Designing Scenarios with Runtime Spawner
Designer overview of the package
Runtime Spawner isn’t just a technical tool — it’s a game design framework for controlling pacing, pressure, and surprise. Think of it as your director for combat encounters.
1. The Big Picture
At runtime, three layers work together:
Spawner Core → Provides the baseline flow of enemies (waves, spawn points, pacing).
Spawn Director → Controls the intensity ladder — scaling challenge over time or steps.
Special Encounters → Inject surprises, boss-like moments, or situational enemies that break up the rhythm.
Together, they let you craft scenarios that start calm, build tension, and peak dramatically, instead of staying flat.
2. Baseline Spawning (The Foundation)
The core spawner gives you:
Wave-based flow — enemies appear in patterns or random bursts.
Alive caps — ensures the battlefield never exceeds your design limit.
Spawn windows — defines how tightly grouped or spread-out waves feel.
Rate multipliers — let you globally speed up or slow down the spawn pacing.
Think of this as your “default ecosystem” — it ensures there’s always something happening.
3. Spawn Director (The Intensity Ladder)
The Director manages steps (like chapters of difficulty). Each step can change:
Max enemies alive at once
Spawn rate (how fast new enemies enter)
Wave cadence
Designers use steps to ramp tension:
Step 0: Low pressure, scattered enemies → “exploration with threats”
Step 1–3: Escalation, more frequent groups → “combat zone”
Step 4+: Sustained high pressure, near-constant enemies → “survival mode”
Steps can change automatically (by time) or be advanced by script/events (e.g., after player objectives).
4. Special Encounters (The Spice)
Specials are conditional rules that trigger rare or dramatic enemies. Examples:
“Flankers” that appear behind players only if pressure is high.
A sniper squad that appears when average player health is low.
Mini-boss that spawns after 2 minutes if players are doing well.
Each Special has:
Entry (what to spawn)
Conditions (when it’s valid: step range, player HP, pressure, etc.)
Placement rules (distance ranges, LOS requirements, tags)
Caps & cooldowns (so they don’t repeat too often)
Specials break up repetition, adding spikes of drama that keep scenarios unpredictable.
5. Putting It Together
A well-designed scenario often looks like this:
Early Calm → Core spawner at low step, just a few enemies.
Rising Action → Director advances, more enemies per wave.
Surprise Spike → Special Encounter triggers (mini-boss, flanking group).
Sustained Pressure → Director steps up again, faster pacing.
Climax → Multiple specials overlap during peak step.
Release → Scenario ends or intensity drops back down.
This framework mirrors cinematic storytelling: setup → escalation → climax → resolution.
6. Tips for Designers
Use Spawn Director for long-term pacing.
Use Specials for short-term drama.
Keep Alive Caps conservative — less is often more.
Stagger Special cooldowns to avoid overlap fatigue.
Test with different player skill levels — what feels fair at step 2 for you may overwhelm beginners.
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