Pacing within games, especially story based games, is very important as it can determine the atmosphere and player experience. “Felinophobia” deals with pacing by having readers read the story in paragraphs (that have been specifically portioned in amounts that effectively show how the author wants the story to be conveyed). The creator inserts breaks visually by inserting photos, which also enhance how the story is experienced because it allows readers into the author’s mind and how they saw their plot come together as they wrote the story. The author also employs clicking as a method to add visual and mental breaks. The clicking aspect of the game is not always from the choices that the reader needs to make, but the creator uses this function to allow for the player to proceed to the next part. In doing this, the player can take in the story in the intended portions, as mentioned above. Another notable aspect of the game connected to pacing is the way in which the passages are organized. The choices that need to be made or the buttons that we need to click are either dialogues that progress the story or are actions that need to be taken next. While readers cannot exactly say what comes next within the story, the choices allow for readers to take a break and have a slight idea on what comes next or what other characters will do.There is also a sense of reflection that happens as players click through the story because of the way in which the choices are laid out. The format of the dialogue that was mentioned allows for the game to emulate the back and forth motion of a real conversation as the only clicking that occurs surrounds that actions and words of the character we are playing. There were also factors that are related to the story that are also worth mentioning as they greatly contribute to the way the plot is perceived. “Felinophobia” starts off mildly slow with an excerpt from another piece of text by Rober Albert. This sets the readers up for the next page, which is a thorough description of cats and their relationships with humans. The following portions, before the readers really dive into the meat of the story, are explanations that set up the world in the story and who we are. This sequence in addition to the clicking mechanism really allows for readers to reflect on what is occurring before we are really dragged into the story, effectively allowing for readers to feel like something is building up without getting carried away. This is a contrast to the ending that is more fast paced. The paragraphs seem longer while packing in more of the story and truly matches the pace of the events within the plot. These are all tools that are used within “Felinophobia” to create an atmosphere of suspense and help readers perceive the story at the same rate as the way the events occur within the story.
The game Felinophobia opens with a quote detailing a large creature, a Cat-goddess, that seems to have killed someone. The next page then describes humanity's relationship with cats throughout history. This relationship being that even though humans seem to think cats are sweet animals that we allow into our homes, the nature of cats has never changed and they have never been domesticated by humans. The next scene then jumps to an entirely new topic. The player is now a detective hard at work investigating a case. These completely different topics may leave the player with many questions. The player may question why were these first two scenes included or what do these first two scenes have anything to do with a detective trying to solve a case. Why these seemingly different topics were both included in the game is answered later on in the investigation. While searching for clues a destroyed room is found. Inside that room is a table covered in scratch marks. This clue and the two scenes in the beginning of the game make the player’s mind jump to the idea that something related to cats is involved in the case, the player only needing to continue on with the game to find out more. The questions the player may have had at the beginning of the game and this clue serving as a callback to the first two scenes only make the player want to continue playing in order to find what the connection is between cats and the investigation.
Another reason the player may want to continue playing the game is because of the different options presented to the player. There are different paths available for the player to play through and different endings for the player to find. This encourages the player to replay the game with different choices.
The design choices in this game make the game feel more realistic and help the player feel as if they are actually in the game, trying to solve the case. The inclusion of photos next to the text allows the player to see what the developer was picturing when they wrote the story while also helping with the immersion. With the photos the player can more easily picture what is happening in their own mind. The dialogue system is easy to follow and flows like an actual conversation. Instead of a block of dialogue, the player is presented with a line said by another character to the player character. The player then can ‘respond’ to the character by clicking the link/the next line of dialogue. Doing so makes the other character’s response to that line appear underneath the player’s line of dialogue. This continues until the conversation is finished. This whole format makes it feel as though there really is a back and forth between the player character and the other character and that the player is actually involved in the conversation. Italics are used when quotes are used in the game and when pieces of dialogue are coming from a television and not a character in the game.
At the beginning of the story, the ancient and mysterious side of the cat is first told. As a player, I felt that this would be a horror story about cats. But the story quickly returned to the real world. Players are invited to participate in the investigation of a case. I began to wonder what the cat had to do with this case. Subsequently, players began to encounter the first more important option. I tried here twice and found an option that can give players some hints about cats and pave the way for the future plot. Later, when investigating the crime scene, the previous cat's information also made me naturally want to choose to investigate the scratches on the table. The difference between some options is to skip part of the content or go through a different path to the same ending, but there are some options that cause the player to fail to investigate the truth of the matter, that is, the game fails. The options of the game encourage the curiosity of the player, and the player needs to have the spirit of exploration to discover the ultimate secret place. When the plot further develops into a secret place, I feel that the game has changed from realism to a sense of science fiction. The final part of the game is Cthulhu. The plot makes me feel that the plot is fuller. It's like the beginning of a bigger worldview. I think the format and content of the entire game are very suitable. The game puts a large number of dialogues on one page, and a paragraph appears every time you click, so that players can better understand the content of the entire dialogue. When the player needs to make a choice, most of the time, the game has designed a separate page to emphasize this content. Dialogues in different scenarios will appear on different pages, and the pictures on the pages are also very suitable. Just like the pictures in the room and the pictures of the physical evidence make the players feel more immersed in the game. The game establishes a feeling centered on cats and fear, and every click of the player is like exploring. The game also simulates the cost of exploring the unknown. Once the player fails, it will return to the beginning. After entering the mysterious scene, players need to choose more carefully. I think it is very interesting to not add pictures to the final scene, which allows players to imagine the scene in their minds. After all, the horror imagined by the mind is even more terrifying. This way the game brings a better sense of horror than pictures.
