Hazards are one of the most basic elements of game design as obstacles that players must avoid or overcome. The careful balancing of hazards can create a sense of challenge and excitement for players, as they must carefully navigate the environment while also keeping an eye out for valuable items.
Hazards in Gaming
Hazards can be used to create a variety of different game experiences. For example, a platformer might use hazards to create challenging obstacle courses, while a role-playing game might use hazards to encourage skill progression and overcome an obstacle. The possibilities are endless, and the best way to use hazards is to experiment and find what works best for your game.
Here are some additional tips for using hazards in game design:
- Bottomless Pits: a classic hazard in video games. They can be used to create a sense of danger and suspense, or to simply provide a way to kill the player.
- Water: a dangerous hazard in video games. It can drown the player, or it can be used to transport the player to different areas of the game world.
- Spikes: another classic hazard in video games. They can be used to kill the player instantly, or they can be used to create puzzles.
Let's explore how to add some hazards into our own scenes now that we have some historical perspective
First off, we will add a spike to the scene. Through Sceneri's intuitive interface, we will locate the "Hazard" asset in the asset browser and seamlessly incorporate it into the level using the gizmo tool.
Now that we have the spike into position we want to add a Rotating Component within the spike properties by opening the Inspector panel. Entering play we should now see the spikes rotating in the scene.
The last step we need to do is add a Hazard Component from the Add Component panel on the left side. We can then drag the hazard over to the spikes object and have it overlap the spike volume.
Having completed the basic setup within our scene let's explore other guidelines on how to use hazards in your scenes:
- Make sure that the hazards are relevant to the game's theme or setting.
- Use a variety of hazards to keep players engaged.
- Balance the challenge of finding and collecting items with the hazards.
- Place hazards strategically to create a sense of challenge and excitement.
These are just a few ideas for hazards in game design related to bottomless pits, water, spikes, and rotating objects. There are many other possibilities, and the best hazards for a particular game will depend on the genre, tone, and target audience of the game.
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