Screenshot of videogame

Here is the screenshot I decided to use for the videogame which I hope my professor approves for me to use in project space. The videogame is called Castlevania: Lament of Innocence and it is from Konami. This game takes place in the 11^th Century in a giant castle filled with all kinds of mystical creatures and wonders. The point of the game is to reach Dracula’s room and slay him so that the world may be at peace for another generation.

This Screenshot was taken in one of the many amazing places of the castle. The screenshot clearly shows some obstacles that prevent you from reaching your ultimate destination (in that room) which is the door all the way at the end. Some of these obstacles are those giant sharp pendulums swinging back and forth. Obviously if the pendulum strikes the main character (also in the shot) it is either going to kill him or deduct life. This means that the possibility of doing the level all over again is very likely if the player is not careful because the programmers decided to put in more than one pendulum. Another obstacle that doesn’t make itself nearly is visible in this particular screenshot is the boundaries. The screenshot clearly shows only one way to go and that’s right through the pendulums because the programmers made the room so narrow and also limited the walking space to just the visible floor. That means that the programmers made the water areas on both sides of the visible floor off-limits which in turn forces the player to go through the pendulums if possible. 

Another thing worth pointing out is that the main character has a gauntlet for shielding attacks from enemies and he also has weapons to defend himself. These forms of protection, however, are of no use against these giant pendulums. The gauntlet can’t block a strike from the pendulums and the weapons can’t destroy them. This ultimately means that no matter how powerful the main character may become or how powerful the weapons he uses are, he will have to be submissive to the power of the castle. The programmers obviously wanted to make the castle the ultimate enemy which is ironic because the player is deceived to believe that the ultimate enemy is in fact Dracula. Dracula, however, is not fought until the end of the game whereas you as the player, fight the castle throughout the entire game.

Another thing not seen in this image but is normally incorporated in this area of the game is enemies. Normally, this area has pendulums swinging back and forth and it also has enemies towards the end when you are about to reach the door. This makes things more complicated because the pendulums will drain life from the main character, if not kill him, and the enemies at the end are like an extra obstacle that puts the main character at a great disadvantage. The weapons and gauntlet are effective against these enemies, which look like fish people, but the difficulty is still present. The narrow space becomes an issue because to the main character’s back is the giant pendulums and to his front is a swarm of enemies. This gives players a narrow space to maneuver. When you do reach the door, however, you end up in a similar room with more obstacles which forces the players to be on their toes at all times.