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Archivi per la categoria ‘Creative Team’

Di Claudio Scolastici.

CAPITOLO 2 KILLING OPTIONS
Come si sono evolute le tecniche per elargire morte dei protagonisti degli shooter? Dal freelook alle complesse strategie a base di plasmidi di Bioshock, verranno ripercorse tutte le tappe fondamentali del cammino del perfetto mass-murderer. Leggi tutto

CHAPTER 2 KILLING OPTIONS
How did the techniques to spread dead evolve through time in the genre? From the free-look option to the complex strategies based on plasmid cocktails in Bioshock, let’s go back over the stages on the path of the perfect mass-murderer. Read all

CAPITOLO 2 KILLING OPTIONS

Come si sono evolute le tecniche per elargire morte dei protagonisti degli shooter? Dal freelook alle complesse strategie a base di plasmidi di Bioshock, verranno ripercorse tutte le tappe fondamentali del cammino del perfetto mass-murderer.

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Alla testa, bisogna colpirli alla testa!

La prossima feature di cui voglio parlare è il freelook, ossia la possibilità di ruotare lo sguardo a 360° per guardarsi intorno.

Il freelook è stato introdotto molto presto nel sistema di controllo degli shooter 3D, e non poteva essere altrimenti. È talmente naturale guardarsi intorno mentre si fanno le cose (parlo della vita reale, non solo nei giochi), che se un gioco è in prima o terza persona pare impossibile che non si possa fare. Infatti non mi ricordavo che in Doom non ci fosse il freelook, e a giocarci adesso ho difficoltà a mirare i nemici. Cerco di alzare lo sguardo…ma non si può. Anche a scriverlo, sembra assurdo!

La ragione per cui parlo del freelook non è però solo per il modo in cui ha consentito di aumentare il feeling dei controlli di gioco (soprattutto negli FPS), ma soprattutto perché ha innescato una vera e propria evoluzione nel genere. L’evoluzione consiste nella possibilità di prendere la mira sui bersagli.

Questo ha permesso ai designer di implementare nei loro giochi la meccanica dei danni localizzati: sparare alla testa per uccidere sul colpo, sparare alle gambe per far cadere a terra un avversario, o alle braccia per fargli perdere le armi.

La maggior parte dei giochi si limita a rendere più mortali gli headshots rispetto ai colpi destinati alle altre parti del corpo del nemico, ma ci sono dei casi in cui questa feature è adottata in maniera più significativa.

A fronte di shooter come Soldier of Fortune, in cui la localizzazione dei danni è una soluzione più che altro estetica, implementata per aggiungere spettacolarità alle morti dei nemici, ce ne sono altri, come RE Umbrella Chronicles, in cui la localizzazione dei danni è parte fondamentale del gameplay, perché aumenta le chance di sopravvivenza del giocatore che la applica. Se spari ad uno zombie alle gambe quello cadrà a terra, rallentando così l’imminenza del suo attacco, e permettendoti di occuparti di altri bersagli.

Come illustrato dal grafico successivo, RE Umbrella Chronicles espande un bel po’ lo spazio del gameplay sull’asse delle possibilità offerte per uccidere i nemici (KILLING OPTIONS).

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La capacità di mirare i propri colpi dirigendoli verso zone specifiche sul corpo del nemico aggiunge una notevole dose di tatticismo agli shooter, ed incarna benissimo il motto easy to learn, difficult to master: sebbene siamo tutti in grado di colpire il bersaglio grosso, solo i giocatori più skillati riescono a ottenere un preciso headshot nel bel mezzo di uno scontro concitato.

Scommetto che finora avete tutti pensato a zombie\alieni\androidi\nazisti che crepano perdendo teste, braccia e quant’altro. Ma il discorso non si esaurisce qui. Il bagaglio di realismo portato dai danni localizzati ha contagiato anche i giocatori (o meglio, i loro personaggi), dando vita ad un filone di giochi, quasi tutti intitolati ad un noto scrittore, in cui vale la regola del one shot one kill. Si tratta di giochi che io considero di nicchia, in cui la possibilità di morire per un singolo proiettile ben indirizzato implica che il giocatore venga punito al minimo errore; e questo può risultare frustrante, alla lunga.

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Conosci te stesso

Alcuni shooter permettono al giocatore di modificare nel corso del gioco le abilità\caratteristiche del suo personaggio. Si tratta sostanzialmente dell’introduzione di elementi da RPG nelle meccaniche classiche di uno shooter (il futuro del genere, secondo Cliffy B).

