21 July 2023: added translucent walls.
The problem of showing a character behind a wall occurs in almost every game and everyone solves it differently.
The simplest solution is a 3D first-person view. In this case, there is no need to hide the walls. But if you have a top view in the game, then the problem of the character not being visible behind the walls will somehow have to be solved.
The simplest solution to the problem is not to change the walls but to show the character’s outlines on top of all objects. This option is found not only in indie games but even in commercial ones. You've probably seen such games yourself and know that this is a bad decision: the character's position is visible, but what is behind the wall is not visible. Developers have to limit these blind spots and prohibit placing objects there.
The best option is to hide the walls themselves. Better yet, make them translucent.
That's what I did. At first, I hid the walls and roof completely, but it didn't look very well.
And then I finally made translucent walls. It got a lot better! I like it very much!
I think that in total I spent about two weeks hiding the walls (10-14 evenings, because I only worked in the evenings).
Although I like the result, there is something to improve:
- It may be necessary to hide the entire roof
- Now it has become obvious that it is necessary to hide objects that the character cannot see
Moreover, this is a more general case: I should hide not only objects located behind the wall, but also zombies beyond visibility! Ideally, it would be to hide the zombies to which your back is turned. Then they will suddenly appear out of nowhere, and the player will have to constantly turn his head to check the danger from all sides. Just like in life!
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