![]() It is not purely a quantity-based system, where a number counts up and down. Mario’s health may appear to be straightforward on its surface, but by using the framework, it becomes clear how Nintendo was able to innovate. When Mario collides with another entity ( spatial), that entity may change Mario’s health state to big, to small, or to dead ( action).īeing able to convert metaphors into mechanics is an important skill to have when analyzing systems. Using the framework to break down the health system in a 2D Mario game gives us this summary:īig or small are state mechanics that (1) apply to Mario, (2) visually represent Mario’s health points ( quantity), and (3) affect how tall Mario is when he is standing ( spatial). If it’s a mushroom, Mario will become big if it’s an enemy, Mario will take damage.Ĭhanges in Mario’s state What differentiates gaining health and taking damage depends on what that other spatial entity is. And second, they both require another entity to collide with Mario ( spatial). First off, they are action mechanics: they change Mario’s state from small to big or big to small to dead. they cannot grow any bigger while big, we can consider it to be a state mechanic as well.Įating a mushroom and taking damage are mechanically very similar. And because his size adds an additional rule to the player, i.e. ![]() His size also affects how tall he is when he is standing ( spatial) - 2 blocks vs 1 block. ![]() Mario’s size indicates how many hits he can take before he dies ( quantity) - 2 when big, 1 when small. We can break out the mechanics into their elements, beginning with big or small. How does Mario eat a mushroom? What does it mean for Mario to be big or small? How can Mario take damage? When you need to start examining the underlying mechanics, the framework comes in handy. This might be enough for others to understand, especially if they’ve played a 2D Mario game before, but it poses several questions. ![]()
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