Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Robo-golem
One of your goals as a game creator is to push players to drop their cards from the
inventory for a greater variety of game tactics. This can be done roughly via various
pitfalls or by introducing strong opponents. But it is more interesting to implement
some more creative solutions which can expand the boundaries of gameplay. There
should be such conditions in the game that a player would drop his cards voluntarily,
exchanging them for some extra features. First of all, I'm talking about spares; they
shouldnotbedeadwood.Iftheplayersuccessfullycollectsintheinventoryalltheba-
sic spares of a robot—in other words if he has the head, the body, and the legs—the
robo-golem can be constructed and the player becomes his master. This is an artifi-
cial creature—more artificial than ordinary robots are—that has no mentality and will
of its own; he cannot operate by himself, make any decisions, move in any direction,
and so on. In most cases, he simply dreams and maybe sees some electric sheep.
A robo golem can be placed on any square of the game board; he will stay there and
wait for the moment somebody reaches it. Here are some scenarios that could occur
in case somebody comes in contact with him, depending on the type of game board
square he is on:
•
Empty square/Spares square
: The fight starts, and the robo-golem oper-
ates like a normal robot, so he uses all the powers written on his spares. He
can defeat the opponent and take his battery, bringing it to his master! Other-
wise, the opponent gets the robo-golem's battery. If the player contacts his
own robotic creature, he can remove the robo-golem at any other position on
the game board.
•
Door square
: In this case, the robo-golem does not fight with the opponent,
but he helps any monster inside the containers; a robo-golem's power is
summarized by the monster's strength. Together they can beat very powerful
enemies; thus, in ideal conditions, it can act like a Joker. In case you lose,
the opponent gets two batteries: the first one from the robo-golem and the
second one from the monster. If the master reaches the container square
withhisownrobo-golem,theycanopenthedoorandfightanymonsterinside
together. In this case, player's power is united with the robo-golem, and as a
team they can be invincible.
A robo-golem exists till a fight; regardless of whether he has succeeded in the battle
or not, he must be wrecked, and his cards go to spares deck and can be reused.
Robo golems are interesting elements of player's strategy because they can change
