MechDog has three systems associated with the core game.
Everything you see in this post is work in progress.
Systems
Currency
In the game the player can earn currency. These are the ways the player can receive currency:
- Points-Earning Actions
The player can complete actions to give them points. A percentage of these points are converted into currency at the end of a run. The player can also find pick-ups during a run that increase the conversion rate to receive more currency. - Currency Pick-Ups
The player can find currency pick-ups that directly add to the player's currency at the end of the game. These pick-ups are not effected by conversion.
Upgrades
The player can use currency to purchase upgrades that enhance MechDog's abilities. The upgrades system categorizes upgrades by functionality (Jump, Slam, Token). The categories are tiered and require the player to invest into a category to unlock better upgrades.
Draining Health
On every run, the player has a gauge that counts down to the player's death. When the player hits an obstacle, a portion of the gauge will deplete immediately. The player can extend this life gauge by clearing obstacles and taking out enemies.
Design
Why have a Currency System?
A core design principle with this project was to pursue exciting moment-to-moment gameplay above all else. The currency system allows me to highlight specific actions with extrinsic motivation. The system gives me the tools to draw the player to certain actions.
Why have an Upgrades System?
The upgrade system was added after the addition of the currency system. They work in tandem to create a gameplay loop.
The player earns currency -> Spends the currency on Upgrades -> the upgrades help the player earn more currency.
Why have a Draining Health System?
Many endless runners share a one-hit death mechanic and a level generation system that ramps difficulty. The combination of these two work together to cause the player to increase their skill gradually. As the difficulty ramps up, the player faces new dangers that are likely to kill them. The one-hit death mechanic resets a player's progress, leading them to replay so that they can incrementally learn how to get better at the game. This method works if the goal is to stretch the amount of content and keep the player invested for a long period of time.
My goal with this project isn't to have a long running game service, so I decided to try a health system that allows for longer play. With draining health, the emphasis of the game becomes about being taking action rather than about trying to survive.
