Last time, we discussed how the map is generated, and this topic is closely tied to the systems related to enemies. Each path in the game consists of several connected points. When a new map segment appears, its starting path point connects to the endpoint of the previous segment. At the beginning of each round, the game identifies all points that don’t have a subsequent connection and treats them as enemy spawn points. These points are marked with portals.
The enemy system has a "budget" that it can use to spawn enemies from the available pool. This budget increases with each round but also scales up with each additional fork in the map to maintain a consistent level of challenge when enemies are spread across multiple entrances. The game then spawns various enemies using the budget and distributes them evenly among all portals. As the game progresses, the enemy system can spawn more enemies and gains access to stronger variants. Similarly, every ten rounds, the game spawns a boss that must be defeated - otherwise, the run will end in failure.
Before the game starts, players are informed about the types of enemies and bosses they may encounter. Depending on the difficulty level chosen, they may face enemies from one or multiple elements in the game. Additionally, enemies are divided into different "families" each with its own unique characteristics and abilities. Currently, the planned families include golems, shadows, and blobs. Each of these families has units representing different elements - some may have variants for multiple elements, while others are tied to a single one. Before the game begins, an enemy family, element types, and a few enemy units fitting those criteria are selected for that map. This variety should encourage players to experiment with different strategies in each playthrough.
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What other enemy families do you think should appear in our game?
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