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Ten Maxims Every FPS Should Follow

Posted by Zonk on from the do-it-right-the-first-time dept.

The Game Career Guide site has up a story that tries to lay down some rules for a good First Person Shooter. The article advocates in favour of player choices, fast action, and rich environments; keep the boring cutscenes and make sure the players are getting a great bang for their buck. From the article: "Don't allow the player to play the game half-heartedly, which is a dangerous stumbling block at any point of the game. Example: Half-Life 2. While the introduction presenting the environment of City 17 was much more effective than the tram sequence of Black Mesa from the game's predecessor, the sheer length of time between point insertion and getting the crowbar would never have worked in any other game."

2 of 155 comments (clear)

  1. I'd have to disagree here... by Clazzy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    An unbalanced game alternates between hordes of enjoyment-less cannon fodder (that only serve to drain ammunition) and ill-equipped players battling bosses. Example: Serious Sam II. The game moves from one grind to another, the only viable strategy is running in circles, hoping that the boss will show up before all Sam's guns are empty. Sometimes just playing a game where you just mindlessly kill stuff is very enjoyable. You don't ALWAYS want a deep plot or innovative gameplay, you do occasionally want to have hordes of enemies charging at you. FPS games could probably be subcategorised anyway. You'll want your deep, immersive enivronment like HL2, fast action like Serious Sam or maybe more of a horror FPS like FEAR.
    I can agree with the writer at places, but one person's set of ideas for what an FPS should be will be completely different to that of others.
    --
    If we can hit that bull's-eye, the rest of the dominoes will fall like a house of cards... Checkmate.
  2. Good topic, useless article by tomaasz · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The article doesn't really say anything interesting. The authors merely express their wishes as players. As an inspiration for game designers, this is more to the point: http://www.theinspiracy.com/Current%20Rules%20Mast er%20List.htm

    And here's my favorite game design rule:

    In every game there should be a five second goal, a 30 second goal, a 10 minute goal and a 5 hour goal (actual times may vary of course):

    5 seconds - see what's behind next corner, shoot an enemy.
    30 seconds - get to next floor/building, find key, make something explode, see nice scenery.
    10 minutes - get new weapon, encounter new enemy, finish a level.
    5 hours - finish the game.

    As long as the goals and rewards are enticing enough, it's all fine.