Single shot

Three questions for the mechanic

• What locks when the shot is released?

  Capture the origin and direction at release, then stop steering. The pose, guide line, projectile velocity, and collision query should all use that same locked ray so the announced response remains valid.

• Can the complete player body clear the shot?

  Compare warning time and projectile travel time with the slowest intended sidestep. Test projectile radius plus player radius at close, middle, and long range; crossing the center line alone is not enough.

• Does one shot leave a readable gap?

  Let the projectile clear the play space before Kern selects another attack. The gap confirms that the shot was avoided and gives room for repositioning, reflection, or a brief punish if those responses are supported.

Design mistakes

• The shot corrects its direction after release

  Late steering turns a straight single shot into hidden homing and invalidates the previewed line. If tracking is intended, show its strength and cutoff as a separate mechanic.

• The hitbox is larger than the projectile

  A small spark with a wide invisible collision radius punishes a visibly clean sidestep. Include glow and trail only when they communicate the real damaging extent.

• Fire rate removes the response window

  Repeated shots without a readable interval become a volley or rhythm pattern. Establish one complete shot and its gap first, then define repetition explicitly.

Tune the attack

• Derive presentation and collision from one trajectory

  Store a release origin, normalized direction, speed, and radius. Drive the sprite, trail, hit query, preview, and static thumbnail from those values rather than recreating the line in separate systems.

• Budget response time by distance

  A distant shot naturally adds travel time while a close shot may require a longer wind-up or lower speed. Test the shortest legal distance instead of balancing only from the default camera composition.

• Keep the emitter readable

  Spawn the projectile outside Kern’s silhouette and give the release a visible pose or flash. The player should identify the origin before effects, scenery, or the boss body conceal it.

• Escalate one projectile property at a time

  Speed, size, repetition, reflection, and tracking each change the response. Add only one after the base locked shot is readable, then re-test the full-body clearance.

Arena

• What the mechanic communicates

  One deliberate shot makes Kern feel precise rather than overwhelming. Its uncluttered line teaches the relationship between aim, release, travel, and evasion, which later projectile patterns can reuse or intentionally break.

Player upgrades

• Adapt it to the player verbs

  For walking or dashing, preserve enough perpendicular distance to clear both radii. If blocking, parrying, reflecting, or destroying the shot is supported, expose that interaction consistently and decide whether it replaces movement or creates a riskier reward path.

Do not confuse this with

• Keep the mechanic distinct

  A single shot has one projectile and one locked trajectory. A fan announces several diverging lines, a volley makes repetition part of the rule, and a homing projectile continues changing direction. Do not hide those added demands inside the base lesson.