Introduction

Games can get repetitive if they are just the same thing over and over again. This could be in some games, but it should mostly be avoided. My game is a puzzle-based game with 11 different levels. But, I want to add some variety and progression to it. So this will look at a few different strategies, and which one I chose. I hope these strategies could help you in whatever game you’re working on!

Strategy One - The Obvious

The first, and most obvious strategy, which goes along with the others, is too simply make the levels harder as the game progresses. If you find that the levels don’t get progressively harder, but easier then harder again, you should probably switch up the order of the levels. This gives the player a sense of difficulty and challenge.

You may have noticed that CLIPS has, not a round number of levels, but 11. This is because one level is different from the rest. It will be released before the others in a DEMO (released this fall). It will, of course, also be in the main game, but is skip able and at the beginning. With DEMO levels, I find it best to have a medium difficulty if it is a single level, or a quick progression from easy to hard with multiple levels.

So, other than the obvious, how else can we add a sense of progression?

Strategy Two - Level Variation

In platform games such as Super Mario Bros, a sense of progression is created by adding (the obvious and) variation to the levels! One level might take place in a cave(1-2) and the next in the sky(1-3)! This can be great for traditionally progressing action-based games. However, my game takes place in one location, so I cannot utilize this strategy.

Strategy Three - Change in Atmosphere

Other than changing how the level looks, we could change the effects in that level. This includes particles, sounds, UI, or adding overlays to the screen! This allows the method I chose, according to the storyline of my game, the players perception of the world changes as the levels go on. This can’t be totally revealed (spoilers!), but overall, I think it adds a sense of dread as everything starts to change.

Of course, there are many other strategies that can be used, but these are the main ones! If you are an action game developer, I recorded Strategy Two, and for any game (but mostly horror) Strategy Three. I hope this helps on your journey to create amazing games!!!

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