Critique Note:

Before I begin on the elements, I’d like to say a few words about the game design of the game. This might be the best type of online-mini game because of my level of immersion in the game. That sentence might be subjective, but it sure does prove a point that there is something to the game.

The King’s league Odyssey is a game where the player recruits AI companions to march on a crusade over conquering the Kingdom. The theme itself is interesting enough for me to keep playing the game but also, the mechanics have something special to them. They just feel natural and good for such a type of game (Online mini-game). But as any other game in it’s market, the retention level of the game is based on it’s progression system. Yet I’d say it is the best implementation of that system done in the market.

It’s taking too long, I don’t want to do an in-depth review of its mechanics and hence, let’s just follow onto the elements analysis.

Formal Elements

1. Player

How the game invites the player to play?
The game invites the player with a classic start option with some intro animations

How many players?
Sadly game is based on single player basis

What is the role of the player?
The role of the players is to train, recruit, and capture the kingdoms

What is the player interaction pattern?
The player interacts solely with mouse clicks

2. Objectives

The Objective of the player is to capture all the kingdoms of the continent followed by training our troops to a more advanced level to win more battles. Winning battles results in earning more money and crystals.The main objective of the game is to participate in the league of kingdoms and finally by winning the league you have to defeat the king in a duel to be the ultimate king of all.

What impact do these objectives have on the tone of the game?
By the small objectives you can gain money and crystals to advance your army and gain new skills.

3. Procedure

Describe each step of the play with every conditions and using the less words possible.
You start the game by choosing the difficulty option and only with one troop and you progress through by adding more troops by recruitment and advancing on the league program announced by king to confront him. After you completed the league you can confront him, the game ends by defeating the king and you becoming the ultimate king of all.

4. Rules

• Player should compete within the given time limit
• Can use maximum 5 troops per team
• Should wait while training
• Can’t upgrade without crystals or money
• Can’t control characters while in battle

Rules Defining objects?

• Various battle elements regarding health and etc. are there explaining the power of a troop
• Various advancements per a specialized troop determining all the troops present in them which explains the powers of certain category of troops
• Can challenge king only after league explaining the system/program announced by king
• Can’t complete quests twice as new quests arrive in their place
• Can’t recruit troops without searching for them explained by troop system
• Can’t upgrade instantly without crystals

Rules restricting actions?

• Can’t compete in league before the given time (days)
• Should wait while the soldiers are training
• Takes time (in days) for a quest or anything can’t attend to new ones instantly
• Can’t recruit new troops in a blimp should wait for them to arrive
• Can’t compete the king anytime, only after finishing the league

How the player learns the rules?
By some tutorials on start of the game and some basic general knowledge about the game tutorials can be only seen in easy mode not in hard or normal

5.  Resources

What are the resources that the player has to manage?
The player has to manage some primary resource like:

• Troops
• Troops strength
• Money
• Crystals
• Training points
• Kingdoms
• Time

6. Conflicts

What are the conflicts the player has to face in order to fill his objectives?
The only and major conflicts of the game are other kingdoms and their troops

Main Dilemmas of game:

• The units to recruit.
• The attributes to upgrade.
• The units to level-up
• The upgrades to purchase.

7. Boundaries

What separate the game from anything that is not the game?
The game is unique in a history perspective. Giving multiple options of purchasing many in game objects/things.

8. Outcome

What is the outcome of the game?
This game is story based. For completing the game you need to defeat the king. And after completing the game the player gets rating based on his performance and further asking the player to try out hard mode.

Is it a zero-sum game or a nonzero-sum game?
The player can only win the game unless he gives up and there is no loser in the end of the game, so it is a non-zero-sum game.

 

Dramatic Elements

1. The Challenge

What are the skills required to perform the tasks?
Strategic thinking to manage team you have on basis of what battle are you going
Managerial skills to manage what he has, and to put into use

Level of skill required?
Player while playing needs to have strategic thinking. And he also need managerial skills.

Which elements is the game using to require these skills?
The game uses time elements to let the player acquire the skills and to proceed further.

How does the game raise its difficulty?
The game raises the difficulty according to how many resources you have and how much have you progressed.

What are the player’s goals and feedbacks?
The goal of the player is to keep winning the league battles and to keep on capturing new kingdoms in order to reach the king and defeat him. If the player wins, he is awarded with money and crystals. And if he loses, the player has to wait to compete again.

2. Play

What are the game’s natures of play? (Agôn ludus / mimicry- ludus / agôn-paida / etc.).
The game’s nature is mimicry rule based, because it has competitive play with unregulated athlete

What types of player would be interested in this game?

• Competitor
• Achiever
• Craftsman

What are the levels of engagement for each gameplay phase?
Level of engagement is same for every gameplay phase

3. Premise

What is the premise of the game?
The premise of the game is historical elements, concretizing the representation of old times.

How is it exposed to the player?
This is exposed to the player in introduction of the game, that it is related to history

Does the premise unify the formal and dramatic elements? If yes, how?
Yes, the premise does unify the formal and dramatic elements by adding pre-historical elements that define the gameplay of this game.

4. Characters

What is his/her balance between “agency” and “empathy”?
The protagonist balance is based on agency as character is simple representation of the player. Player doesn’t develop emotional attachment to the character

Is he/she predesigned?
Yes, the characters are pre-designed

Does he/she have an existing back-story and motivations?
The character in the game doesn’t have a backstory but has motivations to be the ultimate king of all.

Is he/she player created?
No, the character is not player created

Does he/she allow customization and growth? If yes what and how?
Yes, you can customize your character and growth of him by leveling up and training him.
For protagonist, antagonist:

What do them/they…?

• Say? The protagonist says nothing
• Do? He just battles other armies
• Look like? He looks like a knight
• Want? Want to be the ultimate king
• Need? He needs training rather than that nothing

The character is a shallow personality, who is not revealed

5. Story

What kind of story is it?
Linear progression with a limited back-story for motivation to progress to the end of the game

6. Dramatic Arc

What kind of dramatic conflict is the game using?
The game is using

• Character vs. machine

How does the game expose the conflict?
The game exposes the conflict by a small text about the enemy and you entering in battle with them

How does the game raise the tension?
The game exposes tension by rising action in gameplay and story progression

What is the climax of the game?
The game ends by defeating the king and becoming the ultimate king of all.