You are playing as a teenager that has been grounded. Your crush suddenly invites you to a date. You cannot miss this opportunity and therefore decide to sneak out. Your parents are very strict and you realize that if they catch you, you will be in an immense amount of trouble. Â
Together with your teammate find all 4 item cards and then reach an end zone. Only one player may be in each end zone. The team that finishes first wins.
âThe Masterplanâ is a card game about YOU being the villain and having to plan and explain your next big coup to your fellow partners in crime. Decide whoâll be your ultimate partner in crime, choose your most powerful object and the perfect location for carry out THE biggest coup of the century.
No. of Players: 3+
Length of Play: max. 20 minutes
Age group: 14+
MDA Breakdown of Super Smash Bros. Melee (Amalgamation of previous M and DA Analyses)
(Naomi Seeling) The âSuper Smash Bros.â series is, at its core, a 2D fighting game. One to four players compete against each other, each controlling a different character, with the goal to knock out opponents from the stage before they do the same to you. The characters are controlled with analogue Game Cube controllers, and follow simple inputs such as directional movement (left, right, jump, drop down), attacks, shields and special attacks.
When a character is hit by an attack, they build up a damage value called percent (%), and the more percent a character has, the further he will be knocked back the next time he is hit by an attack. The amount of percent worth of damage that a single attack can do varies greatly, from a simple jab hitting for 3% and a difficult to hit special attack hitting for up to 30%.
 Percent is however not the only factor relevant to being knocked out. Every match is played on a stage of the playersâ choice, with some stages being very large and open and other stages being tight and small. In order to be knocked out, a character needs to be knocked back beyond the âblast linesâ of the stage. Blast lines are simply the horizontal and vertical perimeters of the 2D stage, and thus effectively the edges of the monitor on which the game is being played. Though a character can in theory accumulate up to 999% worth of damage, in practice most characters can be reliably killed at 60-100%, as the knockback of getting hit by an attack at this percent can be sufficient to be knocked beyond a blast line.
 The movement system of the game is very straight forward. If you press right, your character goes right. If you press jump your character jumps. This makes the game very accessible to new and/or casual players. There are, however, many more layers to it that just simple right and left inputs. Depending on the angle that a direction is input, a character can be made to walk or dash. A light tap on the jump button causes a short hop, where a solid jump input causes a full hop. An advanced technique of movement referred to as âwave dashingâ in which the character jumps and immediately dodges back towards the ground is a stepping stone towards becoming a competitive player.
 Over-all, the game provides excellent gameplay for both casual and competitive players, as the inputs and winning condition are straight-forward and accessible, but at the same time there is room for advanced movement techniques without complicating the game for newer players, because they simply arenât even aware that wave dashing exists.
 As discussed previously, one of the core mechanics of the âSuper Smash Bros.â series is that when a character is hit by an enemyâs attack, they are sent flying backwards (this is called knock-back). How far the character is knocked back depends directly on other game mechanics, such as how much damage % they have accumulated, as well as the strength and angle of the attack they are being hit by. All of this is important not only from a mechanical perspective, but actually relates closely to how players perceive and approach the game.
 Simply put, the more damage % a character has, the further they will get knocked back by the next attack, and if they get knocked back too far off the stage, the character is K.O.âd. All players playing the game are aware of this, which results in a clear increase in tension when one or more characters have taken a lot of damage %, as the next attack that connects will have a good chance of knocking them out. This knowledge greatly impacts how both new and experienced players interact with the game, because, of course, they want to avoid being knocked out.
 A classic choice that players make when their characters are close to being knocked out is to focus more on defending than attacking. They dodge more, shield more, and stay further away from enemy characters in hopes of prolonging play time by not being knocked out. This is not something dictated by game mechanics - a character moves and attacks exactly the same way whether they have freshly spawned or have been badly damaged â but it is an active player choice to switch up style of play. This is a dynamic resulting from the pressure of having an enemy to play against.
 Now, because many players play a lot more carefully and defensive when their characters are at the brink of being knocked out, a few other players have developed a perhaps unintuitive strategy: when theyâre close to being knocked out, they switch their playstyle to being profoundly aggressive. As opponents expect defensive play in this situation, sudden aggression despite being very vulnerable can completely surprise the other players and catch them off guard. Opponents would expect defensive play, because that is in a way the âmetaâ of the game, and going against this meta (which is entirely dictated by best practices of the majority of players) is unexpected. This takes place entirely on a level of interaction between player and player; itâs a mind-game, defined down nowhere in the rules and mechanics of the game.
