Earl the Tomb Robber Devlog # 3

LET'S TALK COMBAT!

I’ve already mentioned that while Earl the Tomb Robber will feature enemy combat, I don’t intend for that to be a major mechanic in the game. What does that mean exactly? Let me explain.

I grew up playing narrative and puzzle based adventure games and that’s where my love of video games is rooted. Those games rarely had any combat mechanics at all, so those skill levels never really advanced as my gaming matured. These days I love the modern cinematic, single player action/adventure games like Uncharted, God of War or The Last of Us, but I enjoy those games the most when I play them on “Easy” or “Story Mode”. I love the storytelling and the player agency in the gameplay, but can do without the frustration of dying over and over until I “get good”. I play video games for the fantasy of it, that mean I want to feel like a Bad-Ass right out of the gate without having to spend countless hours training and actually becoming skilled. That’s too much like real life!  Ugh!!

But having enemies in a game does more than just provide a potentially frustrating challenge. I use enemies to convey a number of different ideas important to game design. One of those is “signposting” player progress. Many games use enemies to let the player know where they need to go next. It’s a common expression that if there are enemies in the area, you are going the right way! Earl uses this same ideology to help direct the player.

Enemies are also an important aspect to making the world feel alive. The different areas on the “Island of the dead” are each inhabited by different kinds of surprising creatures out to do Earl harm! They are also important to the storytelling aspects of the game. Who are they? Why are they there? What do they want?  And while we won't be exploring these questions in depth for every enemy, their presence in the world helps to expand the overall mysterious nature of the island.

Combat is still very much a work in progress. Currently the play has two types of attacks, a heavy attack and a light attack. They can also dodge out of the way when an enemy strikes. I’m hesitant to add more depth to the mechanic because I don’t want the fighting to take a priority role in this game that's more about exploration and puzzle solving. But I would like to hear what players expect and want from lite-combat in a game. Please share your thoughts in the comments! Your feedback will only make my game better!

Thanks and happy gaming!