Game Elements Balance in Cut the Rope: Experiments



    Cut the Rope: Experiments has become for us a kind of experimental platform for adding a number of unique game elements that are not in the original title. In more detail I would like to talk about the latest innovations that appeared in the bath-time level pack Bath time.



    Water . Unlike other game elements, water can fill both the entire level and part of it, thereby changing the properties of the game environment. Once in water, a candy pops up under the action of buoyancy forces. We tried to make the physical model of water as plausible as possible and factors such as the height at which the candy fell into the water, the initial rate of entry into the water and the direction vector of the candy are taken into account by the physical engine.

    It was especially difficult to choose the desired “coefficient of pushing out” of the candy from the water, because if the candy jumps too high or vice versa very low, the player will notice such unnatural behavior and will not be able to correctly predict the behavior of the candy.
    The depth of immersion of the candy in water is also taken into account, the deeper the candy was in the water in the initial state, the higher it bounces on the surface of the water when it floats.



    To add variety to the gameplay, we added several levels with decreasing water, in such levels the player needs to quickly perform a series of actions before the water completely leaves the level.

    Snail. When the candy was in the water without a connection with the rope holding it, it always floated to the surface. We thought that this is not varied enough and we need to add situations where the candy could sink in the water.
    The solution was found in the addition of a “weight”, which is attached to the candy and forces it to sink deeper into the water. The role of such a weight is played by a snail. Thus, the player has the opportunity to indirectly control the behavior of the candy in the water. If a snail is attached to a lollipop, then it gently immerses in water, and if a player drops the snail with a touch, the lollipop will begin to pop up.




    It is important to consider not only the functional features of the new elements, but their interaction with each other, as well as with the elements created earlier.

    Water + Rocket. When introducing new game elements, the question always arises: with which of the previously created elements and how exactly will the interaction occur? We considered and prototyped two main variants of the rocket’s interaction with water:
    1) When it enters the water, the rocket continues to move slightly changing its trajectory and slowing down under the influence of buoyancy forces
    2) The rocket disappears when it enters the water (as if the fuse were dying out), and some kind of candy while moving on inertia, and then rises to the surface



    first option did not give a fundamentally new gameplay and often leads to the fact that the missile quickly enough left level limits with candy, this entailed Music player w level.
    The second option, on the contrary, opened up new gaming opportunities. The player now needs to choose the correct moment and angle of entry of the rocket into the water, so that when the candy is subsequently jumped out of the water, it will fall into the desired area, for example, another rocket.

    Water + Suction Cup . Initially, we made an option with a smooth immersion of the suction cup to a depth, but immediately realized that this option gives few interesting game moments. In addition, the team members we asked to play test levels intuitively expected that the suction cup would pop up.
    It is always better to make the behavior of game elements intuitive to the player, so we chose the option with the sucker pop-up and we were able to create a number of levels that are very interesting using this behavior of the suction cup.



    Below is the process of searching for the visual design of the level pack “Time to swim”.


    In our opinion, this update is one of the most interesting in terms of gameplay and visual design. Ultimately, judging the gamers of course.



    PS
    In conclusion, let me give a little advice to beginner game designers. Of course, you need to spend a lot of time balancing and prototyping game elements and the balance of the game as a whole. But, if you initially have the feeling that the new gaming component is not interesting enough and does not bring a fundamentally new gameplay to the game, then it is better to abandon it and try to come up with something else. Be sure to "play" with this element in your imagination, draw on paper possible game situations associated with it. After that, it will be much easier for you to make a final decision. Therefore, whatever you do, constantly ask yourself the question “Is it interesting?” If you honestly can say to yourself “yes, this is super!”, Then you are really on the right track.




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