Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
then is gradually pulled away to let the player take over. In fact, con-
sidering the game makes use of AI players, this animation could be
real time to make sure players get the idea that this really happens in
the game.
The character select screen does not overly prompt the player, as is
common in current games. Instead of giving extra cognitive load with a
lot of on-screen commands to read, sift through, and try to understand,
once the third character has been selected, a simple “Begin game?”
prompt appears in the middle of the screen, graying out the back-
ground, silencing all sound, and sending a loud drum effect to draw
the player's attention. If the player presses no (X), he or she is brought
back to the beginning of the character select screen with an empty
party. If the player selects yes (any other button), the game begins.
he Game Screen
I hope that this is where most of our actual learning will take place.
As I am sure you have read throughout the topic by this point, good
learning in games is a combination of smart tutorial design through
well-implemented instruction and well-constructed levels, as well as
constant and clear feedback. Well, there is no better game to provide
feedback than
Escape from Skull Island
. Why is that, you might ask?
Well, here are a few key points.
• Multiple NPC characters means death isn't a vicious, horrific
punishment. You could still survive with only one character
intact. This allows players to fail without being harshly pun-
ished at first.
• AI are programmed to attack enemies, seek health, and hide
in cover when they are overwhelmed. This means a player
who hasn't played yet can observe expert behavior early on in
order to emulate it.
• Numerous party members means numerous sources of
information with distinct auditory voices. This means the
players will not have the action interrupted while being told
how to play.
Isn't it neat how design objectives wrap so nicely into learning
objectives? Well, I think it's neat, anyway. This is going to persist
Search WWH ::
Custom Search