Obstacle Description and Ideation

I began watching a playthrough of "Epistory" to get a better idea of the kind of Types of obstacles that could appear in game -

Obstacle 1 : Moons -

Stationary asteroids that aren't moving at all could be called "Moons." Their design could be spherical and uniform. Moons are the main obstacle at lower levels when players are getting familiar with the game.

Subcategories of Moons -

1. "Moon : Vulcanian" - Hot, firey moons. When the player decides to kill them they blow up and destroy all other enemies on screen at that moment. They act as a resource players must choose to use wisely.
2. "Moon : Cryogenic" - Icy moons which freeze all obstacles on screen for a certain amount of time.
3. "Moon : Terrestrial" - Normal static moons which are destroyed for points. In game for lore, the reason they may need to be destroyed is to allow the player build a space station of some sort.

"Moons as a Resource" -

At later levels on planets that have life on it maybe players shouldn't destroy moons as it would affect waves, etc. Choosing to preserve a moon by not senselessly destroying every object to appear on screen could help players think before they type. If any kind of base building mechanic is implemented later on - where players can set up stations on certain planets to farm in game currencies that they can earn passively having a good relationship with the creatures of that planet by not destroying an essential moon could allow them to set up a base on such planets.

Obstacle 2 : Asteroids -

The main obstacles in the game that move towards the player.

Subcategories of asteroids -

1. "Asteroid : Vulcanian" - Fiery asteroids that must be destroyed from far away. If they are too close to the player when attacked they will damage the player regardless. They also have an "Area of Effect" feature which destroys nearby
2. "Asteroid : Cryogenic" - Similar "AOE" feature where they slow down nearby asteroids on explosion. These asteroids may be less harmful damage wise but reduce the speed of the bullets the player shoots for a certain duration.
3. "Asteroid : Terrestrial" - Normal type. Most common asteroid to be found.
4. "Asteroid : Gargantuan" - Largest asteroids which when broken split into smaller ones. If the word is "Butterfly" to destroy it, it splits into 2 asteroids - "Butter" and "Fly."
5. "Asteroid : Trojan" - Spawns in as a moon but randomly in the level transforms into an asteroid.

Spawn types of asteroids -

1. Random spawner as seen in the game right now.
2. Asteroid belt (for survival mode levels) - A large infinite number of asteroids spin around the periphery of the screen. As the level progresses asteroids break off from the asteroid belts and come towards the player.

Obstacle 3 : Comets

The fast moving smaller obstacles that always require lower letters to destroy than the asteroids of the same level.

Subcategories of comets -

1. "Comet : Single Apartition" - The most basic kind. They arrive and can be destroyed.
2. "Comet : Sungrazer" - Also has an "AOE" explosion but before that when the player shoots it, it is deflected at a random angle and destroys asteroids in its trajectory.
3. "Comet : Centaur" - Begins from the edge of the screen looking like a smallest asteroids of that level but as it nears the player it becomes faster and a "Sungrazer" comet.

14th Novemeber -

Obstacle 4 : Satellites

Slow moving obstacles which are far more resiliant than the previous ones. When the player spells their word it just pushes them back but doesn't destroy them. Upon destroying satellites the player gets materials which can be used to fortfy themselves for harder levels later on?

Subcategories of Satellites -

1. "Satellite : Rogue" - The most basic type of satellite which has no special qualities besides the ones mentioned.
2. "Satellite : Pursuer" - Obstacles that begin accelerating in their movement towards the player. Attacks that don't kill push them back and slow down their acceleration momentarily. So the player cannot just focus on killing one at a time. They will have to simultaneously attack multiple to keep all at bay.
3. "Satellite : Dark Matter" - After players spell its word there is a brief period where if players spell the next word to attack the satellite, it will deflect the players attack back to them like a parry move. This will make players warry before senselessly trying to shoot down satellites. Visually it would look very similar to the normal ones so players would need to be attentive.
4. "Satellite : Haven" - if players kill it just at the right moment when it is the right distance away from them they will get a life back otherwise they suffer from damage. This would create some sense of risk and reward.

Obstacle 5 : UFOs

Obstacles that move at a similar speed to normal asteroids but the letter to destroy them is revealed only once in the beginning of the match. This might add some freshness by adding an element of skill using short term memory.

Subcategories of UFOs -

1. "UFO : Hostile" - Normal type.
2. "UFO : Binary" - The UFOs in the match will spawn in opposite colours to each other. If the word to kill a purple UFO is revealed to be "KILL" at the start then the word to destroy an orange UFO would be "LLIK."

Note - This kind of UFO may make some levels inaccessible for people with colour blindness.

Obstacle 6 : Radiations

Almost unavoidable obstacles that make gameplay harder or force the player to adapt to a changed playstyle. Only very good players would be able to avoid them completely because of the narrow reaction time.

1. "Radiation : Infrared" - All obstacles can only be defeated by spelling their words backwards for a short duration.
2. "Radiation : Ultraviolet" - Player is temporarily weakened for a few seconds and any event that could cause damage would result in instant death.

Ideas for the Patterns in which these Obstacles and Powerups could appear

1. For the earlier levels since players will mainly inetract with "Moon" type obstacles since they are getting used to the typing mechanics. One way to add some challenge at planet 2 or 3 could be to force them to destroy the moons in alphabetical order.
2. Normal asteroids could be introduced from level 3 onwards.