Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
in the game, elaborating on the new game mechanic and further developing each use of
the verb.
The blue section starts off with a scene that can't be passed without executing a sideways float,
followed by a drop, no less than four times (see Figure
). On top of this repetition, it's likely
that a new player who's just learning
Mighty Jill Off
's particular form of jumping will die repeat-
edly when she touches the torches. When Jill dies, she tumbles back toward the bottom of the
tower whence she came—but a few moments later, she reappears at the last checkpoint the
player passed, often at the beginning or halfway through one of the colored sections. There's a
6.12
checkpoint at this first blue scene, letting the player practice, die, and practice some more until
she's good enough to clear four jumps in a row.
Figure 6.12
The player must master new skills to advance through
Mighty Jill Off
.
Practice is only useful up to a certain point, however. Once a player has thoroughly mastered
a certain use of a particular verb, perhaps even multiple times with the same arrangements of
objects in a scene, practice becomes rote instead. The player's gains in understanding and skill
to use those verbs start to level off, improving only a little bit. Rote activity is closer to second
nature, done without a lot of thought and next to no challenge, and rote actions repeated in
