Coop survival is a game mode where players work together to survive against increasingly difficult enemies or challenges over time. Coop survival or Cooperative survival takes many different forms and can be implemented in numerous ways for a game. Cooperative survival games have been around for decades but in the last 10-15 years it saw a sudden surge with the rise of zombie games. I'd personally give most of the credit to DayZ, an Arma II mod that exploded on the scene with its gritty, realistic and melancholic experience( I wouldn't consider DayZ a coop survival game just an open world survival). It was extremely hardcore and suddenly everyone wanted in on the zombie action. There were of course popular franchises that utilized coop survival before DayZ and one of my personal favorites was Killing Floor. It had persistent player skill progression with a unique and refined enemy spawning system. It had different player classes that brought different needs and capabilities to the coop survival experience. Indie games absolutely thrive in this genre and have helped aid its explosion. In the midst of developing ROBA I knew some sort of coop survival game type needed to be implemented. It's too engaging of a genre with a really easy premise. So why not? Here I'll be listing what my focus is for ROBA and hopefully some things we can expect to see. If this is your first time reading/hearing about ROBA consider visiting the introduction blog post or the main page. I'll break down 3 aspects I plan on implementing, those being, Unit Progression, an Economy system and Objective based survival. Currently I only plan on developing the wave and objective based survival game types, not open world.
Unit Progression
ROBA is an RTT game with an emphasis on having one unit in control (this doesn't mean you can't control more). RTT being an overhead camera with unique camera controls. If you haven't read what an RTT is you can visit this RTT blog post. There are multiple unit types with different abilities, cooldowns, speed etc. This is a breeding ground for unique character upgrades, different items and weapons. I'm a big fan of Killing Floor and its coop survival implementation, I would love to see similar attributes in an RTT game and I plan on making it a reality. That being said units will be able to upgrade their speed, cooldown times, ability cooldowns, max health etc. I personally enjoy the round based upgrade terminals in killing floor and would like to utilize something similar. To add onto it, I think having a per round skill tree could yield interesting results(regardless of your economic status). This forces players to communicate on what each of their upgrades should be to benefit the team.
Economy
Currently ROBA already has several items in place that are totally functional. I plan on having these items scattered around the map (sparsely mind you) but I would really like to see an economic system in place. Essentially when you kill the units (maybe damage) you'll receive some sort of credits that you'll be able to utilize. I plan on having some sort of upgrade terminal where these can be spent, you can buy items, upgrades or weapons. This will absolutely spark cooperative play as everyone will have to decide which items to buy to help them as a team. I'll be adding several more unique items specific to the survival mode to enhance team mechanics and gameplay. You already have a max carry weight for each item type which will add to the strategy of survival.
Objective Based Survival
Coop survival typically consists of one area with an innumerable amount of enemies that will spawn in the same or different spawn areas. This typically ends in advancing rounds after you disperse each enemy. I will definitely be developing ROBA for that but I'd like to take it a bit further. Moving through the map to different objectives or locations where waves of those enemies will spawn after you, or chase you for that matter. This could be surviving one area or even protecting an item through one part while defending one area in another. One play through could present several different objectives in different parts of the map and possibly even randomize them. I personally am a fan of utilizing an entire map and designing maps in a way where each segment could be used. This coop survival type can utilize that feature while refusing to stay planted in one area.
Conclusion
I don't plan on reinventing the wheel here, these coop survival modes are time tested and don't need much alteration. What's unique is how developers implement them with their current games play style. Cooperative survival games flourish because they present hurdles for players to overcome and make working together a necessity. One thing I didn't mention here, that I think would be really cool would be coop survival versus or even a player being able to control the enemy horde. I believe the implementation of Unit Progression, Economy system and Objective based survival will introduce RTT fans to a coop survival they haven't experienced yet, all the while being familiar to the players. If you're a fan of coop survival, RTT games or RTS games consider following ROBA and getting updates. If you're interested in playtesting ROBA or even trying these features out, apply for the playtest. Otherwise, thanks for reading.