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Looking at the various level progression paradigms for my puzzle game, I decided to rule out the common ones such as 3-star per level, linear campaign-like story, etc. I like the idea of Bejeweled's classic mode where the player simply keeps on going.

What exactly is this paradigm called? I can't find any write-ups on it so I can't quite tell what its structure is like. Is it infinite? Does the difficultly increase with each level in some shape, way or form (more likely to get "No moves")?

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TVTropes used to call this the "Kobayashi Mario", but now they just call it an Endless Game. The old name was a reference to the "Kobayashi Maru" test in the Star Trek universe. This is a test all starfleet cadetes have to take and which can not be completed successfully. The candidate can only fail, and the actual purpose of the test is to see how they react to a hopeless situation.

Games with no win condition which get harder and harder the longer you play are just like this. You can't win, the challenge is to see how long you can hold out without losing.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ They should totally start calling it that again. \$\endgroup\$
    – House
    Jan 9, 2014 at 14:47
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Byte56 Unlikely to happen since TVTropes became all serious and humorless. They now want all official trope titles do be searchable. \$\endgroup\$
    – Philipp
    Jan 9, 2014 at 15:12
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Philipp I beg to differ, I didn't even notice the change and I still found it pretty fun and addictive. \$\endgroup\$
    – o0'.
    Apr 14, 2014 at 12:37
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I don't believe there is a specific term for it (but rather there are many that would likely apply); the gameplay is simply unending (infinite) and the presumably scales in some simple fashion so as to become more challenging over time, but never so far as to render a level technically impossible to complete.

(Unless it does render levels impossible to complete, I've never played the game long enough to tell.)

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How bejeweled does it doesn't really matter. It only depends on how you want to implement it for your game. Call it what you like: infinite, continuous, unending and so on.

Increasing the difficulty is up to you. If you want to do that is a design decision you need to make on your own.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Rationale for down votes helps improve answers and lets future visitors know why an answer shouldn't be considered. \$\endgroup\$
    – House
    Jan 9, 2014 at 16:13

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