Level Up.pdf

278 LEVEL 10 The Elements of Combat
it was from an in - game
checkpoint. By using this
exploit, the player ceased to
worry about death and never
even saw the game over
screen.
Many developers have caught
on to this and abandoned the concept of player lives. Instead of killing the
player and ending the game, players are reset to checkpoints within the
level, where they can keep trying over and over until they succeed. In Prince
of Persia: the Sands of Time, the player can “ rewind time ” to a point where
the player is safe. This type of mechanic has to be carefully implemented
though: it is possible for a player to get into a situation where they can ’ t
rewind far enough to avoid death and would die all over again. A narrator
tells the player “ that ’ s not how the story happened ” before the character
restarts from a checkpoint. In Batman: Arkham Asylum, the player is given a
chance to save the caped crusader from a fall to death by pressing a QTE
button. If successful, Batman climbs back up to safety.
However, some genres like action and survival horror still utilize lives and
game over screens. If you have to kill your player, remember the following:
• Let the player know that they have lives and that they will be lost. Players
become protective of their character and will fear for their safety.
• Display lives clearly in the HUD. Make it clear when the player is losing
a life.
• Allow the player plenty of opportunities to regain lives. They can happen
during level ups, be power- ups, or rewards for collecting objects.
• When killing a player character, do it quickly. Don ’ t create a long, drawn
out death animation that the player has to watch over and over again
when things get hard in the game.
• The same goes for game over screens. Don ’ t make the player sit
through long death sequence cutscenes. Make the path to restarting
gameplay after death as quick as possible.
• When killing a player, make it as violent as your rating allows. Let the
player really feel some pain when it happens. Empathy toward the game
character will motivate the player towards self- preservation.
• If the player earns something during one life, don ’ t double punish them
by taking it away from them when they lose that life.
• If killing the player during a boss round, don ’ t make the player have to
play the whole sequence all over again. Why not let them continue on
with the fight as if nothing ever happened, or only punish them with a
little bit of boss health regained?