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Slime Dungeon Combat System

My RoleSolo Programmer

Software & Languages UsedC#,Unity Visual Studio 2022

Overview

Context

This project was a university assigment , 8 weeks , we were given a 2D Top-down character framework, and other than some specifics given the freedom to use external assets and create enemies and objectives etc. Using external slime assets ( only animation and sprite) ( code & systems all done by me) I created a 4 room slime dungeon, each room with their own unique slimes ( small , medium , boss) .

Light Green Slime Room

Related:

A 4-room top-down dungeon built around readable combat pressure and simple, distinct enemy mechanics.

Core systems

• Room-based combat loop: clear a room → manage pressure → defeat the boss to progress.
• Enemy tier design:
  • Small slimes = mechanic carriers via projectile debuffs
  • Medium slimes = pressure amplifiers with close-range punish tools
  • Boss slime = room controller via trap spawning + keeps encounters active
• Player kit:
  • Damage projectile (main DPS)
  • Knockback projectile (space control / reset)
  • Heal (cooldown-based sustain)
  • Dash (enhanced mobility)
  • Lure ability (decoy that redirects aggro for repositioning / safe healing)
• Progression + scoring: enemies drop score on kill, rewarding clean clears and good routing.

Debuff variety (small slime projectiles)

• Input Inversion:
• Freeze:
• Slow:
• Poison (DoT):

Highlights

Each small slime fires a unique projectile that applies a short, readable debuff. These are designed to create quick “oh no” moments that force different reactions.

Debuff types

• Input Inversion (Light Green): briefly flips movement input to disrupt dodging + positioning.
• Freeze (Dark blue): locks the player for a short time (strongest effect, shortest window).
• Slow (Turqoise): reduces movement speed heavily , making spacing mistakes more punishing.
• Poison (DoT | Normal Green): damage over time that pressures healing and safer routing.

Below is the Poison projectile → DoT coroutine flow. The projectile script (SmallSlimeGreenProjectile) applies the effect, while HealthManager owns the ticking damage logic:

// SmallSlimeGreenProjectile.cs (Poison)
public class SmallSlimeGreenProjectile : MonoBehaviour
{
    private float m_damage = 5f;
    private float m_dmgTickRate = 0.3f;
    private int m_maxTicks = 4;

    private void OnTriggerEnter2D(Collider2D collision)
    {
        if (!collision.CompareTag("Player"))
            return;

        var health = collision.GetComponent<HealthManager>();
        if (health != null)
            health.ApplyDamageOverTime(m_damage, m_dmgTickRate, m_maxTicks);

        Destroy(gameObject);
    }
}

// HealthManager.cs (DoT owner)
public void ApplyDamageOverTime(float damage, float tickRate, int maxTicks)
{
    StartCoroutine(Damage(damage, tickRate, maxTicks));
}

private IEnumerator Damage(float damage, float tickRate, int maxTicks)
{
    for (int i = 0; i < maxTicks; i++)
    {
        if (this == null) yield break;
        TakeDamage(damage);
        yield return new WaitForSeconds(tickRate);
    }
}

Why it works - The player is reacting to different movement problems (control loss, speed loss, time pressure), not just losing HP. - Durations are kept short, and effects are made visually obvious so the player instantly understands what happened.

Player tools

• Fire Damage projectile: main attack for normal slimes & boss damage.
• Knockback projectile: creates space when the player gets too crowded.
• Heal: cooldown-controlled in HealthManager.
• Dash: limited by stamina to prevent infinite disengage.

Standout mechanic — Lure

• Spawns a mushroom decoy with particle VFX that pulls enemy aggro.
• While active, enemies focus the lure instead of the player, giving a tactical reset to heal, reposition, or burst down priority targets.

Knockback Projectile

// KnockbackProjectile.cs (core idea)
private void OnTriggerEnter2D(Collider2D collision)
{
    if (collision.CompareTag("Wall")) { Destroy(gameObject); return; }

    Slime slime = collision.GetComponent<Slime>();
    if (slime == null) { Destroy(gameObject, 2f); return; }

    Vector2 dir = (slime.transform.position - transform.position).normalized;
    slime.Knockback(dir, m_KnockbackForce);
    Destroy(gameObject);
}

The lure is split into two responsibilities:

• LureSpawner: cooldown + spawn + waypoint assignment
• LureMonster: movement between waypoints + lifetime + collision damage

// LureSpawner.cs
public class LureSpawner : MonoBehaviour
{
    public GameObject m_lurePrefab;
    public Transform m_waypointA, m_waypointB;
    public float m_spawnCooldown = 30f;

    private bool m_isCooldownActive = false;
    private GameObject m_activeLure;

    void Update()
    {
        if (!m_isCooldownActive && Input.GetKeyDown(KeyCode.Alpha4))
            SpawnLure();
    }

    void SpawnLure()
    {
        Vector2 spawnPos = Vector2.Lerp(m_waypointA.position, m_waypointB.position, Random.Range(0f, 1f));
        if (m_activeLure != null) Destroy(m_activeLure);

        m_activeLure = Instantiate(m_lurePrefab, spawnPos, Quaternion.identity);

        var lure = m_activeLure.GetComponent<LureMonster>();
        if (lure == null) { Destroy(m_activeLure); return; }

        lure.m_waypointA = m_waypointA;
        lure.m_waypointB = m_waypointB;

        StartCoroutine(StartCooldown());
    }

    IEnumerator StartCooldown()
    {
        m_isCooldownActive = true;
        yield return new WaitForSeconds(m_spawnCooldown);
        m_isCooldownActive = false;
    }
}

Why it’s good technically

• A Clear split between “ability ownership” (LureSpawner) and “actor behaviour” (LureMonster).

• It is using a coroutine for cooldown so timing isn’t scattered across logic.

• Defensive checks prevent broken prefabs from lingering.

• Medium slimes:
  Spin applies continuous damage pressure, while Chomp punishes close-range mistakes with burst damage.

• Boss slimes:
  Bosses Stationary with a large health bar, focused on trap spawning and keeping the room dangerous until the boss is defeated.

• Pressure rule:
  RoomSpawner keeps a target population alive and uses m_kingSlime.OnBossDeath event to shut everything down cleanly.

External Assets Used

• Small Slimes : https://chiecola.itch.io/momo-mama-slime
• Medium Slimes : https://chiecola.itch.io/momo-mama-slime
• Boss Slims: https://snowhex.itch.io/dungeon-gathering-zombie-exp