Space Giraffe Walkthrough

“Learn by playing” – Here is a guide for everyone to “get into” the world of Space Giraffe.
Xbox 360 players: You can download Space Giraffe XBLA version from Xbox LIVE marketplace(you can just click this marketplace.xbox.com link)!

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 once?.

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!

Level 5: Take Second Exit

This is another connected surface similar to level 3. This time there are many more enemies and they shoot more frequently and are faster. The same basic techniques apply - try to collect a powerup early in the level and hold it to use in case you run out of Power Zone, shoot away or avoid the enemy bullets, and bull enemies off the edge when you get a chance. In your first few plays just concentrate more on shooting stuff to stay safe and avoiding getting shot. As you grow more experienced and more comfortable, try to raise the Bonus Multiplier by bulling, and to shoot away enemy shots for better score and end of level bonuses.

You should be starting to pick out various audio and visual cues by now. Listen for the sound effect and watch for the “muzzle flash” when an enemy fires. You’ll learn to be aware of these little clueful details even when your gaze is directed elsewhere in the level and you’re just seeing them with your peripheral vision. You’ll also start to learn to “see with your ears” to an extent - by hearing certain key events, such as enemy shot firing, you’ll be informed that there is a new threat added to the scenario and have some idea of what its nature is even if you weren’t looking at where the shot was fired at the time.

Level 6: 3AM External

This C-shaped level is quite short, but quite tricky by dint of the fact that enemy shots are very fast on this level. You need to be very careful to avoid making precipitous, sweeping runs across the surface while the enemies are actively climbing up towards you. When you do move, use the right analog stick to sweep your firing ahead of you, hopefully shooting away any enemy shots that may be racing up towards you.

For a more seasoned and strategic player this level is much less terrifying. Position yourself at the top of the C and shoot enemies until a powerup appears. Then, basically, apply the same technique as we used to get that powerup on level 2. Grab the powerup. Stay at the top of the C while the enemies swarm up - you’ll be safe and out of the way of their fast shots. Only a fixed number of enemies emerge at a time, so eventially they’ll all be at the top and no more will be rising up and shooting. Use jump to quickly refill the Power Zone, then bull them all off. This will usually generate another powerup, which you can collect and repeat the manoeuvre until the level ends.

Whichever way you play, just be careful of those very fast enemy shots!

Level 7: Up Your Alley

In this level you will be faced with a relentless, steady attack by many trigger-happy enemies. The good news is that their shots aren’t as scarily fast as in the previous level, so are much less of a threat being easier to shoot or avoid.

The real key to this level is to understand that although at first it seems difficult, with many enemies attacking at once, it is the very fact that it is such a “target-rich environment” that can work to your advantage. Since you’re constantly shooting enemies your Power Zone should be near-constantly full. So even if you miss shooting some of the bad guys they aren’t even a threat and you can just push them off if they get near you. It’s pretty easy just to choose one of the main sections of the surface and hang in those few lanes shooting bullets and baddies and “shrugging off” any bad guys who approach you on the rim. The frequency of enemy fire increases towards the end of the level, but stay calm and defend your territory and you’ll be fine. Watch out for juggled bullets returning to the surface - they can catch you unawares.

A more experienced player will be looking to quickly bull the multiplier up to x9 early in the level and then establish a position where he can sit and shot-juggle as much as possible, using the right analog stick to shoot away shots to either side of where he’s sitting as well as those directly in front of him, and to collect up as many as possible before the end of the level so as to enjoy a good Sneeze Bonus when the level ends.

Level 8: Valley of the Bulls

This level is all about learning to trust the fact that bulling enemies off the rim is not only the best way to cope with certain circumspances, sometimes it’s the only effective way to deal with things.

The enemies don’t fire, so it’s quite safe to make big, sweeping moves, and in fact this level is designed to encourage you to do exactly that. At first the rate at which they come at you is reasonable, and you could just shoot them all before they get to the top, but before long they are coming up so fast that you are sure to miss some and they will get to the rim and you’ll have to bull them off.

Really, once you’re used to it, this level is a simple and fun bull-fest. Shoot enough baddies to get a powerup, just for insurance’s sake. Then let a bunch arrive at the rim, jump briefly if you’re out of Power Zone but you probably won’t be so just bull them off. That’ll give you more Power Zone and likely another powerup. Rinse and repeat until the level ends - let them come, bull them off, collect powerups. With a little practice you should be able to achieve a x9 Bonus Multiplier on this level with ease.

Level 9: Cube is Not for Yiffing

This is the last level of the demo, and the first level to introduce the Flower. Flowers may at first appear to be an annoying threat, but in fact there are ways in which they can be helpful to the player.

In every other respect this level is quite similar to the connected levels that you’ve played before, and the same techniques apply. Grab a powerup for insurance purposes, shoot or avoid enemy shots, shoot or collect and bull enemies themselves. The only further complication is the flowers, and there are a variety of ways of dealing with those.

The first way is to shoot them early for bonus points. Look down the centre of the surface to the space beyond, and note the colour of the traces created by arriving enemies. Most of them are red, but every now and again you’ll see green ones. The green ones represent arriving flowers, and with a little practice you’ll be able to spot where they are going to land, and be ready to shoot them before they really get a chance to grow. You’ll get a special bonus if you shoot them early enough.

You can also shoot down a flower that has started to grow. Each successive shot will shorten the flower, and also give you extra Power Zone. Eventually you will shoot he flower down to nothing and it will be destroyed.

Flowers will eventually grow up to a certain level and then stop growing. This is when they are at their most dangerous, because they will remain in that state for a short period of time and then their heads come off and move up and out of the surface, creating a dangerous, unshootable obstruction as they do. If you see that a flower has stopped growing, examine the stem before you move over the top of it. If the stem is green, you are safe to move over it. If the stem is white then the flower is about to lose its head and you should avoid being in front of it when it does!

Flowers make a distinctive sound when shot, and also when their heads come off. Listen for these auditory cues and use them to inform your perception of any level containing Flowers.

Flowers may behave in different ways in some levels too - they may grow very short or very long or very quickly or any combination of those, and in behaving that way present particular extra hazards and challenges to the player.

On this level, a more experienced player might try going for the tricky Ewige Blumenkraft achievement. Try to “cultivate” the first flower that appears in the level, and keep it alive until the end of the level. Keep shooting it to prevent it from ever “maturing” and losing its head, but don’t shoot it so much that you destroy it.

One piece of general advice that applies to any level - keep picking up powerups whenever you can. Not only do they give you the ability to jump (and the peace of mind of an instant refill of the Power Zone whenever you want one), they also count towards getting extra lives and better bonuses.

Further deep into psychedelic space...

Well, that’s about it for this intro to the first nine levels. How much can you score on the demo? Getting over 10 million should be easy for a reasonable player.

We hope that you’ll enjoy learning the demo levels. The demo has less than 10% of the full game(The full game has 100+ levels and 12 types of enemies, while the demo has only 9 levels/2 types of enemies), but you can practice fundamental Space Giraffe skills here. Now you are ready to challenge the rest of 91 levels. I look forward to seeing you on the Leaderboards very soon now!