Determining How Long Power Ups Should Last
Power Ups to me are the cherry on the cake, they provide a moment of sweetness for a short period of time, and they make every game look better. Determining how long they should apply their effect during game play depends heavily on the game’s core concept, the intensity or difficulty intended for the game and each power up’s utility in particular.
For this example, the triple-shot power up will be the case study.
We currently have the power up lasting for five seconds; which at first felt pretty over-powered since the enemies were spawning every 5 seconds and the player does not really need 3 bullets for 1 enemy. So instead of changing the duration of the power up, which is intended to bring a moment of relief when during difficult moments. We’ll set up more difficult moments.
Instead of changing the power up duration, enemies will be spawning more consistently every two seconds and the power ups will appear every 10 to 15 seconds randomly. This will create a greater pool of enemies to kill whenever a power up appears; five seconds duration seems to be a better time frame to clear the map from enemies and start shooting again in a safer environment.
Using the yield commands have so many utilities, determining moments of rush and ease being one of their best attributes. Tension is a good to secrete adrenaline in players.
