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Perhaps one of the lesser known titles that will appear on my list, Duck Tales still boasts some classic gameplay and style that is worthy of recognition. Developed by Capcom, it shared some of the staff that was responsible for the Mega Man titles of the time. Both the producer and the composer of Duck Tales hold similar credits on Mega Man titles.

This probably leads to some of the striking similarities in gameplay between the two titles. Non-linear level selection, Segmented Boss stages, and even a scoring mechanic that matches the scoring in Mega Man 1. All this aside, the game certainly has its unique elements. The pogo cane for example is one of the best weapons/movement controls in a NES game.

What I like from a design perspective is the creative way that they build in replayability. Take a mechanic as simple as score. Then twist it ever so simply to make it money, instead of simply a score. Players then identify with the natural appeal of collecting insane amounts of cash rather than something abstract as a score. Work in a few additional motivators such as alternate endings for reaching higher “scores” and you have a winner. But before we are done, lets add a few more tweaks such as two hidden treasures that are worth 1 million dollars each, but are well hidden and difficult to attain [for the hardcore players]. One last addition and then we’ll be done - offer a means to exit some levels [banking all money earned this far] and you have given real appeal and temptation to the hardcore market that wants to set scores higher than ever before.

Actually, I think might wrap up this post and go save Duckburg…
Hope you enjoy the prints below

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This entry was posted on Sunday, April 19th, 2009 at 4:20 pm and is filed under gaming, art. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.