Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 2.14
Choosing between bombing and digging.
When to plant a bomb and when not to is an important choice. “Bomb” is that player's primary
verb and means of interacting with the game world. So we wanted a cast of creatures that inter-
act with that verb—that are affected by, and complicate, the player's decision to plant a bomb.
We also wanted them to interact with each other, so that they form relationships.
Here are some of the inhabitants of our alien caverns. First, there is a simple, bouncing creature
that moves at 45-degree angles (diagonally), slightly slower than the player, dumbly bouncing
off any wall that it touches. Because its movements are predictable, it's easy to avoid, except
when it's in great number. We can create situations in which the player wants to be careful
where she bombs, for fear of letting a bouncing creature out. There's also a rocklike creature
that doesn't move, remaining dormant, until the ground underneath it is removed. Then it falls,
killing anything it touches. So the
player can set off this rocklike creature, sometimes to her
detriment, sometimes to her benefit. Set off at the right time, the player can use this creature as
a means of clearing out a tunnel full of bouncing enemies, for example.
Another inhabitant is a gun turret that, when the player is nearby, awakens and shoots bullets
toward the player. These bullets are lethal to the player, but also to other creatures, like the
bouncing things. They also chip away at the ground where they hit, so a resourceful player can
sometimes use them to dig paths in lieu of bombs. Or a player can set off one of the falling rock
monsters by removing the dirt that's keeping it in place. See Figure
2.15
for an example of all
these objects interacting.
Figure 2.15
Game objects interacting.
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