Posted in Gameplay Wars on March 20th, 2012 by Peter Tcherkes – Be the first to comment
If you aren’t familiar with the term, gameplay beats are the “WOW moments” of a level. Like a strong and steady pulse, these moments punctuate the most memorable sections of gameplay. Acting as the high points of a rollercoaster experience, gameplay beats build tension and create memorable gameplay transitions, leaving a lasting impression on the player.
Bioshock, Uncharted, Modern Warfare and any other solid game/series with an emphasis on linearity stand out in this regard. Open world or sandbox games have their own wow moments, unlike linear games however, these moments are usually procedurally generated (majority of the Dragons in Skyrim, police chases in GTA, etc.) or scattered throughout the world and left alone for players to discover. While these moments can be incredibly memorable for the player, they usually lack any sort of pacing simply by the very nature of sandbox games.
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Posted in Gameplay Wars on February 16th, 2012 by Peter Tcherkes – Be the first to comment
Designing MMOs is often a Jeckyll and Hyde transition of shepherding players in a given direction while providing as much freedom as possible. Often times we create the illusion of freedom, which no matter how much we want to tell ourselves is still engaging and fun, is not the same thing.
Imagine stepping foot in Whiterun, one of the first cities players encounter in Skyrim. A short exploration confirms that city life is just not your cup of tea. Unfortunately, while you can see the rolling plains and the rocky cliffs in the distance, you are unable to leave the city because you haven’t spoken to the butcher who had his beloved donkey eaten by a fearsome rabid animal. The merchant demands that you investigate, and as such, your open world adventures have come to an abrupt end.
There is nothing more jarring than hitting the boundaries of design. Anything that breaks your immersion and clearly spells out what designers always try to cover up and players always know in the back of their minds, “THIS IS A GAME”.
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Posted in Gameplay Wars on February 2nd, 2012 by Peter Tcherkes – Be the first to comment
For those that aren’t familiar with the abbreviation, Defense of the Ancients, most commonly known as DOTA originally started out as a Warcraft III mod. DOTA defined a new genre, (with the gaming audience split between two labels: Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) and Action RTS) building on a foundation of a tower defense game in a multiplayer PvP setting. DOTA pits two teams of five players against one another with a single victory condition of destroying the enemy Ancient.
On the surface this sounds like a simple concept; In practice, each game has multiple layers of complexity that will give any RTS a run for its money.
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Posted in Gameplay Wars on January 22nd, 2012 by Peter Tcherkes – Be the first to comment
“Stealth-Action” is a term that seems to contradict itself. Games like Splinter Cell, Thief, Deus Ex, and Hitman offer two (or more in the case of Deus Ex) distinct ways players can traverse the environment. Some favor the action aspect of the game, moving through the levels with guns drawn as additional enemies abandon their tasks to “punish” the player for his audacity. Others choose to stay in the shadows, taking pride in outwitting their opponents, reloading save after save to finish each mission undetected. The vast majority of gamers probably fall somewhere in between, relying on a healthy combination of both play-styles to succeed.
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