Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Designing enemies
Obviously,themainantagonistsaretheangrypirateswhohaveattackedtheDanube
earlier. They are scattered all over space, and are hiding behind the rocks. All of
them are humans, not aliens; so, they use technologies from Earth. In most cases,
that refers to the different space vehicles stolen from other ships. For example, the
pirates utilize AMUs to move. They are painted in dark gray to be more inconspicu-
ous. Here's the list of all the variations of enemies:
•
Private pirate
: This is the simplest type of pirate. It is a direct copy of the
protagonist. The pirate utilizes the same AMU as the main hero; thus, the pir-
ate has no armor, and only has one laser gun.
•
Bosun
: This is a pirate with a heavily modified and armored Unit. It has two
lasers that are operating simultaneously. This is a hard enemy. His only weak
point is a slower speed of maneuvering.
•
Drone
: This is a small unmanned space vehicle carrying a laser gun. The
machine and maneuver ability are very fast; nevertheless, it can be des-
troyed by a single hit. The main point to be noted is their number. Drones
usually try to attack in a swarm.
•
Turret
: This is an automated gun that is fixed on a rock or on another type
of big obstacle. The simplest version has only one laser gun that is oriented
forward. More advanced models have many barrels that are turned in various
directions.
•
Pirate shuttle
: This is the most powerful enemy in the game, for example,
it may guard the lighthouse at the end. It looks like a small spaceship with
several heavy guns. It requires a lot of effort to be defeated.
Preparing obstacles
The astronaut's journey to the lighthouse is not a walk in the park; it is full of different
dangerous situations and hindrances. This is deep space. First of all, there are lots
of objects floating around that the player should try to dodge; otherwise, he will lose
some portions of his health after contact with them. It is much harder if the AMU is
moving fast. Like in arcade flying simulators, the player maneuvers in space, trying
