Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
The emotional tone of a CMS game world—as evoked through sounds, art, and ani-
mation—should befit its theme of creativity and growth. A pure CMS set in a grim,
decaying world wouldn't be very popular. (As in several other respects,
Dungeon Keeper
is an exception, but it is also a hybrid, not a pure CMS.) The player will also want a
clear, unobstructed view of things; fog, darkness, and shadows won't help. The artwork
of CMSs is often reminiscent of the
ligne claire
style pioneered by the Belgian author
Hergé for his Tintin topics: clean, strong lines, flat shading, and uniform lighting.
Interaction Model
The player is almost always multipresent in a CMS because she needs to see what is
happening all over the game world. It's difficult to control a large-scale process from
the inside, where you can't see everything that's going on. Most CMSs don't give the
player any kind of avatar. However, players do like to see what the worlds they're
building look like from the inside, so games sometimes implement a
walkthrough
mode
that lets players walk around the world in a first-person perspective.
Dungeon
Keeper
is ordinarily played in a multipresent mode, but it is also possible for the
player to take temporary control of a creature in her dungeon, walk it around, and
view the game world through the creature's eyes. This feature, while occasionally
useful in the military aspects of
Dungeon Keeper
, is not at all helpful in the manage-
ment aspects. In short, walkthrough mode is entertaining and the player will enjoy
it, but the primary interaction model in a CMS needs to be multipresent.
Camera Model
The camera model in a CMS naturally depends on what you are simulating. Most
CMSs simulate a process taking place over a land area—whether it's a city, a farm,
or an entire planet. As a result, these games tend to use an isometric perspective.
The early games were all tile-based, and some still are on smaller devices, but for
the most part, modern CMSs now use 3D environments. This has the advantage
that players can zoom in and out and move the camera freely, which lets them see
a broad overview most of the time, then focus on a local problem when one arises.
TIP
CMS games need
a pointing device—
a mouse or stylus.
A small number of
CMSs have been ported
to machines that use
joysticks, but the
result is never really
satisfactory. The Wii
controller can also be
used, but is not really
as efficient as a mouse.
If your game simulates a process taking place in a three-dimensional space, you might
find it useful to divide the space into layers to make it easier for the player to navigate
around the game world. It's also helpful to provide a button that returns the camera
instantly to a default perspective so that the player can reorient himself if he gets lost.
User Interface
Because CMSs aren't trying to create an illusion of reality in the way that first-per-
son shooters or flight simulators do, their user interfaces can be more computerlike,
using pull-down menus and rows of buttons along the edges of the screen. CMS
games emphasize convenience over verisimilitude.
