Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
VARY THE PACING
As a general principle, the pacing of a level in any game, especially a game with
physical challenges, should alternate between fast and slow periods, just as the
tempo of movements in a symphony or the levels of excitement in an action movie
vary. Players need moments to rest, both physically and mentally, and on the
whole, the faster the pace of the level, the more important rest becomes. A particu-
larly stressful challenge should be followed by a brief period with no challenges at
all and then by easier challenges that gradually ramp up to more stressful ones
again. This also gives the player a chance to savor the pleasant emotions that
accompany success.
Var y ing the pace not only gives the player a rest from physical challenges, it also
produces a more balanced game. If overcoming a challenge requires spending a
resource (ammunition or health or the like), then the more the player spends on a
given challenge, the weaker and more vulnerable he is afterward. In his weakened
state, he should not face another demanding challenge immediately. You should
also make fresh supplies available to him immediately after he surmounts a chal-
lenge that costs him a lot of resources, as Chapter 11 explained. In shooter games,
these traditionally take the form of boxes of ammunition and medical kits for
restoring health, stored in an area immediately beyond a large group of enemies.
In role-playing games, enemies drop valuable resources when killed, thus helping
to replenish the player's supply.
PACING IN
THE LORD OF THE RINGS
For a wonderful example of varied pacing from literature, read
The Lord of the Rings
.
Almost every major adventure or threat the Fellowship experiences in the first two vol-
umes is followed by a period of rest and refreshment to heal wounds and in particular to
replenish food supplies. The hobbits flee the Black Riders and take refuge with Farmer
Maggot. They are caught in the Old Forest and rescued by Tom Bombadil. After the attack
at Weathertop, they find shelter in Rivendell. After losing Gandalf in the Mines of Moria,
they find succor in Lórien, and so on. This change of pace not only creates emotional
variety for the reader, allowing her to enjoy the beauty and warmth of the heroes' places
of shelter after the terrors of their journey, but it also makes the story more credible. No
one can carry six months' worth of food on his back, so the supplies had to come from
somewhere.
The Da Vinci Code
, notwithstanding its financial success, is less credible in this regard.
Involved in almost nonstop action from start to finish, the heroes never seem to need
any sleep.
You can var y the pacing in a variet y of ways: by creating an area free of challenges
in which the player can simply explore; by creating an area that contains only low-
stress challenges; or by making the player's avatar temporarily invulnerable or
