"Monsters in games or how to surprise a player"

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Hello friends! Already approached the third material in a series of articles, which you meet very positively, for which many thanks to you! Today we will continue to disassemble the monsters in pieces Knee Deep In The Dead !


And so, today the article will be filled with a mass of examples and is great for novice game designers.
Right off the bat: Take 50 balls and ...they are all the same, they weigh the same and roll the same. We can change the weight of each ball, then some will roll faster, some slower, and some we will not even be able to move.

Great variety right? We can even paint these balls in different colors, but do their essence change? Idea? So how do we interact with them?

No xy .., in any case, well, you understand, right?


Despite the fact that the marker changes color, it does not become a pen, ink or marker. The color of the marker depends only on the color, no matter how logical it sounds, but the developers have already rubbed their hands and did everything. You understand, but they will have to explain in more detail.

And how was it that?



Now I will tell you about the behavior of monsters.

To begin, recall past material, I think you will enjoy
Previous articles:
Part 1 "How to create a"
part 2 "How to diversify,"
Let's start with a simple example, all the same balls (yes, I really like the round and smooth, but I can not be blamed for it).

The ball can move in several ways:


  • in a straight line
  • in an arc
  • in a straight line and return to the starting point
  • move eight
  • a ball with a displaced center of gravity can move absolutely randomly

What about speed? It can be a pulse, a smooth set of speed, a constant speed all the way, a set speed, then braking and another set.

Here we have the properties, so what prevents it to apply in the game? Maybe a lack of resources? Or the complexity of the execution? No, everything is much more prosaic, banal laziness.

An example with balls shows the variety of options, the possibility of combining and obtaining different results.

And now apply this to monsters. To their behavior.


So monsters are:

  • aggressive
  • provocateurs
  • guards / patrol
  • underpants
  • berserks
  • intellectuals
  • and my favorite “flutter like a butterfly, I'm sorry like a bee”

Let us examine each character separately.

Aggressive:




Often blunt, thirst for blood, at the sight of the player they attack immediately, without delay. As a rule, they prefer close combat and middle combat. Such monsters are either quick and agile (L4D zombies or witcher utopians), but at the same time a little smarter than traffic jams or slow but powerful and heavily armored ones like Mancubus.

Sometimes there is something similar to the knight of hell from DOOM - powerful and agile while armored enough.

Or something like the same obsessed - slow stupid meat.

Of course, there are many such combinations, but the essence remains the same - they are aggressive and twig ahead.

Provocateurs:




Their goal is to divert attention, to be a huge target, or to lure the hero into a trap. Any huge creature grabbing a player into his paws, dropping him to the ground will distract attention.

The essence of this is that this is a huge monster, often does little damage, it is just a clumsy whipping pear, but while we beat it, other creatures slowly gnaw us. These monsters control the battlefield, forcing the player to move and constantly change position - such monsters increase the dynamics of the battle and the density of the gameplay. Lost souls in DOOM also make you change position, DOOM 2016 is generally very good, monsters make you move and because of the movement the gameplay becomes very dense, besides that we constantly choose the next target for the kill.
This is a very controversial category, the name can be anything, the main idea is to make the player fly with a burning ass in the location.

Security Guards / Patrol




Our favorite facers, supermarket guards, grandmothers on the bench, the watchman and others, only as part of the game. If you do not get into their territory and do not touch that very G, then everything will be fine. Often not aggressive, you can just pass by.

(for example, a witch from L4D, I think you know what will happen if you touch her).

If you look at such opponents within the framework of the balance, then it becomes clear - they are needed for a variation of complexity. Easy to play? Palni in the witch, have fun. Complicated? Do not even look at her, trunk into the floor and pretend that you are not.

Underpants




Hiding behind the backs of more powerful comrades, as a rule, cause great damage, prefer ranged combat, at medium distances they can fight back, but in the near distance they will be overtaken by a fist of justice. Without such creatures, it is boring to play, their task is to annoy the player, we always want to break these cowards as early as possible, but we stumble upon a horde of clawed reptiles and die. The goal of the creature is achieved. The most important thing is not to disregard them, otherwise they will already tear the player. These are hated snipers, smokers from L4D, it can be summoners like in DOOM 2016.

The main thing for the creatures is that they are steamers. These are either snipers or summoners. Their balance is based on the way to run away from the player, the faster such a monster sparkles with heels, the harder it is to kill him.

Berserks




How many do not hit, but they are not enough, they fight fiercely, until the last breath. Very vile and rare opponents, especially if they screw vampirism, the player will be hard. They are not meat, they are dangerous warriors, even with full health they are extremely tough. Even one such thing can make a player sweat. And if her health drops to the point of rage, run, just run. The best tactic against such creatures is kite. After all, they are strong in melee and quickly tear the distance, but you can get away from them. If you add slowing down or bleeding debuffs to such creatures ... wow ...

Balanced by hp and damage done. Steklopushki (often), dangerous skillful warriors (very rarely, unfortunately) Bosses (often).

Intellectuals




These creatures are generally very rare and it is even difficult to remember when I last met such opponents. The essence of the pattern of behavior, they are cunning and quirky, do not enter into battle if they can lose, keep their distance and attack the player from a distance. At the same time, they quickly run away or can fight back in melee combat. It may seem that they look like panties, but smarter. This is not so; a clever opponent will not allow himself to be clamped into a corner and will not be allowed to catch himself, he is a real pain in the ass. The closest analogue of PvP in MMO is a swordsman against an archer (mage), a swordsman can reduce the distance, but smart rang will drive the enemy around the finger and kite. How to win? Catch on mistakes. Patterns of such opponents are predictable. Many bosses in DS make just such an impression, but there are just patterns of behavior and their rotation, although the boss is perceived as a very clever creature.

Mohammed Ali




Well, you understand, yes? Imagine the enemy, it is not clear where it attacks, hits with lightning speed and pain, just as quickly disappears. Stinged and stumbled away. The monster hides in the shadows, jumps out, gives the player teeth, back into the shadows. They wait in the middle distance and make a quick dash for the player to attack. How to catch? Patterns of behavior, it is necessary to predict the angle of attack, but is there enough reaction? Such opponents were in hardcore games, now this is not often seen. If you know such champions, share, add to the collection. Oh yeah, someone else ...

Using patterns of behavior and character traits, we can come up with incredible combos and cool monsters.

In the next article I will talk about the distance of the attack of opponents, why it is needed and how it affects the gameplay.

Thanks for reading, see you soon.


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