Level Up.pdf

Run and Gun 269
to a main gun and a side arm. But if you do that, you ’ ll need to be able to
switch between them quickly; preferably with a single button press.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 allows you to draw your side arm faster than
you can raise your rifle; helpful for those situations requiring a quick shot.
Gears of War and Uncharted use a cover system. This not only allows the
player a way to take cover against surface or barricade to avoid being shot,
but to also fire “ blindly ” or in a limited manner at the enemy. The player is
often penalized for avoiding risk by not being able to aim while under cover.
Cover systems usually require a button press or command by the player to
place them in and out of this mode. Be careful that your cover system
doesn ’ t become too “ sticky ” , otherwise the player may be going into cover
when they don ’ t want to.
Run and Gun
There are many, many ways to shoot at things in video games: from a
plane, from a train, out of a box, at a fox — you name it! Here are the main
elements of a shooting gallery screen:
1. Turret showing weapon and player
2. Shootable object containing reward or powerup
3. Ground - based target
4. Visual element that indicates why the player can ’ t shoot “ past the
screen ”
5. Aerial target (note the clear indication to the player that it has been hit)
6. Smaller aerial target (generally worth more points)
7. Smaller ground target (also worth more points).