Gates and keys

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29 April 2006

by Mike Rozak

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Avatar games segment their worlds so that players can't enter portions of the world without completing specific tasks. Designers do this to ensure that new geography content is gradually opened the user throughout the life of the game, preventing the user from experiencing all the geography content at the game's outset, thereby weakening the experience. (Character abilities, such as spells, are also gradually unlocked throughout the game.)

I just thought I'd spend some time listing different styles of gates and keys. First, the most common mechanisms:

• Doors
  • Locked, requiring a key (found/acquired somewhere else) to unlock.
  • Locked, with a puzzle-based locking mechanism.
    
    
• Guard - Instead of a locked door, the way is obstructed by a guard who won't let characters pass without the proper conditions. Some games allow guards to be killed, negating the need for players to meet the conditions.
  
  
• Monsters - Monsters create a "fuzzy" lock that's based on the player character's level. Killing monsters not only "unlocks" the gate, but requires action from the player and provides rewards such as loot an XP.

Some solutions that restrict world access that aren't exactly gate-and-key:

• Cost - Travelling to the new area incurs a cost.
  • Resources - Money to pay for a train ticket.
  • Time - Crossing the barrier takes real time:
    • Non-play time - The player is told to leave and come back tomorrow, by which point the character will have gotten to its destination.
    • Play time - The player must sit around and wait.
      • Make-work - Sometimes a non-game activity is required, like making the character run for a kilometre (holding down the 'W' key for 10 minutes).
        
        
• Choices - The player cannot move across the barrier without making choices:
  • Swimming - The character cannot carry armour or much weight.
  • Tight corridor - The amount of weight the character can carry is limited.
    
    
• Hidden/obscured
  • Hidden doors - Players only get through hidden doors if they (a) notice the appropriate clue, (b) are meticulous and always search for secret doors, (c) read the game walkthrough, or (d) are told by a NPC where to look.
  • Inaccessible - Players can't get to the location until a NPC informs the player of the location. The location isn't even on the map (or menu).
    
    
• Obstacles - For the player to get to the new section of the world, they must overcome a non-trivial obstacle, in the form of a sub-game:
  • Climbing - A climbing game.
  • Jumping - A jumping game, with moving platforms and whatnot.
  • Maze - The gateway isn't exactly locked. It's just difficult to find one's way through.
    
    
• Preparation - The player cannot pass without proper preparation:
  • Skills - The character can't pass without the appropriate skill level. Since skills are often chosen by the player, this becomes a resource allocation problem.
  • Underwater - Proper water-breathing spells/potions must be acquired.
    
    
• Risks - Travelling to the new area is dangerous:
  • Monsters
  • Traps
    
    
• State - The place is a "state of being" that results in a different perception of the same world.
  • Alternate reality - When the player puts on the ring of invisibility, they enter the world of shadows, which is half reality, and half filled with previously invisible creatures.
  • Different perspective - If a player character gets knighted, all the NPCs in the game suddenly treat the player differently.
  • Events - The "place" is an event. For example: The "place" is a dance where all the NPCs gather in a specific place and time. Unless the player knows the exact place and time, they won't experience the dance.
    
    
• Timing - The door only opens at specific times, such as a full moon.