The Thing About Me Clashing Blades with a Ghost on the Subway

Gameplay:  Press Space to block ghost ’s attack！

When the ghost attempts to attack you, time your press of the spacebar correctly to parry its attack. 

Each time the ghost attacks, there is a 1/6 chance of triggering a blade clash. During a blade clash, rapidly press the spacebar to overpower the ghost. Winning a blade clash deals 1 damage to the ghost and restores 1 health point to the player.

Technical Details

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1p8jfODZpAv4258y2rNz7KjebMiQh4ShPzgtR-wgs0P0/...

GitHub Link

Lecture Details

I created this game because I really enjoy the thrill of swords clashing in many games. It requires players to stay highly focused, and the feeling of deflecting an attack provides a strong sense of accomplishment. It feels like a back-and-forth battle where every move matters.

The core mechanic revolves around pressing the spacebar at the right moment to parry the ghost's attack and rapidly pressing the spacebar during a blade clash to overpower the ghost.

During development, I encountered several challenges, such as how to give players enough time to react and parry, and how to implement the health bar system. However, my biggest issue was the lack of good art assets, so I ended up drawing the characters myself.

Gameplay Link

I think this game can be categorized as an alternating mix of reaction-based gameplay and rapid clicking. Under normal circumstances, the player needs to react to the ghost's attack and parry at the right moment, while during a blade clash, they must rapidly press the spacebar to overpower the ghost.

My initial vision for the game changed quite a lot during development in Unity. Originally, I planned for it to be 3D, where the player's character would perform a parry animation when pressing the spacebar. However, I ended up scrapping the 3D approach because I struggled with animating keyframes in Blender and importing animations into Unity.

Some other ideas, like making the ghost’s sword break after a successful parry, were also abandoned because I felt they would make the mechanics too complex.

Design Details

Balance

During the design process, I aimed to create multiple playstyles despite using only a single-button mechanic. I wanted players to have strategic choices within the game. To achieve this, I introduced two different attack patterns. Initially, every successful parry would deal damage, but to extend playtime and increase difficulty, I changed it so that only the random blade clash events could damage the ghost.

Interaction

Additionally, I adjusted the ghost’s attack intervals, making the player more cautious and precise in their reactions. Through testing, I found that having both the player and the ghost start with 5 health points created a well-balanced experience. To further enhance strategic depth, I added a mechanic where winning a blade clash restores 1 health point to the player. This allows players to extend their play session and attempt to achieve higher scores by strategically managing their health.