Another Approach for Teaching Gameplay — Antepieces, Challenges, and Megaman X
By: Yvens Serpa
Tags: Megaman, Game Design, Games, Level Design, Game Development

The Megaman and Megaman X franchises are known to use the concept of antepieces regularly. As both franchises are built on specific level designs for each antagonist, each level has unique threats and mechanics. Thus, antepieces are a solution to streamline the teaching of the level’s mechanics that are likely to not repeat through the rest of the game.

Flamme Mammoth stage’s Fiery Factory, in Megaman X, is an excellent example of antepiece usage in level design.

A video for the full level can be found below.

The following paragraphs analyze the antepieces and mechanics in the level.

Conveyor Belts, Enemy Spawners, and Lava.

Conveyor Belt Antepiece. [Source: Author].

At the beginning of the stage, we enter an antepiece that introduces three main mechanics: lava floors, enemy spawners (the tubes on top), and conveyor belts. When the player approaches them, as seen in the image above: the lava floor is in a far and safe distance; the conveyor belt moves away from the player; the enemies are mostly junk that does not attack.

First jump between conveyor belts. [Source: Author].

The level proceeds with a gap between conveyor belts, marking the transition between the antepiece and the piece. Notice that it is unnecessary to have a gate between them, as you would expect from the name "antepiece".

Additionally, the conveyor belt on the antepiece moves in favor of the player jump (it moves to the right of the screen), facilitating the jumping.

The piece. A small challenge with the conveyor belt and the enemy spawner. [Source: Author].

The following piece has a higher tendency to spawn enemies (Scrap Robos) that can attack back. The conveyor belt this time moves opposed to the player movement, forcing it to face the enemies and hindering the movement.

Challenge using previously introduced mechanics. [Source: Author].

As the stage progresses, more pieces are used to challenge the player with a combination of the previously introduced mechanics. In the image above, there are two enemy spawners, two Sky Claws, and an inclined conveyor belt.

Flame Towers, and Dig Labours.

Technically speaking, the second section of the Fiery Factory does not use antepieces, but they could be easily adjusted. Let’s see how:

Flame towers in action. [Source: Author].

As the player approaches the second section, another lava area is introduced with broken platforms destroyed by timed flame towers. In a regular play session, the player will likely jump towards the platform without understanding the full effect of the flame tower, causing frustration. To transform this piece into an antepiece, the game could speed up the flame tower action to force it to happen before the player jumps towards it.

Flame Towers and Dig Labours — the challenge piece. [Source: Author].

Even though the game did not use an antepiece, the first introduction to the flame towers is still relatively safe and tame. After it, the game challenges the player with a sequence of flame towers, closer together, and an enemy (Dig Labour). Dig Labour attacks with an arc-trajectory projectile (a pickaxe). A fun fact about the Dig Labour is that it will laugh if it succeeds in hitting you.

Press Machines.

Press Machines in the antepiece. [Source: Author].

The third section of the stage introduces press machines. They activate as something (player or enemy) gets close to it. The antepiece has a conveyor belt in the direction of the press machine and an enemy spawner that will most likely spawn junk. The junk will probably be pressured before the player approaches it. Thus, the player can learn the mechanic in a safe setup.

Piece — press machines in more problematic places and opposing conveyor belt. [Source: Author].

The rest of this section comprises pieces using the previous mechanics, specifically enemy spawners (for junk and Scrap Robos), conveyor belts, and the press machines. The image above shows an example of a challenge piece.

Dripping Lava and Moving Obstacles.

Dripping lava mechanic in the fourth section of the stage. [Source: Author].

The last section of the stage introduces two other mechanics: moving obstacles and dripping lava. Moving obstacles are present in almost all other stages, but the dripping lava is exclusive to the Fiery Factory. As in the second section, this one does not start with an actual antepiece, since the player is not introduced to the dripping lava mechanic in a safe environment. As stated before, that could be easily solved by managing the dripping time or by just placing it after the ladders (thus, the player would only optionally face it).

Moving obstacles (Rolling Gabyool) in the fourth section of the stage. [Source: Author].

The image above shows the next piece (continuation from the previous image) in the stage. Both sections could be unified to transform it into an antepiece by removing the first dripping lava. Thus, the player would optionally face the dripping lava mechanic while would also have a safe space to understand the movement of the obstacles (Rolling Gabyool).

Last challenges in the stage before facing Flame Mammoth. [Source: Author].

The last segments in the stage ramp up the difficulty by using a more complex enemy, the Hoganmer. It has double the health points than the other strongest enemies in the stage and has two phases: defending (invulnerable to frontal attackers) and attacking (vulnerable to attacks from both sides).

The stage combines the positions of Hoganmers, moving obstacles, and dripping lava to assess the player’s mastery before facing its final trial.

Flame Mammoth: A Combination of Mechanics.

Flamme Mammoth Fight: oil and jumping attacks. [Source: Author].

Flame Mammoth uses combinations of the mechanics previously presented in the stage with mild variations. Also, the battleground floor is a conveyor belt controlled by Flame Mammoth, that can change its direction.

Flame Mammoth has an oil spitting attack that grounds the player and can be ignited by its flaming projectiles. These mechanics are similar to the Dig Labours throw-attack. The boss also frequently jumps towards the player, similar to the Press Machines earlier on the stage. However, this time the player is stunned for a while if it is on the floor during Mammoth’s landing.