For this Lab, you’ll research popular games in order to identify trends in modern game design. To start, go online to look up some “Top X” list that identifies the most popular, most played, or highest-selling contemporary games. You can limit the search to specific platforms (Nintendo games, PC games, Steam games, iOS games, etc.), specific genres (RPGs, FPS games, MMORPGs, digital board games, etc.), world regions (most popular in the United States, most popular in Korea, etc.), or even non-digital gaming (board games, party games, etc.).

Example links to get you started:

Steam: Game Stats

Steam: Top Selling Games

Gamespot: 10 Best-Selling Games Of March 2018 In The US Revealed

Board Game Geek (“The Hotness” list is to the left.)

From the list you select, choose AT LEAST FIVE different games and look up either their marketing home page or some similar sales front where the designers talk about the game (e. g., a Steam storefront page). If you’ve played the game in question, you can also use your personal experience with the game to help write your responses.

For each game, focus on:

The most advertised or prevalent rules and mechanics (often in the “gameplay” or ”systems” part of home pages)
Whether the game emphasizes static campaigns or dynamic campaigns
The system of rewards and punishments the game offers
Based on your research, answer the following questions:

Questions

What “list” did you use in this lab, and why did you pick it?

Which five games did you select to research in more depth?

For each game you’ve chosen, provide: 1) the overall genre, 2) the most important rules or mechanics that make the game unique, 3) whether the game emphasizes static campaigns or dynamic campaigns, and 4) (if possible) the system of rewards and punishments the game offers.

Based on your research, are there any themes you can identify in popular contemporary games (relative to the type of list you used)? What mechanics, rules, and trends seem to be popular today?