Space Giraffe Walkthrough Part 1
Space Giraffe Walkthrough Part 1
“Learn by playing” – Here is a guide for everyone to “get into” the world of Space Giraffe.
We welcome demo players! Join NOW by downloading the Space Giraffe demo for free
PC players: You can download the demo right now from http://www.llamasoft.co.uk/downloads/SpaceGiraffe.exe
Xbox 360 players: You can download Space Giraffe XBLA version from Xbox LIVE marketplace(Game Store > Xbox LIVE Arcade > All Arcade Downloads > Space Giraffe, or you can just click this marketplace.xbox.com link)!
Original text/Videos by: Jeff Minter
Additional text by: fuwafuwa
It’s true that part of the skill of Space Giraffe is learning how to read the levels. Some might say “oh dear, it’s Tempest where you can’t see what’s going on” – but in fact the game presents more than enough information to see what’s going on and play accordingly. You have to learn to read what’s happening through cues that are spread out across the audiovisual domain.
So we would advise having a good thorough play on the tutorial and early levels to acclimatise yourself to playing Space Giraffe. Be chilled out, play the tutorial mode a couple of times, then play the first levels. It really doesn’t take long, and a few cycles of that should give you a solid feel for the game, and some decent restart bonuses to start you on your way through the rest of the game.
Here I’ll give you a little advice for each of those first nine levels, and the tutorial mode. Even the demo players can play these levels. With this 2-page walkthrough, you can see the basics of Space Giraffe quickly. Now, let’s play!
Space Giraffe Demo version
The beauty of Xbox LIVE Arcade – you can always download and try the demo version!
There’s plenty enough in the demo version. The demo consists of the Tutorial mode and the first nine levels of actual gameplay. When the game starts up for the very first time after you’ve downloaded the demo, it’ll automatically place you in the tutorial mode. You’re quite free to simply pause and quit the tutorial if you like, but we’d recommend playing it at least once through to get a few basic ideas about how things work.
On all subsequent plays instead of being automatically taken to the tutorial, you’ll be asked if you want to begin a full game or replay the tutorial. If you select the main game you’ll be placed on the start level select screen. Use the d-pad left and right to choose one of the levels 1-9 to play. (You can view limited details of upcoming levels too, but only start on levels 1-9 out of 100 levels of the full game).
Note: The level end messages are slow in the demo version to show off the up-sell text. You can speed the sequence up by “speed” button(default: 360 – Left trigger/PC – “Y” key), but it won’t be as fast as the full version. Even if you feel the level transition is slow in the demo version, don’t worry. It’s actually much smoother and faster in the full version.
Short note for the enhanced PC version players
This walkthrough was written for “Acid-mix” flavour(the graphic style which was in the XBLA version), not the new default NUXX mix graphic style.
The gameplay is still the same, so you can use and learn from the guide, too. We do recommend you to try NUXX mix first, because the background is calmer and you can see the gameplay elements clearly. When you get used to the game with the NUXX mix, please try the intensely psychedelic Acid-mix, too.
Tutorial Mode
We advise you to play through this at least once! It consists of three simple levels played on a simple, flat surface. Basic controls and gameplay elements are introduced and you are encouraged to try out the controls and techniques. Don’t worry about making mistakes – even though you can “die” (so you can see where something would kill you in the real game) you can’t run out of lives or “lose” the tutorial levels.
Don’t worry if you don’t take everything in in one go – you can always retry the tutorial any time you want. Likewise, if you don’t feel like running through it right to the end, you can always press Start to pause the tutorial and select Exit Game to return to the main title screen.
Use Tutorial Mode to practice techniques in an environment where you can’t run out of lives. See if you can get enough points in Tutorial Mode to earn the “Professor of Giraffeology” achievement! (You won’t actually get the Achievement unless you’ve bought the full game, but you’ll still be told about it even in the demo).
It’s possible to score even more points in Tutorial Mode. As you get more familiar with the game, you will be able to squeeze a few more points. So come back here sometimes, and be amazed by your own skill!
You may also find it helpful to read the “How to Play” text pages that are available under the “Help and Options” menu when the game is paused or at the main title screen. These pages offer general advice on how to play a good game of Space Giraffe.
Level 1: The Eyes Of Allard
This should be familiar to you – it’s the same flat surface and background that was used for the Tutorial Mode. There are only a few fairly slow enemies here, and they don’t fire any bullets – just settle in and practice shooting them and collecting the Powerups they release. Watch how the Power Zone extends as you shoot them. Practice sweeping the aim of your shots using the right analog stick.
If you’re feeling adventurous, try to increase the Bonus Multiplier by bulling off three or more enemies.
Try and see what happens if you deliberately wait and collect that second powerup after the last enemy is killed.
(By the way, do you find the transitions between levels a bit long? Sometimes they are really pretty to watch but sometimes you just want to arrive at the next level more quickly. Well, you can speed up the level transitions by holding down the Left Trigger. Try it!).
