Name that Design Element

[mobius]

Limited-Use Button: A generalization of the One-Use Button, usually implemented as tanks cloned into a path of limited size or monsters cloned onto a button followed by a stretch of force floors (warning: slide delay). Can also involve teleports.

I found a fun way of making a limited use button that doesn't take up a lot of room (no idea if this has been done before):

-Have a number of monsters in a tunnel (# of monsters = # of times you want button able to be pressed)

-a trap blocks off the tunnel; after the trap is the "goal" button and water.

-Pressing the main button releases the trap releasing one monster to press the goal button and die. After all the monsters are gone the button won't get pressed again.

It's easy to accidentally let more then one monster go this way, I found, so you can solve this by added a second trap, that gets released by the monster to give some time in between presses.

...I just a brilliant idea then lost it...

Controlled Cloning (could also be called Double Cloning or Bossy Cloning, or maybe a different name would be better) -- Everyone knows how to use a monster on a trap when they need a boss to clone a bug, paramecium, or and they don't want the CB Glitch to screw it up. Well that works fine at first, because Ball-On-Trap will direct T/B/P (Teeth, Bug, or Paramecium) #1 out of its clone machine, but if you try to make T/B/P #2 while #1 is still out there, then T/B/P #2 might be led astray by #1 and smash into a wall (thus never existing at all). The solution is Controlled Cloning.

Instead of hooking up the Chip-controlled red button straight to the T/B/P cloner, hook it up to a ball or fireball cloner facing the direction the T/B/P should clone. That cloned ball/fireball will immediately press another red button cloning the T/B/P (in the desired direction because the ball/fireball is the newest monster and is facing that direction). And no previous T/B/P clone will interfere with this direction! After the ball/fireball does its job, it can drown. However, this fix doesn't work if multiple monsters might be cloned in the same tick, and it has the small side-effect of the player hearing 2 clicks for every 1 time they press the red button.

Examples of this element can be seen in Froggy! and Bridges for Bugs to clone teeth and bugs, respectively. I haven't seen this element used very often, at least not that I know of. (I haven't patented it or anything, people! You can use it! )

Warning Click -- Use when a level element is periodic and potentially dangerous, and the player might have a hard time predicting when the element will "activate". Have a monster press a non-functional button to make a clicking sound a second or two before triggering the level element. Examples can be seen in Assembly Line and Laser Sweep. This works pretty well, except if the player keeps the sound turned off or there are other buttons being pressed throughout the level.

controlled cloning is a great idea! I only ever made one level with a paramecia cloner and it happens to work almost perfect by accident. I messed around a little but didn't feel like sorting out the problems. I usually just tend to avoid bug/paramecia cloning or trapping altogether.

I also like warning click and used it at least one level where visibility is minimal.