Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Peaks and valleys
Game levels should be planned correctly. They must have both peaks (sequences
of very dynamic actions), and valleys (zones of comfort and relaxation, some sort
of digression), so that the player can regain his breath. This is especially important
for games with health regeneration, because the player needs some shelters to re-
store his condition. Remember that the valleys shouldn't be boring, show the player
something beautiful (such parts of levels can feature the most interesting examples
of visual design), or give him a simple and leisurely task.
One event per moment
The main components of the game; for example, a plot, objectives, characters,
weapons, protagonist abilities, mechanics, and so on, should come in portion. The
lesser the better. A player can concentrate his attention on a pretty limited amount of
new things at one moment; in cases where the sight is blurred, he does not notice
some details and is less surprised by new content. Moreover, a person can be tired
of a huge wave of new experiences, so it is important to be courteous and show new
things in a delicate manner.
Difficulty level
In an ideal scenario, the game features an automatic difficulty level. It looks at the
player'sbehaviorandmakestheconditionsharderifhisattemptsaresuccessfulvery
often; vice versa, it tries to make the game less difficult if there are a lot of failures.
It is not easy to implement such a system because of the calculation of the right bal-
ance.Butthegameshouldatleastgoalongwiththeplayer;ifheisstucksomewhere
for a long period of time, the process must be inconspicuous enough, so the player
won't feel ashamed. The change in difficulty levels should be available in the options
menu all the time. It is pretty obligatory to include the
Restart
and
Undo
buttons into
your puzzle games.
Sound and music
Contradictory to desktop and console games, mobile games are not much about au-
dio content. Very often the players are playing in public spaces; if they can't use
headphones, they prefer to switch the music and sound off, or reduce the volume
