Gameplay Journal 3

For this past week, I have continued with playing one of my all time favorite games, Hollow Knight. This is a metroidvania style 2D platformer game. As it relates to the assignment, modifications or simply put mods in general are a very interesting topic. They are very versatile and can either improve the overall gameplay or change the dynamic completely. The mod that I have observed and began to play through for myself is a room randomizer mod that randomizes every location of the game in Hollow Knight when you enter a new room. As you can imagine this completely disrupts the normal layout and run of the game. You ultimately have to keep track of where certain rooms and locations are and make a map of the new layout of the world your exploring.

With this all in mind, relating to Anne-Marie Schleiner concept of the parasite, modifications that reconfigure game environments and repurpose key mechanics to the “rules and conventions that govern how the game is played” (The Players Power to Change the Game, p.39) applies very well to the random room modifier in Hollow Knight. This modification specifically changes the games virtual environment and gives new purpose for certain game mechanics items and abilities. Hollow Knight is game built off of the Unity engine and certainly shows its capability to generate new forms of gameplay and player interaction. Overall, I would say that the current modification I have been enjoying to play and watch has a significant impact on the players experience in the world as it relates to the free-roaming style of the game to begin with. Exploration is the key to this game and this mod specifically matches up perfectly.

Lets Play: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9I3HwcI_us

Reference: Schleiner , Anne Marie. Players Power to Change the Game. Amsterdam University Press, 2017.