Devlog 4

Devlog #4: A New Threat Emerges — Meet the Bomber

Introduction: Expanding the Challenge

Welcome back to our devlog!

In our last entry, we highlighted some important milestones: the hook’s arrival and a smarter camera system.

Today, we’re introducing the next step in that direction: a new enemy that doesn’t just chase you—it controls space on platforms and pushes you to react thoughtfully. It’s another step toward giving the game world more personality and structure.

What Did We Do Since the Last Devlog?

This cycle, we focused on expanding the ecosystem of dangers and testing how they interact with the movement tools we’ve built so far. The result is a new enemy whose core behavior is ready for real level testing.

1. The Bomber: An Enemy with Clear Intentions

· The Bomber is our newest enemy, and its main behavior is now implemented and working in-game.

Its role is straightforward: wander, detect, chase… and explode.

· Platform wandering: Bombers move back and forth across platforms, adding activity to the stage even before the player engages with them.

· Player detection: When a Bomber spots the player, it immediately switches into a chase state.

· Primary mechanic: explosion.

If it gets close enough, it triggers a short self-destruct sequence and detonates, becoming a threat that encourages the player to respond quickly and position carefully.

· Current status: Movement, detection, and explosion are all functional.

We still need to add animations, refine visuals, and tune some of the behavior, but the basic mechanic is already working reliably.

2. Early Observations: The Hook Is Too Dominant

While testing the Bomber, we noticed that the hook currently overshadows other movement mechanics.

· It’s very strong and often becomes the easiest solution for many situations.

· We want to rebalance it so it keeps its value without pushing aside the hammer, momentum, or platforming fundamentals.

We also discussed an idea that might help with this:

· Possible limitation: Making the hook usable only on specific tiles.

This would naturally restrict its use, add strategy to when and where players can engage with it, and give the level design more influence over its impact.

These points will guide how we design movement, enemies, and space going forward.

3. Level Design on the Horizon

Adding the Bomber opened several ideas for how it can shape real level layouts:

· Platforms where its patrol creates timing-based obstacles

· Narrow areas where a chase becomes more tense

· Open zones where avoiding the explosion requires momentum or smart positioning

This enemy gives us more tools to begin shaping levels with clearer structure and intent.

What Comes Next? Our Next Steps

With the Bomber now functional, our next steps focus on polishing it and building environments where both the player and the enemy can shine.

Short Term

· Bomber animations: Idle, walking, detection, explosion telegraph, and post-explosion effects

· Behavior polish: Improve platform navigation and refine detection range

· Hook balancing: Adjust force, cooldown, and possibly integrate the idea of tile-based usage

· Level blockouts: Begin prototyping the first sections built around momentum, platform flows, and enemy interactions

Long Term

· Full level design: Build the first complete playable areas and refine pacing

· More enemies and behaviors: Expand the bestiary in ways that complement the movement system

· Visual polish: Improve particle effects, animations, shaders, and overall art direction

Video of the new enemy!

That’s all for now. The Bomber adds a new layer to the game, and we’re looking forward to refining its role as we start shaping the first real level layouts.

In the next devlog, we hope to share updates on its animations, early level prototypes, and hook balancing experiments.

Thanks for reading — Team Delirium keeps moving forward!