Wireframe - #33 - 2020

wfmag.cc \ 33

Designing great single player missions

Toolbox

on your position – easily found in cover shooters

like the Gears of War series.

Collect / Collect and deliver / Capture the flag

Pick up an item – or several items – and then go

to a location. Could also be used with information

gleaned from dialogue – this is typically found in

RPGs or open-world titles.

Construct / Craft

Assemble a system, or collection of structures,

to arrive at a specific end goal. This is something

of a special case, as this type of goal is highly

dependent on the game systems.

This game mode could be as simple as

ascending through a tech tree, or as complex

as designing an entire system (such as in a

Zachtronics game like Opus Magnum).

MAKING THE MOST OF A MODE

There are many other possible game modes you

could choose, or you could invest some time in

coming up with an original style. The point here

is to set up – and ideally test out – the basic

rules for the ‘meat’ of your mission in isolation.

Defending or escorting simply may not be much

fun in your game: better to find that out early

than dig yourself into a hole.

OBJECTIVES AND OBSTACLES

Once you have a broad idea of your mode, you

can start to think about the player’s goals and

objectives, both in terms of gameplay and in the

context of your game world.

The player will need to be able to tell themselves

a story about the level: where did they start and

where did they end up? What, or who, was in

 Modern open-world games

like Ubisoft’s Far Cry series

often throw heavily

constrained gameplay

scenarios at the player in an

effort to create variation.

Designing great single-player missions

Toolbox

MODE SELECTOR
A game mode is a simple set of rules predicated
on a very broad objective: think of something like
‘capture the flag’, ‘escort the payload’, or ‘defend
the castle’. When coming up with a mission
design, it never hurts to start with a game mode.
Let’s think about some classic game mode
paradigms – here’s a list:

Extermination
Kill all of the enemies – a common basic game
mode going back to the days of arcade titles.

Assassinate
Kill a specific enemy: a Hitman or Sniper Elite-style
mission, for example, or ‘destroy the shuttle’ from
Star Wars: TIE Fighter.

Patrol
Stay alive while moving between several
points in a level – this can easily be combined
with Extermination or other game modes. It’s
commonly found in combat flight sims.

Escort
Defend a vehicle or character while moving along
a route – a common (and infamous) game mode.

Support
Perform a specific minor role, such as reaching a
location, then provide cover for friendly characters

• common in ‘corridor shooters’ like Call of Duty.

Infiltration
Reach a specific location – often seen in stealth-
driven games.

Defend / Hold-out / Horde
Prevent enemies from reaching a specific
location, or fight waves of enemies encroaching

TIME FOR

DESIGN

It’s often a good idea to

allocate development time

to working specifically on

game modes, independent

from any concern about level

design. A great time to do

this is immediately after the

game’s core design is locked

down during the prototype

phase at the start of the

development cycle. Flipping

your core gameplay, or trying

out classic paradigms like

‘capture the flag’ with the

toolset you’ve given players

can be a brilliant way of

exploring the strengths and

weaknesses of your design,

but also will give you space

to figure out just how far

you can push things further

down the road.