Level Up.pdf

They All Want You Dead 287
A teleporter is an enemy that can change position around the playfield. The
player must attack quickly lest the enemy teleport out of harm ’ s way. The
teleporter varies from the burrower in that the teleportation is instantaneous,
giving the player no time to attack. Give your player a way to disrupt the
enemy ’ s teleportation, such as a stun or another disruptive attack.
A blocker is an enemy that defends itself against the player ’ s attack with a
shield or other defensive device. The shield can either be circumnavigated
with an attack from another direction or elevation (such as from down low or
from behind), or the player can disarm the enemy with a specific move or
attack. Shields can make the enemy temporarily invulnerable, requiring the
player to break the shield with a specific move or action, or wait around until
the invulnerable state passes.
A doppelganger is an enemy that looks like the player and has moves,
attacks and uses AI that mimics the
player ’ s own. Doppelganger enemies
force the players to use moves or
weapons in an unusual manner in
order to defeat “ themselves. ”
The goal of having all of these
different behavior types is to have
enemies that complement each
other. Enemies should “ live
harmoniously ” with each other, creating interesting combat puzzles for the
player to solve.
Once you create enemy behavior that works well together, it will create
gameplay. The player will learn how to perform threat analysis. This forces
the player to ask themselves: “ Which of these two enemies is going to be
the bigger threat? I must kill that one first and figure out how to defend
against the other one(s) until I do. ”