3. Design

---

Narrative Structure

In Galaga '88, the story revolves around the return of the Galaga Legions, an alien force that has learned from its past failures. This time, they are not only attacking Earth, but have taken control of every planet in their galaxy, using them as military bases. Throughout the game, players face a much more strategic enemy than in previous installments.

The story kicks off when the Galaga Legions acquire advanced technology called Icems, which enhance their fighters and allow them to travel at incredible speeds, giving them a tactical advantage over humanity’s defenders. Meanwhile, the UGSF (Unified Galactic Space Force) has prepared for war, keeping their best pilots and ships stationed at base, waiting for the Legions to make their move.

The attack comes when the alien forces invade a UGSF outpost, triggering the launch of all the fighters from the Lunar Command Center, with orders to destroy any Galaga fighters on sight. From here, players take control of one of those fighters, facing wave after wave of alien enemies while traveling through different dimensions, encountering new challenges and upgraded foes.

Game Endings

Galaga '88 is the first game in the series to feature multiple endings. The difference lies in the dimension where the player defeats the final boss, leading to different story conclusions.

Canonical endings: Depending on the dimension in which the player defeats the final boss, they will witness up to four different endings, adding an element of replayability where players can explore different routes and discover new conclusions.

Non-canonical ending: If the player fails and their ship explodes at the end of the game, an alternate non-canonical ending plays, offering a different conclusion to the story.

---

Analysis of each level - Dimension 1

Stage 1

Enemies Originates Enemies Originates Enemiesl Originates Enemiesl Originates Enemies Originates X2 X8 left + right X2 x4 X2 X2 lower left X2 x4 x4 lower right X2 x4 X2 X2 upper left fotos enemigos upper right Stage notes None of the enemies will attempt to collide with you while they appear, but they will shoot at you (at the default difficulty setting.) Learn to draw their fire to one side of the screen, and cross over to safety once they begin to fire. There are no container objects, like crystals, to obtain blue warp capsules from. If you wish to advance to Dimension 2 by Stage 4, you'll have to wait for two of the blue goeis to combine and dive to the bottom of the screen. Shoot the first one that forms three times to obtain a warp capsule from it. You must do this on this stage as well as the next in order to advance. Whether you started with a single Fighter or a double Fighter, it's a good idea to allow your Fighter to get captured and advance all the way to a triple Fighter. Be aware, however, that by doing so, you will have no extra lives remaining (under the default settings) until you earn enough points for an extra life. Be sure to shoot the Boss Galaga that is capturing you just once to damage it if it's not damaged already, to make reclaiming your Fighter easier. The special enemy of Dimension 1 are the balloon-like Dons. Most of the time, when you shoot them, they explode harmlessly into fireworks. However, on some occasions, they break apart into four baby enemies which drop straight down to attack you. If you manage to destroy all four before the leave the screen, you will be awarded bonus points.

Stage 2

Enemies Originates Enemies Originates Enemiesl Originates Enemiesl Originates Enemies Originates X2 X8 left + right X2 x4 X2 X2 lower left X2 x4 x4 lower right X2 x4 X2 X2 upper left fotos enemigos upper right Stage notes None of the enemies will attempt to collide with you while they appear, but they will shoot at you (at the default difficulty setting.) Learn to draw their fire to one side of the screen, and cross over to safety once they begin to fire. There are no container objects, like crystals, to obtain blue warp capsules from. If you wish to advance to Dimension 2 by Stage 4, you'll have to wait for two of the blue goeis to combine and dive to the bottom of the screen. Shoot the first one that forms three times to obtain a warp capsule from it. You must do this on this stage as well as the next in order to advance. Whether you started with a single Fighter or a double Fighter, it's a good idea to allow your Fighter to get captured and advance all the way to a triple Fighter. Be aware, however, that by doing so, you will have no extra lives remaining (under the default settings) until you earn enough points for an extra life. Be sure to shoot the Boss Galaga that is capturing you just once to damage it if it's not damaged already, to make reclaiming your Fighter easier. The special enemy of Dimension 1 are the balloon-like Dons. Most of the time, when you shoot them, they explode harmlessly into fireworks. However, on some occasions, they break apart into four baby enemies which drop straight down to attack you. If you manage to destroy all four before the leave the screen, you will be awarded bonus points.

