Note About This Book: Advanced Lingo For Games was written by Gary Rosenzweig in 2000 for users of Macromedia Director 7. It is presented here for free on an as-is basis, with no updating. Most of the information and code here can be used in the most recent version of Director. The book has been reproduced from the final editing files archived in 2000, and not the final proof galleys. So some minor differences between this version and the printed version my exist. The entire contents of this book are Copyright 2000, Gary Rosenzweig. No part may be reproduced or copied without written permission. The text here is provided for individual use only.
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Advanced Lingo For Games
by Gary Rosenzweig

Chapter 9 Section 5
Game Variations

The nature of the sprite behavior in this game lends itself to countless variations. The example movie on the CD-ROM includes two. The first is a carnival-like game shown previously in Figure 9.1 and the second is closer to something like "Whack-A-Mole", shown in Figure 9.2

The carnival-style game is not that challenging. Because there are many targets always on the screen, it is only a matter of figuring out which ones are worth more points and hitting only those.

The second game has an element of twitch-style arcade games. You have to react fast to catch a target, and it's easy to miss because you are too slow.

To vary the game even more, you can just play with the sprite behavior parameters or work with the graphics themselves.

A Richer Environment

Instead of the plain-looking screens shown in the example movie, you should create a rich environment that reflects a theme. You can also use many different types of targets instead of just one. Here are some ideas:

  • A barnyard setting with bails of hay, farm machines, and farm animals
  • A forest scene with trees and jungle animals
  • A field with little groundhog or prairie dog holes
  • A wilderness scene with bushes, trees, and deer
  • An alien landscape with little alien creatures that pop out of craters

    If you want to have different types of targets, like chickens, ducks, and turkeys, you could use different "Target" members for each. This also means using different "Target Hit" members for each. You can do this by adding another parameter to the sprite behavior to specify the first word of the members to be used. For instance, a value of "Chicken" means that the target member is "Chicken" and the hit member is "Chicken Hit".

    A Friendlier Environment

    If you are like me, and the idea of blowing away little creatures in not appealing, then consider the other ways in which things can be "shot." Here are some examples to use in place of a gun and bullets:

  • A camera and taking pictures
  • A dart gun
  • A pair of lips that kiss (great for young children)
  • Guns and bullets, but shooting inanimate objects like bottles and cans

    More Animation

    When a target is hit, it immediately changes the member of the target sprite to the "Target Hit" member. You could make this a Director film loop or an animated GIF. This way, the act of getting hit also results in animation.

    The final frame of this animation could be blank, so the target appears to disappear at the end, until it is later reset. You could have the target explode, for instance.

    If you are going to use an alternative to bullets, you can have the animation reflect that. For instance, if you have a camera as the user's weapon, the hit animation could show the targets smiling or posing for the camera.

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