Category: Tactics

Posted: 07/08/07 A tactics game where a cross section is made of the level that will affect combat actions.

When a unit targets and attacks another unit, a small cross-section of the level is taken based on the squares targeted. This cross-section becomes a side view attack animation. Here, the archer on the ledge is targeting the skeleton across the bridge.

Diagonals work the same way - a small side view attack view is created based on the squares in the target range.

The first thing that comes to mind is why bother going to this trouble? Frankly, because I thought it'd be neat. One possibility is that each unit in the target squares is also included in the side view field. In this case, the archer targets the far skeleton, thus including a knight and two other skeletons in the field. Then a small, RTS-like battle occurs involving all those units.

First, the archer fires, killing the skeleton in the back. The two skeletons and knight move forward to meet each other in the center. The knight manages to kill one of the skeletons, but the final skeleton proves to be the knight's undoing. On the right side, you can see how the effect of the side view battle has ended up not only destroying a few units, but has also moved a skeleton to a new end square.

The other possibility is for it to be an Archon-like game where units actually battle it out in the side-view in old fashioned arcade style - how the view is built simple affects the battlefield you fight on. Archers would have a Worms/Artillery-style aiming mechanism, while melee units would simply run and jump around.