Sometimes it's a good exercise to compile a list of game elements to help focus a design. Here's a list of some forgiving melee combat properties for a single player 3rd person game. Of course, many factors will determine fun factor, challenge and mastery. /thread #gamedev

Basic attack effective against most enemies
Immediate cancel all actions with block, dodge, super attack
Omni-directional block
Generous parry window with no startup frames
Generous attack translation / reach
Generous Dodge invulnerability frames with no startup frames

Player attacks generally hit faster than most enemy attacks
One button dodge
Dodge with large translation
Minimal camera management / babysitting
Soft targeting on attacks
Player character visually pops out from enemies and environment
No instant deaths at full health

Systemic methods to refill health, stamina, super bar
Clear enemy attack anticipation poses that break default silhouette
Generous enemy attack anticipation time
Buffered / queued inputs that don’t rely on strict timing
Exploitable / broken player abilities

Generous / exaggerated player attack hitboxes
Large / long enemy hit reactions
Large hit reactions that eject the player away from danger
“Get Out of Jail Free Card” player ability
Clamping how many enemies can attack at once and how frequently

Generous targeting cones
Neutral left stick input = back evade
No startup frames on special/super attacks
Low level enemies taunt more than they attack
Ranged enemies always miss the first shot
Enemies don’t initially attack from offscreen

Invulnerable during special / super attacks
Minimal recovery frames on player attacks (cancel out after last hit frame)
Nerfed enemy hit collision (slightly smaller than weapon mesh)
Enemy attacks deal large reactions but low damage
Enemy attacks always lead to enemy’s death

Camera centers behind player when moving / attacking
Camera normalizes pitch when player moving / attacking
Zoom out based on # of enemies nearby
Camera keeps player on screen regardless of speed / distance of actions
Camera ensures player / enemy don’t obscure each other