Baloon Fighter

                                                                  Balloon Fighter
 


◦ How does the level layout contribute to the tutorial?


The layout of the game is in 2D. It has many large and small platforms that
the player’s

character can walk on. Some of them are floating in the air and
there is a wide stream of

water at the bottom of the screen in the center.

 
 
◦    How is the pacing and flow managed to keep the player challenged but 
not bored?


The challenge in the game is to pop all the enemy’s balloons and make it 
to the next

level. Note: there is no time limit in this game. Each time you 
take down an enemy you

get points. Each point is added to the player’s 
high score in the game. The game gets

harder as the player completes 
each level by the fact that more enemies are added into the

game as the 
game continues. Also, they added a bonus round to keep the player 
interested

and challenged. 
 


◦    How much is left to the player to figure out on his own vs. how much is 
handed to

him?
 Well, it took me only one round to understand the objective in the game 
because I

noted the tutorial in the main menu before pressing “Start”.
The game uses a joystick or a

controller to “RUN” the game and by 
pressing “A” allows the player’s character to fly

from one platform to 
another platform in the game.  Since it's a “balloon popping fighting

game” 
the player’s objective is to take down as many enemy balloons. NOTE: At 
the

beginning, it was very hard to understand how to take down the 
enemy’s balloons, but as

I continued to play, I found out that you had to 
pop them from above in order to pop the

enemy’s balloon. You also 
needed to hit them on the ground/platform.


 
◦    What kind of obstacles are presented to the player?


The game had different numbers of enemies within each level. As each 
level was

completed, more and more enemies appeared faster throughout 
the game. The other

obstacles that could “kill the player’s character” in 
the game were the environmental

factors: the clouds, the water and the 
objects attached to the platforms. The clouds could

shoot lightning and hit 
your character. The water was dangerous because it could drag

your 
character down.  The water also hid dangerous creatures because a huge 
fish could

suddenly jump out of no where and swallow up your character. 



The objects on and below

the platforms could be lethal too, if your 
character happened to bump into them.  On the

other hand, the bubbles 
were the “good” environmental objects. The bubbles gave you

extra points 
to add to your score. There were also unknown balloons that added

more 
extra points to your overall score and gave extra life in the bonus round.
    

 
◦    How do they ramp up the difficulty as the tutorial advances?


The difficulty in this game increases as each level is completed. It will get 
harder and harder for the player to win the game.



◦    What kind of positive and negative feedback is given to the player?


I think it is a relatively a simple game that gives positive feedback early in 
the game by allowing you to easily complete the beginning levels.  It hooks
you into believing that the game is easy, but in fact, as one moves up the 
levels, the degree in difficulty accelerates. I noted that it was harder to 
control the balloons in the air with my controller. There were more 
enemies, more dangerous environmental obstacles and a faster pace in 
the game as I completed each level. This increased my chances of my 
character being killed.

 How many times would my character be killed?  
How many times would I have to start over to complete the level to win the 
game?

 This is the negative feedback given to the player as the player 
moves up in the levels. 
 
   

How is the story integrated (if any)?
There was no story integrated into this game.