Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Giving bonuses
The space in the game should not be a strictly severe territory. The player should get
some candies as well.
The following is a list of all the bonuses that the player gets in the game:
•
Flag with a star
: This is a collectible item. It gives some rewards in points
to the player and lets him brag about it among friends. But this rock, the one
having a blue flag with a star on it, is found very rarely.
•
Green container
: This is another collectible item. It is a small bottle-shaped
metallic box. It gives less value of points, but contains some drops of text in-
formation that the HUD displays on the screen. It includes only few words. As
you might guess, the object is a message in a bottle, a way to create a sub-
plot inside the main story. Inside the green containers, there can be messages
from the Danube, exposing the current situation aboard. Alternatively in the
containers, there can be a message from the ship that was lost in space long
ago; let's call the ship Amsterdam. There can be portions of the ship's log, ex-
posing its story or some old requests for help.
•
Spare parts box
: This is one of the most popular bonuses, a crate with some
useful parts inside that lets the player upgrade some properties of the Un-
it, either support system (increase health or oxygen bar) or weapons. Each
spare part box contains one upgrade point. The player himself decides which
variable it should be added to.
•
Check point
: This is an object with some field around it that looks like a life-
buoy. By flying through it, the player gets a new checkpoint. The main charac-
ter will resurrect here after the next death in the game.
•
Monolith
: This is a semi-ghostly rare item of unknown origin. It appears sud-
denly in different places, and looks like a black parallelepiped. If the protagon-
ist touches it (crashes into it), he is rewarded with invulnerability and infinite
energy for a few minutes. Such an effect must be a surprise for the player. The
game should not explain the true meaning of this element.
•
Star dust
: This is a cloud of shining particles moving across the screen. It
gives a burst of energy for the Unit as soon as the protagonist reaches the
