Class 5 - Combat & Other Games

Post 89

Combat Ideas and Requests

Today I didn't end up working on the player running animation, instead I worked on another animation we need for combat. As requested by Justin and the gang.  

Currently we want combat in our game to consist of Guns and a Machete. The idea is to have a quick light attack that does less damage, and then a slow heavy attack that does more damage and has a chance to stagger the opponent. Along with this we would like the ability to block attacks and even shove enemies that are a little too close for comfort. We hope having three different forms of attack will give the player a greater sense of control of their surroundings. And to spice up the combat even more so the player isn't just absolutely crushing his foes with his machete, I want to add all these same mechanics to the enemies, obviously with some variation so the enemies don't all feel the same. But that will come further down the road towards a beta version of our game.

Other Games

Today I started to learn more about basic combat mechanics for games, I have always played video games but I have never actually thought about all the work and mechanics that actually go into them to make them, well games. 

In my spare time I decided to play a game, for inspiration.
"This War Of Mine by 11 BIT STUDIOS".

Now... this game doesn't have a lot in common with our game, but it does have a very cool combat system and looting system that is very thought out. The game makes you play as a group of people trying to survive a war, but your not soldiers fighting, your civilians hiding and struggling to find food and survive. It has a very realistic gritty take on war and doesn't glorify it which is a nice refreshing take on the completely overdone setting. But overall it touches some pretty interesting subjects, such as depression and suicide. Throughout the game you can make moral choices like helping kids save their dying mother, or spending a night keeping someone safe instead of looking for food. But when you cant or wont help these people your characters can become depressed or saddened by your lack of action. 
The combat is fairly straight forward you point and you click, but somehow it feels more in depth then it really is. I would like to believe its because of the connections it makes you establish with your survivors, and the very scary permanent death they can face. Along with unforgiving injuries and infrequent amounts of medical supplies.   
From what I have played, it is a very solid game with lots of depth for its size. 

So what I learned to day is more about the time and effort that goes into intertwining mechanics and gameplay. Along with increasing my knowledge of animation and sprite editing. Also that having more risks in combat make it more tense and fun. 
So final verdict I really think we should have some system in place to make death something you really want to avoid in our game. 

Something that makes you bash your head on your keyboard? 
or
Something that makes you feel like you killed a whole school bus of puppies(kittens)? 
Hopefully somewhere in between. - But we still need to figure out what dying actually means in Drop Dead.

       

Combat Animations!

Here are the new combat animations. They still could use some improving, but they will do for now.
Shove animation for player. - This will allow the player to push enemies back giving him/her more options in combat. 

Stunned Dragger animation. - This will happen sometimes when the Dragger is hit with a shove, but only for a few seconds, giving the player some time to run away and shoot it, or cut it to bits.