Terrain Interaction
Depending on the movement characteristics of the enemy and its abilities it interacts differently with the terrain of the rooms, this interaction depends on the following 2 attributes:
-
Grounded -
Flight
First of all, it is necessary to differentiate between the two main terrain features that usually affect movement. On the one hand we have walls, rocks or other obstacles, which are obstacles that rise from ground level. On the other hand, there are obstacles that sink into the ground, such as holes in the ground, places with water, lava, etc.
Flight
Flying enemies in this genre do not usually interact with obstacles that sink into the ground, as they can fly over them. However, obstacles that rise vertically depend on the game and the height of the obstacles. For small obstacles or low walls, most games make the flying enemy pass them without problems, although other games that only have large obstacles choose to make them insurmountable even for flying enemies.
Grounded
Run
Ground enemies will have to overcome all terrain obstacles without exception, generally by going around them to get around them and reach the player.
Dash & Jump
There are ground enemies with movement abilities that can pass over these obstacles. Jump and charge/dash abilities that have enough range to cross a hole or water obstacle should be able to ignore that obstacle and pass over it. The fact that depending on the type of enemy and their abilities some obstacles can be overcome makes them much more unpredictable, thus a new dynamic for the player to adapt their play style to.
