Jason de Heras 🎮 Profile picture
Feb 8, 2021 19 tweets 6 min read Read on X
Melee combat design is the art of creating rules that determine when/how a player or enemy are allowed to hit each other. The inclusion of key rules determines the player’s technical burden. Let’s compare God of War/ Sekiro who have similar mechanics. #gamedesign #combatdesign 🧵
ATTACK TARGETING - Generally, the player has to control 2 axes (player facing and camera facing) during intense reaction-based gameplay. Eliminating the need to use the Left Stick to aim towards a target greatly reduces the chances of an attack missing. 1/4
In God of War, the attack targeting (or “soft targeting”) is EXTREMELY forgiving. Without touching the Left Stick (aka “Neutral” stick test), Kratos automatically turns to his target on the initial frame the attack input is registered. 2/4
In Sekiro, performing the same Neutral test, Wolf doesn’t rotate towards the enemy but instead attacks based on his previous player facing. Sekiro gives the player full control whereas God of War wants to ensure everyone feels like a god. Design for your intended audience! 3/4
Both games have manual lock on (R3) but it’s not required in God of War since they also have auto lock on based on proximity to target. It seems like a conscious design choice for Sekiro to encourage manual lock on. In the video, Kratos automatically strafes when I get near. 4/4
ATTACK STEERING - Once the attack starts, the amount the player can “steer” the attack away from the intended target determines how consistent the attack will hit. Less steering guarantees the attack will hit but reduces player agency and provides a bit of risk/reward. 1/3
In God of War, once the attack has acquired its target, you CANNOT steer Kratos away from the target no matter how far or fast you push the Left Stick away. In the video, the Left stick is pushed in the opposite direction of the enemy. 2/3
In Sekiro, you can steer the attack away at ANY TIME during the duration of the attack. In the video, I'm using the Left Stick to direct Wolf after I've pressed the attack button. 3/3
CANCEL RULES - The ability to cancel an action with another action is a common fighting game term called Canceling. Generally, the earlier you can cancel an attack with Block or Evade, the more forgiving the combat system along with increased player agency. 1/4
In God of War, you can Block/Evade cancel at ANYTIME during the attack (except during hit frames). Since the parry has no startup frames, this increases the chance the player may parry on accident when block canceling, making the player feel powerful. 2/4
In Sekiro, you have a small window at the start of an attack to Block or Evade cancel. Once the attack has committed, you cannot cancel until post hit frames. The decision to lock out canceling until post hit frames is partly due to exploiting stun lock on enemies. 3/4
ATTACK LERP - Judging distance to an enemy is a fundamental element of melee combat. Generally, hero attacks vary in their ATTACK REACH. An attack that fails to reach puts the player in danger. Artificial reach or lerp gives the player a better chance to land a hit. 1/3
God of War, unsurprisingly, has a generous amount of lerp that provides “suction” to an enemy ensuring the attack hits even if the player misjudges distance between player and enemy. In the video, you can see the normal attack reach and then the extra lerp at the end. 2/3
Conversely, Sekiro requires the player to be thoughtful and precise when choosing to attack. Missing an attack or “whiffing” is an important fail state that teaches the player to be thoughtful and learn the combat system / enemy patterns. 3/3
CAMERA CENTERING - Both God of War and Sekiro rotate the camera behind the player when attacking to gain an optimal view of the player and enemy. In the video below, there is zero input on the Right Stick (camera). Another useful rule to ease the player's technical burden.
INPUT BUFFERING - Determining player intent on when they want to continue attacking is usually handled 1 of 2 ways. If the player presses attack button 2x during the startup, most games "store" that input, then wait for the hit to land before the next attack plays. 1/3
In God of War, there is GENEROUS input buffering. In this video, I press attack 2x as fast as possible during the first attack and ALWAYS get the follow up attack. 2/3
In Sekiro, there is ZERO input buffering on normal attacks. This is a conscious choice to force the player to be precise and methodical when performing an attack. They give the player full control to develop mastery but also remove blame from the game when they fail. 3/3
EDIT- INPUT BUFFERING - Sekiro has input buffering but it's LATE in the attack (hit frames). This means you cannot mash attack and get a follow up attack unlike God of War which allows EARLY input buffering. Precision/intent/risk (Sekiro) vs encouraging damage output (God of War)

