Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
It's possible to program the game in such a way that every challenge has one unique
action that overcomes it. As we discussed in the previous chapter, classic games of
progression, such as text-adventure games, work this way—each challenge is a unique
puzzle, and each puzzle has a unique action that solves it. However, we also argued
that in most games at least some of the actions and challenges are created differently.
In
Tetris,
nobody programmed in all the possible combinations and sequences of
falling tetrominoes (
Tetris
blocks). The game simply releases tetrominoes at random.
In
Tetris
, the challenge is created by a combination of a random sequence of tetro-
minoes and the player's previous actions in dealing with them. This combination is
different every time, and players have some level of control over the challenges they
face. The game requires very few actions to deal with the infinite variety of challenges
it can create. Solitaire card games do the same thing.
Other games implement mechanisms that allow players to act in unexpected ways.
In his 2001 article “The Future of Game Design,” game designer Harvey Smith dis-
cussed the need to set up game systems so that players have the opportunity to act
in a wide range of expressive ways (
www.igda.org/articles/hsmith_future
).
To make
this possible, the game designer should move away from special-case solutions to
individual, predesigned challenges and toward simple, consistent game mechanics
that can be combined in interesting ways, even if this leads to some strange results.
Rocket jumping is one of those examples. Because an exploding rocket exerts a force
on nearby objects in most first-person shooter games, clever players have used that
extra force to jump greater heights and distances. Smith regards these emergent
player tactics not as problem but as an opportunity: He argues that more games
should be designed around the freedom and creativity that expressive systems allow.
consistency oVer realism
rocket jumping is an example of unintended, and rather weird, gameplay that is as
unrealistic as it is enjoyable. it illustrates the argument made by steven Poole in his book
Trigger Happy
(2000) that in games it is more important to be consistent than to be real-
istic. Poole argues that to play a game is to immerse yourself into an artificial world cre-
ated by game mechanics. Players do not want those mechanics to be perfectly realistic.
a realistic Formula 1 racing game, for example, would take players
years
of practice to
become skilled enough to race, and that wouldn't be fun at all for most players. Players
expect all space shooter weapons to behave like the blasters in
Star Wars,
not like real
lasers where the beam moves at the speed of light and is invisible unless you are hit by
it. Players play games to do things that would be impossible or unsafe for them to do in
real life, and odd effects such as rocket jumps are all part of the fun. however, players
do
expect game mechanics to be consistent. Players get frustrated when the mechanics
seem arbitrary, such as when a rocket can kill a tough enemy but fails to destroy a light
wooden door.
