On Recursive Design in Castlevania Symphony of the Night

​With the last season of Castlevania coming out on Netflix, I thought familiarizing myself with the playstation game Castlevania Symphony of the Night would be appropriate, as the online series alludes to the video game - in particular, the minor features, such as the beastiary, their method of combat and background music.

The creators know that the game would be recursive so they’ve added features to speed the game. As mentioned earlier, by design, the players should travel from one side of the castle to the opposite side. However, the redundancy slows down gameplay. You can’t advance a plot that has already been traversed. Therefore, the designers add features to streamline gameplay. The first example takes place on the eastern wall towards the library. An elevator with a wolf entrance lines a third of the entire wall. Alucard can ride in the steel cage freely vertically. Riding the elevator avoids the enemies who wait on the zagging steps. The creators clearly wanted the player to fight the enemies first before being able to ride the elevator. That is why the lever to operate the machine sits openly near the very top. Another example to streamline gameplay is the gravity boots. Alucard can cover meters of space in an instant with these treasures. This is significant especially if players are supposed to uncover “200%” of the castle’s physical dimensions. They propel Alucard five times faster into air than the bat or mist without their special abilities which are acquired in the second half of the game when the castle is turned on its head.   

Furthermore, the way items relate to the map also coerces players to explore the castle. The Jewel of Open in the library for a low cost of 500 gold pieces opens a door across the castle. The Form of Mist located in the colosseum allows Alucard to penetrate the steel bars to get the Form of Bat in the southern side of the library. The Form of Bat yields every balcony, rooftops and attic in the castle. In addition to the placement of the items, the designer opens the castle to the player plainly with a map. The low cost of 103 coin pieces beckons castle exploration. One of the main goals in designing the game seems to be exploring the castle, for the plot is simple:  Alucard must dispatch his father Dracula. The castle, however, makes the path a winding and a garden of forking paths which can make every new game a fresh unique one.

​I review this 90s game today, not only to get more fan joy in watching the final season of Castlevania on Netflix, but also from the perspective of a game designer. I search for design that can enhance my own games. The recursive nature and the open-world qualities Castlevania Symphony of the Night lend to the game’s integrity. There is enough variety of challenges for players to revisit the Dracula’s castle several folds over. You must explore all parts of the castle in order to achieve a proper ending. Drawing your player’s attention from daily life is a success rather than a failure. Playing should never be a burden - so I used to believe, as we live in a consume-and-dispose generation.