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2D Side Scroller : Gameplay Verbs


A man was eaten by a verb. That's what happened. Verb ate'im.



When coming up with ideas for my game I tried to think of all the actions a player could take as different verbs. I would then construct sentences using those verbs to represent the puzzles of each stage. For example:

The player first Climbs up the platform, then Pushes the box onto the spikes. The player then Falls from the platform onto the box then Jumps to the Checkpoint.

This clearly shows the different actions the player will take in the puzzle and allows me to see what each puzzle idea is actually asking the player to do and how much in between checkpoints. if the sentences get too long then I know I need to break them up with a checkpoint. or if they get too repetitive I know I will need to vary up or rearrange the challenges. 

List of verbs in my game

Jump

Run

Crouch

Push

Reset

Dodge

Climb

Fall

To be clear each verb doesn't necessarily correspond to a specific mechanic. The feeling a player gets when asked to jump from one platform to another across a gap is different from when the player jumps up and set of platforms to get to a higher place. This system of verbs better represents gameplay I feel than simply listing mechanics and the context in which the mechanic is used is equally important to its use in the first place. 

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