Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Platformers with scrolling mechanism have an exotic spin-off, known as
endless
running
: players need to keep running at any cost, their character should not fall
or crash into obstacles, and there is no other objective but to rush forward. Levels
are infinite as they are procedurally generated by the game on the basis of pre-
defined templates and graphic elements. The principle is trivial; nevertheless, it is
habit-forming. There are few famous names in this domain, first is
Canabalt
(
ht-
tp://www.canabalt.com/
) designed by
Adam Saltsman
. It features very stylish mono-
chromatic artwork, addictive gameplay, and an atmospheric setting. Another popular
title is
Temple Run franchise
(
http://www.imangistudios.com/
) developed by
Imangi
Studios
. Contrary to
Canabalt
, it utilizes perspective scrolling and the advantages of
the 3D engine to render platforms. In the game, the protagonist tries to escape a
monster by running on the walls of an ancient castle.
There is a risk that an endless running game can become monotonous and boring.
Thus, to motivate players to continue playing, they are given special missions to
complete; for example, collect a specific number of coins and interact with the game
level's elements. This helps to make every level more thrilling because a player gets
several quests at once. A good example of an endless platformer with special mis-
sions is a funny game
Jetpack Joyride
by
Halfbrick Studios
(
http://halfbrick.com/our-
Game idea
Let's plan a platformer! The basic conception is evident: a protagonist who can run
and jump; several types of enemies, platforms, lifts; and an exit point (we skip the
ladders). This is simple. But what about a spirit? The game should have some ori-
ginal mechanics to grasp players' attention. We don't have to go far to find the idea,
sometimes eclecticism, a mix of genres, gives out very amusing results: the plat-
former will use some mechanics from match-three puzzles, more precisely, from
match-two games. As you can see in the following figure, the platforms are construc-
ted from square blocks; most of them are neutral, but some others are colored and
