Platformer In-depth Enemy Placement! (tutorial)

Review by raquzzic on Sunday, January 23rd 2011

Welcome to the platformer enemy placement tutorial!

Part one, the basics/foe classifications

Enemy placement is something that matters more than you may think in a game, a game with no enemies better have a lot of fun puzzles or jumping courses... A game where it's mindlessly littered with foes is little more a slash fest (as shown in-game) with your shield raised, and not really that fun.

In order to make better decisions when placing foes, its best to review your diverse array of 25 or so platformer foes! Now, currently the platformer has the most foe types in any of the game creators, and some of them attack in similar ways! So, i have decided to place each foe in different classifications! Also with these classifications, each foe has a "danger level" that ranges from 1-10 (on basic un-armed combat, obviously some foes can be made more dangerous when given better placement), what theme they are best with (although a good amount of foes are of a "varied" theme), and any special ability they have.

"claw"

A "claw"-type foe is one that doesn't use any sort of weapon, instead uses its claws to attack you (giving a "slash" effect when they hit you). Claw foes will try to get close to you and attack you! Foes that belong in this classification are:

-bat

(danger level: *, varied themes) FLYING

-robot

(Danger level: *, Scifi-themed)

-mutant A

(varied themes, Danger level: **)

-mutant B

(varied themes, Danger level: ***)

-bigmutant

(varied themes, Danger level: ***)

"sword"

A "sword" type foe, as the name suggests are foes that use a sword, or any melee weapon. Sword foes will try to get close to you and attack you! Foes belonging to this classification include:

-thug

(fastasy themed, Danger level: ***) SHIELD

-thor

(fantasy themed, Danger level: *****)

-mongol

(feudal? themed, Danger level: ***) FAST

-kikuchyo

(feudal themed, Danger level: ********)

"sniper"

"sniper" foes, as the name suggests are foes that shoot extremely fast projectiles. However, a sniper's attack can be deflected with a shield. All snipers have the ability to kick you if you get near them. Snipers also are very cowardly, and will stay away from you should you try to get near them. Foes belonging in this classification are:

-native

(varied themes, danger level: **)

-Archie:

(feudal themed, danger level: *****) SHIELD

"blaster"

"blaster" foes, are foes that use a ranged weapon to attack you, and unlike snipers, shields won't make you immune to their attacks. Blaster foes also have a kick ability, but its not as powerful as the sniper's kick. They are in-between the sword and sniper foes on their behavior. The classifications are:

-mercenary

(scifi-themed, danger level: ***)

-Minion

(scifi-themed, danger level: *****)

-firetroll

(varied themes, danger level: *********)

"gunner"

The "gunner" foes are foes that use a rapid fire weapon that does low damage, and i this current version of the platformer, there are no conventional gunner foes. Foes that fit this classification are:

-turret

(scifi-themed, danger level: ***) STATIONARY

-Probe

(scifi-themed, danger level: *****) FLYING

"behemoth"

"behemoth" foes are large foes that use slow attacks that if not avoided, can deal tons of damage. Unlike the claw or sword foes, these foes have a "delay" for their attacks, making them easier to avoid than other melee foe's attacks. Foes that fit this classification are:

-george

(varied themes, danger level: *******)

-rocky

(fantasy themed?, danger level: **********) KICKS

"juggernaut"

"juggernauts" are foes that charge you, and you can't really do much to stop them from getting you, unless you destroy them 1st. They can't even be stunned! Foes that fit this classification are:

-big robot

(scifi-themed, danger level: *********)

-EnemyMecha

(scifi-themed, danger level: *********)

"aquatic"

"aquatic foes are foes that can only live in the water, these foes only use their mouths to attack you. They are apparently immune to being stunned. These foes are usually used as hazards instead of enemies. Enemies that fit this classification are:

-shark

(varied themes, danger level: ******) CHARGES

-leonard

(varied themes, danger level: ********)

"beam"

"beam" foes are foes that use a attack that constantly damages you, the foes that fit this classification are:

-snarly

(fantasy themed, danger level: *****)

-segfault

(scifi-themed?, danger level: **)

"SAK"

"SAK" (swiss army knife) foes are foes that use both a ranged and a melee attack. There is only one foe that fits this classification:

-ninja

(feudal themed, danger level: ***) KICKS

DISCLAIMER:

Difficulty levels are actually varied based on how they are placed! Speaking of which...

Part two, enemy encounters!

Enemy encounters are the many encounters you may have with foes in the game.

