👋 Hello dear reader and welcome back!
In this post you’ll learn about Raging Ball gameplay and the foundational ideas behind the game.
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aka The must-read paragraph
Rage games are necessarily harsh with players, but they don’t need to be mean. That’s why Raging Ball is not a take-that type of game, where you are constantly betrayed by level design, tricks, or unfair sequences. Raging Ball difficulty is a feature of its system but it doesn’t directly interfere with players.
Here’s the core ideas of Raging Ball gameplay!
💙 FAIRNESS
Raging Ball desperately wants to be fair and to stay on the side of the player. An example? If you bounce on a solid platform and then you immediately touch a slippery surface, you’ll still get your dash as if you haven’t slipped!
💯 REPEATABILITY & CONSISTENCY
Movement is consistent. Dash power never changes, aiming always works the same way. This way players can definitely learn how the character moves and can predict distances and results of actions.
As a result, gameplay sequences are very much replicable in a 1:1 scale. Once you learn how to optimally go through a jump, you will consistently succeed in performing it again. (And vice versa, if you are constantly failing a sequence, you’re probably doing something wrong in your approach.)
💡 CREATIVITY
Movement and level design allow for creativity. Maps are full of hidden alternate paths or skips that players can explore and discover depending on their mastery of the game.
Also there’s no pre-determined way of going through an obstacle: you can find a way that’s more suitable for you!
🎯 REWARDS PATIENCE
If you are patient enough, you will learn the system: it’s just a matter of time. Once you’re more confident, the game will reward your effort with satisfying movement and a feeling of complete control over the bouncing ball!
aka The boring paragraph
🔊 Game industry veteran Masahiro Sakurai, in one of his many videos about all-around game design in his YouTube channel Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games, discusses the concept of PLAY. By quoting the 1958 book by Caillois Man, Play and Games, Sakurai briefly gives context about 4 elements that should in some measure be featured in games. Here’s how I tried to implement these in Raging Ball!
AGON (COMPETITION)
This is the main component of Raging Ball since you’re constantly required to overcome challenges and improve your skills.
ALEA (CHANCE)
This is conveyed in a much more subtle way. Raging Ball somewhat plays with chance in some specific situations: are you falling? You may be saved by an unexpected platform in the way! Did you fail with your aim? You may bounce on a surface you’ve never noticed before!
MIMICRY (IMITATION)
Another subtle one. Even if you’re not actually imitating something in the game, you’ll get the feeling of connecting with the ball character through your learning. Once you’ve mastered the movement, you’ll become one with the ball.
ILINX (VERTIGO)
Well, the feeling of being on the edge, in danger of falling, or flying through great distances is what defines Raging Ball!
Hey, you’ve reached the end for now! Great!
Do you have any suggestions for topics that might interest you or do you want to tell me something about the game? Comment down below 👇
See you on the next one, take care! ❤️🔥