Thank You For Playing

Henshin (name subject to change) is an adventure game with puzzle elements.

Gameplay: The player character is a piece of paper that transforms into several origami objects to overcome obstacles. The challenge will be to think beyond the obvious applications of the forms and use them creatively. For example, if one shape has the ability to fly, using it to fly over gaps may not be its only use.

Story: The character was created by a boy during a secondary education class. He was given great care in his construction, payed significant amount of attention to detail. When the bell rang dismissing class, the boy ran off, leaving his creation, our unfortunate hero, alone in the dark and quiet classroom… and this is where it begins.
Goal: The player must overcome obstacles to assist the adorable protagonist in his plight for a pleasant environment and friends to enjoy it with.

Graphics: The emphasis will be on the individual character and his environment. The environment will be simple, but pleasing to the eye. (I am aiming for a cutesie game here. I’d cell shade it if I could.) I am hoping this will create a warm feeling in the player towards the character, giving them a desire to succeed in their tasks not only for their own purposes, but also because they want the character’s problems to be resolved. There will probably be only the main character, to emphasize his isolation. Probably no ‘bad guys’ either. No weapons necessary in this cutsiewootsie game. This is very much still developing in my head. Not set in stone.

© TreborRicadela 2008

I have decided to discuss common game play mechanics found throughout games. For the most part, I will be speaking in generalities. I will also be discussing commercial as well as Indie games. The purpose of this post is to discuss familiar gameplay mechanics that most games share and to perhaps avoid some of these cliche mistakes in the future.

This most may sound like a bit of a rant, but it stems from a series of recurring themes and gameplay devices that I have noticed in my years of gaming. These things apply to most not all games.

• Collecting Stuff
• Difficulty
• Points
• Boss Fights
• Save Points
• Unlocking Characters in fighting games
• Ninjas, Pirates, Robots, Zombies

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