Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 4.20
A scene acting as a visual metaphor to explain how the fire bubble works.
We've already considered one way to think about a game's shape: in Chapter
, we discussed
how the experience of playing a game changes over time and how each scene gives the player
a different range of choices, sometimes wide open, sometimes more narrow. Of course, it's just
as important to think about the visual shape of a scene—and what the placement of objects in
a scene communicates to the player. These two senses of “shape” can play off of and affect each
other in all sorts of ways.
3
The shapes into which we arrange game objects can determine the way the player thinks about
them. In
Chip's Challenge
(1989), Chip the protagonist collects computer chips before finding his
way to every scene's exit. He manipulates switches, sliding boxes and moving objects and other
pieces to do so.
The “Castle Moat” scene in
Chip's Challenge
doesn't involve searching for chips, but it does have
a river that Chip must cross to reach the exit. Crossing the river involves carefully pushing boxes
found on the left in the maze. They float when pushed into the water, becoming platforms Chip
can walk on. Or Chip can find a pair of flippers hidden in the upper right, allowing him to swim
the moat. But how does the scene motivate the player to do all that work?
The important areas of this scene are revealed by the way they are shaped. The area of the
scene that contains the exit is shaped like a castle, complete with gate, windows, and battle-
ments. It's a simple arrangement of three objects—a wall, a gate, and an exit tile. But this
simple piece of design transforms the body of water around the exit into a moat, an obstacle to
overcome.
