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Jason de Heras 🎮

@jasondeheras

Feb 13, 2021 • 10 tweets • 4 min read • Read on X

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What’s the purpose of a boss? Depends on the game, but usually bosses serve as a skill test, provide a sense of mastery, a set piece or a genuinely hard challenge. But, secretly, some are the ILLUSION of challenge. Let’s look at God of War’s first boss. #gamedesign #combatdesign

BLOCKABLE ATTACKS - Every attack from an enemy this large should be unblockable, right? Ironically, having attacks with different properties (blockable vs unblockable), regardless of enemy size, allows the player to engage with their entire toolset. 1/3

This initial attack doesn’t do damage if blocked. Furthermore, the follow up attack CONVENIENTLY misses the player by a hair if blocked. There’s a few hit frames on the column as it lays on the ground to discourage the player from rushing in, but presents no real threat. 2/3

This attack also serves as an encourager to dodge since the attack literally takes away the middle/front of the player. Bosses are designed with skill checks in mind and are essentially glorified tutorials in this case. 3/3

RESETS - In this scenario, the boss performs a quick stomp to push the player back and prevent them from landing their 4th attack which actually staggers the boss. At this point, neither the player or boss have an advantage and essentially “reset” the fight. 1/3

The designers made sure to trigger the stomp slightly after 3 consecutive axe swings which forces the player to block/evade cancel; otherwise, the math (time to hit on 4th swing vs stomp speed) will work in the boss's favor. 2/3

However, player skill can overcome this math if the player skillfully times their approach/spacing after the boss's attack has finished. In this video, I'm able to “sneak” in the 4th axe swing because I engaged with the other mechanics (sprint), buying me more time. 3/3

COUNTER ATTACK - Bosses can’t be pushovers so they must have ways to handle DERIVATIVE player behavior. If the player manages to land the 4th axe swing and stagger the boss, it will ALWAYS perform a stomp attack if the player is close by once it exits the stagger reaction.

TINY DAMAGE - Generally, the faster the attack, the lower the damage. When the stomp hits, damage output is TINY compared to other attacks. This reinforces Kratos’s wrecking ball style. Also, Kratos’s hit reaction recovers quickly never leaving him in danger to follow up attacks.

PHASE CHANGES - This boss has one state change at 50% health where he performs more furious attacks with longer attack strings. This forces the player to engage other tools and different approaches. The number of state/behavior changes is kept to a minimum with this enemy.

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More from @jasondeheras

Jason de Heras 🎮

@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 🧵

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

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Jason de Heras 🎮

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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

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Jason de Heras 🎮

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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

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Jason de Heras 🎮

@jasondeheras

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

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Jason de Heras 🎮

@jasondeheras

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

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

Jason de Heras 🎮

@jasondeheras

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