Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
fragment hits it, the overall level of metal loses one unit. The most dangerous en-
emies are Rocks because they take away one unit from all the resources at once.
Contrary to the ordinary Shooting mode, the lifeboat breakthrough has a different
approach to level design. There are many empty tiles between the elements, espe-
cially in the first levels, which help the player navigate and make the illusion of flight
in space more natural. Later in the game, the Rocks appear; the final levels should
have many of them to make the ending more complex and thrilling.
Tomaketheillusionofcontrollingthespaceshipmorevivid,Isuggestlettingtheplay-
er to move it around. This means that the array is actually wider than the window, but
the player sees only the fragments in his viewpoint. Suppose there is a huge Rock
in front. Why try to destroy it? It is more reasonable to avoid impact by moving the
space lifeboat to the left. The player taps the appropriate button, and an image at
the window moves sideways. It looks like a cheat, but nobody can use it for long be-
cause any movement in space consumes a lot of Fuel. The width of the sky should
not be too large—a maximum of three to four screens. If the lifeboat reaches the
edge of the array, a message
Out of range, change direction
may be displayed.
The fragments move with a specific speed, which depends on the difficulty level.
They slow down a bit if there is the
field of force
on the space lifeboat; this is an
exhaustible property and it covers several bottom rows of the window. It holds back
all the obstacles for a period of time and then collapses. An alert message appears,
asking if the player wants to recharge the field of force; it costs some resource. The
player is welcome to do this or to dismiss the alert, saving some items for other pur-
poses; but in this case, nothing will apply the brakes to the moving fragments. The
following image illustrates the screen layout of the
Gun
menu:
The weapons can be created from resources; they can help to defeat Rocks or to
win a level much faster. Each one has its own features and power, consuming spe-
cific types of resources. The player can use the workbench either to create a gun
(a multishot device, but with less power and range) or a bomb (single use, lots of
power). The gun needs some elements to be created (spare parts) and a specific
