Determining How Long Power Effects Should Last
How long should any particular powerup last. The best answer is… it depends. It depends on the speed of the game, the strength of the enemies, the fire rate, the enemy spawn rate, and so on. All of the variables that make your game unique, are interconnected.
I find it good to start with a control speed for everything. I use 5 seconds. As the game develops and features are added, speeds and spawn rates will be adjusted. But I always start with the same number, just to give myself a baseline. As you can see above, I have already adjusted mine down to three. However, that does not mean it will stay there.
Game development is an iterative process. That means that no matter what you do the first time around, there will be a time to tweak, adjust, and improve on everything. My advise, keep things simple the first time around. focus on functionality and playability, and Make adjustments as needed.
