My game has no 'spark'.

Deyja · 2010-08-25T11:18:01

I've spent the last two weeks prototyping what I thought would be a great idea. The game functions, it can be played, but I wouldn't want to. The design is lacking the spark. It's just not fun. I think there's something fun somewhere in the original idea, I've only got to find it.The game is a reverse shmup. Instead of playing as a single hero ship taking on a horde of enemies and a bunch of over-powered mega-sized bosses, you ARE the over-powered mega-sized boss. Heroes come at you alone or in groups, and you fire off waves of bullets and underlings for them to dodge and shoot. The object of the game is to destroy the heroes, of course. This is the idea that I still think has some merit.In implementing it, I created a spawn timer and cost system meant to slow the rate at the player can spawn underlings. The player would earn coins for destroying the heroes, and be able to spend them to upgrade vital stats of their boss-ship, such as how fast it recharges the 'power' spent to spawn underlings, and how large it's max power reserve was.The problem is that the game oscillates between way too hard and way too easy. The winning tactic is too simple : Spawn underlings faster than the player can shoot them and overwhelm them. Tweak the spawn rates so that this becomes available, and that's what the player does. Tweak the spawn rates so it's not available, and the player can't win at all. If the heroes can destroy ships faster than the player can make them, the player will always lose. And the other way around, the player can always win just by holding down the spawn button.So what can I do to break out of this rut and create some gameplay that is actually interesting? I've thought of a few things.Powerups which the heroes seek, and the player has to protect. These can temporarily break the stagnation described above, by shifting the combat to a different area on the field. Depending on the nature of the powerup, it could reverse the balance when the hero picks it up, and allow them to destroy underlings faster than the player can spawn them. But, the same issue as before occurs. If the player can spawn underlings faster than the hero can destroy them, the powerup is never in any danger. Vice versa, the hero will always eventually get it.Shield units. These are slow moving underlings that take a lot of hits. They would be fairly expensive themselves, but they would also give the player a chance to sit safe behind them and charge up their 'underling spawn power' for a big rush. If the game is balanced such that in normal conditions the player always loses, this chance to 'charge up' with impunity may allow them to temporarily reverse the balance and destroy a few heroes.Perfect balance always. Carefully tune underling spawn rates and hero firing rates so that, if the player just holds down the spawn button, they won't lose; but they won't ever win either. This would force the player to try to outsmart the AI, rather than just slug it to death with brute force. Except that I don't know how the player would actually do that.Any ideas?

Game Design and Theory Game Design

Started by Deyja August 18, 2010 04:25 PM

22 comments, last by Drathis 13 years, 8 months ago

M2tM

948

August 24, 2010 03:34 AM

Quote:Original post by Robin S
Quote:Original post by EJH
Does your mega-boss have super weapons? A tech tree of super power weapons and defensive stuff would add a lot as well.
Quote:Original post by Punk Designer
I would mix it up a bit, use things that are often used in such RTS games like turrets, healing units, stealth units, etc. Something tech-tree would be good.

I think you should consider making it so these heroes of yours have to come into your "land" so the player should be able to design the land and put nests (for AI underlings), turrets, rocks in where he/she wants while keeping to a budget (earn money by killing off heroes and other tasks)
That could quickly turn into Tower Defence.

Which is actually really fun and a viable genre.

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Robin S

153

August 24, 2010 12:34 PM

I agree, but it didn't sound like what Deyja was aiming for in the original post.

ManuelMarino

153

August 25, 2010 11:02 AM

It is an interesting idea... what about adding some depth? mini puzzles, rpg, changing the pace/time, objects you need to protect, random equipment to change heroes behaviour...

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Drathis

141

August 25, 2010 11:18 AM

I don't know if this helps but here goes.

Your game like tower defense with one type of tower and one type of monster. Think of how tower defense is made interesting and how can you use the same mindset to put a twist into your own game.

My game has no 'spark'.

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My game has no 'spark'.

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