Monster infighting
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Monster infighting is a term popularized by the first person shooter videogames in the Doom series and other similar games released in the 1990s. Basically, monster infighting consists in maneuvering such that two or more of the computer controlled opponents (e.g. the Doom monsters) into attacking (infighting) each other. This can usually be accomplished by moving the player character so that he is colinear with two adversaries; in the attempt of firing upon the player, enemies will cast their attack regardless of the fact a fellow monster may be blocking their line of sight, thus subjecting their companion to friendly fire. The enemy hit by mistake will usually return fire upon the attacker, thus starting the monster infighting. This benefits the player in three ways: by reducing the number of enemies attacking the player, by conserving ammunition, and by providing general amusement to players. Monster infighting has become a novel aspect of Doom and its sequels, add-ons, and spin-offs. Indeed, most games do not give the enemies the ability to hurt each other, much less the ability to retaliate. In more recent first-person shooters, however, enemies are intelligent enough not to fire if a fellow soldier is in the way.
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[edit] Monster infighting in the Doom series
Some levels of Doom and Doom II sport large, open areas where a lot of monsters of different types are located; these levels are perfect for luring monsters into infights, and a few even revolve partially around making the monsters fight each other, as the player would stand little chance of taking out all enemies by himself. Examples of levels where this strategy can be employed are "The Courtyard", MAP18 in Doom II, and "Gotcha!", MAP20 in Doom II. In the latter of these, the player has to face the two most powerful enemies in the game at the same time, a Cyberdemon and a Spider Mastermind: the player can enhance his chances of survival by employing monster infighting, to let the two bosses shoot each other and eventually finish off the already wounded survivor.
According to Doom logic, however, monsters of the same type or species are immune to each other's projectiles, with the notable exception of firearms that use bullets, such as those used by the zombies. This means that getting two of the same monster to fight each other is very difficult, requiring a player to cause indirect damage by a nukage barrel explosion to the other. In version 1.1 of Doom, a monster that had caused itself damage by destroying a nearby barrel would commit suicide.
A Lost Soul is an exception to the general rules of infighting due to its "charging" method of attack; if it charges into another Lost Soul, the injured Soul will retaliate once. If hit, the first Soul will then retaliate back, and so on, until one misses (at which point the Souls will resume attacking the player) or dies. Lost Souls will fight to the death any other class of monster that attacks it as usual.
Interestingly, Spider Masterminds who shoot bullets will also engage in combat with one another if hit. However, being a boss monster, it is extremely rare to find two Spider Masterminds so close to one another that would allow them to fight. In the original levels of the Doom series, the only such place is in "The Spirit World", MAP28 of Doom II, and then only on the highest skill levels.
Note that the game logic that renders monsters immune to their own projectiles is controlled by a simple flag in the executable file and can be toggled on or off by DeHackEd or similar executable-editing tools.
[edit] Monster infighting in other games
Monster infighting is also present in several other game titles,
[edit] Halo 1
In Halo 1 it is possible when a grunt is about to throw a grenade at you. Sometimes he will hit an Elite that stands too close to the grunt. Covenant, Flood, and Sentinels all fight each other at various parts of the story.
[edit] Halo 2
Late into the singleplayer campaign in Halo 2, there are several scripted events where the various races of the Covenant will fight each other. Enemies fight each other at various parts of the story.
[edit] Roguelike games
Monster infighting, while not ubiquitous in roguelike games, is common enough in the genre that it is not considered unusual. In some games, such as Angband, only certain powerful monsters have the capability and inclination to initiate mêlée fighting with their comrades; this kind of infighting is considered a disadvantage for the player, because it means that a powerful monster cannot be corralled behind a "buffer" of weaker monsters — it will simply fight its way through to the player.
In other games, such as certain variants and patches of NetHack, certain kinds of monsters carry an innate animosity toward other kinds; for example, in some games an orc will attack an elf in its line of sight, regardless of what the player is doing. This is typically considered an advantage for the player, although it can turn into a disadvantage if one (or both) is a pet of the player.
[edit] Marathon
In the Marathon Trilogy, all monsters are flagged in relation to each other as "Friend," "Neutral," or "Enemy." Monsters that receive friendly fire from another enemy they are "Neutral" toward will immediately begin to return fire (for example, S'pht Compilers will immediately counterattack any monster, except Defenders and other Compilers). Monsters that are enemies are equally willing to fight eachother as they are the player, depending on who attacked the monster last. Monsters that are friendly to each other will excuse friendly fire.
