We wanted to introduce a gun-free way of playing that increased the difficulty for some of our long-time users. We introduced a new “deflection” game style where rather than having your own gun you could deflect the enemies bullets back at them. The new game style was used in many seasonal events to challenge players.

Design Challenges

• Deflection needed to feel reactive and skill-based, not accidental.
• High enemy counts could mean missed kills. We wanted players to be able to 100% a level in this mode.
• Timing Windows had to feel forgiving without removing mastery.

Solutions

• Made the timing window active for a longer period of time. Allowing the player to deflect multiple bullets in a row with a big enough swing.
• Made the bullets go automatically back to the enemy who shot them so the skill came from getting the deflection and not from aiming it.
• Ensured audio and visual feedback reinforced successful deflections on-beat.
• Require some amount of movement to encourage the player to swing and move their arm. Thus making the result feel more intentional.

Result:

Gave the players a new late-game mode that was well received. It also increased the physicality of the game and players reported getting a good workout from the game mode.