Game Week 3 - World of Goo

Playing the prototype, Tower of Goo, it was clear to me that this was more of a toy rather than an actual game. The only thing you can do is build a tower. There are flags that indicate, in a networked setting, the heights of the towers your friends have made but beyond that there are no rewards for building a tower of a specific height apart from satisfaction that you have built a tower higher than your friends.

In World of Goo there is much more of a game element to that form of play. Instead of a simple tower building engine the player has a goal which they must reach by creating structures out of goo. The game also has a storyline and added features such as different types of goo balls which aid the player in solving extra puzzles. There are set levels which the player must complete before they can progress to the next stage in the game.

The resonance is achieved in this game through the way the mechanics, the story and the presentation all relate to the concept of Goo. The Goo Balls are fluid in their movements and bounce around the screen, bobbing up and down when a new addition to the structure is added. The sounds are also goo-like and squishy, and make squelching sounds when placed down. The story is centred around the goo balls as characters and have parts which are about their characteristics, such as in the game tips for each level.