Boxy Boxer is a PvE boxing game in which players fight against an enemy AI. This project was a two-week assignment built around the theme of STATE MACHINES, which gave me the opportunity to experiment with implementing them in my code. Inspired by side-scrolling boxing games, I wanted to explore how enemy behavior could be built through different states and transitions. But due to limitations on time and art assets, I came up with this “abstract” version of a boxing game by designing the fighters as square-shaped boxers. Different colors are used to communicate combat states clearly: red for jabbing, black for guarding, and white for idle.
I initially designed the enemy AI around three main states: attack, defend, and idle. In this setup, movement and combat actions were handled together inside each state. Although this made the enemy’s behavior logical, it also made it feel too predictable and robotic. Since my goal was to make the enemy feel more human, I wanted it to not only make reasonable decisions, but also react in a more natural way.
To solve this, I split the AI into two separate state machines. One handles movement, with states such as chase, retreat, and idle, while the other handles combat actions like jab, guard, and idle. This structure gave me more precise control over the enemy’s behavior and allowed it to feel more dynamic, less predictable, and more human-like in combat.
After finalizing the enemy AI, I shifted my focus toward polishing the game feel and player experience. Because the final AI is challenging, reactive, and unpredictable, I wanted every successful hit to feel rewarding and impactful. To support that, I added particle effects, camera shake, and sound effects to give punches a stronger sense of impact and make combat feel more satisfying.
Date
March 1, 2026