CREATING AN ENGAGING ACTION BATTLE SYSTEM

Introduction
First you may have thought that you want to make an epic video game that takes all of the cliches of the previous games you've played and put them into one gigantic plot, topped with a sweeping victory and a princess in the end.

First it has been assumed by now that such ideas are bland and bad because quite simply they have been well overused. However, this does not need to be the case if you have great gameplay. If saving the princess ever becomes a tedious chore, then not only will the cliche put you off but it'll get annoying and frustrating. But, if you can save a princess wile hacking away at decisive enemies on changing terrain, then this simple cliche becomes a great mechanism to drive the plot forward.

Enemies
Enemies are not static creatures, they must have a level of intelligence and have a unique skillset. Picture a scene of orcs. Up front you'll have orc fighters that must rely on their shields and strength, behind them you may see archers that can rain devastation on your parade. With this symbiotic relationship between these two entities, the battle suddenly becomes much more intense. You are now forced to shield enemy arrows and attack with your sword when an opening is found. Look at Mass Effect. When you fight Benezia, a few biotic goons will eventually attack you from the sides, they are there to distract you as Benezia does the real damage. Think of an orc sorcerer paralyzing your character before the orc fighter starts attacking you. Immediately this creates a priority chain. The sorcerer is located at a higher priority and must be taken out first. You as a game designer must find the best location to place that entity to create the desired intensity. Also, do not focus on the amount of enemies. Your game can become a chore to play if you add too many enemies, and if you decide to add experience, this can be abused to farm for items and money or power level the character. Add strategy to spice things up, not quantity.

Terrain
But! The above can sound well, gay, if it inconveniences the player. Therefore you can add the terrain into the mix and add loose boulders, exploding barrels, water hazards to help even the odds. In Dragon Age Origins, there are Ballistas that you can fire to take out several enemies. In Torchlight there were exploding barrels that could take out a few unsuspecting foes. By using the environment to the players advantage, you can create another level of interaction. It adds roleplaying into the mix. Say, what would you do if you are down to your last arrow, and there is a horde of enemies in front of a weakened dam? Would you run like a pansy? A smart choice might be to fire the arrow at the dam to loosen it's hold and flood the enemies out, of course taking into consideration you are out of its way.

Weapon choice
But, perhaps you don't have many great ideas on implementing terrain into the mix. Sometimes it's hard to create a scenario for every possible situation on the battle field. What next do you turn to? Weapons. Take a look at Castlevania III. The whip was not only a really unique weapon, but it acted as a great tool to move the player around the map. The sword is one of the most overused weapons in role playing games. If you do find yourself adding a sword, make it a background weapon. Try to come up with one weapon idea that is not only cool but useful at the same time. This will really help when publicizing your game, because it may acquire a stand-out quality.

Player Skills
If weapons are perhaps not your strong suit you can instead turn to skills. Try to make skills fun and engaging by focusing on the player character. Have skills that can do a variety of damage types. Splash damage may be nice to take out groups of enemies, while status-effect spells can add tactics to the gameplay. If you made a spell to slow down your enemy, then it opens them up to attack and you've got your first combo. Combos can be an important part to the gameplay. Say, what if you had a spell that turned your enemies into stone? You can then come up with a weapon, say a hammer, to use to break the rock and destroy the enemy with little effort. For example in Mass Effect II, enemies could turn to ice, and break apart easily as a result.

Elemental Effects
If skills can only be put to moderate use in your game, then focus on the enemies themselves. Focus on creating a range of enemies that have weaknesses to certain types of effects. Look at Pokémon. If you chose the wrong combatant for the fight you will end up losing the fight based on the elemental type of the creature. In an action battle system, this can add pressure. If you are shooting fire magic and suddenly a fire elemental comes your way, you would be out of luck. Furthermore, you can make it so that your fire attack will strengthen the enemy if fired at him, thereby intensifying the combat. This can add subtle hints to indicate what element is best to use. Make it so that if your weapon isn't doing what it should be doing, it should hint the player to change their weapon or tactic.

It's a Learning Process
Ultimately, you want the player to feel involved in a learning process. Introduce a new skill, enemy, or effect every so often. For example, TESIV: Oblivion felt like a chore after a while when I found out that my power slash technique was the same since level one. It added nothing new to the combat to make it interesting, despite the variety of monsters. If when you are playing your own game and you feel like the game has continued for a while without introducing something new, then it is a glaring indication that you should introduce a new concept, skill, or type. Even in the Legend of Zelda, the boomerang was not only a perfect choice for a unique weapon, but it added functionality by helping the player solve puzzles.

Puzzles
Have the aforementioned skills or weapons not only help in combat, but help in solving riddles as well. Say there is a switch on an the other side of a cavern, but the player can't reach it. It might be a great idea to shoot an arrow that way. To help make things more interesting, you can hide the arrows or the bow in the cave itself, and let the player discern what must be found before continuing deeper into the cavern. This again is seen in the Legend of Zelda. Items not only help you get around the map, but they create interesting possibilities during battles and can control where the player goes next. Therefore, weapons do not necessarily need to be combat oriented so long as they have a purpose within the game.

Bottom Line
Always make the player feel involved, whether there be enemies on the map or not. Try that out for a minuet. Create a map with no enemies, but fun to traverse with the weapon ideas you have in mind. If a map is fun without enemies, then you've opened yourself up with more possibilities if and when you do decide to add enemies. And again, it's a learning experience. Never create a dull moment for an extended period of time.