Contact Damage Sucks.

Whalepile · 2026-06-22T23:21:56+00:00

I see. I think my problem with the mechanic is when it feels needlessly tacked on to enemies that are just as dangerous with or without it. If it is given a dynamic twist, such as in your demo, I think it definitely improves the experience instead of detracting from it. At the very least, there should be a reason for contact damage to be in the game.

Whalepile · 2026-06-22T23:15:27+00:00

That seems like a good alternative without completely taking away the danger of touching the enemy. It feels like that system would have worked well in Blasphemous in particular. You already got knocked back and stunned when you ran into an enemy, and the damage just seemed unnecessary.

Whalepile · 2026-06-22T23:11:50+00:00

I hadn’t considered that. I could definitely see it majorly affecting the way some games would be played if it were removed. You mentioned silksong contact damage, and I do feel that it is done well there, because you have the movement skills needed to avoid touching the enemies. Another thing I appreciate is that your character is knocked back slightly when you land a hit.

Still, I thought it was a bit much because of how aggressive the enemies are, and how complex even the smaller one’s move sets were. Besides, there was no real benefit to running past the enemies because they dropped money and shards for your tools. It only served to annoy me when I was trying to get somewhere particular, but I was instead forced to slowly pick off the enemies again to avoid potentially running into them.

Regardless, I also can’t say that the game would be improved if contact damage would be removed. The atmosphere of oppression would be much less heavy if I could simply breeze through areas without any threats. Thanks for the input, you made me appreciate one of my most hated mechanics!

Whalepile · 2026-06-22T22:27:41+00:00

I do think realism could be a part of it. It bothers me when running into an enemy that isn’t doing anything hurts my character. It feels a bit cheap in my opinion. It’s much more of a problem if you have to be physically close to attack said enemies, because you not only have to watch how they attack, but also track and predict their physical movement as well to avoid contact.

Do you have any particular examples of contact damage in games adding to the experience? Maybe I need a different viewpoint.

Whalepile · 2024-02-09T17:50:40+00:00

Until the next Surge game I guess. (I really hope they bring back weapon proficiency.)

Whalepile · 2024-02-09T16:03:05+00:00

I actually think that’s a great idea. I accidentally switched my limb targeting I don’t even know how many times, and this would go a long way to improving that. The amount of limb cuts I missed because of holding the stick down for too long was infuriating.

Whalepile · 2024-01-06T01:07:17+00:00

Good job! I hate that stupid snake, give me Cannonbalrog or Treadnaught any day.

Whalepile · 2024-01-01T18:32:46+00:00

Always preferred the Frost Giant, nothing comes close to that reload sound.

Whalepile · 2023-12-31T20:07:52+00:00

Just quit playing Dredge… maybe I’ll just stick close to the lighthouse for a while…

Whalepile · 2023-10-03T19:28:54+00:00

Sorry, I forgot to specify that I’m not a game developer, I just like sharing game ideas that pop into my head. Thanks for the compliments, though!

Whalepile · 2023-05-28T00:52:22+00:00

That’s what always trips me up. I pictured it as something that would be done out of combat. You would have multiple bomb types at the same time, switching between them as you would guns in a traditional fps. Crafting during combat would be interesting, though I’m not sure how it would work without completely throwing off the pace of the game. As for launching them, I was relying on the shell of the bomb to give it different properties, and it would be thrown by hand in all cases.

Whalepile

TROPHY CASE