Devlog 31 - Enemies Start Moving

Summary

The enemy work is finally becoming playable-looking rather than just conceptual. I finished a much more aggressive lunge attack, cleaned up how character variants are exported, and started adding the impact language around the attacks.

What changed?

• Built a Nutcracker variant attack where he prepares, launches himself through the air, and headbutts toward the player. The crushed hat and wide-open mouth make the whole thing feel appropriately stupid and dangerous.
• Reworked the character export workflow so alternate animations and visual variants can come from the same source file instead of becoming separate manual pipelines.
• The current enemy sets now have the basic animation vocabulary drawn and colored: idle, run, attack, hit/stun, and death.
• Started VFX studies for dust, impact bursts, sonic-boom shapes, and ground-breaking mounds.
• Added screen-shake experiments for heavy hits and stronger attacks.
• Started a new Spring Head enemy whose entire head can launch forward on a spring. I like the gimmick, but I am not sure he belongs in the first public build yet.
• Began restructuring the trailer after studying Derek Lieu's game-trailer work. The current problem is less "make footage" and more "make the mechanic understandable."

What I'm unsure about?

Spring Head is fun, but the first public enemy set may already be large enough. I would rather keep a clear roster than add characters just because the animation idea is funny.

Next steps

• Keep integrating the animation sets into the game.
• Continue the VFX and screen-shake pass.
• Turn the trailer notes into a cleaner storyboard/card edit.