Shieldman, aka Gigachad

First, a bit of groundwork.

Got an idea? — Make a super-simple prototype ASAP and test it.

That’s exactly what I did. I had this idea (not exactly groundbreaking, but still): an enemy with a shield you can’t punch through from the front, but who’s easy to crack open from behind or by shooting his legs.

I quickly slapped a blocky shield onto a standard bot — and boom, got what I wanted. The dude was running around, hardcore face-tanking everything.

After considering how to further develop the idea, our artist and I began working on the visuals.

Btw, that very first prototype looked like this!

The very first Shieldman prototype

Game Designer vs. Artist

While working on the visuals, we ran into a pretty ridiculous situation. At the same time, we designed both Shieldman and Shotgunman. And apparently, somewhere along the way, my brain short-circuited: I was gathering references for Shotgunman… but stuffing in references for Shieldman instead.

I collected the refs, sent them to the artist, sat back, and waited for the first concepts. And this is what I got:

Steam post image By that point, we’d already realized the references had been mixed up

In the end, because of that mix-up, the concepts didn’t work for either character. Not for Shotgunman (since we decided to make him without any armor), and not for Shieldman either — we wanted him to feel like a literal mountain-man, not just some guy in armor.

So, I rebuilt the reference board this time just for Shieldman.

This is the set of diverse references that I collected

And I clarified for the artist: “Make him an absolute UNIT on legs.”

And if you’ve been paying attention, you’ve probably already realized — at some point, we suddenly ditched the shield itself.

History doesn’t record the exact moment when Shieldman became shieldless. He turned into more of a walking tank. Or rather, a rapidly sprinting wardrobe charging straight at the player. Fast, dangerous, and almost unbreakable. And honestly, both I and the team were totally fine with that, because the core idea — bulletproof face-tanking guy — was still there.

Important note: it’s completely normal for your idea to evolve during development, especially if you didn’t start with super-detailed documentation. Don’t be afraid to experiment if you have a chance.

Anyway, back to work. A few days later, the artist Alexander comes to me and says:

— I made it!

And show me THIS:

Steam post image Your face when you threw up in your room and came to tell your parents about it

Seeing my silent confusion, he said:

— It’s all good, Den, trust me. Just tell me what you think about the shape and the muscles?

And honestly, both the team and I were totally fine with that, because the core idea — bulletproof face-tanking guy — was still there.

Alexander reassured me:

— Bro, it’s coming. Just not right away.

Some time later, he came back with an armor version. It looked good, but it still lacked that sense of weight and massiveness. We really wanted to understand at the concept stage HOW it would feel in motion.

So, we threw a movement animation onto the concept model…

And instantly realized: IT WORKED.

Just stomping off to grab some beer

After that, the model was finalized. We added rockets so the guy could bother the player as much as possible, painted him up, dented and scratched the armor. You know — polished him to perfection. The final result: this handsome beast who’ll be chasing the player around the arena.

So, what kind of enemy is he, anyway?

Let’s talk about the brains — what Shieldman actually does.

Put simply, he’s a default enemy with a charge attack. I won’t hide it: the main reference was Pinky from Doom. But we didn’t want to just copy-paste with a new skin — we wanted to add something of our own.

• Main goal: constant pressure on the player.

• Primary method of pressure: build up speed and try to knock the player down.

• That creates a basic interaction pattern:

  • Spot the charging enemy.

  • Dodge.

  • Shoot the vulnerable back.

  • Repeat until one of you is dead.

• To make sure he’s not just standing around when the player is far away, we gave him additional attacks:

  • Minigun in his hands — lets him pressure the player even at range.

  • Shoulder-mounted rocket launchers — allow for a “warning volley” to pin the player down before launching into an aggressive charge.

Overall, for the bots, we decided to use a Finite-State Machine. That’s what Shieldman’s looks like for now.

Results and Conclusions

Right now, the Shieldman is waiting for his final animations and new AI. After that, we’ll finally be able to see how badass he really is in action.

Using the creation of this one enemy as an example, I’ve shown you how our team works. Everyone brings their own vision to the table — and truth is born in debate.

As a game designer, you shouldn’t cling to your idea to the bitter end. Sometimes the artist’s visual concepts will open up entirely new directions for you.

Always separate your ideas into primary and secondary ones. In my case, the core idea was: “The dude hardcore face-tanks.” Whether he tanks with a shield, armor, or a force field — that’s secondary. What matters is that the player feels exactly what they’re supposed to feel during gameplay.

So, when someone asks, “What came first: the egg or the chicken (the idea or the concept)?” just answer: “Who cares? What matters is that the result slaps.”

A funny early draft of the charge animation as a bonus <3

That wraps up this episode of our Dev Diaries. Let us know in the comments how you like this format, and what parts of game development you’d want to hear more about.

Dressed myself / Shouted

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