Layout

The layout of the tower in Nergal is never the same. At the beginning of each floor, a layout is generated using hand-made rooms to ensure that every room safely connect to the following.

Each level has (in the following order) : 

• A start room, where the player spawns. This rooms has only one connection directed to the first "Fight Room".
• Multiple Fight rooms (the amount varies based on the floor the player is currently in). When completed, this room spawns a chest which contains either healing, money, or a small permanent upgrade.
• A shop, where players can buy items using the accumulated money.
• A "Stella" Room, which spawns more enemies which slowly refill their life over time if not damaged. Players have to keep close contact with enemies if they do not want their effort wasted. When completed, this room spawn.

Upon completing 3 consecutive floors, players find the Boss Room, which they will have to defeat if they want to win the run.

Controller

I wanted the players of Nergal to feel powerful, but also to be able to chain movements smoothly one after another.

Players can : 

• Move around
• Dash, which can be used either to dodge attacks, or to cross small gaps
• Use a light attack
• Charge up a powerful smash attack, then slam the ground using the accumulated force, which does a lot of damage.

Enemies

Each enemy in Nergal is special in its own way. We wanted to have multiple different enemies to diverse the playstyle and keep the experience entertaining in the long run. To avoid overwhelming players, each enemy has a single attack and a single navigation pattern as follows : 

Players can encounter : 

• Wanderers : a small enemy that walks towards the player until it gets to a close range. Then, it tries to hit players using its claws.
• Bulls : A large enemy with a lot of health which dashes across the room in order to hit players.
• Shooter : A small evemy that cowardly stays afar from players. They constantly shoot projectiles towards their location.
• Sniper : A small enemy locked in place that shoots deadly lasers towards players at a low rate.