User blog:Dessertmonkeyjk/Construct 3 - Combat (Right Stick Control)

Welcome back. I still need to get off my cloud and do some heavy lifting on Tarlax and such. There's also this theory I have for Skylanders and the events of Dawn of the Dragon being linked that I want to try fleshing out. Never enough it seems when filling in all the cracks in a broken road.

Anyway, today I like to talk about Combat in. Now yes, this does change some things which you come to expect but I also have an interesting spin on it. Let me lay it out for you.

Role
Combat is focused on melee engadgement as well as range against a multitude of enemies with various specialties. Each one plays their role in a group and based on their intelligent and role, they will use what works best against the heros. Some are heavy, others are light. Some can fly, others can cast magic. One may fight aggresively... until you find that your friend is under the illusion of a phantom.

Now how does the player control their offensive and defensive attributes while also being able to do acrobatic actions? Well, the right stick on the controller appears to be avaliable... why not use that? Don't worry, the camera can fend on it's own.

This is where it gets rather clunky. If I was able to program a prototype, I would... but I don't know how to program jack diddly.

Now there are three actions that can be done with an analouge stick: Flick, Twirl, and Snap. Flicking is pushing the stick in a direction quickly and then letting it rest again. Twirling is moving the stick in a circular motion. Snapping is pushing in one direction and then thrusting in the opposite direction while going through the center in the process. In short, this allows +130 combos to be preformed.

What about joining this with movement? Surely the enemy won't be standing still while your hero swing their arms, legs, and weapons. Thus we put jumping, crouching, rolling, and range into the mix. That creates around +800 combos... I think. That should be enough, right?

Then again, this isn't an arcade fighting game in which you need to study what moves do what. No, this should be a string of simple actions that flow well together. Easy to learn, hard to master. This allows players to get into the action right away and quickly learn how to fight. However, techniques and teamwork is key to winning a battle.

But enough dabbling around.

Associated Mechanics
As combat is a focal feature, although the way it's done is optional, there is many mechanics linked to it. Well... okay, not that many.
 * Co-op
 * Control Scheme
 * Adaptive Dialouge
 * Enemies
 * Level design

Why this was chosen
Have you heard or played Ape Escape 1-3? They are the first to make extensive use of both analouge sticks in a unique fashion. Movement is done with the left while gadget control is done with the right. That is still unique today... poor Too Human failed to do the same thing.

As I said above, I wished to preserve the acrobatic controls (Is that what I should call them? Eh... for now.) as well as make attacks feel more organic then pressing a button. You swing your fist naturally so simulating that the same way with the stick is the closest thing achieveable. Besides, there is no motion control middleground to work with right now and would be a depenency if I decide to choose just one of them.

However, that also creates another problem. This makes the game unsuitable for a PC port unless stating that a gamepad is required sounds like a good idea. Microsoft would probably be happy about that, wouldn't they? Then again, this franchise hasn't strayed far from the console platforms so that might be a open-ended question.

Conclusion
So that's combat in it's raw design. This approach alone can change how the 3d platformer is done entirely. Then again, is it a platformer or an action-adventure? Hey, I don't have any problem with another Outcast so let's see where this goes. Then again, that got me into trouble last time with Colas... don't ask.

Come back again when I talk about... something... interesting? Why don't we look at Quests?