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Pacing within games, especially story based games, is very important as it can determine the atmosphere and player experience. “Felinophobia” deals with pacing by having readers read the story in paragraphs (that have been specifically portioned in amounts that effectively show how the author wants the story to be conveyed). The creator inserts breaks visually by inserting photos, which also enhance how the story is experienced because it allows readers into the author’s mind and how they saw their plot come together as they wrote the story. The author also employs clicking as a method to add visual and mental breaks. The clicking aspect of the game is not always from the choices that the reader needs to make, but the creator uses this function to allow for the player to proceed to the next part. In doing this, the player can take in the story in the intended portions, as mentioned above. Another notable aspect of the game connected to pacing is the way in which the passages are organized. The choices that need to be made or the buttons that we need to click are either dialogues that progress the story or are actions that need to be taken next. While readers cannot exactly say what comes next within the story, the choices allow for readers to take a break and have a slight idea on what comes next or what other characters will do.There is also a sense of reflection that happens as players click through the story because of the way in which the choices are laid out. The format of the dialogue that was mentioned allows for the game to emulate the back and forth motion of a real conversation as the only clicking that occurs surrounds that actions and words of the character we are playing. There were also factors that are related to the story that are also worth mentioning as they greatly contribute to the way the plot is perceived. “Felinophobia” starts off mildly slow with an excerpt from another piece of text by Rober Albert. This sets the readers up for the next page, which is a thorough description of cats and their relationships with humans. The following portions, before the readers really dive into the meat of the story, are explanations that set up the world in the story and who we are. This sequence in addition to the clicking mechanism really allows for readers to reflect on what is occurring before we are really dragged into the story, effectively allowing for readers to feel like something is building up without getting carried away. This is a contrast to the ending that is more fast paced. The paragraphs seem longer while packing in more of the story and truly matches the pace of the events within the plot. These are all tools that are used within “Felinophobia” to create an atmosphere of suspense and help readers perceive the story at the same rate as the way the events occur within the story.
The game Felinophobia opens with a quote detailing a large creature, a Cat-goddess, that seems to have killed someone. The next page then describes humanity's relationship with cats throughout history. This relationship being that even though humans seem to think cats are sweet animals that we allow into our homes, the nature of cats has never changed and they have never been domesticated by humans. The next scene then jumps to an entirely new topic. The player is now a detective hard at work investigating a case. These completely different topics may leave the player with many questions. The player may question why were these first two scenes included or what do these first two scenes have anything to do with a detective trying to solve a case. Why these seemingly different topics were both included in the game is answered later on in the investigation. While searching for clues a destroyed room is found. Inside that room is a table covered in scratch marks. This clue and the two scenes in the beginning of the game make the player’s mind jump to the idea that something related to cats is involved in the case, the player only needing to continue on with the game to find out more. The questions the player may have had at the beginning of the game and this clue serving as a callback to the first two scenes only make the player want to continue playing in order to find what the connection is between cats and the investigation.
Another reason the player may want to continue playing the game is because of the different options presented to the player. There are different paths available for the player to play through and different endings for the player to find. This encourages the player to replay the game with different choices.
The design choices in this game make the game feel more realistic and help the player feel as if they are actually in the game, trying to solve the case. The inclusion of photos next to the text allows the player to see what the developer was picturing when they wrote the story while also helping with the immersion. With the photos the player can more easily picture what is happening in their own mind. The dialogue system is easy to follow and flows like an actual conversation. Instead of a block of dialogue, the player is presented with a line said by another character to the player character. The player then can ‘respond’ to the character by clicking the link/the next line of dialogue. Doing so makes the other character’s response to that line appear underneath the player’s line of dialogue. This continues until the conversation is finished. This whole format makes it feel as though there really is a back and forth between the player character and the other character and that the player is actually involved in the conversation. Italics are used when quotes are used in the game and when pieces of dialogue are coming from a television and not a character in the game.
At the beginning of the story, the ancient and mysterious side of the cat is first told. As a player, I felt that this would be a horror story about cats. But the story quickly returned to the real world. Players are invited to participate in the investigation of a case. I began to wonder what the cat had to do with this case. Subsequently, players began to encounter the first more important option. I tried here twice and found an option that can give players some hints about cats and pave the way for the future plot. Later, when investigating the crime scene, the previous cat's information also made me naturally want to choose to investigate the scratches on the table. The difference between some options is to skip part of the content or go through a different path to the same ending, but there are some options that cause the player to fail to investigate the truth of the matter, that is, the game fails. The options of the game encourage the curiosity of the player, and the player needs to have the spirit of exploration to discover the ultimate secret place. When the plot further develops into a secret place, I feel that the game has changed from realism to a sense of science fiction. The final part of the game is
Cthulhu. The plot makes me feel that the plot is fuller. It's like the beginning of a bigger worldview. I think the format and content of the entire game are very suitable. The game puts a large number of dialogues on one page, and a paragraph appears every time you click, so that players can better understand the content of the entire dialogue. When the player needs to make a choice, most of the time, the game has designed a separate page to emphasize this content. Dialogues in different scenarios will appear on different pages, and the pictures on the pages are also very suitable. Just like the pictures in the room and the pictures of the physical evidence make the players feel more immersed in the game. The game establishes a feeling centered on cats and fear, and every click of the player is like exploring. The game also simulates the cost of exploring the unknown. Once the player fails, it will return to the beginning. After entering the mysterious scene, players need to choose more carefully. I think it is very interesting to not add pictures to the final scene, which allows players to imagine the scene in their minds. After all, the horror imagined by the mind is even more terrifying. This way the game brings a better sense of horror than pictures.