Amy Brockbank presented on her research into classic game The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and modern game Fallout: New Vegas. For Zelda, she used primarily primary research by playing the game for 45 minutes to understand controls, characters, and story. She found the combat repetitive, story cliche, and characters cut-and-paste. However, she enjoyed the navigation and soundtrack. For Fallout: New Vegas, she relied mainly on secondary research from online sources and her 100 hours of gameplay. She analyzed elements like combat styles, story branches, characters, navigation through an open world, and a soundtrack split between licensed and ambient music.

1. AmyBrockbank
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
Presentation Transcript
Slide 1:
“Hello,myname isAmyBrockbank,and todayI will be talkingaboutresearchtechniquesandhow
those techniqueshave aidedme whenresearchingtwogames;one classicandone modern.”
Slide 2:
“In thispresentation,I will be talkingaboutdifferenttypesof research,andhow Ican applythat
researchwhenlookingatbothclassicand moderngames.”
Slide 3:

2. AmyBrockbank
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
“The pointof thispresentationistoinformyouall of whatI have learnedaboutresearch techniques
and whatI have learnedfromthe gamesI have researched,byusingthese researchtechniques.”
Slide 4:
“Whenlookingatresearch,I thoughtitmightbe a goodideato take a stepback andlookat the
basicsof research.Researchisa goodway of findingoutmore abouta particularsubjector topic,
eitherbyconductingyourownresearch,or lookingatsomeone else’s.Ilookedat4 differenttypesof
researchforthis task,so I couldgeta goodideaof what bothgamesare about.I alsolookedintothe
importance of researchinthe industry,andfoundthatresearchis veryimportantwithinthe games
industry,especiallywhencreatingnewgames.”
Slide 5:

3. AmyBrockbank
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
“Here are the four typesof researchI lookedinto;Primaryresearch,secondaryresearch,
quantitative research,andqualitative research.”
Slide 6:
“Whenlookingatprimaryand secondaryresearch,Ilookedatthe differencesbetweenthem.
Primaryresearchisresearchthat the researcherhasgatheredthemselves;itisfirsthandresearch,
whereassecondaryresearchisresearchthatthe researcherhasgatheredfromothersources;itis
secondhandresearch.Examplesof primaryresearchinclude gatheringquestionnaires,and
examplesof secondaryresearchincludeinformationgatheredfromthe internet,aswell as
informationgatheredfrombooks.”
Slide 7:

4. AmyBrockbank
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
“I alsolookedatquantitative andqualitative researchandthe differencesbetweenthe two.
Quantitative researchisresearchthatismade upof facts andfigures,itisdata that has a clear
structure,andis easiertoput intographs.Qualitative researchisprettymuchthe opposite,itis
researchthat isunstructured,andisoftenpresentedinthe formof opinions.Thisformof research
isn’tas easyto putinto graphs and charts,but it iseasiertopresentinthe formof writing.”
Slide 8:
“Now,I will startlookingatmy chosenclassicgame,‘The Legendof Zelda:A Linkto the Past.’”
Slide 9:

5. AmyBrockbank
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
“WhenI was lookingatthisparticulargame,I usedmainlyprimaryresearch,whichmeantthatIhad
to play the game to geta general feel forthe controls,charactersandstory.”
Slide 10:
“Whenresearchingthisgame,Iplayeditonan original SNESconsole forroughly45minutes,soI
couldgeta roughideaof whatthe game playedlike.Mostof my researchforthispart of the task
was done here,whenplayingthe game.”
Slide 11:

6. AmyBrockbank
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
“In thispart of the task,I had to use mainlyprimaryresearch,althoughIdidhave tolookat some
secondarysourcestofindout howwell the game wasreceived,andthe kindof review scoresit
received.”
Slide 12:
“Whendoingsecondaryresearch,Ifoundoutthe game wasreleasedonthe SNESin1991, and is
consideredtobe one of the bestsellinggamesinthe ‘LegendOf Zelda’series. Ialsofoundthatthe
game was publishedanddevelopedbyNintendo,although,Ialreadyknew this.”
Slide 13:
“Whenlookingatthe game,I lookedatsome specificelementsof the game,suchascombat, story,
characters,navigation,soundtrack,aswell assome otherfeatureswithinthe game thatI pinpointed
that I thoughtwere quite interesting.”
Slide 14:

7. AmyBrockbank
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
“Whenlookingatthe combatin the game,I foundthatI wasn’tverykeenonthe combatin the
game.I feltthatthe combatwas veryrepetitive,anddidn’tworkverywell. Ifoundthatwhenthe
playerhitsthe ‘A’button,Link attacks directlyinfrontof him.I foundthistobe tiresome,especially
if there wasa guard behindLink.”
Slide 15:
“Much like the combat,Ialsowasn’tparticularlykeenonthe storyof the game.The story of the
game is basicallyaboutaboy whosetsoff on a questto rescue the princessZelda afterhis uncle is
killedbythe guards.The storycomesacross as a bitof a cliché,andseemsoverdonebytoday’s
standards.”
Slide 16:

8. AmyBrockbank
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
“Again,I wasn’tparticularly keenonthe characters,astheyall seema little bitcutand paste.Linkis
the quirkyadventurertype,PrincessZeldaisthe typical princesscharacter,Agahnimisthe typical
villain,andLink’suncle isthe typical deadfamilymember.Ididn’tlikethe charactersmuch,forthe
same reasonas the story.”
Slide 17:
“The navigationinthisgame feelsquite nice.The playerisgivenamapat the verystart of the game,
whichshowsthemwhere everythingisinthe worldis,andhow to getthere.The map feels
surprisinglybig,especiallygiventhe age of the game,and the game’slimitations.The mapfeelseasy
to navigate,whichisabig plusinthe game.”
Slide 18:

9. AmyBrockbank
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
“Thisgame alsohas a veryinterestingsoundtrack.Due tothe game’slimitations,the soundtrack
loops.The loopingsoundtrackisnotas badas itseems,though,asthe soundtrackstill soundsvery
goodeventoday,however,if the playerisstuckina particular area,the soundtrackcan become
tedious,whichisinevitable.”
Slide 19:
“While lookingatthe game,I alsolookedatotherfeaturesinthe game I thought were quite
interesting.Ipickeduponthe game’smagic system, whichallowsthe playerstodefeatenemiesby
castingspells,ratherthanusingthe sword.Ialso lookedatthe game’scurrencysystem, whichworks
inRupees,whichcanbe foundin vases,muchlike hearts.Rupeescanthenbe usedto purchase
itemssuchas weapons,toaidthe playerinthe game.”
Slide 20:

10. AmyBrockbank
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
“Overall,IthinkThe Legend of Zelda:A Link to the Pastis still averygoodgame,althoughsome
elementsof the game have notagedsowell. Iquite like the graphical style of the game,as,although
the game lookspixelated,itstill lookscleanandfresh.Ialsolikedthe game’ssoundtrack,even
thoughit can getrepetitive if the playerisstuckina particulararea. I didn’tlike the storylineorthe
characters,as I thoughttheywere cliché,andI didn’tlike the combat,asitfelta bittoo basic,and I
foundmyself buttonmashingwhenfacingenemies.”
Slide 21:
“Now,I will startto lookat my chosenmoderngame,‘Fallout:New Vegas’.”
Slide 22:

11. AmyBrockbank
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
“Whenlookingatmy chosenmoderngame,‘Fallout:New Vegas’,Iusedmainlysecondaryresearch
to researchthe game.”
Slide 23:
“AlthoughImainlyusedsecondaryresearch,itwasimportantthatI didsome primaryresearchand
actuallyplayedthe game.Before Istartedthisproject,Iputabout 100 hours intothe game,which
meantthat I had a lotof experience withthe game beforehand.Whenlookingintosecondary
research,I useda lotof sourcesfromthe internet,suchasreviews,andtrailers.”
Slide 24:

12. AmyBrockbank
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
“While doingsecondaryresearch,Ilookedintobasicinformationaboutthe game.Ifoundthat the
game was releasedin2010 for PC, PS3 andXbox 360, and was developedbyObsidian,whichwas
partlymade up of formerBlack Isle employees,whoworkedonthe original 2Falloutgames.Sofar,
the game isthe latestto be releasedinthe Falloutseries.”
Slide 25:
“Whenplayingthe game,Itook note of the same elementsIlookedatwhenlookingatThe Legend
Of Zelda:A LinkTo The Past.I lookedatcombat,story, characters,navigation,sound,aswell as
otherfeaturesIthoughtwere interesting.”
Slide 26:

13. AmyBrockbank
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
“Whenlookingatthe game,I foundthatthere were manydifferentcombatstylesthe playercould
use,5, to be precise.The 5 categoriesare melee,guns,energy,unarmedandexplosives.Each
change the way the game is playeddrastically,although,all combatstylesuse Fallout’s unique
combat system,V.A.T.S.,whichstandsforVault-TecAutomatedTargetingSystem,whichturnsthe
game from real time combat,to turnbasedcombat instead.”
Slide 27:
“The storyinFallout:NewVegasisquite basic,although,Istill foundthe basicstoryquite
interesting.Youplayasa courierwhoisshot inthe headafter attemptingtodeliverapackage,who
thenmustpiece togetherwhokilledthemandwhy.Ifoundthatthe storygetsbetteraftera while,
as there are manypotential branchesthe storycantake,whichmakeseachplaythroughcompletely
different.”
Slide 28:

14. AmyBrockbank
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
“In Fallout:NewVegas,thereare hundredsof characters;somany,that I can’t even begintotalk
aboutall of them.However,there are manydifferentfollowersthatthe playercanhave withthem,
whocan helpaidthemincombat,and helpraise XPquicker.”
Slide 29:
“I alsolookedatnavigationinthe game.The game isbasedinan openworld, meaningthatthe
playerhasan opportunitytoexplore the world. If the playerwishes,theycanfasttravel to locations
across the map, providedtheyhave alreadyvisitedthem.Thismakesgettingaroundthe ratherlarge
worldincredibly easy;however,if the playerwantstowalkeverywhere,fasttravel canbe ignored
altogether.”
Slide 30:

15. AmyBrockbank
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
“One of Fallout:NewVegas’more interestingpoints are itssoundtrack.The soundtrackissplitinto
twosections,the licencedmusicandthe ambientmusic.The licencedsoundtrackisplayedthrough
radiosand speakersthroughout the world,andismade upof musicfromthe 30’s, 40’s and 50’s,
whichisa theme carriedonfromthe previousFalloutgames;otherthanthe console Falloutgame,
‘BrotherhoodOf Steel’,which containedmusicfromartistswhoperformmetal music.Whenthe
licencedmusicstopsplaying,the ambientmusicstarts,whichismade upof musicwhichtakesmuch
of itsinfluencefromwesterns.”
Slide 31:
“WhenplayingthroughFallout:NewVegas,I noticedmanyotherfeatures,suchasthe game’s
hardcore mode,whichaddsmore survival elementsintothe game,suchasthirst,hungerandsleep.I
alsolikedFallout:New Vegas’implementationof drugsandalcohol inthe game,whichtemporarily
raisesstats,but increasesthe riskof anaddictionpenalty,whichlowersthe player’sstats.Ialsoliked
the game’shealthsystem,whichhasacrippledlimbsystemonthe side.Thissystemgradually
damagesthe limbsof the player’scharacter,whichincursdifferentpenaltiesdependingonwhich
limbsare injured.”
Slide 32:

16. AmyBrockbank
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
“Overall,IreallylikedFallout:NewVegas.The gameplayisfun,andhasmanydifferentpossibilities,
much like the storyline,whichbranchesoff inmanydifferentdirectionsdependingonthe player’s
actions.The worldislarge,and has manyinterestinglocationstoexplore anddiscover,some with
intriguingcharacterstomeet.The game alsofeaturesfantasticvoice acting,butthisalsobringsme
ontothe badpointsinthe game.The voice acting,althoughgood,getsrepetitive sometimes,with
characters havingthe same voice actorsagain andagain. The game alsolooksa bit drab inparts,due
to the size of the game,andthe engine itwasbuilton.The game isalsohorriblybuggy,with
graphical glitchesmakingthe game appeartolookevenworse,forexample,whenIvisitedone of
the casinosinthe game,the courtyardwas filledwithstretchedmodels,andtexturesthathadnot
loadedproperly.Although,justbecause the game hasthese badpointsdoesnotmeanthatI thought
the game wasfunand interesting.”
Slide 33:
“Whenlookingatboth of these games,Itook intoconsiderationthe genreof themboth,whichI
identifiedas‘actionRPG’.Icomparedthe two to puttogethera listof what workswithinthe genre,
and whatdoesn’t.Ifoundthat havingvariedcombatstyles makesthe game farmore interesting,
and allowsthe playermore freedom,givingthe playeranopportunitytobuildtheircharacter,and
make themunique.Ifoundthatinboth of the gamesI lookedat,soundtrackwasalsoa strong point,
givingthe worldfarmore character. I alsofoundthat bothgamesfeature wide openareasthatthe
playercan use to explore,givingthe playerasense thattheyare actuallymakinganimpact where
theytravel.Whenlookingatthe badpoints,I foundthatbasic combatmakesthe gamesrepetitive,

17. AmyBrockbank
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
and oftenquite boring.Ialsofoundthatthe story hasto be keptquite basic,tomake room forall
the choicesthe playercan make withinthe game,tostopit frombecomingtoocomplicatedlateron
downthe line.”
Slide 34:
“Afterlookingatbothgames,I thenlookedbackonthe researchtechniquesIusedthroughoutthe
project,andhowmuch I enjoyedusingthem.WhenlookingbackatwhatI likedaboutthe project,I
foundthat I generallylikedusingprimaryresearch;Ilikedplayingthe gamesfirsthand,andcreating
the questionnairestogeta lookat the opinionsof otherswhohadplayedthe gamesthatI was
researching.There were elementsof the projectIdidn’tlike,however,whichwere mainlysecondary
researchtechniques.Ididn’tlike goingthroughthe internettryingtofindsourcessuchasreviews
and trailers,andfindingscreenshotstoillustrate whatIwastryingto say,whenitcouldbe somuch
easiertofindmyown.”
Slide 35:
“Thank youfor listeningtomypresentation.Anyquestions?”