Robber!
The Robber is the loyal foot soldier in the Villain's gang. Trusty and dependable, he'll plunge himself right into harm's way without a second thought. He does not have any special abilities, but can be formidable in packs due to his decent health (100 hitpoints). In later levels, one Robber at random will carry the decoy bomb. This decoy bomb will be thrown into your most heavily defended area and set off all traps and towers within its blast radius.
My Take: So, every tower defense game needs a basic unit, but I wanted him to feel formidable even when we first meet him. So while the Player is tracking all of the other enemies in play, the Player still needs to respect the Robber's ability to take punishment on his way to the safe. Giving one random robber the decoy bomb in later levels give the Player another reason to not overlook the "humble" Robber.
Brobarian!
The Brobarian is the guy you don't want to sit next to at the dining table. Filthy yet fast, he uses his "special" speed burst to dart past your towers. He possesses the fastest speed in the game, and can enter the safe room and leave with the loot in the blink of an eye. However, he possesses the least amount of health (40 hitpoints) and can be brought down fairly quickly...that is, if he's not already running for the exit!
My Take: While he seems to be a classic low health, high speed unit, he was really difficult for me to get right. He used to have twice the health and 1.5x the speed, and with that combination of speed and health, he'd be like an outside linebacker, blitzing past everything. What makes him doubly dangerous in this modified form of tower defense is the fact that he can scoop up dropped loot and outrace what little defenses you have between the loot and the exit. So I had to ask myself, "How dangerous do I want this guy in relation to others?" Finding the right amount of health/speed for him helped me find the right level of adversity each incremental Brobarian should pose. This helped me balance the game without the Player constantly having to fret about the one Brobarian that may have been missed.
Bossman!
The Bossman is the mini-boss of the game, and the trusted lieutenant of the Villain. He is a complete diva and bully, and can dominate the level unless you focus on him first. He has the highest health in the game (a whopping 700 hitpoints) and can revive fallen robbers, restoring them to complete health! Every time he steps onto the playing field, he should be Enemy Number One!
My Take: With most tower defense games, one common strategy is to melt everything down as quickly as possible. One idea I wanted to explore is rewarding alternate strategies in dealing with enemies, and the Bossman is that answer's problem. As soon as he steps onto the field, he has your attention because he can beat you by himself. By using "crowd control" techniques (knocking him back OR roping him in with a Lasso OR pushing him into a trap door), dealing with him becomes MUCH easier than trying to get him down to zero.
Strongman!
The Strongman is the front-line soldier of the group. He has good health (120 hitpoints) and carries a shield he can use to block incoming attacks. He is the most dangerous when he is blocking attacks and letting his faster cohorts get access to the safe! He is a plodder, and will inevitably fall behind the others. Attack him from different angles to defeat him quickly!
My Take: The original idea was that the Strongman would be completely armored, and be essentially a bullet sponge. That idea didn't sit well with me, because it's not particularly interesting or fun. By giving him a shield against directional attacks (including the boxing glove!) suddenly the Player is getting thwarted if he defends in a straight line. Not only is he deflecting projectiles and stopping boxing gloves, but he's preventing anyone else from being hit from those too. But, with creative tower/trap placement, you can hit him from an angle. It's a bit of boxing philosophy here, and I hope it pays off for the Player!
Cat Burglar!
The Cat Burglar was voted "Most Mysterious" in her high school yearbook for good reason. She may only have 100 health, but has a several tricks up her sleeve. First, she actively avoids heavily defended areas, and can disappear in a poof of smoke when she can't. Doing so puts her in stealth mode, during which she cannot be automatically targetted by towers! Secondly, unlike other robbers, she can move diagonally through tight spaces, which means she can manuever through your defenses with ease. However, while she may be invisible to your towers, she is NOT invisible to you! Target her with the Tower of Power or the Lasso to take her out of the fight!
My Take: One early realization I had was in the value in building the safe room. Players would identify the safe room, and then just stuff it with all their traps and towers. Now, while you'd typically only get to use your supers once with that layout, all the different slow and damage elements would stack and any small to medium sized onslaught would quickly get destroyed. I didn't want the game to be about clogged safe rooms. I wanted to encourage spacing and not punish player for spreading out their defenses. The cat burglar helps encourage this by bypassing your MOST heavily guarded area...but not the second MOST ;).
Goon!
The Goon is the hired gun of the gang. Armed with a hockey stick, Goons will target and destroy any towers that are in their way. They have a decent amount of health (120 hitpoints) and can be tough to bring down. One goon is trouble; two or more goons can spell disaster if they are not dealt with quickly! Use traps or knockback attacks to keep them off your towers, and whittle them down as they come scurrying back.
My Take: He's a typical tower-busting enemy, except he's very good at it. He can destroy your tower in under 2 seconds. For a tower-heavy build, that can spell a lot of trouble, and I wanted to see how the Player responded to this unique kind of threat.
Thanks for reading! Share your thoughts with me here, on Twitter @robberrodeo, on our official website Robberrodeo.com. For you iPad owners, look out for Robber Rodeo for the iPad which should be coming out THIS WEEK!