Attraverso questa operazione si mette a disposizione del giocatore un sistema flessibile di editing del personaggio, con cui il giocatore può plasmare il proprio personaggio a immagine e somiglianza del gameplay che desidera.

Prendiamo per esempio Bioshock. In Bioshock il giocatore spende una moneta chiamata adam per acquistare plasmidi. I plasmidi vengono equipaggiati sul personaggio, e gli consentono di servirsi di abilità quali quella di appiccare il fuoco ai nemici, o di farsi aiutare dai robot di guardia negli scontri a fuoco, o ancora di spacciarsi per un alleato dei suoi avversari. Queste abilità, combinate con le caratteristiche delle armi, offrono al giocatore una moltitudine di strategie differenti nell’approcciare gli scontri a fuoco, e anche di essere piuttosto creativo. Ad esempio quando gli permettono di appiccare il fuoco ad un nemico, per poi finirlo con un missile a ricerca di calore. Oppure di far fuori un intero gruppo di nemici, che si trovano casualmente su una pozza d’acqua, fulminandoli.

Vi risparmio il paragone grafico tra Doom e Bioshock, perché sarebbe inclemente verso il primo. Tuttavia è già chiaro quale grado di complessità si possa evocare negli shooter odierni nel momento in cui si strizza l’occhio ad altri generi. Le variabili in gioco di cui il player si può avvantaggiare diventano così tante e diverse, che in alcuni casi, come appunto in Bioshock, lo spazio del gameplay si espande in direzioni non sempre previste negli schemi dei designer. È quello che tecnicamente si chiama emergent gameplay, punto di forza dei giochi con una marcia in più rispetto alla massa.

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CAPITOLO 3 ARSENAL

Ogni mestiere ha i suoi strumenti; le armi sono gli strumenti degli shooter. Scopriamo come si sono evolute e come il concetto di arma si sia espanso nel tempo, fino a comprendere strumenti esotici come lame rotanti o dispositivi per il rallentamento del tempo.

Restate connessi!

Disclaimer: tutti i diritti delle immagini appartengono ai legittimi proprietari.

CHAPTER 2

KILLING OPTIONS

How did the techniques to spread dead evolve through time in the genre? From the free-look option to the complex strategies based on plasmid cocktails in Bioshock, let’s go back over the stages on the path of the perfect mass-murderer.

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The heads, go for the heads!

Next feature I would like to talk about is free-look, the ability to look around in the game environment using a mouse or an an analogical stick on a pad.

Free-look was brought in very early in 3D shooters control systems, and it could not be any different. In real life it’s so natural and so important to look around while we do things, that it seems impossible that you cannot do that in a first or third person videogame. In fact, I didn’t remember that there is no free-look in Doom. And I face a hard time playing it now. I keep on trying to look up…but I simply cannot do that. It sounds weird to even write it down!

The main reason why I’m talking about the free-look feature is not that it improved the feeling with shooters controls (mainly FPS), but that it triggered a true evolution in the genre: with this feature players can finally aim to their targets.

With the possibility to aim, the designers could implement a damage localization system in their games: shoot the head to get an instant kill, hit the legs to make an enemy fall on the ground, or hit the arms to make him drop his weapons.

The majority of games restrict the damage localization system potential to making head-shots mortal hits, compared to other body locations hits. But there are some cases where this feature is used in a far more effective way.

While in Soldier of Fortune localized damage has mainly “entertaining” purposes, since it is only used to add drama to enemies’ death, in RE Umbrella Chronicles this feature is a critical aspect of the gameplay.

It increases in fact the chance of survival of the player who takes advantage of it: shoot at a zombie’s legs to make it fall on the ground, slowing its attack down, so that in the meanwhile you can take care of other targets.

The next chart shows how RE Umbrella Chronicles expands the gameplay extension field quite a bit on the Killing Options axis, compared to Doom.

The possibility to aim the shots towards specific enemy body locations boosters the tactical elements of 3D shooters, and it’s a perfect “gameplay translation” of the easy to learn, difficult to master motto. Although everybody can hit a sitting duck, only the most skilled players can aim a perfect head-shot in the middle of a hard fought shootout.