 The thrill of playing another versus another player is probably the biggest part of what makes âSuper Smash Bros. Meleeâ exciting. Mastering the game mechanics is one thing, but defeating another player by out-mind-gaming them is truly a triumphant feeling, especially if that other player is more mechanically skilled. This constitutes one of the main aesthetic lenses of the game: fellowship. Meeting with a friend in person to play on an old CRT-TV with analogue controllers, seeing them grin when theyâre winning, seeing their surprise when you outplay them, and at the end of the day having fun despite the intense competitiveness of the game is what truly makes âSuper Smash Bros. Meleeâ a social game. The skill ceiling of âMeleeâ and the mind-games also work to make it a popular spectator sport, and there are frequent LAN-events and many livestreams which allow fans to participate in the excitement, also granting the game a sense of community.
 Another aesthetic lens through which the game should be viewed is challenge. And that is not only the challenge of fighting directly against another player, because simply playing the game at a decent level is already an obstacle in and of itself. The movement system is complex and very challenging â top level professional players will spend hours just drilling their movement on an empty stage with no opponents. Because of this difficulty, and also because of the social component of the game, there is a real sense of accomplishment when a player learns how to âwave-dashâ, then âwave-landâ, to âshield-dropâ and to âmoon walkâ, and thus also gains further acceptance among the experienced players of the game, having overcome the challenge of learning those techniques.
 All these advanced movement techniques listed are actually not game mechanics, but rather dynamics, as they results from over-sights by the game developers on the interaction of multiple game mechanics at once. It took dedicated playersâ trial and error approaches as well as simple chance to discover these movement techniques. Funnily enough, the game developers have expressed a clear dislike for the use of these techniques, as they had intended for the game to be a very casual party-game rather than a competitive e-sport, but with release of the game it was out of their hands and the gameâs community of players has continued to organise large-scale tournaments, precisely because it feels good to be competitively good at the game, because being good at the game is so challenging, because exploiting the interaction between game mechanics on a dynamical level impresses others.
 As later iterations of the game have been released, the fellowship aspect was retained, and of course there is still challenge involved in playing against other players, but the developers greatly reduced the demanding dynamics of the game, which has also greatly decreased its challenge. As a result, many loyal fans of âMeleeâ never even touched the gameâs successor âBrawlâ.
The game âDishonoredâ is a stealth action adventure game developed by Arkane Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks in 2012. In the game you play as Corvo who is framed for murder and is therefore forced to become an assassin who seeks revenge. The game has a mechanic which is called âBlinkâ, which is one of many skills Corvo can learn. This mechanic lets you move almost instantly forward to a chosen location, inside a set range. The Blink skill can be used in many ways, it is most commonly used to either assassinate someone by getting close to them extremely fast and then performing a silent kill or to reach a platform you would normally not reach. It can also be used to move past guards, since the ability does not create any sound and you can therefore use it without the guards noticing. The Blink ability is not a teleportation ability, it is more like an almost instant movement. If Corvo tries to Blink through a âWall of Lightâ which is like a wall made of electricity, he takes damage or dies. He can also only go a set distance and he must be able to see the place to reach it, so one cannot use Blink to pass through walls. When Corvo is climbing or carrying a body, he can also use the Blink ability, however some objects like a bottle cannot be carried while blinking. The Blink ability cost mana, so he cannot use it the entire time since he will eventually run out of mana, however the mana cost is very low. One can also upgrade the ability, and this upgrade will increase its range. The DLC lets you play a different character, whose Blink ability also stops time if you are not moving. The Blink ability gives the player increasing more options and is extremely fun and smooth. Â
The Blink ability is very mechanical, it has ma maximum range that can not be changed unless one levels up the ability. It can be cast in closer distances. The ability is made for combat but also stealth since you can use it to dodge certain attacks but also remain hidden from certain people and reach places that would be harder to reach otherwise. When using the Blink mechanic, the player must âequipâ it. You have your different weapons in the left hand. (Gun, heart, abilities) When using the blink ability, one cannot simultaneously use the gun or other abilities. The miss use of the blink ability can cause you to fall to your death. The dynamic of the ability is very good, it reacts instantly when clicked and moves the character, Corvo instantly and smoothly to the desired location. The location that you will travel to can be seen by the blue lighted area. The aesthetics of the Blink ability are very good too. Since it is a first-person game, you cannot see yourself when using the ability, only in cutscenes. You do however fight people that can also use the Blink ability and it is very smooth and consistent. The animation looks almost as if you are crumbling away and then crumbling together again. Â This crumbling is very fast though. You do not even have to stop moving when using the blink ability making it great for stealth and assassinations. Â
The type of player is also very interesting in this game, since there are different ways you can play the game, stealth without killing people, stealth with killing people, or loud and killing everyone. The mechanics of the game change according to what you want to do. You can learn abilities that make it easier to remain undetected or abilities that will help you in a fight. Usually a player seeks different things from the game and some people will have more fun playing the loud style and some might like the stealth style more. The highest score in a mission is given if you have as little casualties as possible. The stealth way of playing is the hardest one but will also be rewarded with the most points. Creating a skill tree and different abilities makes it fun for the player to decide what style he wants to adopt and if he ever replays the game he can play the game in a completely different way.
