Torchlight+2+(Cristina)

By Cristina Osborn
 * Entertainment Game Review: //Torchlight II// **

Image taken from: []

I played //Torchlight II// for the PC using Steam, a gaming platform. //Torchlight II// was developed by Runic Games and released on September 20, 2012. I was told that many of its developers were the original developers of the Diablo games, the first action RPG (role playing game) of its kind. //Torchlight II// is an action RPG that can be played single player or multiplayer online.
 * Game description: **

//Torchlight II // is set in a fantasy steam punk universe and features cartoony stylistic graphics and over the top violence. It is a loot-driven game that constantly rewards you with new and improved items while at the same time pushing forward to get that next better item (operant conditioning).

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This game uses the Identity Principle (Gee, 2007, p.64). When you first begin the game, you choose your class (berserker, mage, etc.), gender, appearance (hair style, skin tone, etc.), name, and choose a type of pet (alpaca, wolf, cat, etc.). I chose a female berserker, a fast attack melee class, whose focus in combat is to get up close and strike quickly, and an alpaca, which can also attack enemies, store items, and return to town to sell them for you.
 * [[image:http://analogaddiction.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/pet_alpaca.png?w=179&h=300 align="right" link="Torchlight 2 (Cristina)#http://analogaddiction.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/pet_alpaca.png?w=179&h=300"]]Character creation: **

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From tips on the loading screen, the story narrative, pop-up tutorials (Text Principle, p.105) and probing the virtual world (Probing Principle, p. 105), I learned how to:
 * What I learned and how the game taught me: **
 * Navigate the virtual world
 * Fight and defeat enemies
 * Pick up loot
 * Compare and evaluate different pieces of gear that I picked up
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Sell trash items by sending them with my alpaca to town
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Build my character by applying skill points (Achievement Principle, p.64)
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Begin and complete side quests (Multiple Routes Principle, p.105)

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I was able to defeat all of the enemies I encountered and never died in the game, but I think I came close. When my health globe was nearly empty, the edge of the screen flashed red to indicate that I needed to use a health potion.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The game also taught me to second guess clicking on everything by placing trapped chests and objects in the world.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The main motivation to play this game seems to be to pick up loot. Items are color coded, so when they fall on the ground you can immediately see right away if it is of high quality or not. The order of quality is: white being the most common, green, blue, purple, and orange the most rare. This drives you to pick up the item and compare it to what you already have in your inventory. This game also uses the Amplification of Input Principle (p.64). The rate at which you get an upgraded item is satisfying.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">There are many websites devoted to the discussion of the strategy of applying skill points to build your characters, rare items such as weapons and armor and where they were acquired, and boss fight strategies. I do not think walkthrough guides would be very helpful because the map is randomly generated.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Gaming Community: **

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">A few examples are:
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Wikis: []
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Forums: []
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Databases: []

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">First of all, I was relieved that I did not experience motion sickness like I did in the first-person shooter educational game //Evovler,// most likely due to the game being in top-down isometric perspective. I was able to navigate the world successfully using the map on screen in order to complete side quests. Although these diverted my attention from the main objective, it seemed like it would be worthwhile to complete. I learned mostly by clicking on enemies and items as well as reading the menu screen. I was not really invested in developing my character, so I did not spend a long time deciding how to apply my skill points. I did take time to compare items that I picked up using the menus. Image taken from: []
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Reflection: **

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Unfortunately, I did not learn very well from the pop-up tutorials or story line I thought that the tutorials came up too quickly and disappeared before I had a chance to read them. In some cases, I think I closed them without realizing it. It wasn’t clear where to find this information again, and that was frustrating. Perhaps I could have learned more from the story line but it did not seem essential to core game experience. Despite the violence being over the top and cartoony, it was unpleasant and made the experience less enjoyable for me.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I would probably not play this game in the multiplayer online mode until I felt more comfortable with the controls. There was a lot going on in the world and it was difficult for me to concentrate on strategy. I would be curious if playing online with others would add to the experience by working together to complete a quest or create more frustration, for example if an item I wanted was picked up by another player.