Open call for monster behaviors
ben...@gmail.com
and interactions, how about some freestyle 'storming as to what those
could include? I'll kick it off:
"crab" movement: fast sideways, slow up/down.
"turtle" -- can retreat into a high-defense "shell" mode.
"swarmer" -- monsters follow just outside of the player's light radius
until there's a small gang, then swarm in.
"slug" -- leaves a slime trail when frightened, which slows the player
down.
"nest-breeder" -- Two can combine to make a nest, which acts as a
Gauntlet-like monster generator until bashed.
"chess moves" -- e.g. straight/diagonal limitations or things like the
knight-jump.
"territorial" -- tends to patrol its "territory" and bully monsters
within it.
"charmer" -- will try to charm nearby monsters and amass an army.
I am also using interactions-by-type, like hunting, protecting,
following, and fleeing. E.g. "warvelmaws hunt glormlings, who are
protected by glormbeasts. Glormlings follow glormbeasts, and flee
warvelmaws." I imagine many more are possible...
Favorite npc interactions in existing games also welcome! -- Ben
Gelatinous Mutant Coconut
"grid-bug crab" -- have movement costs for the monster be greater in
the y direction than the x direction.
"realistic crab" -- have movement costs for the monster be greater in
a direction parallel to its target than in directions perpendicular to
its target. (If your roguelike implements facing and turning costs,
obviously use those instead.)
> "turtle" -- can retreat into a high-defense "shell" mode.
"porcupine" -- can retreat into a zero-movement mode; melee attacks on
the monster reactively damage the attacker while in this mode.
> "swarmer" -- monsters follow just outside of the player's light radius
> until there's a small gang, then swarm in.
"Grue-like" -- this monster hates light. If the player has no light
source, it closes in on the player to attack. If the player has a
light source, it flees away from the player (at a faster speed) until
it is outside of the light radius. A smart player might be able to
trap the monster in a corner and kill it while it is helpless.
> "slug" -- leaves a slime trail when frightened, which slows the player
> down.
May be made more general by having the substance (blood, poison,
confusion potion, etc) and condition (IS_FRIGHTENED, !IS_HUNGRY,
IS_LIT, etc) given as parameters.
> "nest-breeder" -- Two can combine to make a nest, which acts as a
> Gauntlet-like monster generator until bashed.
"nest-maker" -- like "nest-breeder", but only needs one to make a nest
(a fertile ant queen, for instance).
"fusing" -- like "nest-breeder", but the resulting creature is mobile.
"evolving" -- like "nest-maker", but the resulting creature is mobile.
Radomir Dopieralski
I think the most basic monster behavior that changes the rules of
game when that monster appears on the level is collecting items. There
are three variants: item-eater, which destroys the items that it picks up,
single-item-carrier, which picks up a single item and drops it on death
(or when it finds a better item), and item-collector, which collects many
items and drops them all when dead. You can add variety by making the
monsters only target some kinds of items (food, gold, magical items).
Examples:
rust monster that eats all metal weapons and armor it finds
leprechaun that picks up all gold it finds
gelatinous cube/amoeba that swallows all items and expells them upon
death
ants that pick up single items and carry them through all the dungeon
A variation on the topic is a monster that becomes somehow different when
it finds specific item (and maybe reverts back when the item is
destroyed). A goblin might turn into a goblin warrior after finding
a weapon -- and it doesn't have to be simulated by it actually equipping
the weapon. The item might also make the monster weaker: in Rogue orc
becomes immobile after finding gold, for example.
Another common theme is special reaction to certain attacks. This gets
interesting if you allow the player character to throw potions at
monsters. For example, as someone mentioned on #rgrd recently, silencing
should work as blinding on bats and bat-like creatures, while blinding or
invisibility might not affect them at all.
Generally speaking, status-altering attacks are a source of great variety
in the game, as they let monsters interact with each other through the
player character. The status may include poisoning, blinding, immobilizing
(lasting until the monster is defeated or as paralysis for a certain
number of turns), teleporting, confusing, disarming, weakening, etc. all
of which will change the relative strengths of other monsters around.
--
Radomir Dopieralski, http://sheep.art.pl
Billy Bissette
news:slrnh2rrq...@atos.wmid.amu.edu.pl:
> At Mon, 8 Jun 2009 20:50:16 -0700 (PDT), ben...@gmail.com wrote:
>
> I think the most basic monster behavior that changes the rules of
> game when that monster appears on the level is collecting items. There
> are three variants: item-eater, which destroys the items that it picks
> up, single-item-carrier, which picks up a single item and drops it on
> death (or when it finds a better item), and item-collector, which
> collects many items and drops them all when dead. You can add variety
> by making the monsters only target some kinds of items (food, gold,
> magical items).
There is another variation possible for some more magical/special
creatures. Not just item damage/destruction, but outright item
changing.
Azure Dreams had a monster that appeared on only one dungeon level
that was effectively a living magical bag. It attacked like other
monsters, but if you threw an item at it, that item would disappear
and it would throw a random item to you in return. This behavior
was meant to be abused to make building a winnable character easier.
Indeed, you could go as far as to make one a pet, and thus have
item transformation available on every level in trade for not being
able to take a more effective attack animal in that spot.
While not necessarily pure random transformation, you could have
monsters that pick up one item and transform it into a different
(but not necessarily inferior) item, even perhaps dropping said
new item back to the ground. Maybe a rock eater would turn metal
objects into small piles of the related metal. It eats a gold
crown and leaves a few gold nugget "crumbs" on the ground (or
simplify and just leave "coins".)
A fire elemental might burn up some objects on the ground, but
maybe others could be transformed. To steal and slightly modify
a couple of ideas from Tobal 2's quest mode, bad meat might be
safely cooked if a flame creature briefly walks over it, but
cooked meat will be burnt to a crisp and destroyed. Potions
might be transformed as well. In Tobal 2's Quest mode, holding
a potion inside a fire would cause its color to lighten and
thus transform it into a new potion type. Expose it too long
though and it would evaporate, and thus be destroyed. (Tobal
randomly reassigned potion effects on every dungeon entrance and
town visit, so this was sometimes quite useful and sometimes
quite useless. The mechanics of the game also made it take
serious effort to abuse, though it was likely expected for
serious players to take as much advantage of it as they could.)
A gremlin or certain demons might curse objects, while a
non-violent angel might bless them. Temporarily or permanently,
depending on what it means to your game system.
Etc.
pdpi
> Since there has been some emphasis lately on unique monster behavior
> and interactions, how about some freestyle 'storming as to what those
> could include? I'll kick it off:
> Favorite npc interactions in existing games also welcome! -- Ben
Favorite npc interaction is decidedly:
You hit the floating eye.
The floating eye paralyzes you
you are hit by a newt
you are hit by a newt
you are hit by a newt
you are dead.
dywypi?
That was the first thing that killed me in nethack. The second was
hunger and having the stupid idea of eating a zombie corpse.
Other behaviours that might be interesting:
Facehugger: rushes to you to infect you with something.
Screecher: mostly harmless, makes a huge noise if it's hurt,
attracting more monsters. Can be deadly in the same room as several
other monsters, since it'll mostly shut down your aoe (if your game
implements any).
eggs: monster-on-a-timer, there might or might not be a mother nearby.
unseen: your average invisible monster, turns visible when it attacks
you, and stays visible for a turn after that.
guerilla fighter: ranged attacker, plays hit and run. Problematic if
your PCs are mostly melee fighters.
E. Liddell
> Since there has been some emphasis lately on unique monster behavior and
> interactions, how about some freestyle 'storming as to what those could
> include?
I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the obvious "ambusher" yet
(monster hides/pretends to be something else, then springs a surprise
attack on the player when he steps on it/tries to manipulate it/
whatever). Potentially interesting variant: the monster pretends to be an
NPC or other harmless creature.
For a more complex interaction between monsters, consider the cultivator:
a more intelligent monster that "plants" less intelligent sessile
monsters either around its lair/treasure stash for protection, or in a
location where it can drive or lure the player into them. A variation on
that would be a monster that uses traps for similar purposes. Nothing
like chasing after a monster that moves in 2-square jumps every second
turn, and being dropped into a pit trap in a square that it skipped
over...
Auric__
Reminds me of this (watch the word wrap):
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.roguelike.development/browse_thread/
thread/325073abe1a7f54
--
Don't let the stupid get to you!
ben...@gmail.com
> Reminds me of this (watch the word wrap):http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.roguelike.development/browse...
> thread/325073abe1a7f54
Nice. I will start compiling the suggests from that, this, and the
"emergent puzzles" thread -- maybe it would be useful as a Roguebasin
article? --Ben
ben...@gmail.com
http://roguebasin.roguelikedevelopment.org/index.php?title=Variety_in_NPC_behavior
Hope nobody minds being "published," feel free to edit yourself out,
if so!
--Ben
ben...@gmail.com
sphynx -- asks a riddle, and attacks if the wrong answer is given
lurker -- like the D&D monster: hidden floor/wall/chest variant of
mimic/ambusher
doppelganger -- touch attack to take on the target's basic stats
stegosaurus -- "porcupine" type attack if hit from behind (or use turn
direction if implemented)
"Mario" turtle -- next attack while in "shell" mode sends it careening
(into other monsters?)
wuss -- if encountered alone, flees and returns with next monster it
meets
mephit -- can emerge from torches, braziers, etc. or escape back into
them
water nymph -- same, but with fountains/pools
alchemist -- gathers potions and recombines them, explodes occasionally
Gelatinous Mutant Coconut
> sphynx -- asks a riddle, and attacks if the wrong answer is given
generate quiz questions based on qualities randomized each game, so
the answer to "Is goblin blood green or blue?" or "Is the Throne Room
of the Minotaur Kings found in the Gnomish Mines or the Kobold
Warrens?" would change from game to game, rewarding players for
exploring and paying attention. (I think that the possible answers
(maybe 2 to 4?) should be presented in the question, because then even
if the player hasn't explored enough to know the answer, they might
learn something new from the encounter, for example, that the Throne
Room of the Minotaur Kings will be in either the Gnomish Mines or the
Kobold Warrens.)
Related: "Tim the Enchanter" -- Asks a question (or three); a
dangerous trap is triggered if the wrong answer is given.
> alchemist -- gathers potions and recombines them, explodes occasionally
"transmuter" -- collects metal items. When it collects enough, it
destroys those items and creates a random new item composed of a more
valuable metal; the total value of the new item should be less than
the total value of all the items destroyed.
ben...@gmail.com
<GelatinousMutantCoco...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hard-coded riddles will get old pretty quickly. You might want to
> generate quiz questions based on qualities randomized each game, so
> the answer to "Is goblin blood green or blue?" or "Is the Throne Room
> of the Minotaur Kings found in the Gnomish Mines or the Kobold
> Warrens?" would change from game to game, rewarding players for
> exploring and paying attention. (I think that the possible answers
> (maybe 2 to 4?) should be presented in the question, because then even
> if the player hasn't explored enough to know the answer, they might
> learn something new from the encounter, for example, that the Throne
> Room of the Minotaur Kings will be in either the Gnomish Mines or the
> Kobold Warrens.)
> Related: "Tim the Enchanter" -- Asks a question (or three); a
> dangerous trap is triggered if the wrong answer is given.
Nice. I was wondering how to keep the questions changing. Even if
you don't have such exciting clandestine locales to discuss (yet), it
could ask "what is a fizzy purple potion?" (Or there could be
malicious questions like "what have I got in my pocket?" ;)
Re: Tim, do you mean the Bridgekeeper?...I imagine Tim just casts
random fireballs when spoken to, whch could also be interesting...!
Re: transmuter, could be a check to make "abuse" risky: if you drop
items to "feed" a transmuter, it could make a great weapon, but then
decide to wield it!
Gelatinous Mutant Coconut
> Re: Tim, do you mean the Bridgekeeper?
Ah, that's right; I get the two characters confused. :)
> Re: transmuter, could be a check to make "abuse" risky: if you drop
> items to "feed" a transmuter, it could make a great weapon, but then
> decide to wield it!
