Suggestions for invisible enemies?

In my catalog of enemies I definitely want a handful of “invisible” enemies and wanted some feedback on the different methods I was considering.

-Vantablack enemies-
Basically make a custom shader that makes the enemy 100% black, but then have certain body parts that are not vantablack, like teeth or claws. Yes, this is completely stolen from Attack the Block (who stole it from Another World).

-Mostly Invisible-
Have enemies that are almost all invisible, but a things like claws and teeth and eyes can be seen.

-Cloaking-
Use the old school translucent with distortion, like Halo (and many games before it), then have the enemy fade to completely transparent with distance.

-Peek a boo-
The enemy is invisible when not attacking or being attacked, but will effect the environment.

-Lights out-
The enemy is invisible when they are in lit areas, but visible when in the dark. So it would require specific staging for them.

-Doppleganger-
Enemies can turn into objects. I almost didn’t want to even mention this one because there’s a 100% of being called a Prey rip off.

Any of your own suggestions?

 

Predator effect, where you have distortion and occasional glowing eyes which appear and then disappear. When damaged they can become fully visible.

You could have a tunneling enemy, where it moves by going underground, then comes to the surface to attack.

You could do invisible from just certain angles. Like if you held up a large monitor in front of you, and had a camera pointing behind you. You would kind of look invisible to someone facing the monitor, but from any other angle you are clearly visible.

 

I like that idea.

What about only being visible in reflections?

like a reverse vampire?

Also, I was thinking about having an enemy that you can only identify it’s location because when looking in its direction or moving towards it, it causes a dramatic screen effect.

 

This seems the most "fair" to me. The big risk to invisible enemies is that it feels cheap, with players having no way of knowing where the enemy is. I'm picturing some kind of 2D side-scroller where there's grass on the ground, and you can subtly see the grass move as the invisible enemy moves through it. It can be subtle enough that you wouldn't notice it if you weren't really trying to see it. Or, even, perhaps the effect doesn't happen unless you're standing completely still, as though your awareness is heightened by staying still and listening/concentrating...

 

I think Peek-a-boo or cloaking are the most common in games being both the most fair and the ones that make the most sense from video-game contrivance perspective.

That said, all of them could work given they all get the right kind of introduction/lead-up. Prey has a very important moment at the beginning of the game where you see a Mimic's ability first-hand, giving you a heads-up of what to expect from the game's first enemy.

As for an invisible enemy idea, you could always have an enemy that only exists within reflections. Whether that be some parallel mirror world, or any other contrived story reasons.

 

And it's really so. I think it's the best option in most cases

 

Oh!

What about a completely invisible enemy that casts shadows???

 

And I didn’t even think of a “weeping angel” type enemy.

Like a crate that moves when you aren’t looking at it, but makes noises.

when it gets close enough it makes an attack bark and you have a 0.5 second window to attack it.

 

You can do it like Prey and have random objects that transform into enemies and ambush the player.

 

Lol…

 

You can combine the cloaking with the peek-a-boo by, instead of making enemy fully-visible when attacking, you just increasing the turbulence of the cloaking effect.

 

Is this for 2d or 3d?

 

That sounds like a good idea for a horror game :0

 

3d

 

On further thought, I’m thinking that for sure one enemy I want is as follows:

Is only visible when attacking.

when hit, they immediately turn invisible.

after like 0.5 seconds they become invulnerable.

They make sound as they move about and effect the environment.

when they effect the environment they remain invisible, but can be damaged again.

then they give a bark when they become visible and you have a 0.5 second window to see and damage them.

Basically, forcing the player to ready high burst damage weapons (railgun, shotgun), but also making them aware they have a brief window to attack.

Imagine the tension that can cause…

 

You could do an enemy which moves as a fine mist of particles, and then the particles merge to a point to form the enemy for an attack. When they move again they dematerialize into the particles again.

 

@Not_Sure
I have a suggestion, but I don't know if you would like it though.

 

Is it that all my enemies are invisible if I never work on my game?

lol

 

How about a few rare annoying enemies, that sometimes randomly show up, whose bodies are a bit mirror like, and can reflect the enviroment, making them a bit hard to see in the enviroment? They don't have to be too reflective though.

Since these type of enemies, might use a mirror like reflective shader, which of course might be a bit taxing, only having a few of them, like two or three of them at a given time, might be a good idea.

 

Cool ideas! Sounds like something I'd play.

Have you considered the games audio? I think tension could be enhanced massively if some the invisible enemies were making noises (I imagine hungry predator salivating). It would give the player a bit more of a chance too.

 

Well, I’ve decided I for sure want to do a vanta black enemy with glowing features.

And I definitely want a hit and run enemy that turns invisible when retreating.

Anything else it’s not necessary to the core game.

That’s not to say I wouldn’t add something given time enough to make it.

 

Not sure if it has been said already (no pun intended not_sure). But have you considered a resource based invisibility? I mean you get an audio queue or environmental hints that invisible enemies are in the area, but in order to see them you need a special lamp or smth that only has a small cone and only has a few trigger charges. Triggering it twill cause a flash which will render an afterimage silhouette of the enemy at its last location. You can also have an continuous light but be sure to limit rotation speed while beaming, otherwise it would be objectively better to use it in short burst while swiveling like a ballet dancer, which is not fun i guess.

 

I get what you are saying.

My wife has actually made a similar suggestion.