8
Reverse
Engineering
and
Professional
Reviews
• Explain intellectual property as it relates to
video game development.
• Analyze various aspects of a game, such as
rules, gameplay, and longevity of design.
• Describe techniques used by the video game
industry to analyze games.
© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
• Determine if a game has met its design
objectives.
• Conduct a critical review of a video game.
• Analyze game environments.
• Compare the plot, interactivity, and reward
system of commercial video games.
© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
Reverse Engineering
• Deconstructing an existing game
• Find out how it works
• Understand the USP of competition
• Leads to copycat game design
• Competition may design a substitute product
© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
Reverse Engineering
• A copycat game may not be made by a
competing company
© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
Reverse Engineering
• Reverse engineering Spiko interactions:
• IF Spiko collides with a coin, THEN destroy the coin
AND add 10 points to player score
© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
Copycat Games
• Reverse-engineered games have similar
characters and characteristics
• Cannot use the same character
• Copyrighted character design
• Mario is copyrighted by Nintendo
• Mario cannot be used by other companies
• Permission needed from Nintendo to reuse
• Nintendo can use Mario however it wants
© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
Copycat Games
• Similar gameplay
• Gameplay cannot be copyrighted
• Game programming code is copyrighted
• Substitute product to the original
• Satisfies the same need or want
• Entertains in the same way
• Does not need to be a copycat game; may just be in
the same genre
© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
Copycat Feature
• Think about one of your favorite games
• What substitute games have been made that
have similar gameplay?
• What copycat games have similar characters?
© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
Copyright
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Legal protection
Intellectual property is protected
Cannot use without permission
Games protected by copyright
• Characters are copyrighted
• Game code is copyrighted
• Burning a DVD or disc copy is illegal
© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
Copyright
• Intellectual property, such as games and videos,
are protected by copyrights
© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
Why Copyright?
• Games are expensive to produce
• Developmental costs
• Marketing costs
• Copyright protects the company’s investment
• By protecting the company, copyright also
protects employee jobs
© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
Why Copyright?
• Copyrights protect game manufacturers
© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
Copyright Violations
• Pay fines
• Pay damages
• Amount the company lost due to your actions
• Pay attorney fees
• Pay punitive damages
• Extra amount to punish
• Jail time
© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
Copy Protection
• Copy protection prevents unauthorized copies
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Unusual disc size
Unique disc format
Embedded copy-resistant code
Online activation codes
Software key
© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
Copy Protection
• Software keys are a common form of copy
protection for games
© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
Game Evaluation
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Performed by critics and users
Determination of effectiveness of game elements
Summary of key game elements
Informs consumers so they can make a
purchasing decision
© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
Critics
• Critics are not reverse engineers
© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
Critics
• Have high knowledge of games and gaming
• Understand differences in games
• Know about new technologies
• Can identify USPs of games
© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
Game Evaluation
• Evaluations may be unbiased or may contain bias
• Bias is an intentional slant on evaluation of key
elements
• Positive bias
• Negative bias
© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
Positive Bias
• Overstated positive key features
• Understated negative key features
• Examples:
• Manufacture’s website
• Review on game cover
© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
Negative Bias
• Overstated negative key features
• Understated positive key features
• Examples:
• Competitor’s website
• TV commercial comparison by competitor
• Blog by unhappy former employee
© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
Unbiased
• Not influenced by outside opinions
• Properly weighs positive and negative key
elements
© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
Key Game Elements for Evaluation
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Quality of rules
User interface
Navigation
Performance
Gameplay
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Artistry
Longevity of design
Player interactions
Plot
Reward
© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
Quality of Rules
• How well the rules are explained and enforced
• Will the player understand:
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Game purpose
What they are supposed to do
How to overcome obstacles
Game objectives
• Fan sites often have walkthroughs to help
© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
User Interface
• The way in which the player interacts with the
game world
• Easy-to-handle game input
• Intuitive controls
© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
Navigation
• How the player moves in the game world
• Can player move well through each level?
• Can player see obstacles in time to avoid them?
• Game needs reasonable checkpoints
© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
Navigation
• Inset maps are used to help players navigate a
level
© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
Performance
• How well the game operates on the intended
game system
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Does the game play smoothly?
Is the game glitchy?
Do graphics move properly?
Does avatar move as expected?
Does avatar move without lag or delay?
© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
Gameplay
• What the user experiences in the game
• Is concept well developed?
• Does the character have the necessary movements to
overcome the challenges?
• Can the player win?
• Is the game challenging?
• Do players want to replay?
• Why do players want to replay?
© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
Artistry
• Visual appeal and design of the game
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Colors contrast and complement well
Mood and theme are appropriate
Setting and background are appropriate
Characters and avatar are visually appealing
© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
Artistry
• This poorly designed game art shows flaws when
the player moves
© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
Longevity in Design and Structure
• How long the game will be sellable
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Can the game be made into a series?
Will there be a long-term market?
Are there many substitute games?
Does the game use new technologies?
Is the game seasonal or a fad?
Is the game a substitute product?
© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
Player Interactions
• What the player is doing
• Do the player interactions fit the theme?
• What interactions are required (shooting, jumping,
battling, conversational, etc.)?
• Is a linear sequence needed?
• What interactions are expected in sequence?
© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
Player Interactions
• Many games feature a linear sequence
© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
Plot
• The main storyline of the game
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Do player actions fit the game story?
Is there a well-developed backstory?
Do we care about the characters?
Is the story fully told during the game?
Does the storyline add to immersion?
© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
Reward
• Something positive provided to the player for
completing a task
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Is adequate reward given for each risk?
Do high-risk moves provide higher reward?
Are rewards unique?
Are tasks trivial or meaningless?
Are rewards linear to allow the player to overcome a
final challenge?
© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
Summarizing the Evaluation
• Five-star rating system
© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
Summarizing the Evaluation
• Point-rating system
• Summarizes evaluation into a single number
• Scoring a 5 is a perfect score
• User reviews
• Game players post feeling about a game
• Unbiased review
© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
Summarizing the Evaluation
• User reviews can be a source of very valuable
unbiased information
© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
What is intellectual property?
Something original from someone’s mind
or intellect
© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
What are the ten key game elements that
must be evaluated?
Quality of rules, user interface, navigation,
performance, gameplay, artistry, longevity
in design and structure, player
interactions, plot, and reward system
© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
What type of system is typically used by
critics to indicate their evaluation of a
game?
A star-rating system; the five-star rating
system is most common.
© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
If the player needs documentation or a
walkthough just to figure out what is
supposed to be done, which game element
has not met its objective?
The quality of rules.
© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
If you are to conduct an unbiased review,
what must you do?
You must remain neutral, not providing either
positive or negative bias in the review.
© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
What are four components of good
gameplay?
Well-developed concept, a character with
the necessary movements to overcome
challenges, a challenging game, and
significant replay value
© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.
How should the player’s rewards compare
to the risk taken?
Low-risk task should receive low
rewards, while high-risk tasks should
receive high rewards.
© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.