Level Up.pdf

334 LEVEL 12 The Nuts and Bolts of Mechanics
doesn ’ t have the key for, or it can be blocked with debris that the player
can ’ t move. Whatever the choice, the appearance needs to be obvious to
avoid frustration. Locked doors are often (some say too often) used to
introduce this common gameplay scenario: the quest to find the key 2 .
Switches, cranks, and levers are another old standby in video game
design. Some designers love using them, others avoid them like the plague.
I admit that nothing makes my eyes roll faster than seeing a lever sitting in
the middle of a room. It ’ s something that screams “ video game ” to me. How
many times in your life have you actually pulled a lever? But, they are very
useful for a variety of gameplay mechanics. If you do use switches and
levers, keep them visually simple. Now I know that one of the great
pleasures in designing video games is creating fantastical things, but
players will clearly understand the “ cause and effect ” if you keep things
grounded in reality.
Whatever you end up doing with your switches and levers, make sure that:
• You consider placing a visual effect like a glow or an icon on your switch
or lever. Because levers are usually shown as slender poles, the player
might have a hard time seeing them.
• The player sees the effect of activating the switch/pulling the lever. That
means using a camera cut, voice, and/or sound effect to make sure it ’ s
clear.
• The switch/button should change appearance to show that it is in a new
state. Have it change color, position or shape. If the switch is a one - way
switch (one that only operates once), play a nice meaty sound effect to
indicate that it ’ s permanently changed its state. If it ’ s a resetting switch,
then play a “ timer ” sound effect to indicate that that switch is going to
revert back to its original state. You can even display a timer graphic so
the player knows how much time they have left.
2 We ’ ll talk more about keys in Level 13.