Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Figures 2.4
and
2.5
are screen shots from
Empire: Total War
illustrating two very
different modes. Note that the on-screen indicators and menu items are entirely
different in the two modes. The first, a turn-based campaign mode, shows an aerial
perspective of a landscape. The player uses this mode for building cities, raising
armies, and other strategic activities. The second, for fighting sea battles in real
time, shows ship-to-ship combat. You cannot manage the entire empire from sea
battle mode; you can only fight other ships such as the ones visible in the picture.
The sea battle mode is essentially tactical.
Not all gameplay modes offer challenges that the player must meet immediately.
A strategy menu in a sports game is a gameplay mode because the player must
choose the best strategy to help her win the game even though play is temporarily
suspended while the player uses the menu. A character creation screen in a role-
playing game or an inventory management screen in an adventure game both
qualify as gameplay modes. A player's actions there influence the challenges she
faces when she returns to regular play.
FIGURE 2.4
Campaign mode in
Empire: Total War
