![]() However, I made the mistake of putting the initials “HAH” for my high score instead of my initials, so a few weeks after I returned the game to him, he claimed that he was the one that got that score! Filled with rage, I borrowed the game again, and became even more of an expert at it. I first aimed to beat his high score, which took me several weeks. That was when I became obsessed with the game, playing several runs in a day, continually perfecting my skills and memorizing enemy patterns. A few years after the game came out, I convinced him to let me borrow it for a while. ![]() Luckily, I would often wake up early in the morning after a birthday party or sleepover, so I would get to play through the entire game, although it was with the sound muted. My schoolmate Chris was actually the one who owned the game, and I tried to play single-player at his house whenever I had the chance. Star Fox 64 was different in one crucial way: I had a rival. I didn’t really have much experience playing Shmups either (which are similar in terms of being focused on memorization, patterns and high scores), nor had I ever tried to “master” a game. I had never really cared about high scores, and, actually, I still don’t care now (with Bayonetta being the only exception, where I got obsessed with “perfect” high-combo, never-hit-once runs). The quote up there will hopefully become relevant by the end of the article, though I would disagree with the second sentence: Expertise at a game only comes from fully understanding the game’s design, and games that keep you enthralled after this point are truly the best. It’s a tale that involves rivalry, memorization, and almost extreme obsession. ![]() In this article, I intend to look at Star Fox 64, a game in which I feel like I’ve gotten the closest to becoming a “master” at. Once these are learnt, the game’s interest typically fades.” (Bella Dicks, “Culture on Display: The Production of Contemporary Visitability,” (2003), 179) “The gamer feels in control of a malleable universe full of surprises, but succeeding at the game actually involves discovering the rules of the program.
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