Just think of Quake's gremlins and fiends and zombies. One of the most most fundamental and oft-imitated building blocks of those ‘90s shooters was how enemy encounters were structured like combat puzzles. It also allowed the developers to build rooms to surprise or ambush players in ways procedural generation couldn’t accommodate. It let them control the flow of combat and gameplay in specific ways and allow enemy encounters to unfold in specific ways (for instance, introducing groups of enemies to a fight in staggered waves, or stringing them out according to the player’s progress). It also allowed his team to shape each encounter in specific ways, and ensure that there was an appropriate verticality to areas that made them feel more open and expansive than corridors or boxy rooms. Handcrafting the modular pieces of the procedurally generated levels allowed Glunt to create specific context for each area, making them feel bespoke and distinct. This allowed the levels to take interesting shapes and feel more unique.” "When designing the bank of modules for Strafe, we created a range of rooms that would play like small multiplayer maps, and we connected them via nodes instead of designing on a grid. So I took inspiration from elements of Spelunky’s approach to generation." The levels need a sense of flow and verticality, They need to have cool secrets and a variety of paths for combat to play out in. "But I knew that purely procedural levels would never feel good. “ Strafe is a Roguelike, and from day one we wanted to create a repayable and randomized experience," says Glunt. And secrets add a sense of exploration and discovery to a genre that’s more prominently about combat.ģ) Levels designed to complement mechanics These sorts of diversions also increase the likelihood of players spending additional time in your level, appreciating the assets you painstakingly created instead of blasting past them en route to the next set piece or firefight. One of the easiest and most effective ways to add depth to a linear design to litter it with side areas, secret chambers, and hidden collectibles. ![]() Poorly designed linear levels can feel cramped and confined, or like they’re railroading a player along a narrow, claustrophobic path. We wanted to create these memories for new players, and spent a significant part of development on secrets.” "I’ve had great moments with my friends talking about them and at times I was able to show off the secret and feel cool. " Doom, Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2, Postal 2, Duke Nukem 3D, Tomb Raider and Wolfenstein 3D all have great secrets that deepened my appreciation for them and created a sense of wonder." “Some of the most enjoyable memories of gaming I have are tied to secrets," says Glunt. So we decided to make all of our ranged enemies use visible projectiles.” We found projectiles made us feel more responsible for the damage we took, where as it was easier for players to blame the game with hit-scan enemies. ![]() ![]() “It feels great in Doom when you dodge an imp’s fireball,” Glunt says, “and it feels bad when a sergeant blasts you with his shotgun with no visible element to dodge. He fought to capture that thrilling sensation from the best FPSs of the ‘90s, of being fully in control of when or if you took damage. It was important for Glunt to always be motivating players to stay on the move in Strafe, and impart the feeling of skillfully weaving through a firefight, dancing out of the way of attacks and dealing death from all sides. And it's not simply drawing from old school shooters.ĭirector Thom Glunt was kind enough to to fill in the blanks for me, outlining the games that inspired five key design choices that Pixel Titans made.ġ) The constant balance between offense and defense But beneath the chunky low-poly graphics, Strafe is a unique and original synthesis of classic game styles and mechanics.
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