Keen 1 Vorticon Placement
Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2011 3:02 am
I'm experimenting with some vorticon battle sections in OrbKeen at the moment, and finding that it's a lot more difficult than it seems to make them unique and interesting without them quickly escalating in difficulty.
By unique and interesting, I mean environments other than a blank hallway as in Keen 1. Particularly areas that allow the vorticon to climb and descend a series of platforms. There's probably a lot to be learned from Keen 2-3 in this regard, so pointing to examples in those games is a viable contribution to the thread. However, from what I recall even those vorticon habitats were fairly limited in their intricacy.
As far as mods are concerned, I don't remember any particular vorticon encounters, but surely there would be some excellent examples. So do refresh my memory if you can think of any.
Keeping the vorticon in the area
If the vorticon gets out into the wider level, things can become unpredictable.
In my mod, it's relatively easy because the sprite is about 2.5 tiles high. So I only have to place a two-tile entry so the player can get in but the vorticon is trapped inside. But in the original game, this is trickier because the vorticon is two tiles high and can fit through any gap the player can.
Keeping the vorticon in sight
If the vorticon is off the top of bottom of the screen, it is much harder to keep track of. This is especially an issue if it is underneath a top-blocking platform.
A good balance of top-blocking and full-blocking platforms might help keep the vorticon from being a danger when out of view. Or simply a maze-like environment.
Ensuring the player knows it's there to begin with
Obviously you can't just chuck a vorticon in a pit and expect the player to jump in. But a wide room with an entry to one side can be just as unfair if the vorticon is still located off screen when the player enters the room.
Perhaps in such situations, a warning sign could be given to indicate that there is a vorticon present somewhere, similar to the hand sign in Keen 6 that points out optional bonus areas. Designing an adjacent room such that the player has to come within view of the vorticon before encountering the entry point is one solution I have utilised.
Sitting dog
If the player can just chill back and shoot directly at the vorticon without risking anything, the puzzle is redundant. The OrbKeen beta had some areas like this, but you had to wait for the vorticons to jump, and then time the bullet correctly, which took a lot longer than jumping into the pit and taking them on directly.
By unique and interesting, I mean environments other than a blank hallway as in Keen 1. Particularly areas that allow the vorticon to climb and descend a series of platforms. There's probably a lot to be learned from Keen 2-3 in this regard, so pointing to examples in those games is a viable contribution to the thread. However, from what I recall even those vorticon habitats were fairly limited in their intricacy.
As far as mods are concerned, I don't remember any particular vorticon encounters, but surely there would be some excellent examples. So do refresh my memory if you can think of any.
Keeping the vorticon in the area
If the vorticon gets out into the wider level, things can become unpredictable.
In my mod, it's relatively easy because the sprite is about 2.5 tiles high. So I only have to place a two-tile entry so the player can get in but the vorticon is trapped inside. But in the original game, this is trickier because the vorticon is two tiles high and can fit through any gap the player can.
Keeping the vorticon in sight
If the vorticon is off the top of bottom of the screen, it is much harder to keep track of. This is especially an issue if it is underneath a top-blocking platform.
A good balance of top-blocking and full-blocking platforms might help keep the vorticon from being a danger when out of view. Or simply a maze-like environment.
Ensuring the player knows it's there to begin with
Obviously you can't just chuck a vorticon in a pit and expect the player to jump in. But a wide room with an entry to one side can be just as unfair if the vorticon is still located off screen when the player enters the room.
Perhaps in such situations, a warning sign could be given to indicate that there is a vorticon present somewhere, similar to the hand sign in Keen 6 that points out optional bonus areas. Designing an adjacent room such that the player has to come within view of the vorticon before encountering the entry point is one solution I have utilised.
Sitting dog
If the player can just chill back and shoot directly at the vorticon without risking anything, the puzzle is redundant. The OrbKeen beta had some areas like this, but you had to wait for the vorticons to jump, and then time the bullet correctly, which took a lot longer than jumping into the pit and taking them on directly.