I bet you have all been thinking about zombies\aliens\robots\nazis die loosing heads, arms and so on. But there’s more than that. The amount of realism brought by the damage localization feature carried players’ avatars away too, giving birth to a number of games, the most part entitled to a popular novel writer, where the rule is one shot, one kill.

I consider these games a niche of the market, because if a single, well aimed bullet can cause the instant death of your character, you will pay dearly for any mistake, and that can be very frustrating on the long run.

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Gnôthi seautón

Some shooters allow the player to modify the abilities of his character as the game goes on. Basically it deals with putting classic RPG elements into shooters’ mechanics (the evolution of this genre, according to Cliffy B).

This way the player is provided with a flexible editing system for their character which may be used to mould the character’s image for the gameplay he desires.

Let’s take Bioshock as example. In Bioshock there is a currency called adam that the player can spend to acquire plasmids. Plasmids can be then equipped by the character, so that he gets special abilities like setting enemies on fire, making the guard robots help you during the shootouts, or even letting your enemies think you are a friend. These abilities combined with the different weapons characteristics, offer a lot of different strategies to engage the fight to the player, and to be very creative in doing so. For example you can set an enemy on fire, an then finish him with a nice and crispy heat-seeking missile, or kill an entire group of enemies accidentally walking into a pool of water, electrocuting them.

I will spare you the graphic comparisons between Doom and Bioshock, for it would be harsh on Doom. It is already clear that the complexity level that can be evoked in today’s shooters when the designers turn to other genre can be huge. So many different game variables that the player can take advantage of are involved, that the gameplay extension field in such games expands in directions not foreseen even by the designers themselves.

This is technically called emergent gameplay, the true strength of those games a step ahead of the mass.

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IN THE NEXT CHAPTER : ARSENAL. Every job has its tools, and weapons are a “shooter’s” tools. Let’s find out the way weapons evolved, and how the weapon concept stretched though time, to cover with exotic devices like whirling blades or gadgets to shift time.

Stay tuned!

Disclaimer: all pictures belong to their rightful owners.

by Claudio Scolastici

Please don’t shoot. A 3d shooters features analysis. This article is about the way 3D shooters improved through time, both on the gameplay and game mechanics level, thanks to the implementation of brand new features…Read all >>

Please don’t shoot. Analisi delle caratteristiche degli shooter 3D. Questo articolo contiene una analisi del modo in cui il genere degli shooter si sia modificato nel tempo a livello di gameplay e di meccaniche di gioco, grazie all’implementazione sistematica di nuove features…Leggi tutto >>

by Claudio Scolastici

Premise

This article is about the way 3D shooters improved through time, both on the gameplay and game mechanics level, thanks to the implementation of brand new features.
Some of these features were so critical that they set new standards for the genre, forming an integral and essential part for other 3D shooters to come.
The goal of this analysis is to sum what has been done so far up, in order to find new directions to head towards, so to expand 3D shooters mechanics.
When I say 3D shooters I mean those games where the player controls a character from a first or third person perspective, armed with a certain amount of offensive devices, in a 3D environment, the goal being to go through the game levels cleaning them out of any opposing force.

Games will be mentioned taking into consideration the features they introduced in the genre, without referring to their success or their good or poor quality.

Methodology

Games will be examined taking into consideration 4 main groups of features that typically define 3D shooters:

Character Mobility: does the main character crouch, or jump? Can he climb a ladder? Does the game provide any means for the character to move faster?

Killing Options: does the game allow me to kill in different ways? Can I shoot an enemy with a sniper rifle from a distance, or back-stab him with a knife? Can I electrocute him, or make him step on a landmine? Is there any difference between a leg hit or a head-shot?

Arsenal: how many weapons does the game provide? How many can the character carry with him? Are there any alternate fire modes, or can I equip weapons with different ammo types? Are there any unconventional or exotic devices to effectively kill enemies?

Environment: can I take advantage of the environment? Does the game allow the character to take cover, or hide in the shadows? Can I make an opening into a wall to create an alternate route to the enemy, or block him with a barricade?

The features breakdown into the 4 groups is merely approximate, because the groups inevitably overlap at some points. For example, arsenal variety in a game has an influence on the killing options that game provides (stealth backstabbing vs sniping from a distance).

Since this bias is an inescapable fact, I will do my best to mention only non-ambiguous examples for any group of features.

By making comparisons among games based on the interrelations between the 4 groups, I hope to provide a technique to analyze a complex theoretical construct as the gameplay extension field of a game, that is powerful and easy to read at the same time.

