The Simple But Effective Design Of Geometry Wars

So I haven’t worked in almost a year, now. But what I have been doing, in part, is learning to use the Unreal Engine game development system, in an effort to understand it enough to execute some of my own designs. Twin stick games are my jam, as the kids don't ever say.

I have essentially completed a full level of one game, and started on another. Mr. Banana Grabber (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snMhkbY0LHM) is an Arrested Development inspired action game. This came about when a tutorial I was working through featured a nice banana object (https://www.raywenderlich.com/771-unreal-engine-4-tutorial-for-beginners-getting-started). 

Then I found an amazing 3D printed Mr. Banana Grabber figure someone had published online (https://www.thingiverse.com/jwilcott/designs), and I put the parts back together, using that as the basis for the principal character. 

It’s fairly fun and silly, using several samples and devices from the show. I’m rather pleased with it. I would have continued development…but no one has ever downloaded it. I learned a lot, though, and that’s good. 

That led me to start working on Llamatron 3D (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPf3HyK6BG4). Llamatron was a favorite of mine from way back in the early 90s, so I thought I’d give it an update. I haven’t gotten nearly as far along, but it’s a fair amount more complicated, and I want to get it just right. No playable demo available yet, although I do have a more complete first level I need to upload to Youtube. 

Neither are games that I could in good conscience sell, anyway. Like everything I seem to do, it’s a hobby. 

But that has led me to think more about what makes a good game design. I was going to write some game reviews anyway, so why not combine the two? Lots of good reviews of this now aging classic exist anyway. 

Geometry Wars (https://store.steampowered.com/app/8400/Geometry_Wars_Retro_Evolved/?utm_source=SteamPeek) is, of course, an abstract twin stick shooter. It’s 2D, overhead, and the action is sandboxed in a rectangular arena slightly bigger than the screen. The design is simple, effective, and has enormous replay value. 

Why is it so fun? What makes it so replayable? 

The graphics, while stunning in some areas, aren’t particularly difficult to pull off today. It does owe a debt to Tempest, graphically. As the name suggests, the enemies are relatively simple geometric vector shapes. Diamonds, cubes, etc,. for the most part. Later enemies such as the ‘snake’ (‘worm’?) and ‘black hole’ are a little more involved. The grid background gets a sort of space-time distortion in later levels as your weaponry increases, and that particular visual is amazing. And only slightly disorienting. 

The action slowly builds over time, and your firepower correspondingly increases along with a point multiplier. This has the general effect of “just one more go” as you try and get slightly further than you did last time. You can literally pop in and play for five minutes and get back to what you’re supposed to be doing, or zone out and play for a solid hour at a time. 

There are only about twelve enemies, each with a different behavior. I suspect this a key point in the overall design’s success. Each enemy has a clearly defined behavior, lending a bit of predictability to the otherwise random chaos. This forces you to develop a strategy for dealing with each, which are slowly introduced as you advance. 

The real challenges come when you are dealing with a wide variety in large numbers, allowing for layers of strategies all being employed at once. What works for one enemy doesn’t work for another. Start combining enemies, and you are forced to constantly expand your approach. In true arcade form, you can only get so far before you are completely overwhelmed. 

These concepts were actually introduced in the original Robotron arcade game by Eugene Jarvis, and I supposed you could say Geometry Wars just expands on that. But it does it all in a way that feels fresh and unique. 

When viewed through the lens of game design, there are lessons to be learned, here. There is no storyline. There are no bosses. There is no online multiplayer gameplay. There are no intricate 3D graphics. Just pure playability that keeps you coming back for more. Budding game designers take note.