Game Objectives

One of the most important aspect when coming up with a game is it has to have some kind of game objection in which you have to succeed in order to complete the game and can often increase the difficulty with the dilemma of the challengers. Majority of 2D games follow the similar formula, which is you simply have to proceed through the level to the end, and maybe there's something at the end which you have to collect, for example Bananas, Crystals and so on. Sometimes there is also a boss at the end of the level, for which you have to defeat before proceeding on in the game. Beside from that there is also allot of collectibles in some of the levels, for example on the Crash Bandicoot and Mario games you have to collect Apples and Coins, and for every 100 you collect you gain a new life, and using both these games as examples you can also gain special powers for example in Mario you can fly, shoot flaming balls and the star which increases your speed and allows you to take out every enemy directly without them effecting you. I do think these powers add to the game, they have that extra depth where you can use a variety of different attributes instead of using the same powers and make the game allot more interesting. Also whats worth mentioning on Crash Bandicoot you have to collect hidden gems, which is a great idea as it also adds to the re-playable factor as you want to go back and revisit the levels in order to find all the hidden gems for example to truly complete the game 100 %. On another point allot of side scrolling games include checkpoints within the level, I don't know if i am for or against checkpoints as not having them makes the game allot more challenging however it can get very frustrating if you get towards the end of the level and you loose a life and have to start all the way from the beginning, I think its best to vary between the two depending on the size of level, I say one checkpoint towards the middle of the level is about the right approach. Offers a challenge but not too frustrating.

Thinking more towards my game, I'm going for the typical approach of you having to reach the end of the level, passing through obstacles and challengers and enemies. I like the idea of having to collect something at the end of the level, i am not sure as to what yet, but i am thinking of some kind of artifact which could tie in with the story and you have to collect on each level. I do like the idea of a mini kind of boss on each level as to build up the level to some kind of climax, and feels more like your achieving something that you having to defeat a tougth enemy to contain the artifact, instead of just walking anonymously and collecting it and finishing the level. I also like the idea of having a few hidden objects through the level,as to what they do and achieve at this moment im not sure as Id like to tie it in to the story line in more detail which is not confirmed yet. There obviously needs to be a way in which you can add lives however I feel like the whole collect 100 coins or apples has become too cliched and overused. I'm thinking towards a more initiative way. I like the idea of having to get a combo of defeating enemies without loosing lives, or even just getting away with the life's which seems to be a popular approach in many games recently, and having it save from the last checkpoint visited. Finally id like to have a few powers to add more variation into game however I think its important to know get the story and Character nailed down then I can go into this in more detail in a further blog.