Stage Discussion #3: "Chain Reaction"

I've just now realized that Chain Reaction is actually the oldest stage to make it into the release build of Cataclysm. Before I had shock blocks, falling spikes, crush blocks, sawblades, etc., I had the simplest stage hazard I could make with the components available at the time: Bombs that spawn on the stage.

In a cut stage, "Kilroy", I had two bomb spawners that, unlike Chain Reaction, would immediately start the bombs' fuses. So, there were constantly bombs falling and exploding in parts of the map... It was a boring an uninspired use of the spawners. Chain Reaction was made immediately after, and it was meant to be sort of a test to see how the game would handle so many explosions in quick succession, as well as a novelty that nobody (except for me) would like. 

In early versions of the stage, the bombs in the bottom area were enclosed which prevented them from being knocked around; the titular chain reaction was set up to happen every time the bombs respawned. This turned out to not be a good thing for a few reasons, most importantly, a player at the bottom of the stage had very little chance of avoiding the explosions. By exposing these bombs, quick-thinking players can use a melee attack to knock one of the bombs away and "break the circuit" to prevent the explosion from reaching them.

Another issue with early versions of the stage was a lack of destructible terrain, and an excess of open space. This resulted in matches running too long (before the timer was added), and growing tedious as the stage didn't change too much from beginning to end. The "respawn blocks" made an enormous difference as they allowed me to remove a lot of the chunky indestructible blocks and replace them with dirt/stone/glass. On that note, the glass blocks were another significant addition to the game and this stage in particular. They allowed me to fill out spaces without clogging up key areas. For example, the glass at the bottom gives players a nice clean run to pick up the weapon crate before the first chain reaction goes off, leaving a series of short platforms. You can still run across these, but if you go underneath, you could get trapped-- and if this happens, you could throw bombs at the glass to break out as they receive damage from impact. But after a second chain of explosions, these platforms are gone, and the "danger zone" is completely exposed. I like this sort of progression, and it wouldn't be possible if I used a stronger terrain type (dirt or stone). 

That's about all the rambling I have for this stage. Check out the game and let me know what you think. Thanks for stopping by!