Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
a bomb without being caught in the explosion. So the player has to drop the bomb and then
go around a corner to get outside the range of that bomb—also moving
her out of reach of the
falling creature. When the bomb goes off, she can observe the creature's behavior—that it falls,
where it falls, and how quickly it falls—from a safe distance.
Why does the player want to bomb and release the creature in the first place? If you remember
our previous discussion of this game, the player's stated goal is to collect crystals. As you can
see in Figure
3.8
, there is a crystal in the small chamber behind the rock creature.
We introduce the robot turret the same way. We let the player observe its behavior in rela-
tive safety, but from a close position, so that she can understand her own relationship to the
creature's behavior. Just as with the rock monster, we want the player to understand how her
own verbs interact with the turret so that she can eventually exploit its behavior and use it as
a weapon or tool. In this case, though, the verb that the turret interacts with isn't the bomb
(because the turret itself can dig through the ground, using its bullets) but simply “walking.”
The turret awakens, visibly unfolding and opening its mouth, when the player walks into its
range of fire, and the turret goes back to sleep when the player leaves that range. It fires its
bullets toward the player's current position (see Figure
3.9
).
Figure 3.9
The player learns about the robot turret from a safe position, since its shots will hit a
wall first.
The bait, again, is a crystal. It's at the far end of a short hallway that's within the turret's range,
so when the player enters the hallway, the turret awakens. The wall is thick enough that it'll take
several rounds of fire from the turret to break through and actually hit the player—giving her
ample time to get the crystal and leave, especially if she's in a hurry (which she likely will be,
because of the turret).
While the player is grabbing the crystal, she has the opportunity to learn things about the
turret. Specifically, she learns how often it fires (currently, three bullets in a quick burst, then
a short pause, then another burst), where it fires (at the player's miner), and what the effects
