I want to see puzzles that are implemented using the physics engine. And I don’t mean “toss the axe in the proper arc to trigger the gate” physics. I mean “stack the bricks on one end of the seesaw to balance it long enough to make the jump to the next platform”. Or “use the blue barrels’ buoyancy to raise the platform out of the water”.
Yesss and more destruction physics. I miss watching cars crumple and get torn apart like in the burnout games. There was a really old ww2 dogfighting game where the plane wings could get sawn off and you’d see this smoking plane spiralling into the ground while the wing flew off in the opposite direction before the plane exploded on the ground.
I think those were mind blowing when I first played hl2, just because real time physics and destruction was novel, but now I think they grind the pacing to a halt. I think they just don’t work in an action shooter IMO.
My opinion is the exact opposite. Narrative games, even action shooters, need to have high action and low action parts in balance. If high action segments are excessive, it can lead to combat fatigue. If low action parts are excessive, the player gets bored and the pacing dies.
Half-Life 2 E1, the “Low Lives” chapter, has probably the most stressful combat in the game because the player has to balance so many things. Shooting the zombies attacking Gordon versus helping Alyx fight. Helping Alyx versus keeping the flashlight charged. Firearms versus explosive props. All of that in oppressive darkness. Combat fatigue sets in. The short puzzle segments, even as simple as crawling through a vent to flip a switch, are opportunities to take a breath, absorb the environment, and prepare for the next segment – especially at the end of that particular chapter, when the player escapes the zombies and has a chance to wind down.
At the same time, puzzles, by their slower nature, are excellent for delivering narrative and player training, and to let the player absorb the atmosphere. Alyx’s first encounter with the stalkers in “Undue Alarm” wouldn’t have had the same emotional impact if the player could just pop them in the head and move on.
In contrast, most of “Highway 17” is just a prolonged vehicle-based puzzle. By the time the player reaches the large railway bridge, they might be sick of driving. I know I was. It’s a relief to finally engage in some platforming and long-range combat while traversing the bridge.
So what are the narrative values of my two examples? The cinderblock seesaw in “Route Kanal” is just player training. A show, don’t tell method to let the player know that physics puzzles will be a factor. It’s also a short break after the on-foot chase, before the encounter with the hunter chopper. In “Water Hazard”, the contraptions serve a larger narrative purpose: they’re the tools of the rebels’ refugee evacuation effort. The player utilizes them like one of the refugees would have.
There’s plenty of better deep dives on YouTube, but basically it’s a system in Shadows of Mordor (and moreso in Shadows of War) that would take a random NPC you were fighting and were joined by (or almost killed,) and elevate them thematically. If one knocked you down there’s a chance they would pick up your sword and break it, smack talk you, and walk away. That guy, of his name was Doug, became Doug the Sword Breaker. Never time you saw him, he’d get a short introduction and a quip or two to remove you of who he was.
If you died, since you were a spirit they’d just mock that they already best you before. But if you were killing them, they might get a scene where they manage to get away to amplify the story. Or maybe you’ll just kill them. It was random and happened with random NPCs, elevating them in the enemy army.
I believe in the second one you could even mind control someone, and take out the people above them, and have a spy in the upper ranks.
Imagine an action game with some Crusader Kings plot drama happening.
Honestly I think there’s probably enough prior art to get away with using whatever you wanted from it. But a) I’m no lawyer and b) I’m not risking millions of dollars making a game.
The nemesis system patents and Namco’s loading screen mini game patent are two examples of why game mechanics and features should never be granted an exclusive patent.
Of course Namco’s patents expired in 2015 at a time when seamless load screens had become the industry standard.
Who knows what the gaming landscape will look like when people are finally able to get their hands on the nemesis system again?
I’m currently enjoying a Skyrim playthrough that uses the Nemesis mod. It doesn’t have ALL of the features that the shadow series does of course, but I’m really enjoying it!
At my gaming PC, I got Logitech G560 speakers and also a G733 headset. Both were gifts. I slightly prefer the headset (used to gaming with headphones after decades), but the speakers are nice to give my ears a temporary rest plus them lighting up the wall behind the monitor is cool.
On the TV, an Ultimea soundbar + rear speakers set. Cheapest I could find with surround where subwoofer and rears are wireless as due to my living room layout running cables there would be impractical. Not the best soujd but worlds better than the TV itself and good enough for all my gaming needs.
It didn’t really take off to begin with but dual screen support like Supreme Commander had with the real-time map overview on the 2nd monitor. It could be a skirmish map or live track map for a racing game, live scoreboard, player status or inventory system.
S760D (5.1) from edifier. It punches far above its weight imo. I use a sennheiser pc37x if I need to be in voice chat but as good as headphones sound I don’t necessarily want to be wearing them all day.
The grappling hook was a common mod in the original QuakeWorld scene and was included in the official Quake II CTF game mod. I’m surprised it didn’t become a mainstay in games afterwards, it was so fun to use. Shogo: Mobile Armor Division had it built in and was one of the most fun FPS games I had ever played until cheaters took over.
Tanking with shields (force/kinetic shields in sci-fi games, not physical shiekds)
I liked when games let you face-tank damage with your shield (like in Mass Effect, before Andromeda where they made shields weak af anf even removed shield gating) and not having to care for healing (unless you lose all your shields)
I don’t know if it’s due to the souls-like trend, but it feels like game developers need to make punitive games nowadays
Battlezone II had force shields. They used your vehicle’s weapon energy. The shields used energy, and also taking hits would drain your energy. You needed a ship with fast energy regen to make the most use out of them. One ship from the X-Mod mod, the Jade Falcon, could actually regenerate faster than the shields drained. So you could keep them on all the time, and still shoot some. It wasn’t invincible by any means, but that regen speed plus the fact that the radar ping twice as frequently made it my absolute favorite ship.
After many years I finished myself a few weeks ago! Nice gameplay, and funny you mention Arkham which I played for the first time also a month ago and it’s definitely recycled mechanics, which is good!
Thank you! It’s been a lot of fun doing these. I’m just glad I’ve gotten a chance to talk about games I play. I like to help people broaden their horizons, and I think in a way this has helped me broaden mine too. There’s been so many people who have suggested new games and other stuff that it’s helped me try new experiences (ironic considering all the Halo it’s been lately though).
It was quite some time ago when I played the game, so I might not remember everything.
The story felt like it was a good continuation of the first title and somewhat tied in to the books/movies.
The combat was fleshed out more with more moves and weapons
more interesting uruks, personalities, afflictions they can developed as a result of the way you killed them first
the sieges were a cool addition
It was definitely more of the same in a way but it was executed well. There was that whole controversy around real-money loot boxes to pull good uruks from that you could employ to guard your fort, in a way being pay 2 win if you had money to spend on loot boxes. But at least that was removed and made free.
I just realised the game came out like 7 years ago. Where does the time go…
I always hear people praise the Shadow franchise, and not to put Mordor down, but get the feeling War is the one everyone is talking about, so I do plan on playing it. I know a bit about it and it sounds like a lot of fun
bin.pol.social
Aktywne