Assignment 1 Batman the ‘‘Arkham’’ Franchise By Sam Whitehead
Batman arkham
Visual style: Rocksteady have used an exaggerated style for their game. This is to make the character Bruce Wayne (A.k.A Batman) look like a stereotypical hero and male protagonist. The character Batman is exaggerated because of his over muscular body, no human being will look or be as strong as him. None of his body parts are good representatives of an actual human he is made to look twice the size.
Character design Each character in the arkham franchise is designed to back up the story behind the character. For example the joker looks evil and freaky to highlight his character in the game as he is evil and would do anything to kill Batman and take him out for good. Batman is another example as the design of the character highlights who Batman is, an anti-hero. This is done perfectly as Batman looks like a hero but appears as a dark character. Interface In batman you can access your mission interface at any time, here you can also view the arkham city map. This helps locate side missions and objectives around the map so the player can see where he has to be to start the next mission etc. The interface can also be used for wayne tech gadgets and upgrades this helps you in boss fights as different weapons have different strengths and weaknesses. The interface also allows you to quickly change your gadgets and equip another one (e.g. I have the batarang equipped and I need the explosive gel I can use the interface to quickly change between the two).
Environment The world created in arkham city is a very dark, polluted and an extremely violent place. The environment is meant to be a kind of super prison where the worst criminals are kept, this environment is used to highlight the people in this prison as everything in this place follows this grim nature. So the criminals will have to be the type of people who could survive such an environment. The map size has also been improved as the map is twice the size of the map on arkham asylum. The map is so effective as it gives you the real feel of a batman universe as there are thugs everywhere, graffiti on the walls and dirty polluted streets so rocksteady have mastered the map to precision as even the smallest of details add to that frightening, deserted place.
Gameplay: Narrative devices In the arkham series a range of voice actors are used for the different characters. Like Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy as the voices of the joker and batman. It is important to have these voice actors as it makes a scene look better as the characters sound like you would expect them to sound. Rocksteady have also used full facial motion capture in this game, which gives a full character performance allowing the player to see even the most subtle emotional responses on the character’s face, as well as hear them in dialogue with brilliant voice actors. Rock steady game director Sefton Hill even said ‘the narrative design has always been a core driving force of our work’, this can be seen clearly as the amount of detail put in to the narrative aspect of the game are remarkable.
Single player and multiplayer Batman the arkham franchise is based on storyline the most as the franchise is known for its excellent ways of telling a story through narrative, character design and the maps etc. Batman is always anticipated for its level of detail put into the storyline and all the twists and turns that come with it. The arkham franchise always guarantees engaging stories, compelling characters and and a beautiful realised world. This is why they have managed to maintain fan’s love for the franchise and this is also the reason why Batman: arkham knight is one of the most anticipated games in 2015, as it is the game that ends the franchise and fans cannot wait to see how it all ends. This game franchise has had multiplayer influence as well we have seen this in batman arkham origins where you could play a team deathmatch, with two opposing teams consisting of the joker’s thugs and Bane’s thugs and whilst the battle was commencing two players would take the role of Batman and Robin. Although it sounds very exciting many thought the attempt at multiplayer failed and thought there was too much going on. This is probably the reason why Rock steady have clearly stated batman: arkham knight will not include multiplayer, as they are focusing entirely on the final story. Avatars The avatars used in the arkham franchise is loved by many DC fans and lovers of the game. This is because of the level of detail rocksteady have put in to their characters important to sidekicks. Rock steady have developed every character into looking like they belong in this world. The avatars used is also a major reason why this franchise has won so many awards and is so successful. The avatars all match their narrative and the full facial motion capture just adds to the character realism.Even the small characters like the joker’s thugs look brilliant because they look like your typical superhero villain sidekicks. The batman himself has the best avatar as it just uses all the key factors of batman and puts it into the avatar as this anti-hero character who would do anything to protect his beloved city Gotham. Joker is also another example of a perfect avatar as he fits the mold of joker he looks freaky, evil and deceiving.
Game setting: Difficulty When you start the storyline in all the arkham games before the story starts it will give you 3 difficulty options starting at easy, then medium and finally hard. This gives the player a choice of how hard they want the game, this is essential as if it is the first for someone playing the game they obviously are not going to be that good at it and may get frustrated because they keep on dying. If a player has played the game before they have experience so will probably pick medium and hard if they want a challenge, but if it is your first time playing a game you should set it to easy so you can get some practice. This is a good move by rock steady as it gives the control to the player so they can decide which level of difficulty they can handle. Challenges Batman arkham the franchise has a load of challenges to offer you firstly have the main campaign which obviously is the most important, you then have side missions where you take on enemies or objectives that are not in the main story. There is also riddler trophies placed around the map which you need to solve puzzles and riddles to get, this is a very difficult challenge as there are a vast amount of them and some are in the most strangest of places. There also challenge maps where you can use a range of characters to get points and you can upgrade weapons with these points and unlock trophies. This gives the player hours of enjoyment as most games end with the story but this game has loads of extra missions. Goals The main goals in this game franchise is to stop the reign of terror the enemies bring to Bruce Wayne’s beloved Gotham. This game franchise includes a wide range of villains that Batman has to take down in his quest for justice. He will also receive other goals throughout the game which the player has to meet like hacking into computers or using his detective skills to work out the person who committed the crime.
Game mechanics: Inventory Batman has an inventory of gadgets that the player can use and unlock throughout the game. Each gadget has its purpose like the batarang can be used to hit switches or enemies or explosive gel can be used to break through weak structures. The player can access his inventory quickly and effectively which gives the player a chance to change between gadgets.
Win condition This game really has only one win condition to complete the main campaign and stop the joker and co from destroying Gotham and ending their reign of terror. Apart from the challenge maps have a win condition to accomplish the 3 required actions (e.g. take out an enemy without being seen) to unlock the next challenge. Feedback The feedback for this franchise is excellent as it has won so many awards and has received so much success as it lives to its hype and many people love playing it. The awards this franchise has won are as follows: VGX Award for Game of the Year 2011 VGX Award for Best Xbox 360 Game 2011 BAFTA Games Award for Performer 2012 • Mark Hamill BAFTA Games Award for Action Game 2012 • Rocksteady Studios, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment VGX Award for Best Action Adventure Game 2011 VGX Award for Character of the Year 2011 Satellite Award for Outstanding Action / Adventure Game 2011 VGX Award for Best Adapted Game 2011
For me the arkham franchise is one of the best series of games I have played. Rock steady have out done themselves by making a blockbuster game that everyone loves, the avatar to the environment just make the whole game come together and it makes for hours upon hours of superhero fun and adventure.