However, many monsters, when they are almost out of health, become "berserk" and, among other augmentations such as more speed and aggression, will attack any monster they see, regardless off their relation status. The most common application of this is with Pfhor Troopers, who are notorious for causing friendly fire to the point of "berserking" another Trooper, which will then return fire. Because Troopers are fairly powerful enemies, this form of monster infighting is very useful, especially on the higher difficulty levels, where Troopers are considered to be the most threatening monsters in any of the games.
[edit] Final Fantasy
In Final Fantasy XII, monsters may attack each other in battles with the player. In other Final Fantasy games, a 'confused' monster will attack other enemies, which will sometimes cause a retaliation.
In Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, a player may "Charm" an opponent, which causes the victim to attack their allies until they comes to their senses. If the charmed character is a White Mage, he/she may heal your allies when they have low HP. The charm usually wears off after 2 turns, but will be immediately terminated if attacked, by you or the other team. Anybody may be Charmed, unless they have equipment equipped which nulls Charming. Occasionally, charming may be against the law, preventing the player from using Charm abilities unless they want to incur a penalty for it.
[edit] MMORPGs
In some MMORPGs several of the monsters may end up attacking each other, such as wolves attacking rabbits, in World of Warcraft. In City of Heroes, rival gangs will fight each other to the death in the streets, leaving small piles of bodies. In EverQuest 2, guards will violently attack all hostile creatures near them. In certain missions of Guild Wars enemies such the White Mantle army and the Stone Summit will engage each other on sight, often allowing the players to sneak by, avoiding (potentially damaging) combat.
[edit] Diablo II
In the game Diablo II, it is possible to cause monsters to attack one another through some methods. The Necromancer spell 'confuse' causes an effect similar to Final Fantasy, where they attack other monsters as well as the player. The Necromancer spell 'Attract' causes the monster it is cast upon to be considered an enemy by all other monsters within a specific radius of it, choosing to attack it over the player. The Paladin attack 'convert' causes any monster hit with it successfully (a % chance) to be temporarily recruited to the players' side, attacking other monsters and not attacking the player.
[edit] Spyro the Dragon Series
Enemies in the Spyro series can be tricked into attacking each other. Examples include gun monsters that fire upon less armed enemies, and gnorcs that smashed wizards with their clubs.
[edit] Ratchet & Clank Series
Some enemies in the Ratchet and Clank series will fight each other, whether or not the player causes them to. For example, in R&C1, on the planet Rilgar, amoeboids will attack and be attacked by other enemies who have been sent there to exterminate them.
[edit] Postal²
Non-player characters in Postal² frequently engage in monster infighting, though they do not need to be hit by friendly fire in order to do so. In some instances, if a law-enforcement NPC comes into line-of-sight of any other NPC (or the player) brandishing a weapon, the police officer or soldier will attack. The sound of a weapon being fired will also attract NPCs. As the game progresses, the gameplay world becomes more violent and NPC characters may be seen to spontaneously attack each other. As with Doom, infighting-related encounters are not resolved until either the target, or the NPC attacking, have been killed.
[edit] Other id Software titles
Besides Doom, it should be noted that similar monster infighting occurs in both Quake and Quake II. The Quake manual even mentions that "some monsters hate each other even more than they hate you", and that the enormous Shambler creature is even feared by "other monsters". In Quake II, more powerful enemies such as the hulking Tanks can be tricked into eliminating scores of weaker enemies.
In Return to Castle Wolfenstein (developed by Gray Matter Interactive), Nazi soldiers and the undead will fight each other in those levels which feature both.
[edit] Half-Life Series
This form of "racial animosity" also makes a small appearance in the original Half-Life, where the bullsquid will attack and kill any headcrabs in its vicinity. However, it will immediately cease this action and attack the player upon sight. Human soldiers, who are also enemies, are frequently encountered battling the game's alien foes.
In the later chapters of Half-Life 2, the player will come across parties of Combine soldiers fighting zombies. The Combine will at times be more preoccupied with the zombies than the player. Also in the levels featuring Antlions, where Combine soldiers will attack the Antlions and ignore (or not notice) the player.
A level of Half-Life 2: Episode One features a hospital where the player and their NPC ally can leap straight into the large-scale frays between Combine Soldiers and Zombies, or choose to hang back for a little while and pick off the final survivors.
[edit] The Suffering
In the Midway Games title The Suffering, Slayers will attack Mainliners on sight, and vice versa, unless otherwise engaged by the Player. Slayers and Festers will also attack each other in the same manner.
[edit] Grand Theft Auto Series
Though not a FPS genre, the GTA series contains instances similar to Monster infighting:
GTA 2 to GTA Vice City: Members of different gangs will attack each other on sight.
GTA San Andreas: Members of different gangs will attack each other on sight. Police NPCs will pursue and attack other NPCs comitting an infraction (usually ramming police car).
