EXERCISE IN DESIGN- NEO SCAVENGER

Since fundamental rpology is in high gear, I figured I'd discuss a game with unique combat mechanics to help generate ideas. Better yet, you can check out the expansive demo here. No, I'm not affiliated with the game in any way.

Neo scavenger is mainly about... Scavenging. The world is in ruins and he remains are unforgiving, disasters happen and we are I'll-equipped to meet them. This is the theme it tries to portray in its combat system.

The first thing you will notice is that there are no battle animations, only a display of you, your opponent, the setting, and text. Each battle takes place in a different location depending on where the battle started, each with different cover ratings and terrain difficulty. Combat revolves around range with only the closest (0-2 range) distances allowing for melee hits, but ranged weapons working from much longer (upwards of 20) distance . You may start as far as twenty spaces away and spend most of the battle trying to move into position to get a few good hits on your foe.

When moving or acting there are multiple options available, more or less accomplishing the same thing in different ways, each with unique drawbacks.
A single hit does low damage but is safer than a melee surge of 1-3 hits which makes you loose a turn, but same for opponent if it connects. Running (either direction ) lets you move farther, but you are vulnerable to attack and have a high chance of tripping, where you will fall on the ground. While grounded walk and run are no longer available, but you can roll away from attacks (While staying on the ground), try to pull your opponent down, or get up yourself. New options open or close based on your current sate as the battle progresses, taking into account how damaged you are.

The game is clearly aiming at some form of realism, and with "health" (if you can call it that) it doesn't disappoint. There are no hp bars, each time you attack body parts have a chance to get broken or bruised, which means things can turn sour real fast. Hardly any information is conveyed to the player, all you have to go on is a list of injuries for yourself and foes (player is bleeding, player cannot walk, player is coughing up blood) which will start slow but cumulate quickly. When injured, your attacks aren't near as effective and you can't attack with broken arms, etc. Sometimes, even if you win you will bleed out in a shack from the wounds you've gotten. The probabilities of injury are calculated using damage thresholds, but are never shown to the player. All of the above are the indicators you would notice in a real battle, if someone is coughing up blood you notice that and pounce. Of course the same goes for your enemies, and they may turn aggressive or try to flee depending on the tide of the battle.

Every enemies has its own unique behaviors, personality even, so that you can tell one enemy from another even if there was no graphics (as is the case when an enemy is hidden). Melonheads will be quick to rush you but flee as soon as they're hit, going down with just a few blows. Dogmen will rush you and won't retreat, their claws bringing permadeath in a few hits (did I mention this game has that?) Scavengers may start charging but slow down when near the player, waiting to get the first attack, either fleeing, begging for surrender, or desperately fighting to the last. That's another mechanic, surrendering all your items to a combatant, though in many cases it's better to just bludgeon them to death so they won't bother you, plus you've just got a supply of meat in case things get rough. Neo scavengers mechanics, combat and noncombat, reward players for uncomfortable choices like this, which can be further embraced by RPGs, especially ones with permadeath, not as mechanics vs morals but mechanics factoring into moral choice. Say a char wants to be a Mage (give boosted stats), but you can tell them its better for the party to be a cleric, not only for my success but the team.

Anyway, some overall lessons to be taken from Neo scavenger:
Health needn't be just a health bar
Hiding player access to information can be a positive (just make sure there's enough to decide on a course of action)
The more wounded someone is, the less effective they are
Carry over mechanics from your game world to fit with battle system, or vice versa
Give enemies unique quirks and gimmicks, a personality (wolves will substitute for other wolfs, or "egocentric" enemy that only attacks whoever attacked him, cowardly enemy guards most of time, tries to run, etc.)
Unique options in combat besides damage (charge, distract, taunt, change element, talk, surrender)
States that carry over past a battles end (besides poison ), think longer term (petrifaction means you must leave character there, return to location with a cure, soaking wet stays after battle end, can't enter ice zone, cure by using fire spell, etc. )
Focus not so much on our realism, as applying the realism of your world. Dogmen are not realistic, but they fit in a mutated post-apocalyptic world. Wanting to complete a dream journey makes sense in native tribe, but not a city. If battler uses light spell in a dark room, wouldn't it be easier to hit enemies while active, wouldn't the dark room decrease hit chance?
Not just worrying about dying, but anything else that might happen during battle (move can pemanently lower mhp with fair warning, etc.)
What you choose in battle carries over out of battle (brutal finishing move upsets a party member, comments on it)

There's still more I haven't covered about neo scavenger, so you should check it out.