WHAT I DID
I am responsible for all combat design in the game. This includes all character combatants, the player movement, and supporting systems. Additionally, I designed the scenario and world the game takes place in, as well as wrote the script for the game. In the recording studio, I both directed our voice actor and did voice work myself.
PLAYER ATTACKS
The attacks that the player can perform are all designed as both combat tools and movement abilities, allowing for the player to flow between combat and traversal fluidly. Enemy encounters are designed with verticality and movement in mind, requiring the player to bounce from enemy to enemy with their multitude of movement options in combat. Balancing the attacks for use in both combat and traversal without making them too strong in one department and not the other was a challenge.
PLAYER MOVEMENT
The player's gravity, friction, and air mobility are all designed to allow for extended periods of time to be spent in the air. The optimal positioning for combat is generally to be above the enemies, so it was all designed to be non-restrictive for the player experience. The philosophy is that the player should always be able to execute a plan in movement and in combat.
ENEMY ATTACKS
Enemy attacks are designed to be countered by specific player interactions. I designed an outline for the attacks of each enemy and worked with animators and programmers to create and refine them. I made sure that all feedback was clear and concise for any enemy interaction.
ENEMY BEHAVIOR
The enemies in the game all work in a combat manager, and enemies that interact with it have differing behavior for when they are attacking the player and waiting in the manager queue to attack. I worked with our enemy AI programmer to create the behavior to keep waiting enemies continue to engage with the combat flow the player creates, by keeping them close to the front of player, allowing for them to swap in and out of the queue while still being in reach of the player.
SUPPORTING SYSTEMS
The game has multiple supporting systems for its combat. The style system is a way of classifying how well and how stylishly the player engages with combat, rewarding the player more for executing special attacks and getting bonuses. The bonus system incentivizes the player to use specific enemy interactions more, such as throwing the bomb enemy at other enemies. The higher the player's style rank is, the more damage they deal to enemies.
SCRIPT WRITING & VOICE DIRECTION
Some of the game's characters have voice lines play during gameplay and cutscenes, and I was responsible for writing the game's whole script and directing the voice recording sessions. I worked closely with our voice actor and audio designers to make sure everyone could provide the necessary assets and implementation.