Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Opponent's weapon damage:
How much damage does the opponent's weapon
do per second? Is it related to the distance of the shot?
Opponent's weapon accuracy:
How accurate is the opponent with his weapon?
Is the accuracy related to distance?
Opponent's health:
How much damage can the target take?
While there could be other considerations, we are going to stop there for the
moment. We can always add more fun stuff later on.
As we discussed in the previous chapter, we need to determine if each criterion
is concrete or abstract, what range they will fall into, and at what granularity we are
measuring. By doing this, we get a better idea of what we are working with. We need
to know the shape of each piece before we can start fitting them together.
A quick glance through the list tells us that all of the criteria are concrete val-
ues. They are nonsubjective, measurable values. In fact, they are all values that are
either listed as a property of an object (such as weapon damage) or that the game
engine can calculate for us (such as distance). This simplifies our process somewhat
for now.
Here a Dude, There a Dude, Everywhere a Dude, Dude…
To give us a better idea of the concrete data we are working with, we need to list the
specifics for each of the three types of Dudes. Each of the three has an amount of
health, with the Arch Dude being able to absorb the most damage. Additionally,
they have accuracy modifiers that adjust their ability to shoot their weapons. Being
the least trained, the Bad Dudes are… well…
bad
. The Arch Dudes, on the other
hand, have a bonus to their weapon accuracy.
Dude Type
Health
Acc. Mod.
Bad
100
-20%
Evil
120
0%
Arch
150
+10%
Choose Your Weapon
Our agent and the Dudes can use any one of four weapons. These are a pistol, a
shotgun, a machine gun, and a rocket launcher. Each of the four types has its own
accuracy and damage-dealing characteristics. The weapons start with a base damage
and accuracy rate. Rather than a simple concrete number, however, these values are
distance-dependent.
