Greetings Followers of Remore,
In our previous Un-Dev Note on Pre-combat Gameplay, we took a look at the “Line of Sight” and “Facing Direction” concepts. Today, we’d like to delve a little into the development process and intention behind these systems.
The original intention was to reinterpret the concept of “direction”, which is often used as a key tactical element in tactical RPG games, to match the theme of our game.
- Enemies face a certain direction. (Expressed through direction arrows and enemy sprites)
- The enemies only perceive units within their line of sight as hostile targets and will attack them on their next turn.
- When allies in the line of sight move, the direction of the enemy's sight will move with them.
- When attacking from outside the line of sight, attacks do twice the damage.
Through these rules we wanted to create a gameplay that focuses on “trying not to get caught by enemies as much as possible, due to high damage received” to emphasize the feeling of a threatening “zombie or creature”, instead of simply exchanging blows mindlessly.
However, during actual testing, it was quite challenging to convey the concept of "line of sight/direction" clearly. Even with tutorials and explanations through UI, it was difficult to change the preconceived notion that enemies would automatically detect and attack allies beyond a certain distance, as commonly seen in tactical RPGs.
As a result, we determined that there must be “something unique that stands out to make an unfamiliar system be accepted”. So, we created the rule that “if a Survivor is detected by an enemy, they will immediately be pursued, regardless of whose turn it is.”
In addition, we also added a “Zone of Control” which gives the approaching enemy the ability to “hold” a Survivor and prevent them from moving.
Since we introduced this system, the ease of understanding the “line of sight/direction” concept has increased significantly.
Additionally, we received feedback that players felt like they should avoid detection as much as possible in dangerous situations, which was our intention, and that this system improved the game's energy and tempo in a positive direction.
However, during the ongoing development of the combat system based on the above rules, there was a need for additional modifications.
- As the level design is based around 3 individuals facing more than 10 times the number of enemies, taking on each enemy at a time as they move and catch the player would be arduous.
- To preserve the element of uncertainty, enemies move in random directions each turn, including those who are facing allies. However, this resulted in excessive difficulty variation depending on whether or not enemies are facing the direction of Survivors.
As a solution to both these issues, an alarm system has been implemented. Now, when any Infested detects a survivor, that Infested will scream, alerting all nearby Infested and putting them into an alert state.
With this system, players need to be cautious when alerting the initial enemy who would raise the alarm. However, once the alarm is triggered, a large number of Infested (the maximum number designed for the player to face) are riled up immediately, creating a fast-paced and intense experience.
There were numerous trials and errors, many of which were left out here for the sake of brevity. However, from our perspective, we are satisfied with the current outcome. Of course, when actual testing takes place, there may be additional room for improvement.
We hope soon you will have the opportunity to experience it firsthand and we will look forward to your feedback!
Thank you