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More from @jasondeheras

Dec 22, 2023
What are some interesting enemy design layers that are slowly introduced to the player in Hollow Knight? Enemies need to provide increased challenge over the course of a game but also be digestible/fair to learn. Let’s look at early to mid game enemies. #gamedev #combatdesign 🧵


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FORESHADOWING - The thoughtful placement & introduction of an enemy can be used to indirectly train the player for a much harder fight later. In general, boss fights requires the player to deal with intense boss abilities/patterns where learning is often done through dying. 1/2
Boss designs that build on or have similar behaviors to enemies already encountered allows the player to have a basic strategy and muscle memory as a foundation. The aggressive Vengefly has a dash attack that is very similar to the Hornet boss you fight a few minutes later. 2/2
Read 18 tweets
Dec 22, 2021
How do humanoid bosses in Sekiro remain predictable yet provide increasing challenge over the course of a boss fight? Let’s look at arguably one of the more difficult humanoid boss fights - Genichiro Ashina. #gamedesign #combatdesign 🧵
PLAYSTYLE - The player can influence the predictability of the fight with an aggressive playstyle with a mix of attack pressure and parry mastery. Passive or evasive playstyle invokes Ashina to perform arguably harder and a wider array of attacks to deal with. 1/3
Ashina’s neutral attacks (non-defensive attacks) have tricky movement/timing characteristics and hit with more frequency than counter attacks. He also has an unique unblockable grab out of neutral. Ashina rarely performs these attacks when on the defensive in the early fight. 2/3
Read 15 tweets
Jul 5, 2021
How does the Default controller layout of a 3rd person melee combat game influence gameplay? Console games need to strike a balance between intuitive inputs & supporting a wide array of mechanics. Let’s examine some melee games’ controller layouts. #gamedesign #combatdesign
GOD OF WAR (2018) - God of War employs a controller layout similar to most First Person Shooters in order to make Axe throwing intuitive and accessible to a larger number of players. Holding L2 brings up a reticle to indicate the Axe is ready to be aimed.1/5
The player can freely use their right thumb to move the camera around to select their target. R1/R2 buttons become contextual and serve as Axe throw attacks. In all, R1/R2 are overloaded with 5 unique movesets! (axe throws, axe attacks, barehanded, chains, rune attacks) 2/5
Read 20 tweets
May 24, 2021
What does the act of getting hit convey about the melee combat system? How the player controls/reacts when taking damage contributes to the combat difficulty. Let’s look at two different 3rd person melee combat games, Sekiro and Devil May Cry 5. #gamedesign #combatdesign 🧵
Generally, in melee combat games, taking damage disables the player’s input for a small amount of time and becomes vulnerable to follow up attacks. If the player gets hit consecutively without being able to escape (dodge/block) this is usually referred to as STUN LOCKED. 1/4
In DMC5, the reaction system has safeguards to prevent Nero from getting stun locked. If hit during a reaction, the 2nd hit will not trigger a reaction (only damage). If hit multiple times within a short time, he’ll play an EJECT reaction that prevents follow up attacks. 2/4
Read 10 tweets
May 8, 2021
What are some design elements that make a challenging boss in Sekiro? Overall, Sekiro bosses skew hard compared to other action games so each boss needs to provide unique challenges. Let’s look at one of the middle difficulty bosses - the Guardian Ape. #gamedesign #combatdesign ImageImage
ARMOR - Hit armor is an attribute that allows the enemy to absorb hits without taking hit reactions or having their current action become interrupted. This provides a risk / reward element in which the player must learn when each attack will hit. 1/3
There’s a limited number of attacks the player has time to land after the Ape has finished attacking. The player must be deliberate in how many swings to attempt before deciding to stop, block or evade. 2/3
Read 18 tweets
Apr 22, 2021
- PART 2 - #gamedesign #combatdesign Game freeze can also be used as NEGATIVE reinforcement. In Hollow Knight, the game freezes every time the player takes damage. In Bayonetta, the game freezes when she takes damage but only when the she’s past a certain health threshold. 4/6
The CONTEXT of how freeze is used makes sense for the rules of these respective games. Bayonetta is harder to hit and has more health so taking damage isn’t frequent; conversely, Knight’s health is an important resource that needs to be managed against casting spells. 5/6
In Street Fighter V, game freeze is used to inform the players that special attacks have been initiated. Aside from providing an exciting/visceral action, the freeze gives the players time to plan their next action given the highly technical nature of the game. 6/6
Read 23 tweets

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