Devlog 18 - Punch VFX and Game Feel

Summary

This was a smaller update focused on VFX, polish, and making Jack's attacks feel better.

The main question was simple: how do you make a punch feel powerful in a game where the player is not shooting projectiles?

What changed?

• Started testing punch VFX ideas.

• Explored how impact could travel forward from Jack without turning the attack into a projectile.

• Watched punch and impact animation references, including "top 10 anime punches" type videos, to study:

  • impact frames
  • punch timing
  • hit pauses
  • repeated frames
  • ways to make a single attack feel stronger

• Started thinking more seriously about game feel and polish.

• Ran into an animation timing issue when importing animations into the game:

  • the animations play at the correct speed before import
  • they play too slowly once imported
  • this still needs investigation

What I'm unsure about?

• I still need to find the right balance between a melee attack and a forward impact effect.
• The attack should be able to hit multiple enemies, but it should not feel like Jack is firing a projectile.
• The animation import speed issue is not solved yet.

Open questions

• How much visual force should a punch create?
• How far forward should the impact travel?
• How can the hit effect stay readable when several enemies are hit at once?
• What is causing the animation timing mismatch after import?

Media