Poizone

Notes

Description

1-2 Players have to remove certain blocks to reach the next grid-based level within a given time.

There are blocks that don’t count towards the winning condition, are decorative, and can be fixed or movable. Different blocks counting towards the winning condition have different rules on how they can be removed. Failing to adhere to a specific block’s removal rule leads to being stunned and loosing time. Decorative blocks can often aid in removing blocks. A special type of movable decorative block can be assembled to a 2x2 layout and gives extra score if done so. Other special types of decorative blocks can explode, stunning the player. NPCs occupy the levels and touching them also stuns the players. The NPCs can be stunned in return by activating the electric fence that frames each level. Only NPCs also touching the fence are affected.

Play Analysis

I attempted an analyses before reading Parler le jeu vidéo and concentrated more on my understanding of ludemes as rules or mechanics. Hansen proposes a model that see’s ludemes as semiotic units (see Ludemes). The old analysis can be found under Poizone Mechanics and Rules.

First Level

Ludemes: Avatar, Blocks, Monsters, Time, Goal Percentage
Sequences: Experimenting, Exploring, Pushing, Removing, Solving, Fighting

The first sequence centers our avatar Pengo on the screen, leaving a bit of space free and than displays three different kinds of blocks. The free space enables the exploration of simply moving around.
The blocks all have the same size, but differ visually.

Moving up to a block stops Pengo from continuing to walk. Next to walking, there is only one more action we can do, which is to push.
Pushing the block, destroys it. Meanwhile, the goal stat in the HUD increased. It seems to be desireable to remove some of the blocks to reach an objective.
Pushing other blocks, the goal stat doesn’t increase. Thus, we start to differenciate between the blocks in terms of what kind of function that they have.

We move up to the already known green block and push it, but this time we get knocked out as well. It seems that this blocks rule is to be pushed only when it can move afterwards.
While being knocked out, we can’t move, while the time stat in the HUD is reducing.

The same seems true for the brown block, which knocks us out when pushed against an obstacle.
Meanwhile we also see a green blob appearing, which doesn’t look to friendly. But it’s moving around randomly and doesn’t pose a direct threat.

Different to the green block, the brown one can be pushed against an obstacle, but only from the top (and bottom as we learn latter).

Pushing a block into the blob makes the blob disappear. Another thing learned.
Walking into the blob on the other hand knocks us out again.

Pushing the blue electric fence border does activate it, but no iminent change is observable.
Waling onto a blue animated tile we find along the way transports us to another place in the level.

Here we find our first situation which is a bit more complex, and needs some thinking in order to harmonize the different rules of the blocks we learned so far. We can’t reach the green block, and we can’t push the brown block from the side. The grey block doesn’t seem destroyable, when we push it. We could push the lower grey block away, but removing the green block against an obstacle would knock us out.
That leaves us with removing the brown blocks from the top first, freeing the green block from being locked into the grey ones, then removing it.

After having solved this situation, the goal stat reached 92% and became green.

Shortly after, we removed the last block and got a 100% score, making us win this level.

Second Level

After a brief animation, in which we escape a group of blobs, we arrive at the second level. It looks different and offers new blocks.
Given their occurence, those with red framed in grey must be decorative/functional blocks. Removing one of them also doesn’t raise the goal stat.
But removing the yellow nuclear one does. It can be pushed when leaning against an obstacle.
Already on the first screen we see a complex situation of blocks, making us aware that the stakes are probably already higher.

After a few seconds we learn that the red blocks need to be pushed when leaning against and obstacle, otherwise we will be knocked out. Kind of the inverse of the green blocks from the last level.
Instead of blobs, there are now robots driving around and knocking us out.
But, we meet one of the blocks from last level, the brown one.

The robots seem to be a bit faster and erradic compared ot the blobs.
There is also a red block completely free standing, which would mean that we get knocked out if we push it from any direction. This means we need to push another block so it slides next to red one before we can remove it.

Meanwhile we figure out, that activating the fence while a monster touches it, knocks it out.

That didn’t help tho, because time run out and we didn’t clean enough blocks out, making us loose this level.

Sequences

Mainsequence

A major sequence (level) always includes all bellow subsequences, except experimenting. The blocks rules can be learned in the tutorial. This sequence is in relation to the actions of the players, as well as the levels goal percentage and time.

Subsequences

Experimenting
- Learning the blocks’ rules by moving, pushing, removing
Exploring
- Exploring the level by moving around, avoiding monsters, teleportation
Pushing
- Pushing around blocks to remove them or solve a complex situation
- Can, but doesn’t have to, remove a block
Removing
- Depends on pushing
- Removing blocks in order to win a level by pushing them according to their rules
Solving
- Solving a complex situation of blocks that can’t be remove right away, because of their rules
- Depends on pushing and removing
Monsters
- Trying to avoid encounters with monsters by not getting to close, walking around them, pushing blocks onto them, taking the blue power up

Pushing and Removing

flowchart LR

    A(Avatar) -->|pushes| B(Block)
    B --> C{Rules}
    C --> X{Success}
    X --> |Destroyed| B
    X --> |Moved elsewhere| B
    C --> Y{Fail}
    Y -->|Knocked out| A

🪴 Jachére

Explorer

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