The game character of “The Diving Merlin” is a young and carefree boy with magical power. He lives in the forest on a far-away mythical island. The boy is very acrobatic and can perform various stunts when diving.
Each level starts with the boy standing on a cliff. From here he has to perform pre-defined stuns during the flight down into the water below. Stars are falling in the sky while he is jumping.
The next level will be unlocked when the boy successfully completes the stunts together with collecting enough points on the way down into the water. Extra points are given by a correct landing into the water and by collecting the falling stars during the dive.
The player controls the boy with single-touch swipe gestures in different directions, these gestures can be performed anywhere on the screen.
There are three stages of each dive: Launching, Flight and Landing.
1. Launching: The player launch the boy by drawing a curve on the screen. The curve drawn set the strength and angle of the jump.
2. Flight: When the boy is in the sky, the player use swiping gestures to make him perform pre-defined stunts.
3. Landing: Landing is automatic. However, to get extra points, the boy must land within the landing circle.
For the levels where stars are dropping from the sky, the player has to time the launching to make the boy collect as many stars as possible. Collecting stars give points to the player.
How the player can get points and score:
Stars: All stars dropping from the sky have points. Speed and frequency of the falling stars depend on the level.
Dive: Each stunt has a score. Combos will give extra points.
Landing: For levels where a circle in the water is displayed, extra points may be collected when the boy lands successfully within the circle.
Perfect Dive: A perfect dive is the one, where the player launches and performs correct stunts in the sky. Correct timing and angle of the launch is required in order to collect the falling stars and for landing within the circle.