Core Gameplay - cyber-squid/boss-rush-gdd GitHub Wiki

Everything to do with the moment-to-moment gameplay, main gameplay loop and player interaction with major mechanics.

Topics include:

See the Minions section for further details on each minion and their abilities.
See the Level and Game Progression section for more info on levels and related systems, and aspects of the boss lair.
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General

-the boss has 5 hit points. he can attack with abilities, health pickups are scattered throguhout -minions have 3 hitpoints. -dialogue is peppered throughout levels, you can encounter minions outposted in levels and find info from them The main gameplay loop involves Moment-to-moment gameplay focuses on the following mechanics:

  • platforming gameplay and movement The objective in general is to complete the final level in each world, to achieve this in most cases the player's objective is to make it to the end of the stage, in some cases they will need to find an item in one of a few stages to be able to progress to the final level in the world. ( Check the Levels and Game Progression section for more details on this. )

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Movement, Controls and Physics

Being a 2D platformer, the game follows the same basic control scheme of its genre and the same philosophies in designing player movement, though adjusted to the game's theming. The game features one main playable character and multiple side characters with similar control schemes. The specifics to the boss's (the main character's) physics and moveset can be found below, the minions (the side characters) are elaborated on in the Minions section.

Below follow the boss' controls. All minions retain the Move and Jump features, information on each minion's individual abilities and controls can be found on the Minions page.

Basic Controls

  • Move
  • Jump: Launches the boss up, then falls back to the ground in about ~2 seconds.
  • Dash:
  • Fire Breath:

Abilities / Unlockable Controls

  • Possess:
  • Stomp:

Move

The boss walks forward, accelerating to max speed in about a half-second, moving in the direction of the corresponding key held [WASD / arrow keys]. Releasing the button, the boss comes to a stop almost immediately. The left (A) and right (D) keys move the boss left and right, respectively. He has a bit of momentum, enough to make a difference between a standing jump and a running jump, but also retains speed when changing direction, to keep a tight, platforming flow to the game.

Jump

The boss launches into the air, flying upward, stalling in the air for a moment and landing. The jump has three sections: ascent, equilibrium (where gravity and the boss' velocity equal out), and descent. The full jump should be punchy and effective, but have a noticeable weight to it, and last no more than 2 total seconds, with the full jump arc reaching 3 times the boss' height.

The longer the jump button is held the longer the boss remains in the air; letting go of the button before the boss reaches max jump arc will cause the boss to begin descent prematurely. If the button is held for the max possible duration of the jump the longest part of the jump is the equilibrium, otherwise the longest part is the ascent. It's important the length, physics and animation of the jump convey the weight of the player, especially considering the genre and theme.

An illustration of the boss' jump:

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Physics & Game Feel

The controls of the game, being a platformer, are a key part of the game's overall feel. Its essential the game conveys the sense of playing as a large, heavy and powerful character, without going overboard and having sluggish-feeling controls or movement. Striking a balance in this aspect is crucial. Physics surrounding the boss should be somewhat heavier than the average platformer, and minions will emphasize this aspect as their physics more closely correlates with average platforming speed and physics. However, the difference should not be so exaggerated that the player consciously takes notice of the difference - this will break immersion. Rather, the difference should be subtle enough to communicate a difference with movement alone, without impacting the game flow to the length of feeling like a liability rather than a natural dynamic between the boss and minions.

Most minions will have the same jump speed, slightly altered jump heights, and slightly altered movement physics (different speed buildups and stopping speeds).

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Game Flow

The main gameplay loop focuses on the player traversing 10-minute platforming levels, which are full of obstacles of various types that the boss may or may not be able to handle on his own (see this section on levels for details on levels and obstacles). Some obstacles are inert, and some are actively dangerous, mainly enemies. The average level is a semi-linear sidescrolling obstacle course with branching side-areas, where collectibles, health restoring items, and points can be found. The size of these side-areas can range from nooks and crannies with extra items, to minutes-long detours leading to hidden collectibles and special items. The player may be able to tackle obstacles with the boss's current abilities, or be able to temporarily switch to the appropriate minion for the task. Most levels are completable with the skillset the player has when reaching them, but many areas and items require skills or minions to reach, and a few levels have an early progression softlock where the player is unable to advance in the level without the correct item. (This should be made obvious through level design. See the section on levels for more.)

Along with this is the system of the hero appearing in-level - whenever the player is taken to the world map, they can see all available levels in the world section they are currently in, with the hero sometimes appearing as an icon highlight on one level. The player has the choice of either selecting the level featuring the hero or selecting another level in this case. The latter will lead to the level playing out as normal, the former will lead to a version of the level where the hero appears at a predetermined midway point in the level, whereupon encountering them the objective switches from reaching the end of the level to chasing the hero. To facilitate this most major obstacles are temporarily removed from the level at this point, so the player can easily run through the stage and maintain momentum. (Check the Levels and Game Progression section for more details on this.)

The moment-to-moment gameplay with this core loop involves the player making their way through the level they've selected, advancing forward (left in this case) and clearing obstacles they come across, or finding and figuring out how to handle new obstacles with their current skillset, and utilising the minions they have available to them

Along with the main gameplay of level-by-level progression, the player is also meant to semi-regularly return to the boss lair, in which they may switch their current selection of minions, as well as exchange points for usable items, extra abilities, and bonus customisation items. This serves as a method of player self-management.

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What Do Minions Do?

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Interacting With the Hero

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Boss Lair

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