Robotron 2084

Robotron 2084 is a landmark in arena shooter design, created by wacky funster Eugene Jarvis.

What's That?
An arena shooter, by this project's definition, is any game or any sequence in a game that resembles a scenario in which a player is an enclosed space while fending off waves of enemies.

Why Does This Matter?
Because that game design from back in the day is still wholly present in other ways.

Basic Design
In Robotron 2084, the player fends off robots in a mostly empty space. After clearing all enemies in a wave, the player restarts in the next arena.

Enemies all act in unique ways. Some seek, some wander, some turn bonus items (humans) into enemies.

By combining these various independent AI, you do not create true emergence, but you do create encounter design. Robotron has levels themed on certain enemies and causing certain problems for the player. Check out stage 5 of Robotron 2084 above and watch the encounter. It's usually a hectic mess due to the sheer numbers of brain monsters converting people into hyper-speed death monsters.

Varied Levels
By selecting what enemies to spawn, when and where, you can create more reliable encounters for a player. Robotron 2084 is an excellent example of how to see encounter design from a -literal- bird's eye view.

Resident Evil games have featured a "Mercenaries" mode which is the same concept told from an over-the-shoulder perspective. The difference is that this concept now includes ammo, bonus points items, death recovery, and some other tweaked elements. For example, Mercenaries mode has a time limit. Robotron 2084 goes on indefinitely.

Blood and Gore
A lot of arena shooters paint a pretty bleak picture for humanity. Robots, aliens, and even game shows might take over the world.



But, to be honest, they're all about the same as Geometry Wars. A bunch of shapes acting in unison to create the illusion of a battlefield.