Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
in the game. This represents the possibility to clear more lines at once and enables a
high-risk, high-reward strategy. The chart in Figure B.13 clearly shows that once the
pace grows too great for the player to keep up, the game rapidly spins out of control.
FIGURe b.13
escalating complexity
in
Tetris
In the independently developed action shooter
Super Crate Box,
players are required
to pick up crates containing different weapons, while keeping the number of ene-
mies under control by shooting them. As soon as the player touches an enemy, he is
killed. Enemies spawn at the top of the screen and run down the level to disappear
at the bottom. An enemy that makes it to the bottom respawns at the top of the
screen but moves much faster the second time. The player carries only one weapon
at a time, and not all weapons are equally powerful. However, because the only way
to get ahead is to pick up crates and change weapons, the player is forced to make
the best use of whatever he picks up. The player has to alternate between killing
enemies to keep their numbers under control and picking up boxes to score more
points.
Figure B.14
represents a diagram for
Super Crate Box
.
FIGURe b.14
Super Crate Box
has
the players alter-
nate between scoring
points and keeping
enemy numbers under
control.
