Autogyro Adventure is the fourteenth level in Skylanders: Giants, in which the Skylanders fly through a series of Arkeyan tunnels in an Arkeyan Copter, aiming for the Lost City of Arkus. Along the way, the Skylanders stop at various platforms; some are optional, but others are required stops to gather Arkeyan keys for locked gateways.
Autogyro Adventure takes place in a series of long underground tunnels inhabited by ancient Arkeyan defenses. Quicksilver flows through the level's main tunnel, while its secondary landing platforms lead to dark, cavernous rooms.
Autogyro Adventure caves concept art by iRene Chan.[1]
Arkeyan during the cutscene
A terrace
A locked door
Another terrace
A key
Trivia
Gold Icon in-game
The track labeled "Autogyro Adventure" in the Skylanders: Giants Official Soundtrack actually does not play within this level; instead, its music appears in The Lost City of Arkus.
Since Autogyro Adventure takes place near the city of Arkus, it is probable that its music was viewed as in the same family as the other Arkeyan-themed levels.
Autogyro Adventure's placeholder name was Arkeyan Copter Adventure.
On the first stopping platform with grounded enemies, if the player defeats all the Arkeyan Duelists in a row, the Blaze Brewer will fall off the edge of the world. Oddly, if this happens, a Blaze Brewer will be guarding the socket on the fourth required platform.
The block puzzle in the last section of the Chapter can be skipped if the player uses a Skylander (such as Drobot) who can boost on top of the blocks from the puzzle's entrance.
The icon for your gold in the ship section and the robot section in Secret Vault of Secrets resembles a coin from the Super Mario franchise.
When taking flight to escape the collapsing tunnels at the level's end, the player can fly around the city for as long as they like with no consequences. Doing so will enable them to hear parts of the escape flight theme that would otherwise be missed.
Autogyro Adventures does not include any Feats of Strength.
Crashing too many times can cause the Arkeyan Copter to glitch, replacing its UI with the Skylander's or creating other odd visual effects.
In Giants's alpha, Autogyro Adventure was notably different from its final design.
The Dread-Yacht originally appeared inside the tunnels at the beginning and end of the level.[2]
The alpha has no music during its on-foot segments.
At the beginning of the alpha level, Flynn implies that the caverns constitute a labyrinth, as he says, "Piece of cake - but... uh... which way do we go?" Cali later directs the Skylanders to "find the Giant Machine that opens the gate," and refers to Flynn as "Flyboy."[3] All of this dialogue was removed from the final game.
While flying, the copter's interface originally displayed a more primitive green health bar, white targeting circle, and blue ammunition bar. The copter could automatically fire rockets, and Arkeyan Ultrons and enemy copters appeared as enemies stationed throughout the tunnels, similar to their role in Secret Vault of Secrets. Players could also switch Skylanders in mid-flight, causing their new Skylander to stand on top of the flying copter. A unique early version of the piloting music theme incorporating a male choir, played during these flight sections.[4] The alpha's copter was also prone to visual glitches and abnormal movements.
Most of the level's assets - including platforms, walls, shields, floors obstacles, gateways, and the giant gear in the Gear Box area - are differently colored, patterned, or textured in the alpha. As a result, most of its indoor rooms appear more refined than in the final level, being richly decorated rather than hewn from barren stone.
The alpha level's quicksilver looks like regular water, lending a greenish tint to the area.
The alpha's collectibles, breakables, and grounded enemies are missing entirely.
In the alpha, the Weapon Master's hologram is missing from the Undead Gate. The camera originally panned out to show the player the entire elemental area, a feature removed from the final game. The area reused the stone block designs from Darklight Crypt but omitted their directional arrows, forcing the player to experiment by touching them from various directions.[5]
The Undead Gate originally included a secret cave that players could drop into, which was also removed from the final game. Curiously, the cave's inaccessible indented entrance can still be seen in the final level. This secret room is the only place in the level in which the player can clearly view Autogyro Adventure's dark, cloudy skybox, although other rooms in the alpha use the sky as a backdrop. The final level omits these glimpses of the sky in favor of regular black backdrops. [6]
The platforms of Auric's Vault and the Cold Storage Areas were originally much wider, making the Skylander appear disproportionately small.
Lockmaster Imps originally served as placeholders for the snipers guarding the gates, popping swiftly in and out of their cove holes to fire rockets at the player.[7]
The moving platform design from the Air Gate in Arkeyan Armory was originally borrowed for use as pushblocks in Autogyro Adventure's alpha, recolored in blue and yellow.[8]
A seadog Skystones challenger originally appeared in place of the Weapon Master's Skystones-playing hologram.
The alpha refers to the gate keys as "Keycards," which is likely a reference to the Keycard in Arkeyan Armory.
After the player retrieved each key, Flynn originally declared, "Aces! Let's go!"[9]
The rocky foundation of the level's final isle was originally veined with blue quicksilver, calling back the aesthetics of Quicksilver Vault.[10]
In the alpha, the quicksilver can be walked on, as the game considers the area as a walkable water zone.
![Autogyro Adventure caves concept art by iRene Chan.[1]](/wiki/File:Autogyro_Adventure_Concept_by_iRene_Chan.jpg "Autogyro Adventure Concept by iRene Chan.jpg (388 KB)")
