Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Blizzard
zone
Cannon
zone
Top view of elevated track
Figure 9-11. Cannon zone and blizzard reconfigured and repositioned to reduce the similarity between these two obstacles
Progression
Progression refers to the evolution of gameplay over time. Fundamentally gamers want to play, and
they want to win. “Want to play” also means “doesn't want to read instructions, listen to long-winded
NPCs (non-player characters), or find tutorials.” They want to play, and they prefer to be able to
figure out how to play the game through the gameplay itself.
They want to feel challenged without too much frustration, but a game that is too easy can quickly
become boring. Winning should be achievable and feel like a well-earned accomplishment to the
player, not a gimmie. The art of game design is to find the right balance for the majority of people in
your target audience.
The most straightforward gameplay progression is when the player begins the game with no skills
or abilities. The initial challenges—puzzles, enemies, obstacles—allow for the learning curve of the
player. In the obstacle course example project, the player must learn how to control the camera and
move the character, including discovering the character can crouch, and getting a feel for how high
and far the character can jump or how fast she can run.
Using the obstacle course as our example, since the player is learning how to move the camera and
character, simple stationary obstacles like land mines are a good choice for the first zone. These give
the player deadly obstacles to be avoided, but only require simple controller movements. The player
simply has to learn to move and turn the player character to successfully cross this zone.
If the player is more adventuresome he may already have discovered the ability to jump. If not,
the moving platform obstacle of the second zone forces this, as correctly gauging a jump to the
platform, then another to the elevated track, is the only way to cross.
As the player advances along the elevated track, successive obstacle zones require better pattern
recognition and character control. Finally, the blizzard zone introduces elements of randomness such
that pattern recognition is not as helpful as better hand-eye coordination.
As the final grand challenge for the level, the last zone introduces true enemies with script-controlled
AI elements that track and respond to player movement (Figure 9-12 ).
 
 
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