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Denver, 9:28 AM
Tue Dec 1
65 posts in the last 24 hours
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10/12/09
I'm sure it'll be a nice feather in a developer's cap, but I'm not sure it's not already covered in the "Best Game of the Year" criteria.
Some video game awards already mirror their movie counterparts (have a look at [www.edge-online.com] , though they skip the best script one - and depending on how you feel about game stories, maybe for the best-), but the major distinction isn't so much in the categories, but in the subject matter itself.
The definition of "game" in the Merriam - Webster Dictionary hinges on the active participation of the player. Shouldn't the moniker "Game of the Year" already encompass the best controls / user experience since that is how we define "game" and look for when we indulge ourselves in reflection as the last few minutes of the year tick on?
10/12/09
Hell, just because something is the best game doesn't mean that it has the best controls.
10/12/09
Thinking on the controls, I remember them being simple and walking the line of button mash and actual timing/combos worth figuring out.
ANd yeah the reflex thing was pretty sweet where it rewarded your constant killing, you got a good amount of bonus points for when you did 'creative' kills as well.
10/12/09
[lowfierce.blogspot.com]
[lowfierce.blogspot.com]
[lowfierce.blogspot.com]
[lowfierce.blogspot.com]
I think David Sirlin linked to it when explaining part of the appeal of Street Fighter while working on SSFIITHDR and how some games just felt 'right' (the slight slowdown emphasising big hits, I think is mentioned, for example).
I think good controls can actually make a lot of games. There may not be a lot of depth, but if they're fun to pick up and just play that goes a long way.
10/12/09
Having not played Wolverine yet, I'm really pleased you mentioned the reflex system. It sounds great and although it's certainly not new I've never heard of it in a game like Wolverine before. Judging by some of the comments here, the system could still use a lot of work but I still think it's worth rewarding the devs for experimenting with gameplay mechanics from other genres in ways that make sense. I'd love to see more games implement the kind of system you describe, especially if they can take it a step further rather than just copy it. This kind of a mechanic seems like a great way to bring RPG elements to games where leveling up or experiance points just dont make sense.
Thanks for the article, I'm much more excited about eventually playing Wolverine than I was before.
10/12/09
It was also much more necessary as the enemies were tougher...In Wolverine by the time you have fought 20 of any particular enemy there are no surprises left and the challenge is minor, or non-existant.
Usually hentai games are not known for bringing new innovation to gaming but this was one case where its true.
I believe it came out in Japan in 1991, does anyone know of an older game that had this sort of system?
10/12/09
Best Camera, Best Controls, Most Visceral, Best Voice acting, there are certainly a few others. Most of these get lumped into presentation, but there is a difference why it is more fun to beat up or shoot someone in one game than another. The Visceral combat in Batman always makes me wince a bit when I see a blow delivered. I'm sure Wolverine's is pretty good too (from the demo).
10/12/09
10/12/09
Anyway, Visceral, means easy to understand, to get into. This means the game wouldn't need a 10 page explanation of how to do something. An example of a game that wasn't visceral, was FF8, with the way it had to keep explaining the junction system. An example of a visceral game, would be say, Super Mario Galaxy, where the controls are easy, simple, and do not require being a gamer of epic skill, or to read the manual.
Assuming I have it right.
I'd like to see an award for games that don't come from an established studio that do well against expectation. Call it an underdog award.
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When you boil it down, what the reflex system does is make a task easier after you've already proven to the game that you're capable of performing that task many times over. So basically, it provides assistance in an area where no assistance is needed.
If you look at it the other way, if you're not able to defeat a certain type of enemy, you would benefit greatly from assistance from the game, but since you can't defeat the enemy, you'll never get that assistance.
This is what's always been great about experience systems. In early RPGs, I was never discouraged if I was having trouble against a certain type of enemy, because I knew I could go fight another type that I was more successful against, then go back to where I was having trouble, only now with a stronger character. In games that have that kind of generic xp system, the people that need assistance can get assistance.
10/12/09
10/12/09
In other news - right now, we're talking about killing and rape&pillage-mechanics in exactly the same way as girls do about sex in women's magazines.
Like, oh my god. This is freaking me out.
10/12/09
This idea of getting better against enemies is handy but seems, as you said, more of an apology for the lack of variety or challenge elsewhere. Sure, I guess it's a sort of representation of Wolverine knowing these guys' 'weakpoints' but most of them are humans anyway.
It could've been implemented so that he maybe develops a better way of countering a specific enemy's attack. Or opens up more options for dealing with them. Just dealing more damage seems pretty shallow although, as you say, it is better than nothing.
