‘phone guy’ |
| Name of the game | Five Nights At Freddy’s |
| The platform | pc (steam), mobile |
| Time played (should be at least 30 minutes) | 45 minutes, first 3 nights |
| If you could work on this game (change it), what would you change and why? | I wouldn’t change a thing |
| Players | NOTES |
| How many players are supported? | 1 |
| Does it need to be an exact number? | yes |
| How does this affect play? | Its a single player game, without a player there would be no game |
| Some types of player frameworks:Single Player – like Solitare.Head-to-head – 1 vs. 1, Chess.PvE – Player vs. Environment, or multiple players vs. the game. Common in MMOs like World of Warcraft.One against Many – Single-player vs. multiple (obvy).Free-for-all – Every man for himself (1 vs. 1 vs. 1 vs. 1..). Most common for multiplayer games, from Monopoly to Modern Warfare.Individuals Against the System – Like Blackjack, where the Dealer is playing against multiple players, but those players have no effect on each other.Team Competition – Multiple vs. multiple, i.e. sports.Predator-prey – Players form a circle and everyone’s goal is to attack the player on their left and defend themselves from the player on their right.Five-pointed Star – Eliminate both players who are not on either side of you. | Single Player |
| Objectives/Goals | NOTES |
| What are the players trying to do? | Stop the animatronics from getting into the office by closing doors |
| Some common objectives include:Capture/Destroy – Eliminate all your opponents pieces (Chess).Territorial Acquisition – Control as much territory as you can, not necessarily harming other players (RISK).Collection – Collect a certain number of objects throughout the game (Pokemon).Solve – Solve a puzzle or crime (Clue).Chase/race/escape – Anything where you are running towards or away from something (playground game Tag).Spatial Alignment – Anything involving the positioning of elements (Tetris or Tic-Tac-Toe or that game at Cracker Barrel).Build – Advance your characters or build your resources to a certain point (The Sims).Negation of another goal – The game ends if you perform an act that is forbidden by the rules (Jenga or Twister). | Survival/Horror |
| Rules/Mechanics | dont run out of power, close the doors if needed, and check the cams |
| There are three categories of (what the book Rules of Play calls) operational rules:Setup – the things you do at the beginning of a game.Progression of Play – what happens during the game.Resolution – How an outcome is determined based on the game state. | |
| Controls | NOTES |
| What controls are used? | move the mouse to look left and right and click the white button to turn light on and click red button to close the door |
| Was there a clear introductory tutorial? | yes, just listen to the phone guy |
| Were they easy to understand or did you find yourself spamming the controller? | yes, and specific parts of the game you need to be spastic |
| Resources & Resource Management | NOTES |
| What kinds of resources do players control? | the lights, doors, and security cameras |
| How are they maintained during play? | during game if you turn a light on and an animatronic is outside of the door then you close the door and you check the cams to see where they are |
| What is their role? | the role for the resources is to stop the animatronics from getting in the office |
| A resource is everything under the control of a single player. Could be the money in Monopoly or health in WoW. Other examples are:Territory in RISK The number of questions remaining in 20 Questions Objects picked up during videogames (guns, health packs, etc.)Time (game time, real-time, or both)Known information (like suspects in Clue) | 1 hour game time is about 2-3 minutes real time |
| Game State | NOTES |
| How much information in the game state is visible to the player? | most of the pizzeria |
| A snapshot of the game at a single point is the game state. The resources you have, the un-owned properties in Monopoly, your opponent’s Archery skill all count towards the game state. Some example information structures are:Total Information – Nothing is hidden, like Chess.Info per player – Your hand of cards is only visible to you.One player has privileged info – Like a Dungeon Master.The game hides info from all players – Like Clue, where no one knows the victory condition.Fog of War – In video games, where certain sections of the map are concealed if you do not have a unit in sight range of that area. You also cannot see other players’ screens, so each player is unaware of the other’s information. | theres a bit hidden, like the kitchen, which is presumed to be where golden freddy stays |
| Sequencing | NOTES |
| In what order do players take their actions? | look at cams, check lights, close door if an animatronic is there |
| How does play flow from one action to another? | real time |
| Some structures include:Turn-based – Standard board game technique.Turn-based with simultaneous play – where everyone takes their turn at the same time (like writing something down or putting a card down in War).Real-time – Actions happen as fast as players can make them. Action-based video games.Turn-based and time limits – You have this long to take your turn. | its a real-time game |
| Player Interaction | you can open/close doors, turn the light on and off, and you can check the cameras as the player. |
| Some examples:Direct Conflict – I attack you.Negotiation – If you support me here, I’ll help you there.Trading – I’ll give you this for that.Information Sharing – If you go there, I’m warning you, a trap will go off. | its partially direct contact and partial information sharing (phone guy) |
| Theme & Narrative | NOTES |
| Does it have an actual story structure? | i does, all 6 games do |
| Is it based on a historical event (or similar)? | yes, it is similar to a chuck e cheese murder that happened around the same time as the game takes place, in the 90’s |
| Does the theme or narrative help you know how to play? | nope, you can play it without knowing the story |
| Does it have emotional impacts? | jumpscares cause fear, right? |
| Also, look for en media res (does it start in the middle of the game)? | it starts as the game starts, and it goes on after as well |
| The Elements in Motion | NOTES |
| How do the different elements interact? | if a animatronic is outside of the door and you close the door, the animatronic will go back to the main dining area |
| What is the gameplay like? | fast paced, well, after the first night it is |
| Is it effective? | yes, very |
| Are there any points where the design choices break down? | nope |
| Design Critique | NOTES |
| Why did the designer make these particular choices? | to make it look ultra realistic |
| Why this set of resources? | because if it isnt realistic then it wouldnt have been scary |
| What if they made different decisions? | then it wouldnt be as popular as it is now |
| Does the design break down at any point? | nope |
| Graphics & Sound | NOTES |
| Does the game art pair well with the mechanics? | yes |
| Did you find any bugs or glitches? | none that werent intentional, if golden freddy shows up your game normally crashes |
| What about sound? | the game is pro-listening |
| Can you spot any technical shortcuts? | nope |
| Various Stages of the Game | NOTES |
| To wrap up, some things to keep in mind (as if there aren’t enough already) as you play: | always check the east hallway corner on night 4 |
| What challenges do you face, and how do you overcome them? | the animatronics will appear, and you close the door to make them leave, except for two, freddy and golden freddy |
| Is the game fair? | first 3 nights are, the last 4 are what make it fun |
| Is it replayable? Are there multiple paths to victory or optional rules that can change the experience? | in the 3rd 5th and 6th game there are multiple paths, good ending and bad ending, in the 1st, 2nd and 4th games there are not multiple endings |
| What is the intended audience? | PG-13 |
| What is the core, the one thing you do over and over, and is it fun? |