Level Up.pdf

More Wealth Than You Can Imagine! 373
Loot is all the great stuff you can buy, but it ’ s FREE!
Well, if you consider navigating through the temple of
eternal pain and defeating the goblin army free. The
difference between loot you buy and loot you find is
you should always find much better loot on your
adventure. Save the best weapons, the strongest
armor, and the shootiest guns for loot. Let the player
earn their keep by solving puzzles, surviving hazards,
and defeating bosses. And remember this very
important thing:
THE BEST REWARDS ARE HARD WON
Souvenirs are physical (well, virtual) reminders of the
player ’ s adventures during the game. Souvenirs can
be displayed back at the player ’ s
base or castle or spaceship or condo.
Give the player a special place to
show them off, like Lara Croft ’ s trophy
room in Tomb Raider Anniversary
(Eidos, 2006) or a nice shelf with
proper lighting. They can be animated
interactive exhibits like those found in
Lego Indiana Jones: the Original
Adventures (Lucasarts, 2008) or virtual museums like the one in Uncharted
2: Among Thieves. No matter which style you choose, use a tight camera or
viewer to let the player get a good look at ‘ em and a label to remind them
where they found the souvenir.
Not all souvenirs should be kept on a shelf. Turning souvenirs into useful
game items gives those items more meaning. Defeat the Lich King in World
of Warcraft and take his sword. Mega Man takes the powers of the Robot
Masters as he defeats them. Instead of awarding a dragon skin rug, why
not give the player a pair of dragon skin boots? That way, as long as the
player wears the boots, everyone will know who slew the red dragon. Make
sure to give the souvenir items special properties too. Those red dragon
boots may allow a player resistance to fire attacks or let them walk over hot
coals or on lava. It may even give them a special flaming kick attack. Make
it special and the player will want to get to the next encounter to see what
they can win.
The biggest problem with bonus features is they are usually created at the
last minute by the production team. Design them early but they should be
one of the last things you create. This way, you can judge just what
constitutes a “ bonus ” to the player by comparing it to the rest of the game ’ s
content. Bonus materials may include: