Game characters

Our game will feature several objects, but only two game characters. The first game character is our Hero and will be controlled by the player. The second type of game character is the Enemies. They are non-player characters that are controlled by AI. Let's look more closely at both of these characters.

Hero

The player will play our game as the Hero, our game's protagonist. So, what can our Hero player character do? We already know we will be able to move them throughout our game environment using a combination of keyboard and mouse inputs. We also know that the left mouse button—our action button—will cause them to shoot bullets.

Important note

Because the Hero is controlled by a human player, it is referred to as the Player Character.

We will implement the following animations for the Hero:

• Idle: This animation will play when the character is not being moved by the player.
• Run: This animation will play when the character is being moved by the player.
• Shoot: This is an animation that will cause the Hero to shoot a bullet.

That's our player. Now, let's discuss our enemy character.

Enemies

Our game's antagonists will be Enemy Soldiers. We will control how many of them we want in our game and where they are placed. We will also control their behavior through AI. The Enemies will go straight to the base and, once there, they will start damaging it. We will determine how long it takes for our base to be completely destroyed. If during their journey to the base, the enemy encounters the player, they will prioritize shooting at them.

Important note:

Because the Enemy is controlled by AI and not a human player, it is referred to as a Non-Player Character (NPC).

The soldiers will share the following two animations, which the Player Character also uses, but they will be executed in different scenarios:

• Run: This animation will play when the Enemy's AI is moving the enemy toward the base.
• Shoot: This is an animation that will be played when the AI decides to shoot at the Player's Base or the Player's Character.

Careful planning and scripting will be required to create the desired Enemy behaviors; this will include decisions regarding the number and placement of the Enemies, and we will be tackling this during the designing phase and also during the development.

Now that we have defined our characters, let's discuss how the game will be played, looking at the specific details.