Level Up.pdf

Be Kind to Our Four-Legged Friends 109
• How does the player react when they reach the bottom? Can they glide
along the bottom? Or do they bob back towards the surface?
• Can the player do any actions underwater that they can do on land?
Can they pull switches, or operate those submarine hatches you always
seem to find in underwater levels?
• Does the player travel at a consistent speed or can they “ swim faster? ”
• Changing directions or elevation underwater can cause problems for the
camera as it attempts to match the player ’ s orientation. Quick
underwater moves can cause a camera to flip around as it struggles to
keep up with the character.
Be Kind to Our Four - Legged Friends
Not every game features a bipedal character. The beauty of video games
is that a player can be a dog, a spider or a spider- dog … just about
anything. But when creating non - bipedal characters, there are a few things
to keep in mind:
• Quadrupeds need a wider turning radius: build these wider- than - normal
lengths and turning times into your metrics.
• Four legs generally means a character can move faster than a bipedal one.
Take into account the character ’ s acceleration and deceleration.
• A longer character means more body mass to hang off of an edge or fill
up an environment. Adjust your character to world metrics accordingly.
Be doubly mindful of the Wile E. Coyote effect.
• Many quadruped characters are shorter than average human height.
Make sure you account for this difference when having characters
perform attacks or simple tasks like opening doors or chests.
Let me reiterate: the key to avoiding problems with a quadruped character
is to make sure your metrics are built around them.