Basic encounter

A basic encounter is one with just a select amount of foe types who attack you, on level ground. Weather it be a patrolling guard or squad of foes in a level room, it these encounters are the most commonly used.

terrain encounter

A encounter that makes things more interesting through various blocks! For example, what if you had to deal with achiesl on sloped ramps and ice instead of on plain ground?

Platformer encounter

A type of encounter that basically means that enemies will also attack you while you try to transverse a platforming area. For example, enemies like probes can easily make a platforming sequence a whole lot harder!

Hazard encounter

A hazard encounter is any encounter that utilizes various hazard to make the encounter harder for the player. It would be tedious having to evade crushers and minions at the same time!

Ambushes

Ambushes are something you can use to surprise the player. Imagine you step through a portal and then you get attacked by two GIANT KILLER MECHAS OF DEATH AND DESTRUCTION.

There are 2 common types ambushes:

"teleambush"

A ambush where you go into a teleporter, and the other side drops you into hostiles!

"switch ambush"

A ambush where you trigger a switch, and enemies are released!

As you can see, there are many ways to have a challenging encounter, you just have to be creative!

No need to do mundane stuff like "fight 10 robots on the ground", you can easily make it "avoid snipers while going across chasm on slider" if you just put the effort into it!

Part three, what equipment?

Obviously, you can't kill 6 mercs using basic equipment unless your ninja, so what weapons should go with which encounter?

In a generic sense, ranged weapons should be given for ranged foes and melee weapons are a given for melee foes. However, using the diversity of weapons can easily mix things up! For example, why not force the player to have to fight a mecha with a whip?

The weapon may not be the only thing a player can be given, but stuff like jetpacks, gravgluvs and so on can also be used to make stuff more interesting! How about you are unarmed, against multiple georges, and all you have is a gravgluv, and some pools of lava? Why not give the player a jetpack and a railgun, and minions on floating platforms?

Like with enemy placement, there are tons of possibilities to do and really its all about experimenting with what you have!

I am aware i didn't mention abilities and vehicles, but i count them as gadgets, so there!

Part four, bosses!

A boss can be anything from a single dangerous foe, to some crazy structure made of deadly hazards and weak spots.

I think structural bosses should be saved for someone else's tutorial, so instead ill give you some recommended foes to use as a boss:

Rocky, very good for a hard to kill melee-oriented boss

Firetroll, This foe was made for boss battles, seeing how many ways you can place it.

Bigrobot/enemyMecha, not much can really stop this foe from closing in on you, and is a doozie in closed spaces!

There are a lot of foes you can use in the platformer as a boss, it really just depends on how clever you are with working on the area. A archie can be upgraded into a boss by making the archie harder to hit with bouncers for example!

Part five, theme?

In my opinion, its hard to force what foe type theme belongs to which, although there are foes that were meant for specific themes in the platformer creator.

There are three apparent themes that i see:

Fantasy theme

(thugs, thors, snarlies)

Scifi theme

(robots, mercs and minions)

Feudal theme

(archies, mongols, ninjas, kikuchyos)

This is indeed inaccurate, as you can argue that the george and leonard or the such are of a "jungle theme" for example. Really, when you make a theme, you basically use foes that you feel are appropriate for your game. I can't say weather or not mercenaries are out of place in a samurai palace, or why a thug wouldn't work in a futuristic setting.

When it comes to "theme", it really is just what story you have in mind requires. Its mainly because its possible to justify any combination of foes fought in your game! Even a game where you fight thors allied with mercenaries may make sense if justified! Just because a enemy is labled "futuristic" doesn't mean it's out of place in prehistoric times! Just because one foe is a "samurai warrior" doesn't mean it is always a samurai warrior! A ninjaboy may not even be a ninja, but a psychopath! I can go all day about this, but its best if we just finish this tutorial up!

So, in short:

The theme is what you make it.

Part six, What to avoid!

This part may keep you from getting a 1/5 review! (not ensured). Its only this one thing, but may prove extremely useful in the wrong run:

-Never use many foes in one area

Why?

two reasons, It is very boring/annoying to have to fight a bunch of foes in a small area corridor, and also may cause the dreaded lag!

-Use of the same foe type

Why?

With 25 different foes at your disposal, there is no excuse for making you fight the same foe again and again!

Well, this was raquzzic's enemy placement tutorial, and i hope you learned from it!

Any further questions will be addressed in the comments section.

Since i am new to making tutorials, i am willing to hear any flaws in this and how i can fix them.