Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
and the correct spare parts. Use humor to create such objects; for example,
it could be an old sandwich, a donut, a left shoe, dirty socks, and so on.
To create a solo item, remember that objects, which should be used for triggers,
haveaprettylogicalandobviousdesign.Theseobjectsincludevarioustypesofkeys
and tools, such as a screwdriver or hammer and some missing pieces such as cog
wheels, lamps, or wires. There must be an apparent logical connection between the
item and the trigger. But items consigned for an NPC may be more exotic and irra-
tional, as long as a character may have some quirks. For example, an NPC can asks
the player to bring him something unusual that looks like a caprice; a cup of milk, a
firefly, or an old newspaper printed in 1968 and so on.
Constructed items need to be used for unusual tasks or when the actual tools are
missing, for example, a screwdriver can be made of a candelabrum and a nail file.
Spare parts can be exotic as well, but only at the first sight, as their place in the final
design of a constructed item should look very sane and even clever. The construc-
tion process is based on the logical addition of separate elements; in the simplest
case, there are only two addends in the expression. As might be expected, it obeys
the principle of commutativity because it is irrelevant what item of the combination
the player would choose first:
"Pipe"+"Newspaper"= "Newspaper"+ "Pipe"
But complex expressions with several items are more tricky. Usually adventure
games decline the rule of associativity during the addition procedure; therefore, the
correct order of combining spare parts is important. The resulting constructed item
should be assembled in the correct sequence. This can be called an in-inventory
puzzle where the player has to manipulate with items in his inventory.
BesidestheCombinecommand,itsantonymDividemaybeintroducedaswell.Such
a verb would help to break up an item into small parts, allowing to create brand new
constructed items later. For the sake of simplicity of the UI, it is better to design a
special workbench that can be placed somewhere at the game level. By using a sol-
id item on it, the player gets its pieces.
It is worth mentioning that the inventory at the very beginning of the game should not
be totally empty; to express the personality of the protagonist, you may include some
special and unique items in the list.