Yeah, balancing it would be difficult; that's what I was going for
with the "resulting item less valuable than the items consumed"
clause, but there would probably need to be more constraints.
Related:
"The Armorsmith" -- collects and converts non-armor metal items into
random armors made from the same metal
"The Weaponsmith" -- collects and converts non-weapon metal items into
random weapons made from the same metal
If they are non-hostile, you can buy the newly forged items from them;
if they are hostile, they may use the forged items against you, or
give them to other hostile monsters to use against you. (Even if they
are non-hostile, they might sell these items to monsters that are
hostile to you, so even if you are a paladin you might decide to buy
that Vile Unholy Greataxe of Paladin Butchering +9 in order to keep it
out of the wrong hands.)
Probably you'd want to compose those two from a more basic "trader"
behavior, together with the "transmute (!armor)(metal) to (armor)
(metal)" and "transmute (!weapon)(metal) to (weapon)(metal)" behaviors.
Billy Bissette
news:902ac885-add9-4b7a...@y7g2000yqa.googlegroups.com:
> "The Armorsmith" -- collects and converts non-armor metal items into
> random armors made from the same metal
> "The Weaponsmith" -- collects and converts non-weapon metal items into
> random weapons made from the same metal
Tinkerer/Craftsman -- collects broken objects and fixes them (might
need some raw materials in addition to the object
Another item-related behavior would be collectors with short
attention spans. Such monsters would pick up objects freely, but
discard them when they lose interest. Losing interest could be
after performing an action, or it could be upon finding a new
object.
For example, the craftsman above might lose interest in an object
once he has fixed it, simply discarding it onto the ground. On the
other hand, a giant crow might pick up one object only to discard
it the moment that it finds a shinier object.
You could make a difficult or dangerous to kill enemy such a
collector, so that if it picks up an object that the player wants,
the player's best method of dealing with it would be to drop
something else in its path that would command its interest.
rdanhenry
"Brainstorming: Stupid NPC tricks":
(already added to roguebasin)
melee
-lethal attack
-non-lethal attack (warning, to capture, torture)
attack at range (offensive spells/missiles/breath weapons)
seek favored terrain
seek food
- seeking prepared food
- hunting
seek water
seek mate
seek equipment (weapon, armor, wand, herbs, parts, etc.)
- by salvage
- by trade/purchase
- by killing and looting
- by sneak theft
seek money
seek ally, hireling, or employment
command other NPC (or PC) or receive command
- issue order
- issue request
- offer paid job
just stand there
perform a religious rite
sleep
transmit information
- shout "Thief!" or sound other alarm
- inform of locations of items of interest
- spread PC reputation
- spread lies (try to start fights)
follow you (up close or at a distance)
follow another NPC
own items
inherit items
eat/drink
conduct business (NPC-to-NPC trade as well as PC/NPC trade)
digging (dig walls, dig a pit)
- may be done to search for wealth
run away
hide/seek cover
open, close, lock, unlock, break down, or jam a door
build, bait, set or disarm traps
pick up/drop/destroy/create/enchant/modify/repair/move items
equip/unequip items
cook food
cast spells
use psychic power
train
-learn spell
-learn/increase skill
mimic others (visually, aurally, maybe even mimic scent)
cooperative group behaviors (tactical action)
seek/avoid light
use items
commit suicide
heal self or another
guard a creature, a location, or an item
tend crops (planting, watering, harvesting)
tend animals (provide food, water, guard, herd, slaughter, sheer)
explore location
make a noise (song, speech, roar, belch, etc.)
mate and/or reproduce
summon
die
- commit suicide
flying creatures can take off/land
take prisoners/hostages
threaten/kill hostages
change emotions/opinions
give/accept gifts
ben...@gmail.com
Development Articles / AI.
Inu
> Thanks, I'll hook that thread into the article, too. I filed it under
> Development Articles / AI.
Try taking some cues from games of a different genre, as some games
have AI with interesting behavior.
The Descent series had several fine examples of AI, such as the Thief
Bot and several sneaky-stalker bots. The Thief Bot did the usual
stealing of player weapons and running (typically during fights), but
out of sight it would also horde the level items in a "den" it selects
somewhere in the level. The stalker bots, just stayed at a safe
distance while peeking around corners making sounds alerting its
presence and changing its viewing location (out of player sight).
