Added particle for Slam Attack. It’s not the correct particle, but it’s just to give a visual clue about the radius of the AoE damage. Although visually I find it nice.
I started the implementation of the boss battle, intending to challenge the player as a final test to ensure mastery of the game mechanics.
The boss character is designed to be imposing, emphasizing its strength through high health and powerful, long-range attacks.
Boss attacks:
• Spear Sweep: The boss performs a sweeping attack with its spear when the player is in front, covering a significantly large area.
• Spear Stab: Executed when the player is at a distance, this powerful attack has an extended targeting duration, requiring the player to dodge at the last moment for successful evasion.
• Spear Throw Attack: When the player moves out of reach, the boss resorts to throwing its spear toward the player.
• Back Jump: This move is executed when the player stands behind the boss, adding a surprise element to the battle.
• Shield Slam Attack: The boss raises its shield and slams it on the ground, causing Area of Effect (AoE) damage. This move is performed when the player is near the boss.
I may temporarily halt the development of the boss battle to return to it later, I need to focus on player mechanics and prototype some new gameplay elements.
I am implementing usable items, starting with potions. I put a temporary UI, an icon in the bottom left corner with text indicating the number of potions available.
The item icon overlaps with the shield (which why I had to put the icon a little bit higher), I don’t like it very much, I will think at a later time how to solve this problem.
Added animation while using a healing item. I’ll have to put an item in the character’s hand, but I’ll do that later.
Added potion icon to be used in the game HUD. I think it’s better than the placeholder I was using before, it’s clearer that it could be a healing item. I would like to fix the edge of the window box because is not very visible.
I am implementing a new gameplay mechanic: the staggered and recharge healing items. There is a probability that the enemy, before dying, will go into a staggered state. During this state, the player can perform a frontstab to the enemy and recharge healing items if they are finished.
The probability of the enemy going into a staggered state is around 10%, but I would like to give the possibility to increase the staggered probability through upgrades.
I am experimenting with a modification to the backstab mechanics: it is possible to backstab only if the enemy’s health is below 50%. When it is possible to backstab, an icon appears on the enemy’s health bar indicating that it is possible to execute a backstab on the enemy (this also applies to frontstab).
I am introducing this to decrease backstab abuse and increase face-to-face combat. Also, backstabs refill potions, so it’s something that should balance the potion refill mechanics.
I am implementing a new ability: the Invisibility Cloak. This ability makes the character invisible to enemies. Invisibility is removed after 10 seconds or if the player attacks or is damaged. The skill can be recharged by killing enemies. I want to introduce this skill to give the player the opportunity to play in stealth, move to a more strategic location or decide to run away from enemies.
I am implementing a new gameplay mechanic: possession, an ability that allows the player to merge corporeally with enemies and control them. During possession, the player can use the possessed enemy and use its attacks against other enemies. The possess lasts 10 seconds or if the host dies, and the player returns to the original body.
I am adding a crosshair to be able to aim and cast the possession ability. The crosshair turns red when it is over an enemy. The crosshair contrasts poorly on light backgrounds, I’ll try adding shadow to the crosshair background.
I am adding an animation for the possession ability. During the startup of the animation the player has to aim at the enemy to be possessed. Startup takes a while, so it can be risky to activate it while an enemy is attacking you.
Since last month, I’ve begun implementing new gameplay mechanics:
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Healing Mechanic:
- I’ve introduced the use of healing, which restores approximately 1/3 of the player’s health.
- An UI indicator displays the number of healing potions available (starting with 3).
- There’s a startup animation before the healing takes effect.
- Once potions are depleted, players can recharge them by executing a backstab or frontstab on an enemy.
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Enemy Stagger Mechanic:
- Enemies can go into a stagger state before dying.
- Attacking a staggered enemy automatically triggers a frontstab (or a backstab), useful for recharging potions.
- The probability of causing an enemy to stagger is low (around 10%).
- Enemies remain staggered for only a few seconds, and if not attacked during this time, they recover. This can add complexity to frontstab attempts when facing multiple enemies simultaneously.
- Upgrades will offer the chance to increase the likelihood of causing an enemy to stagger.
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Backstab and Frontstab Conditions:
- Backstab and frontstab moves are executable only when the enemy’s health is below 50%.
- An icon appears next to the enemy’s health bar to indicate its vulnerability to backstabbing.
- This mechanic aims to mitigate the exploit of circling around an enemy and eliminating it with a single blow, encouraging more face-to-face combat.
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Invisibility Cloak:
- I’ve implemented the Invisibility Cloak, rendering the player invisible to enemies.
- The cloak is removed after 10 seconds, upon attacking an enemy, or sustaining damage.
- The cloak can be recharged by killing enemies.
- This mechanic offers the opportunity to stealthily attack and eliminate enemies or skip an area (in case an enemy is too strong).
There are still more mechanics I plan to implement, including Possession (already in progress), where the player can control possessed enemies and use their attacks against other foes. I hope to showcase updates on these new mechanics soon.
Added Possession UI indicator in the lower left corner. Progress bar indicates how much time is left before Possession ends. The icons, like the rest of the HUD, are still work in progress.
Tweaked camera location for the enemy’s possession using a over-the-shoulder style. I think it’s the right camera if I want to use strafe movement, and visually the one closer to a first person camera, so that the transition between the main charater and the enemy is not too alienating.
Enabled possession for the Soldier Swordsman as well. Light attack triggers sword strike, while Heavy attack throws a bomb. Also disabled HUD items that are not needed/not used during possession (potions, stamina bar etc.).
I am continuing the implementation of possession. I just finished the Soldier Spearman enemy, where with the Light Attack command you execute the stab and with the Heavy Attack command you execute a sweep.
Possession of the enemy Knight. In the screenshot while I was attacking a Soldier I am about to be hit from behind by a Skeleton enemy.
I put in camera effects when you have possessed the enemy: zoom in to the enemy, color desaturation, and a green tint, to make it clear that you are in the Possession state.
For now I’m done with Possession, tomorrow I’ll start implementing a new mechanic taken from horror games.
The creature that will be featured in the horror section of the game.
To unlock the shortcut, the player will have to get past a small horror section where without weapons will need to escape from a creature. The horror section will be very much inspired by the scarier parts of games like Resident Evil and Dead Space.
Layout of the small horror section, a simple go from point A to point B, where you have to pick up an object at point B and bring it back to point A. The creature will at some point appear in the middle of the level and follow the player. The goal is to activate the elevator to escape, without getting caught by the creature. Passing the level will unlock the shortcut.
