Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
In fact, the way the game introduces the rule is this: the player begins by having to dig through
three different layers of clay blocks—one of each color in the game. Figure
shows the first
scene of the game. Each color, when struck, crumbles every touching block of the same color,
but not ones of different colors. These are the most basic rules of the game and the things the
game teaches first.
2.5
Figure 2.5
Opening scene of
Tombe d
.
When Jane has dug through all three colors, she's at the bottom of a well of metal with raised
sides. She can strike the metal with her shovel, but it'll just bounce off with a
ting
. In a few
moments the descending spike wall will reach the top of the well's raised sides, shattering
the whole piece of metal and freeing Jane, who falls to the ground below. So now the player
has most likely observed the “Jane can't dig through metal” rule and the “spike ceiling
can
dig
through metal” rule.
Every interaction that the player could reasonably expect to have an effect should have one,
even if it's negative—that's what I mean by a robust verb. If the player sunk her shovel into
the metal and nothing happened, the objects didn't seem to touch, or they just passed right
through one another, the player might still figure out that she can't dig through these blocks,
but we haven't sold the rule as strongly or effectively. Maybe it takes the player a little longer
to figure out, and while she's doing so, the spike ceiling comes down and crushes her. Now
she
has to go back and repeat the whole thing. She has wasted time and maybe not even learned
anything.
That's bad design. As creators, we want to teach and reinforce rules wherever and whenever we
have the opportunity.
