Level Up.pdf

76 LEVEL 4 You Can Design a Game, But Can You Do the Paperwork?
For example, when I was first working on Maximo vs. Army of Zin, I first
referred to the game ’ s enemies, the Zin, as robots. I quickly learned that
everyone on my team had a different mental image of what a robot was,
ranging from C- 3PO to the Iron Giant. I realized that my team would be on
the wrong page unless I provided a clearer description for them. The image
I had in my head of the Zin was of a metal skeleton made out of riveted
brass with turning gears for guts. I started using the term “ clockwork
undead ” to describe the Zin. I found that by focusing my language to
something very specific, my team mates were able to better visualize the
image I had in my head.
You also need to be specific when thinking about how the gameplay unfolds
to the player over the course of the game. How this happens is called
progression.
Gameplay Progression
Introducing gameplay to the player can be a tricky thing. Here are several
suggestions on how you can start your game:
• The player starts from ground zero (or level 1 ) with no skills, gear and
abilities.
• The player has several skills that are presented to them at the beginning
of the game but have to be unlocked over time. The gating mechanism
can be experience, money or some other factor.
• The player has several skills, but has no knowledge of how to use
them … yet 9 .
• The player has significant power that they can use immediately … only
to lose it after a boss fight or initial confrontation.
• The player has significant power that they can use immediately … only
to have to “ start back at zero ” as the game story is structured as a
fl ashback.
Just as you need to know how your game begins, you also need
to know how it ends. This is where the beat chart comes in extremely
helpful.
9 The character with amnesia is one of the oldest cliches in video games. Unless you have an
exceptionally clever way to use this story point, I highly recommend not using it. Nothing
makes gamers ’ eyes roll faster. Except for maybe the character realizing that “ it was all a
dream. ”