Level 2: UV Exposure
Don’t let the bright background or the large number of enemies here intimidate you – again, they are pretty slow, and they aren’t yet armed. You can easily scoot along the top edge shooting them all away. The first few times you play through that’s exactly what you should do. Shoot the baddies, collect the powerups, practice the aimable shots.
However, if you want to try something adventurous, and get an Achievement into the bargain, this level is deliberately set up to allow you to do that. The method you’ll use to get the Achievement is one of the most fundamental scoring methods in Space Giraffe. Want to try it? OK then, listen carefully, I will say this only onceĀ.
Read this if you want to grab an Achievement right now
As you arrive on the level, move immediately to the left-hand side of the surface. Jiggle back and forth at the left hand side, shooting down the leftmost three or four lanes until a shot enemy releases a powerup. Collect the powerup and go to the extreme left hand edge of the surface and wait there.
If you watch the enemies coming up the surface, you’ll see that they always walk off to the right of the surface, hit the right hand side, and then walk back along the top to the left edge, where you are waiting. You can use this predictable behaviour to your advantage!
You want to let as many baddies as possible get to the top edge, because you’re going to attack them with a far more profitable attack than just shooting them.
Lurk at the left edge until the enemies returning back towards you on the rim of the surface are just about to touch you. Then, briefly press the Right Trigger button. You’ll jump in place, and the act of jumping will refill the Power Zone. As soon as you land, run across the rim to the right. You’ll knock all the enemies that are at the rim off into space. If you’ve done it right, you’ll end up on the right-hand side of the surface with all the enemies gone, the Bonus Multiplier will be at x9, and you will have been informed about the Boi-Bumba achievement.
This attack is called the Bull Attack and you’ll know if you’re doing it right because you’ll hear a lot of mooing! It is the essence of good scoring in Space Giraffe. Shooting things is OK, and you’ll shoot things to stay alive if you’re in a difficult situation. But shooting things isn’t the best way to earn points. What you really want to do is use the Bull Attack whenever you can.
Anyway, that stuff is advanced strategy. In general, just remember: if you’re in danger, shoot what threatens you. If you’re comfortable, try to let enemies gather in a place where you can use the Bull Attack on them. Big scores in Space Giraffe come from a combination of those techniques. The Bull Attack raises the Bonus Multiplier, and getting killed and losing a life resets the bonus multiplier to 1. So good play is a balance between using the Bull Attack to raise the Multiplier as soon as possible, but also playing defensively where necessary so that you stay alive and keep that Multiplier in effect until the end of the level.
The first few times you play, just try to concentrate on learning your way around and not dying too much. Deeper strategy and higher scores will come naturally in time as you get more comfortable with the game.
Level 3: Origin
This level is so called because I think it was one of the first surfaces I got working when we were starting to make Space Giraffe. It’s the first connected surface that you’ll see. A connected surface has no left and right edges, it’s connected to itself and you can spin freely and continuously around it clockwise or counter clockwise.
This is also the first surface upon which the enemies will fire shots at you. Take care, and either avoid or shoot those shots away. Listen for the audio cues of shots being fired. Audio cues are important in Space Giraffe; often your eyes may be elsewhere on a level but your ears will clue you in to events that might be happening in places where you aren’t looking.
At first you will just want to shoot enemies and avoid shots, but remember that everything you shoot, including shooting away shots, extends the Power Zone, and that with the Power Zone extended you can use the Bull Attack to dispose of enemies that arrive at the rim of the surface. Unlike in Tempest, stuff arriving at the Rim is actually good, because enemies at the Rim can be bulled off, and bulling raises the Bonus Multiplier, and that makes for better scores!
Learning how best to manage a level so as to use the most beneficial attack at the most beneficial time is what Space Giraffe is all about. Practice it here. Your first few times playing this level you will likely just be concentrating on survival. As you gain in confidence you should be learning to shoot away enemy bullets, and gather enemies up at the rim to be disposed of en masse using a Bull Attack.
There is danger inherent in allowing enemies to gather at the top, however. Because you are not shooting them, the Power Zone will contract and disappear. For this reason it is wise to collect and hold onto at least one powerup early in a level, before you start playing to herd up enemies for bulling. That way if you get caught short with no Power Zone, you can simply press the Right Trigger to jump which also automatically restores your full Power Zone.
If you find yourself trapped and you forgot to collect a powerup, you can still press A to Smart Bomb your way out of trouble.
Level 4: Rivers of This
This is a fairly simple level comprised of a slightly twisted plane. There are more enemies here and they fire more frequently, but it’s still pretty easy to wipe them out and stay safe. You may want to practice “shot-juggling” here – when you shoot the enemy shots away, it’s possible to shoot them right off the back edge of the surface. Try hanging out at the right side of the surface and shoot a few enemy shots – it’s easy to see how they shoot off the back of the surface and out into the space beyond. They gradually return over time, but when they do you can be ready to shoot them away again.
See if you can shoot some enemy shots away and keep them away until the end of the level. You’ll see that you get bonus points for all the enemy shots that are still there when the level ends. Some levels are set up so that with judicious use of the Bonus Multiplier and the juggling of enemy bullets you can score several million points in end-of-level sneeze bonuses alone!
Inside...
