Is Combat just Brain Candy?

"Game" is a loaded word. It implies a wide-ranging list of mechanics and goals that humans have come to know and pass on through generations. As it has grown as a social and cognitive tool, we have become familiar with certain genres of games—so much so that when you think of a "game," you probably have a clear idea of what it entails. Whether it involves feudal allegory in the form of physical pieces or cards, simulated war through digital artistry, or something as simple as hand-eye coordination with a cup and a ball, all of these iterations leverage a proclivity for creative thought and assign abstract reward and value to attaining a goal.

In some cases, this goal is solitary and explorative, testing the path to a solution against predetermined metrics. In many others, it is a test of ingenuity against another creative individual. I bring this up because, as I’ve been developing Floppy Write further, one of the first things I did—almost reflexively—was code a gun into the game. It’s something I’m comfortable coding and something I’m excited to play with in a video game. But the question has been lingering in the back of my mind: If this is a game about a coalition of neighbors resisting an oppressive regime, shouldn’t the true problem-solving remain in the social realm? I’m not interested in making this game a violent revolution simulator or another open-world game that oversimplifies the complex relationships within organized violent communities.

For me, clicking on heads and moving really fast tend to be the crux of fun in most games, but I have to acknowledge that they are not inherent to the definition of a game.

That being said, I don’t plan to remove the gun or shooting mechanic. In fact, I think having the option for violence—along with critical decisions about whether to engage or not—is an interesting foundation for a game where you can talk to everyone and follow a variety of story paths. I want the world to feel almost entirely like a city in Skyrim: you can attack everyone if you want to, but you probably shouldn’t want to.

Additionally, both to limit scope and to challenge myself in developing a compelling narrative, I don’t plan to add a variety of weapons. The player will have one way to engage in combat, which—at least for now—I’m thinking of as an EMP dart that can eventually be used to solve puzzles as well. The current prototype involves a charge mechanic: the player “winds up” and aims the dart, represented by a glow shader on the gun sprite (which I’ll replace with an animation soon). When the gun is at its brightest glow, the shot deals about 110 damage; when it’s dimmer, it does around 60. However, the bullet collision is inconsistent, and this has become very noticeable now that charging affects the shot. I suspect the issue lies in the relationship between bullet speed and how the gun handles instantiation, which I’ll work to resolve soon.

The question I’m currently struggling with is: How do I implement combat so that it feels meaningful when necessary but doesn’t encourage the player to engage in combat most of the time? I also want to avoid progress-blocking issues that arise from attacking story-critical NPCs.

I’m leaning toward a vigilance or "wanted" system that tracks player behavior, notifying NPCs and the broader population if the player leans toward a more hostile or more docile playstyle. This could trigger police responses or raise general suspicion levels as the player progresses. However, I worry that making the consequences too visible might make players overly cautious about engaging in combat at all. The game already won’t progress if you just kill everyone, so I don’t necessarily need to deter players from indulging their homicidal gamer instincts. Because of this, I feel that a policing force that unconditionally hunts you down for “bad” actions might be too punishing—especially if combat isn’t a major focus.

So here I stand, wondering: What is the actual role of a combat mechanic in my game, aside from serving as brain dopamine candy for my own selfish pleasure? I think having a compelling mechanic prototyped never hurts—worst case, it doesn’t get used. Best case, the story calls for it, and it’s either fun, fulfilling, or both.