Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
right to left faster than the background, simulating a train running in the opposite dir-
ection. The demonstration of a framework of a railroad bridge is a good idea as well.
Ideally the interior of each car should be made of one unique picture that provides
the best artistic effects but requires more illustrative efforts. Alternatively, the interior
can be constructed via graphic tiles of different design; using proper combinations,
you may achieve diversity in a room's visual appearance.
An example of tile-based interior of the room
Each room has two axes that determine the effect of game objects on the protag-
onist's movement. The axis of the environment is situated near the front wall. Vari-
ous props,
Non-player characters
(
NPCs
), and interactive elements can be placed
here. They do not hamper our main hero's walking at any point. On the contrary, if an
object or an NPC stays on the axis of the movement, they turn into an obstacle for
the protagonist. The player needs to figure out how to remove such elements from
the path.
As you already know, the game should not look monotonous. However, the rooms
can become boring even if their design is pretty diverse. This is because of a closed
spaceandidenticalpatternsofgeneralcomponents. Sometimesyouneedtochange
their appearance more radically. In several sections of the game, Anna-Amelia can
leave acar(byspecial ladders orlifts) and travel some distance on the roof. Here are
some unique types of puzzles that can be implemented together with some arcade
mini-games. For instance, it is worth to note that Trans-Terra has a special compact
railroad on the roof of its train cars; it was developed for various maintenance pur-
poses and for faster transfer through different parts of the train. Small two-seated rail
vehicles called draisines are used on this railroad. The protagonist may take part in