In Fallout 4 the most unique mechanics is the V.A.T.S which stands for Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System. While using V.A.T.S, the  otherwise real-time combat is slowed down. Various actions cost action points and the user can target specific body areas for attacks inflicting specific injuries. Thereâs also a critical execution bar which gets filled with each successful hit and when full can be used for a devastating attack.
In the following text the MDA framework for this system will be explained.
Mechanics
The V.A.T.S system is basically a queuing system inspired partly by the ability to shoot specific parts in the turn-based combat system of Fallout and Fallout 2 which were turn based RPGs. Each click on a specific part of the body is queued and executed one after the other based on the order in which they were clicked (eg. if we click the left arm then the head then the torso the player shoots first at the left arm then the head then the torso)
Dynamics
When using V.A.T.S. against a humanoid enemy, seven different areas can be targeted: the head, torso, left arm, right arm, currently held weapon, left leg, and right leg. However, there may be other points available when facing off non-humanoid creatures (e.g. robot combat inhibitors, ant antennae). As explained earlier when V.A.T.S is used the game slows down to almost being considered paused and the player has enough time to select their desirable target spots on the enemy. The number of selections during the use of V.A.T.S depends on the âAction Pointsâ of the player which are limited and based on how much
âenduranceâ which is part of the S.P.E.C.I.A.L (Strength.Perception.Endurance.Charisma.Intelligence.Agility.Luck) list of the player and can be increased as the game progresses. Another feature of the V.A.T.S is the Critical meter which gets filled with each successful strike on an enemy in V.A.T.S and when full can be used for a devastating hit against the enemy.
Aesthetics
The V.A.T.S allows the player to experience a fantasy world where time slows down to give an advantage to the player over the enemies giving them an edge during combat. Which in a way gives the player a sensation of pleasure from being able to do things that others canât do in that world in turn making them feel a bit godly amongst a sea of radioactive monsters and psychotic humans.
In âDanganronpaâ you play as the student Makoto Naegi, who gets accepted into Hopeâs Peak Academy, a school full of talented students. After arriving at school on his first day, he loses consciousness but soon wakes up to the faces of other students. It turns out that they got locked up into the school and the only way to âgraduateâ, to leave the school, is to murder another student without being found out.
Class trials are being held at the end of each chapter after a murder took place. Once you find the collectible evidence you proceed to the court room, in which the trial will take place. The students have to determine throughout the trial, who the âBlackenedâ student, the murderer, is. During the class trial, students confront each other in several debate phases and put together pieces of the collected evidence.
At the very end, the âClosing Argumentâ takes place. The âClosing Argumentâ is an unique element of the âDanganronpaâ series. Through a comic-like story, it narrates the events during the murder, how and why the murder actually happened.
Opposed to the aesthetic component of âNarrationâ, the closing argument gives you a fragmentary comic, which you have to complete. Below, the player has a broad selection of different illustrated round frames. The information in the upper left corner serves as an indicator of how many pages you have to complete with the suitable frames given. In this example, the mechanic is that you have to sort the frames into the comic by dragging it in the appropriate panels. However, youâre given more than ten frames of which some display incorrect information. So you have to decipher which illustration matches with the already filled in panels. If youâve inserted one frame incorrectly, the story plays out until the panel youâve filled in wrongly and subtracts one of your life points.
Depending on which game difficulty you started out, the indicator in the upper right corner gives you a time limit in which the trial, including the closing argument with the comic, has to be completed. This aesthetic component of âChallengeâ gives the player a certain kind of achievement if they finish the trial more quickly because you get a specific grade depending on how fast you finish it. After the frames are properly rearranged into the right order, the story plays out. Accompanied by the main charactersâ narration, the now finished comic visually tells the event of the night of the murder.
