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Plants vs. Zombies
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Plants vs. Zombies
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===Design=== The team wanted to bring back the aliens from ''Insaniquarium'', but in the end were changed to zombies, which players could react to more easily because of how slowly they moved. Fan's favourite zombie was the Pole Vaulting Zombie, due to the hilarity involved when a player encounters it for the first time, using a specific example where a player tries to block it with the Wall-Nut, only to have the zombie jump over it. The developers intended to make sure the zombies were not just more powerful versions of earlier zombies, trying to find interesting designs and interesting ways for the players to defend against them.<ref name="gamearena"/> An example of one zombie that did not make the cut was a zombie walking a zombie dog, which was invulnerable because it was too short to be hit. Once the zombie was defeated, the dog would go crazy and charge forward. But this did not enhance the game play enough, and Fan was worried that players would not understand the game mechanic.<ref name="gamezebo"/><ref name="edge"/> The developers focused on the Adventure mode for the first year of development, but programmer Tod Semple finished his development tasks ahead of schedule. Afterward, he was looking for something to do, and began work on [[minigame]] ideas. The Puzzle mode had similar origins; Vasebreaker and I, Zombie came from single-level minigames, but after playing them to tweak them, he found he was addicted to them. Fan found it impressive how well-designed they were, stating that while they were using the same plants and the same zombies, they were reinventions of the game mechanics. Fan worried that the minigame and puzzle modes may distract from the main game, so to keep players focused on the Adventure mode, he required that they beat it before they could move onto these modes. However, this was changed due to comments from beta testers that they would like to try these modes out sooner. The developers allowed players to play a few of the stages from these modes in the middle of Adventure mode. Fan stated that it's a common perception amongst players that the Adventure mode is 90% of the game, while the rest of the game is merely additional content. He hoped that players would appreciate the post-game content. Another mode is the Survival mode, which included an Endless mode. After players were getting to the hundredth level in only three hours, Fan decided to make it more difficult, adding powerful zombies at the 30th level.<ref name="edge"/> Fan stated that every game he worked on had only him designing the prototype, adding that he used to draw a lot before he made games, where he made pixel art. The final designs of the zombies and the first plants are similar to how they were initially. After searching for an artist, they discovered Rich Werner, who Fan thought clicked with what he intended for the design. He attributed the intrigue of the design to its animation scheme; Tod Semple suggested that they animate it in Flash and export it into the game. Fan worried that this would look like it was cut out from paper, and would resemble ''[[South Park]]'' too much, but was satisfied in the end, attributing this to Semple and Werner's talents.<ref name="edge"/> Fan was most proud of the Tall-nut, Torchwood, and Cob Cannon plants. He explained that the Tall-nut has character, citing its "determined gaze" and how it sheds a single tear when hurt. Laura Shigihara could not stand to see this, and protected it with a protective plant called a Pumpkin, which can protect plants inside it. He felt that the Torchwood required players to think of how plants interacted with each other. The Cob Cannon went through many design changes, but Fan was happy with the final design.<ref name="gamezebo">{{Cite web |title=Interview with Plants vs. Zombies creator George Fan |url=http://www.gamezebo.com/features/interviews/plants-vs-zombies-creator-george-fan |publisher=Gamezebo |accessdate=2009-09-05 |date=2009-05-22}}</ref><ref name="edge"/> Another favourite plant of Fan's was the Squash, due to how well it explained its purpose, to squash things.<ref name="gamearena">{{Cite web |title=GameArena Interviews George Fan, Plants vs Zombies Man |url=http://www.gamearena.com.au/news/read.php/4948392?latest=1 |publisher=Game Arena |accessdate=2009-09-05 |date=2009-06-05}}</ref> A plant was proposed that is similar to the defensive item Umbrella Leaf, which would be planted above other plants to protect them from airborne zombies. However, it was difficult to visualize their positions.<ref name="edge"/>
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