A short report about alternative mechanics to killing.
I will begin by explaining why it is I even began research into this. I felt that with my current game, the killing of the player or the enemy simply didn’t fit the project. I mean, the player is a projection of nature. The spirit of the forest. Nature, killing things. It was an irony I don’t believe would’ve benefited the game and so my search for an alternative mechanic began.
My first finding was that some games simply don’t need the mechanic to start with, but developers feel the need to implement it. It may be the case that the developer feels it is their only option due to the fact it is so common place now in games. It could also be said that most combat systems within games result in the killing of the opponent and that by having combat in a game, the developer may feel the need to end the fight that way. The truth is there are many many alternatives to it and of course many of these may not feel right for your game, which is why adapting them or perhaps merging a few may be needed.
Capture: The enemy can be fought via the use of your combat system and then apprehended as opposed to killed. This can add some depth to your game as then the player is given a choice, leave the enemy tied up where they are? Or abandon the current objective to get rid of them, to a cell or some from of transport.
Incapacitate: The enemy can again be fought using you combat system and as a final punishing move the player can deliver a crushing blow that knocks the enemy out etc. This allows the player to move on while still gaining the satisfaction of having beaten up a baddy.
Get me out of here!: (My personal favorite as it fits most themes) If the player is losing the combat and would otherwise have been killed by the enemy, they can be transported to another area of the map or backwards in terms of progress and a message displayed stating something along the lines of “That was close” via the person or thing that saved them. An example of this would be in my game, if the player comes into contact with an enemy, they are teleported back to a shrine at the top of the map where an elder spirit will state something along the lines of “You need to be more careful” and then will send the player on their way.
Blast: The player/enemy could deliver a blow that blasts the other in a particular direction.
Possession: This may appear to be very theme specific but hopefully fits the picture for some of you. The player could simply merge with the enemy as a final move or something similar. This could add further depth to your game in that the player may gain more power, health etc for a limited time.
Bartering: This can be seen as a slightly darker mechanic. The enemy could be defeated by the player in combat but then enters dialog with them saying that if they spare them then they will pay them or provide them with some from of item or service. This could make quite an interesting looting system.
Spawner: Similar to the “get me out of here mechanic” The enemy or hoard of enemies could all be spawning from a particular point, maybe a haunted alter, or from an antique weapon of an ancient warrior. Every time the player gets the enemy down to low health, they teleport back to this spanwer and recover full health to attack again. Meaning the player must destroy this spawner to win the combat.
The main thing to keep in mind is that your game is unique and you should build on that. You can create mechanics that nobody else would’ve thought of as nobody else has made your game.
Personally, I feel that there are so many different options that have yet to be explored as an alternative to fighting to the death, which is not to say it’s a bad mechanic, just so common place now it’s refreshing to see something different. It would be cool to see some of these being further developed and taken in new directions.