Whenever a player tried paying any attention to it, such as looking at
it, it would shyly hide behind the corner again and if the player
tried getting close or chase it, it would run away to stalk again. It
would do this until the oppertunity arises to rush the player in a
berserk swarm of missiles. I've read a player's story about him trying
to do paranoid sweeps of levels in order to kill these things as they
would usually be the last monsters standing, taking a rather long time
to find and kill.
"hoarder" - Grabs items off the ground and places them into a "den"
and tries to avoid player contact where possible
"thieving hoarder" - similar to the above, but also steals items and
only avoids player contact when it has an item in hand (either stolen
from the player or off the ground)
"hive hoarder" - similar to hoarder but does so with a group
"thieving hive hoarder" - similar to thieving hoarder but does so with
a group
"stalker" - Stalks the player, runs when approached.
"fetcher" - Uses magic to fetch a player to the monsters position.
"gravity" - Uses magic to pull the player to the monsters position. It
makes the player take a step towards the monster, globally within a
level, even if there is a wall in the way, causing the player to get
stuck. Does so every X turns, and does so less frequently the farther
the player is from the monster or when the monster is tired. May take
5 turns of gravitation with 10 turns of rest (depending on the
monster's strength). "You hear a strange sucking sound off in the
distance. You are pulled." (Inspired by Suika's move set in Touhou
7.5.)
"migration" - Similar to gravity, but uses magic to direct the
player's action to move towards the monsters position. The player
moves according to some movement algorithm such as A* to the monsters
position and the player must manage obstacles (jumping over lava,
water, traps... unless the trap will help the player escape the
level... player is forced to open doors or will be forced to open
them... with disasterous results). "Your feet take you somewhere
special. You see a door. Your feet try taking you somewhere special.
You stub your toe against the door. Your feet take you somewhere
special. You are slammed into the door. The door breaks."
"puppet master" - Uses magic within its LoS to direct the players
actions and movements. Not necessarily a good/bad thing as the puppet
master will just place the player into "auto" mode and will try to
keep the player alive as long as possible for the sole reason that
it's not often that an interesting toy comes to the dungeon. May come
with a fairly numerous set of puppets that are dropped to imbue life
into them and become lifeless when not in the LoS or presence of the
puppet master or when knocked out (and can be picked up again if not
destroyed) and will aid the player as long as there are no hostile
acts towards the puppet master. (Inspired by Alice of the Touhou
series, and similar archetypes... Also drones in Gearhead...)
"aura" - creates an aura around the monster which affects all those
around it
"LoS aura" - creates an aura which affects all those the monster sees
"reverse LoS aura" - creates an aura which affects all those that see
the monster
"level aura" - creates an aura around the monster which affects all
those in the level
"Calculator" - Casts spells without cost by using a simple rule set:
Pick a stat. Pick 2, 3, 5, 7 for a multiple check. Pick a spell. Nuke
everything on the level matching the rules with the chosen spell
(including self, player, monsters). (Inspired by Final Fantasy Tactics
class of the same name.)
Radomir Dopieralski
> Whenever a player tried paying any attention to it, such as looking at
> it, it would shyly hide behind the corner again and if the player
> tried getting close or chase it, it would run away to stalk again. It
> would do this until the oppertunity arises to rush the player in a
> berserk swarm of missiles. I've read a player's story about him trying
> to do paranoid sweeps of levels in order to kill these things as they
> would usually be the last monsters standing, taking a rather long time
> to find and kill.
Doesn't sound like a good spent time. I don't want my players to regret
having spent the time playing.
Paul Donnelly
Unless you require your players to sterilize levels before leaving,
there's no harm in these kinds of enemies. Descent certainly didn't
require that! Probably because the reactor would do a better job than
your lasers could. X( But I do have a B-list game that has levels with
this exact problem. There are these flying guys that you can't shoot
down without special ammunition, and without that ammo I spent quite a
while trying to lure one over an exploding barrel, to no avail. You're
right; it's no fun.