Level Up.pdf

Finally, We Talk about Gameplay
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distances get greater as you lunge at an opponent. It ’ s important to know
these distances to help you gauge how far away you are from your
opponent and how close you have to be in order to score a touch on them.
The fencer gets accustomed to these distances and adjusts their fencing
style to compensate for them.
Video game players do the same thing. Metrics are especially important to
players as they use them to gauge movement and jump distances “ by eye ” ,
whether they know it or not. When playing, they get a feel for what is and
isn ’ t obtainable and anything that changes that constant will throw off the
player and feel wrong.
Determining metrics start with the basic height of the character, the speed
that character travels, and the height that the character can reach. I always
use the hero character as a yardstick for the rest of the world. For example,
in Maximo: Ghost to Glory, our measurement was called “ 1 Maximo unit ” ,
which was obviously based on the height and width of the main character.
All game distances, widths and heights were expressed in this way.
Use metrics to determine:
• Height: the height of the player character
• Width of passage: usually wider than the player character
• Walking speed: how far the player travels per second or unit of time
• Running speed: same as above, but faster
• Jump distance: usually farther than a walk, but not as far as a run; can
also be based on the player ’ s width (such as 5 player units across)
• Jump height: based on the player ’ s height — a jump is half the player ’ s
height, while a double jump can be twice as tall as the player
• Melee attack distance: usually not much farther than the length of the
player ’ s arm and weapon
• Projectile distance: this can be as short as the player’s reach or width
to as far as the player can see