Combat, Enemies, and Gameplay Loop

This document covers the current gameplay side of Workspace: run-based progression, weapons, movement, upgrades, enemies, and authored combat spaces.

Gameplay Loop

The current game is built around run-based progression inside authored combat spaces. The player collects upgrades, builds a stronger combat kit over the course of a run, and tries to continue progressing without exhausting all available lives.

Death at 0 lives resets the run, so upgrades, weapon unlocks, and combat strength are tied directly to survival. This gives each run a clear growth curve from the starting state toward a more capable upgraded state.

Combat Kit

Combat uses a mix of weapons, cooldown abilities, movement tools, and resources. Ammo supports much of the weapon kit, mana supports cooldown-driven actions, and fuel is shared by movement tools such as the jetpack and grapple.

Upgrades connect these systems together by unlocking weapons and abilities, improving resource behavior, and changing how often important actions can be used. For example, the grapple can attach to enemies, cost fuel, and apply a short debuff, making it both a movement tool and part of the combat rhythm.

Movement and Encounter Design

Movement is a major part of combat. Jetpack use, grappling, vertical terrain, and fast repositioning all affect how encounters play out, especially once upgrades allow the player to stay airborne more consistently.

Combat spaces are authored to support that movement. Hazards, orb shooters, vertical layouts, enemy placement, and resource pressure can all be combined to create encounters that depend on positioning rather than only direct weapon use.

Enemies and Progression

Enemies are built around configurable movement, attack behavior, visuals, and tuning. This makes it possible to create variations without treating every enemy as a separate hardcoded case.

Upgrades are central to progression. They can unlock weapons, improve movement, change ammo or resource behavior, and reshape how a run feels over time. A fully upgraded run can play very differently from the starting state, which makes the combat system more about growth and adaptation than a fixed loadout.