Level Up! The Guide to Great Video Game Design, 2nd Edition

Level 13

Now You’re Playing with Power

POWER-UPS can be found in every genre of gaming, from driving to puzzle games to action-adventure games to shooters. They are dropped by defeated enemies, hidden in treasure chests, and sometimes just lying all over the place in the middle of the road.

A well-designed power-up is concentrated action. A player only has to touch it to become energized to move at lightning speeds, blow up the world, and return from the dead! The great thing about a power-up is its effects are immediate: who wouldn’t want to immediately gain awesome power?! The only downside is that its effects are usually temporary, so use that power wisely.

Powering Up

A designer should be wise when creating power-ups and should ask the following questions:

• What does the power-up do?
• What does it look like? How will it (or its effects) visually stand out in the world? Does it glow or strobe? Rotate or bounce?
• Can power-ups be combined, or can the player have only one active at a time? Can the player retrieve power-ups that are unused or discarded?
• How does it affect the player’s movement? Rate of speed? Number or type of attacks? Health or status?
• How are its effects communicated to the player visually? Aurally?
• What is the player’s trade-off for using the power-up? Some reduce speed or mobility or the types of moves the player can do while under the influence of the power-up. ...