Sub-games and rewards

This week I will be discussing some of the sub goals within our game. These goals are to lure the player from the standard “get to the end of the level” goal and to test very skilled players who are able to accomplish both tasks. Within the levels of our game are three objects that are hidden/very difficult to reach. Once they player has touch one of these objects, they will collect it. Collecting all the objects in a level will present the player with an unlockable. Most of the time to gain these objects is very difficult and requires the player to use a large amount of experimentation and exploration of the levels. Some involve the player to stray from the defined path to get to the end of the level. We feel that this mechanic will increase the life of the game as players can go back to previous levels in order to find all the hidden objects. This is a similar mechanic to what is used in Super Mario 3D Land with the star coins (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHt5dOd7Gfs) and Batman Arkham Asylum with the Riddler Trophies. 

The type reward is unknown to the player, making it even more tantalizing to complete the challenge. This sub-game will also add a lot more depth to our game as the player must make the choice to either continue on their way through the level linearly or to try and acquire the objects. Some objects require the player to perform dangerous actions (such as rolling near the edge of the cliff) to be obtained. This will also add a sense of risk vs reward into the game, does they player risk possibly loosening a massive amount of time in order to gain the object to gain the reward?        

 Finding the trophies is a very fun sub game