Secondly, that points out that the game is not really challenging you by perhaps mixing up how the enemies behave or engage you. Instead of having to learn patterns or weaknesses the game is simply handing them to you. Sure there may be varying tactics to fighting each enemy (all I got from the demo was that sometimes you have to lunge at a guy when he lunges at you) but this is not a well thought out combat system. Are they simply making you deal more damage so they can be excused for throwing more of the same enemies at you and calling that a difficulty curve?
In this way it seems more like an RPG where you are levelling up and getting stronger and can just bash enemies you've faced before and win quite easily without learning that maybe they're weak against fire or water magic or whatever. Except this time you're not revisiting an old area, you're still progressing through the game.
10/12/09
Congrats, dude. Any idea what comment finally made them realize the brilliance that is hot_heart?
Also: check your PM's.
10/12/09
I seemed to have got it from some other reply to Stephen in this post. Props to Stephen regardless of whether this is temporary or not!
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10/12/09
But one thing I liked about it is that instead of "do more damage" other bonuses were given, like being better able to see where the teleporting dudes were going. I'd prefer something where blocking/dodging enemies became easier rather than just "do more damage", maybe even add new 'fatalities' for when you kill them.
10/12/09
And inFAMOUS has the best 3rd-person controls of any game I've ever played. Whether you're hanging off the railroad tracks, surfing on a wire between buildings, or flying through the air, the target mechanic is in full effect.
If you know of a game that does it better, let me know because it was a joy to play!
10/12/09
Mm. It's not as consciously made part of the story-telling as for example Psychonauts.
But the mechanic with the zoom and the way your character never will obscure the view - that you can switch hands if you're behind cover.. the small zoom when you aim, the natural switch of the camera-focus to the hand instead of Cole's head. The way the camera avoid bobbing with the rest of the model when aiming. Looking over edges, following your direction when you're running, without instantly switching away if you have a target you're trying to follow. All of those, I haven't seen anything as well-made as that since ... Sly Cooper. :p
10/12/09
As for Sly, I missed it on the PS2 and just figure that inFAMOUS' controls is probably an evolution of whatever they did with Sly.
10/12/09
Yeah, I think that's right. Sly had more guided cameras, because there are more set pieces in the game. (The same with Psychonauts. The free camera there isn't quite so good..) But it seems they kept the things that worked, and added some of that thinking to infamous.
I really wonder how they do the prediction things, because it's not obvious that you should dip the camera a little bit near an edge, or something like that - it has to be dependent on the direction you're going.. or maybe it has to do with the distance to the objects, and so on.. in any case, it's well done.
lol.. and the ability to turn the camera 180 degrees around towards the side of a wall you're standing on, without slowing down, or feeling like you're stuck in the wall, or stuck in a torch at 2fps. That should be standard for all 3rd person games.
So they're a solid contender for best controls, yeah.
..the rest of the game.. I just finished the campaign, after running around Empire city at random for a few weeks... The junkpile, the prison - it's really good, imo. It comes together well, story-telling and gameplay. (Not often you can say that..)
10/12/09
On the Wolverine's killing things idea...eh. It was rather boring, repetitive, and simplistic. I'd say Prototype easily takes that spot. You may be able to argue boring and repetitive about Prototype too, but damn, there was a lot of insane ways to kill things in that game, from punching them, slashing them, throwing them at the wall, kicking helicopters, hijacking 4 helicopters and destroying them without hitting the ground, throwing cars at them, shooting, devestators, tanks, stealth kills, the bizarre patsy ability, on and on and on. THAT'S what the approach to killing in an action game should be.
Don't have much to say about controls. The best controls aren't really notable for being the best. They're simply meant to work. It's like comparing brands of paper. The bad ones are obvious, but the good ones have nothing especially notable to most - they just function as paper.
10/12/09
As for the invisibility of good controls, I disagree. Decent controls can be invisible. But the controls of Mario's movements in Mario 64 feel magical. Wii Sports Resort offers an interesting mixture of controls that feel bad, that feel good and that feel great. I think you can commend the greats.
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Oh, and I have nothing nice to say about Prototype, so I'll just keep my big trap shut on that topic. :p
10/12/09
ps. I did a thing [fullydeconstructiblescenery.blogspot.com] and I will post it in tomorrow's TAY, hopefully, to get more people seeing it. Please read and let me know what you think.
10/13/09
10/12/09
On a slight aside, was just thinking over the weekend that it would be nice to have Kotaku cover "older" games from more personal experiences, just to keep some games in the limelight, or to see how well time has treated them. I know other sites do this, but I think it would add a more personal touch to the gaming blog that is Kotaku.
In any case, good stuff. Looking forward to the next installment.
10/12/09