Missile Command

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Missile Command

• Possible patterns

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1. Panic!

• Game speeds up (more missiles, faster)
• Unpredictability (UFOs might appear anytime)
  (sub-pattern)
• Cannot be removed, the game would turn incredibly
  boring.
• Similar to tetris

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2. Rewarding the player

• Extra city after 10 000 points.
• Extra points for multiple hits
• Extra points for blasting a UFO
• Could be removed, at the cost of some interest in
  the game.
• In some form in almost all games.

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3. Priorization

• All resources (lives), cities are in play at
  once, unlike in many games where extra lives are
  safe.
• Lots of missiles left, only one city protect
  the city, not the launcher
• Strategic locations (an undercategory of some
  other?)
• Could be removed, but would alter the game beyond
  recognition.
• Similarity to eg. Settlers of Catan build a
  road, or a city, if another player is building a
  road near your territory.

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4. Competition

• Motivations beat your own highscore, compete
  with a friends highscore.
• Player vs. player, player vs. game. Meta game,
  in-game.
• Game mastery
• The game will keep on speeding up how far can
  you go?
• In some form, in almost every game.
• Possible alterations remove the score, add
  another player, introduce a time limit

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5. Exploration through advance

• Play better, see more levels (in this game
  though, levels are only distinguishable from each
  other by different coloring)
• Coolness Factor dude, i reached the purple
  level!
• Could be removed, would make the game somewhat
  more monotonous.
• Many games have levels, shoot-emups, FPSs,
  roleplaying games.

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6. Limited resources

• 3 sets of missiles. More comes if level is
  cleared.
• an undercategory of 3. priorization?

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8. Closures

• Hovering closure delayed blast player can
  detonate her missile in front of advancing enemy
  missiles, and wait for the outcome.
• Missiles come in waves, it remains to be seen
  whether the player can survive the whole wave.
• Completing a level
• Making a highscore
• Could be removed, would make the game dull but
  playable still.
• Similar to many FPSs enemies often come in
  waves, you can throw a grenade in their path and
  wait for the outcome. Even more similar to
  Commando. Some board and cardgames (eg. poker)
  also implement this.

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7. Risk/Reward

• Player can wait for several missiles to reach the
  same point in their trajectory, and then launch
  her own missile into the cluster (if she trusts
  her aiming skill enough).
• Could be removed, but would significantly alter
  the game (missiles would for example drop down on
  straight trajectories)
• Similar to Pac Man (we stole the name from you
  too ? )