Stage 3

Enemies Originates Enemies Originates Enemiesl Originates Enemiesl Originates Enemies Originates X2 X8 left + right X2 x4 X2 X2 lower left X2 x4 x4 lower right X2 x4 X2 X2 upper left fotos enemigos upper right Stage notes None of the enemies will attempt to collide with you while they appear, but they will shoot at you (at the default difficulty setting.) Learn to draw their fire to one side of the screen, and cross over to safety once they begin to fire. There are no container objects, like crystals, to obtain blue warp capsules from. If you wish to advance to Dimension 2 by Stage 4, you'll have to wait for two of the blue goeis to combine and dive to the bottom of the screen. Shoot the first one that forms three times to obtain a warp capsule from it. You must do this on this stage as well as the next in order to advance. Whether you started with a single Fighter or a double Fighter, it's a good idea to allow your Fighter to get captured and advance all the way to a triple Fighter. Be aware, however, that by doing so, you will have no extra lives remaining (under the default settings) until you earn enough points for an extra life. Be sure to shoot the Boss Galaga that is capturing you just once to damage it if it's not damaged already, to make reclaiming your Fighter easier. The special enemy of Dimension 1 are the balloon-like Dons. Most of the time, when you shoot them, they explode harmlessly into fireworks. However, on some occasions, they break apart into four baby enemies which drop straight down to attack you. If you manage to destroy all four before the leave the screen, you will be awarded bonus points.

Stage Boss (stage 10)

Enemies Originates Enemies Originates Enemiesl Originates Enemiesl Originates Enemies Originates X2 X8 left + right X2 x4 X2 X2 lower left X2 x4 x4 lower right X2 x4 X2 X2 upper left fotos enemigos upper right Stage notes None of the enemies will attempt to collide with you while they appear, but they will shoot at you (at the default difficulty setting.) Learn to draw their fire to one side of the screen, and cross over to safety once they begin to fire. There are no container objects, like crystals, to obtain blue warp capsules from. If you wish to advance to Dimension 2 by Stage 4, you'll have to wait for two of the blue goeis to combine and dive to the bottom of the screen. Shoot the first one that forms three times to obtain a warp capsule from it. You must do this on this stage as well as the next in order to advance. Whether you started with a single Fighter or a double Fighter, it's a good idea to allow your Fighter to get captured and advance all the way to a triple Fighter. Be aware, however, that by doing so, you will have no extra lives remaining (under the default settings) until you earn enough points for an extra life. Be sure to shoot the Boss Galaga that is capturing you just once to damage it if it's not damaged already, to make reclaiming your Fighter easier. The special enemy of Dimension 1 are the balloon-like Dons. Most of the time, when you shoot them, they explode harmlessly into fireworks. However, on some occasions, they break apart into four baby enemies which drop straight down to attack you. If you manage to destroy all four before the leave the screen, you will be awarded bonus points.

---

Gameplay

---

Controls

The controls of Galaga 88 are pretty simple, In the arcade machine, you use the joystick to move the player side to side, then with the yellow button you can shoot the enemies. Like you can see in the following image.

In the game we are making on pc, you can use either the A,D and the arrows to move side to side, and to fire you can press space. Is not implemented but we are thinking of the possibility to use the left click to shoot as well.

---

References

• https://galaxian.fandom.com/wiki/Galaga_%2788

• https://www.retroplace.com/es/juegos/184838--galaga- 88

• https://strategywiki.org/wiki/Galaga_%2788

---

//