Creature Design
I designed a complete enemy combat behavior as part of a combat design exercise inspired by Soulslike games.
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The enemy is a heavily armored knight wielding a straight sword and a shield that conceals a built-in crossbow, allowing him to apply pressure at both close and mid range.
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This design focuses on clear player readability, punishing mistakes, and forcing meaningful combat decisions rather than relying on raw difficulty.
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The combat design and AI principles developed during this exercise were later reused and adapted for AA-scale creatures in my professional projects.
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Defensive form
In his defensive state, the knight prioritizes self-protection, using the crossbow-shield to block incoming attacks while baiting player mistakes.
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This form encourages the player to take risks, break the defense, or reposition instead of playing passively.
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Aggressive form
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If the player adopts an overly defensive or passive playstyle, the knight transitions into an aggressive state, increasing pressure through faster attacks, tighter spacing, and reduced downtime.
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This state is designed to prevent turtling, maintain combat flow, and push the player toward active engagement and decision-making.
Combat Design Goals
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- Clear and readable enemy states
- Strong identity driven by combat role
- Player-reactive behavior (punishes passivity)
- Distinct pressure patterns between states
- Reusable design principles for scalable production