With many recent Vampire-Survivors-likes relying on emptiness, simple enemy behaviors ("walk towards player") and stats, I feel I should reiterate my stance on "spatiality" in #GameDesign.
Don't just "have space" (instead of flat math), but MEANINGFUL SPACE! 🗺️
⬇️ Examples ⬇️
Heat Signature (@Pentadact): Everything revolves around movement. Gadgets swap positions, wind through connected space, teleport, key-clone or disable in a straight-lined shape, slow-down time etc. No number crunching, no "health points" or "damage" or "stats". Voilà, Emergence!
Spelunky (@mossmouth): Bombs open up space, ropes enable upward movement. Most items are about space: jump boots, climbing gloves, jetpack. Enemy behavior is all about shapes: spiders jump, bats fly, mummies vomit into corridors etc. Any combinations are clear, emergent, varied!
Invisible, Inc. (@klei): Enemies don't have HP, lethal weapons are rare. Instead the game is all about gathering map information and temporarily making spaces accessible (e.g. by knocking out and pinning down guards). Level layouts are thus much more important than in e.g. XCOM.
Minion Masters (@BetaDwarf): Positioning matters not just initially, but also due to each unit's specific behavior. Some are faster, some can fly, some ignore certain enemies. It's a complex interplay of positions and mobility, always depending on the current state of the game.
In short: If kiting and circle-strafing is all players do in your game's playing space, it's probably not very meaningful and you're wasting potential. Create complex verbs, objects and systems with unique spatial implications.
📜 Original article: gamedeveloper.com/design/spatial…
@David_desJ @SergeyMakesGame Btw if you follow the first link in the article, it'll take you to a previous one that starts at "let's assume that games ideally enrich the lives of their audience by satisfying intrinsic motivators and offering perpetually novel experiences". This is typically my lens.
@David_desJ @SergeyMakesGame If anything, I'm actually saying that I'm NOT caring about popular and successful for the purpose of the article. :D
@gamingonlinux What definition of "empty"? I see lots of objects, and each one's position deeply matters when aiming, positional setup etc. Items have spatial effects like modifying layouts, adding objects etc. Gameplay is about inertia, angles, reflection, blockages. All about space really...
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