Let’s start!

INTRODUCTION

This section is about the Founding Father of all 3D shooters: Doom. Doom is the game that turned the industry on a dime (especially its sales!). But which game features described Doom?

In the beginning Id created Doom…

The first generation of 3D shooters that turned the industry on a dime has been led by Doom. To tell the truth, gameplay in Doom is cut to the bone: the main character can run horizontally, shoot and open doors. That’s it! He cannot jump, he cannot look up or down (unless you insert the line “m+look” via the command console, an illustrator told me), he cannot climb, and he moves at constant speed. To hit a target you just need to point towards its direction, without the possibility to really aim or split the hairs. Speaking about the arsenal, the player has a bunch of different and specific weapons at his disposal, that constitute a versatile equipment to fit every specific combat situation. This is a proof that a well differentiated and versatile arsenal is a fundamental feature in this genre, coded in its DNA since the very beginning. The game demands also to use an ACTION button to activate switches that open doors or move lifts. This features is an ever-present in these games, too.

If we trace the described features on a bar chart, we can get an image like the following.

The length of each bar represents (approximately) the number of features for each main group (of features) that Doom implements. As you can see, Character Mobility and Killing Options reach minimum values, while the Arsenal level is more than enough.

We can represent the same information in a different way, coding the 4 bars on a 4 axis chart. The polygon that we obtain gives a picture of what I call the “gameplay extension field” of a game: in this case, the gameplay extension field of Doom.

This chart is the yardstick for all other games that will be analyzed through the rest of this article.

CHAPTER 1 CHARACTER MOBILITY

This section is about the techniques game designers adopted over time to improve the realism and efficacy of game controls in the shooters post-Doom. From crouching to jumping, ’till the incredible acrobatic tricks that make games like Bionic Commando so good.

Dodge, Duck, Dip, Dive, Dodge. Dodge ball!

The first set of interventions to 3D shooters worked on the character movement and posture systems. Characters can now walk or run, climb ladders, jump or crouch. This way you can quickly evade enemy fire, or gain a vantage point, or hide, or walk a hidden passage. These really basic improvements have been included in the genre so naturally that it’s hard for me to remind when did that happen, and in which games. I just remember that you could jump in Duke Nukem, and crouch in Quake 2. If we now compare Duke Nukem with Doom, we get a chart similar to the following one. The dark polygon is a picture of the gameplay extension field in Doom, while the bright polygon represents the gameplay extension field in Duke Nukem.

As you can see, adding the jump feature (and a thing or two more) Duke Nukem spreads the gameplay of the FPS genre on the axis of Character Mobility. By adding this feature it also triggers a slight increase on the Environment axis, because the ability to jump and climb horizontal surfaces adds some vertical gameplay to the experience.

Fuel me up, please

Increasing the main character dexterity is not the only way to extend his mobility. Since Halo, many games could not but provide players with a certain number of means of transport to quickly cover long distances, and fight, if necessary. The availability of means of transport that are faster than the character’s legs allowed a critical growth of the game levels, and increased their complexity. With regards to this aspect I will mention Far Cry 2, which is set in no less than 50 Km2 (more or less) of hostile territory that the character can go across by feet, swimming, by car, boating (and I strongly suggest to do that at sunset, believe me!). If we add the gameplay extension field polygon of Far Cry 2 to the previous chart, we get the following image.

It’s obvious that the gameplay extension field of Far Cry 2 is wider than Doom’s on all 4 axis; but even if we just take into account the extension on the Mobility axis, there’s a remarkable difference between the two games.

We talked about some conventional ways to increase a character’s mobility, but they are not a complete exploration of the issue. There are in fact games that implement exotic gadgets which not only increase a character’s mobility, but they also achieve this goal in spectacular ways. I refer to the jet-pack in Dark Void (or maybe I should say Tribes), or to Nathan Spencer’s bionic arm, in Bionic Commando. These characters literally fly, therefore it would be a useless effort to chart them: they would easily get out of the page!

William Augustus Grey happily fluttering through the skies in Dark Void.

IN THE NEXT CHAPTER: KILLING OPTIONS. How did the techniques to spread dead evolve through time in the genre? From the free-look option to the complex strategies based on plasmid cocktails in Bioshock, let’s go back over the stages on the path of the perfect mass-murderer.

Stay Tuned!

Disclaimer: all pictures belong to their rightful owners.