Space Arrangement

Arranging player-navigable space is crucial in games that are more dependent on action and exploration than puzzle solving. If the player has to fend off enemies, then the way the space is designed as well as the vastness of it can have an impact on player enjoyment and experience. Not only is space important for varying the difficulty of general stand-offs with enemies, but it is also crucial in determining the ease and accessibility of certain items and/or parts of the game.

Enclosed Space

Enclosed spaces are often common in games that are dependent on level-type design. Here, the roaming room is limited and the player is usually forced to fight enemies with the possibility of being cornered. Items necessary to the player’s progress may be placed in the room, but they may be absent to force the player to return to a previous room or to quickly complete a room in order to get them. The enemies, however, cannot be too large for this will give the foes too much of an advantage to overwhelm the player.

Space with Traps

In the above scene, we see the player surrounded by water which, when stepped on, will instantly drown the player and force them to restart the level. Such a scene is an example of a space laden with traps or, generally, a space where the boundaries of the walkable path carry certain punishable characteristics that do not just block the player from getting to their destination like a simple wall does. Here, the player is forced to move more carefully which reduces the speed of the gameplay but at the same time can enhance the tension depending on what enemies and other factors are thrown into the game.

Mazes

Mazes often serve as the ultimate show-stopper for anyone who wants to try to get through a part of the game quickly, as their often intricate nature disallows the player from getting from one point to another with any ease and speed, plus mazes can also test the memory and spatial-cognitive skills of a player. However, without any discretion mazes can often serve more as an irritation and annoyance than anything else. Other than slowing down the player, mazes can also be used to surprise the player with enemy attacks or with other things as, if a maze is large enough, a lot of things can be hidden within the winding pathways.

Free Roam

Such a category can be found in more the exploration type games, where the playable field is vast and the player has to walk a long distance to get from one point to another. In such games, the player is usually provided with the option to obtain faster transportation, usually after some exploring or trials, to make the game at later stages more navigable and fun. However, vast space tends to demand more level design and aesthetics to make the long distances more bearable to pass through or even interesting. Nobody wants to walk a mile across a bare plan. Vast distances tend to make enemy encounters easier, as depending on the severity of the surroundings, there are fewer chances for the player to get cornered by an enemy or a group of enemies. Plus, the player can have the possibility to run away if need be.

Placement of Enemies

When developing levels or scenarios in a game, we usually have to give the player a challenge. If we do not want to rack the player’s brains too much, then we go for the archetypal enemy whom the player has to neutralise for one reason or another. The player, then, usually has to battle enemies over some space and the closeness of the enemies to the player can determine the difficulty of a certain gaming scene. In this post, I am going to discuss what I consider to be four main categories of enemy arrangement in game design.

Non-Stationary Surrounding Enemies

The enemies are located at a moderate distance from the player providing him with some time to react. The scenario usually has some boundaries or restrictions (in this case, water) that prevents the enemies from getting to the player too soon or too easily. The boundaries, at the same time, provide a challenge for the player. Namely, the player has to avoid getting cornered by the enemy and/or falling into the water. This enemy arrangement creates more dynamism in gameplay as the player has to be constantly on their feet, especially if the enemies start running in the direction of the player at the start of the scene.

Non-Stationary Concentrated Enemies

The enemies tend to be concentrated in one spot in a space which reduces the difficulty of the scene. The player still has to be alert but to a lesser degree in this case, as while the enemies can catch up to the player, the player can still easily outrun them. Such an arrangement would perhaps be good for providing some relief to the player after a difficult previous stage.

Stationary Surrounding Enemies

The enemies surround the player again, but, this time, they are stationary. Depending on whether the enemies have ranged weapons or projectiles to hurl at players, this can still create a difficulty that can be just as hard, or more so, than in the Non-Stationary arrangement. For such scenes weapons or items essential to the player’s progress are placed close to the enemies to create some tension and to keep the player on their feet (especially if the enemies have moderate- or long-ranging attacks).

Stationary Concentrated Enemies

The enemies are stationary but they are concentrated in one spot on the map. This arrangement is usually utilised in boss fights where you have one powerful enemy in the centre of a treacherous map which throws projectiles at the player, forcing the player to be on their feet. Depending on the boundaries of the space, they can either hinder and/or help the player. However, we can come to the conclusion that concentrated enemies tend to be easier foes to handle than enemies that are placed, more or less, at equal distances to each other in a space.

Space Arrangement

Placement of Enemies

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