suNit

0 comments by suNit on Mar 5th, 2008 digg this super bookmark

I am working on a competitive FPS game idea and am currently analyzing different aspects from past competitive games I have played. I am mostly using my experience with counter-strike 1.6 and halo 2. Most of the aspects I outline are applicable to any game. Please let me know what aspects should be emphasized or where I am going wrong. I am planning on creating a competitive game mod since I can’t play competitive games from college. Here are some of the best aspects of a competitive game that I have come up with:

When I first started my mod idea I wanted to create a mod that let the player do new things that they had never been able to do before which were wacky and crazy. I got it built up in my head that I could create the next best thing to the portal gun and that the more innovative I was the better my mod would be. I have come to the realization innovative doesn’t necessarily mean that it is an amazing game idea. I have some solid general ideas for my mod but I am struggling with the following:

Game Types / Game Rules
    o I want the game to have a building climax at the end of each game or round to increase the         intensity of the game. I would consider possibly having multiple climaxes but I think having             multiple climaxes would take away from the suspense of the game.
    o I am struggling with this part please help!

Map designs
    o I am also having trouble coming up with unique map ideas. I want to create maps designed by     strategy instead of strategy being designed by maps

Equipment
    o So far no new equipment ideas that haven’t already been used in other games. I want the         equipment in my game to accomplish the following:
        - Add more levels to strategy. Instead of taking positions by pure aim I want the equipment to         balance aim and strategy.
        - Add new possibilities on how they can take positions

Guns
    o So far I have the default gun types pistol, SMG, shotgun, rifle, sniper, and projectile weapons. I     am still not sure if I want to keep projectile weapons. When it comes to competitive games            players usually resort to always buying the same gun unless they don’t have enough money and     in that case they will use their default gun or resort to buying the same cheap gun all the time.     I want players to have to deeply contemplate on which gun to use in which position/strategy         they are using.

Revolutionary Ideas
    o I am trying to be more honest with myself about crazy new ideas and that crazy doesn’t             necessarily mean that it’s a good idea. I have been contemplating some of my new ideas for an         FPS but I am still not sure if they would be applicable for a competitive game-type
Game Engine
o I am currently playing with the idea of using the source SDK. I am not sure which of the games I want to make it a mod of so if you know which one would be the best for this type of game please let me know.

(The top 5 does not include community or leagues because those parts aren’t part of the development of the game itself.)
· The top aspects of a competitive game:

o Game/Game rounds end at a climax
o Advantages gained by clan based strategy
o Suspenseful and adrenaline pumping
o Balanced maps (optimized for strategy/tactical positions/correct size)
o Requires skill to play which can be developed (accuracy, reaction time, movement)

· Community (Extremely important aspect)
o If a game does not contain a community of players it can not be considered a competitive game. The one thing that keeps players playing after they become tired of a game is the community
o Clans
§ Suspense of recruitment/trying out
§ Committed to only one clan not multiple clans
o Esport-Popularity in community / being known
§ Becoming infamous and feared within the community

· Leagues (Extremely important aspect)
o Having a grouping/ranking of different teams
o Players should view pros as celebrities
o Players care whether they win or lose
o Have a prize / reward (sponsorships,
o Anti-cheat system and admins
o LAN Tournaments as well as online tournaments for money/prizes

· Strategy (Extremely important aspect)
o Clans must work together to capture positions or complete objectives
o The more fluidly a clan works together the better the outcome should be
o Players must work together to perform something unexpected such as boosting them into a position that is unexpected
o Strategy no matter what is still affected by the experience of the player

· Glitches ( in my case it would be on purpose J but shhhhh)
o Something that takes extreme skill to exploit / use which can be extremely useful in certain conditions
§ Example: Bunny hop in counter-strike 1.6 and the BXR,BXB,RRX in halo 2
o Glitch can’t be abused such as super jumps in halo 2

· Awareness
o Require the player to listen and pay attention to their surroundings/position
o Footsteps (to know if someone is coming and how many are coming)
o Distinct gun sounds (to know if they have a long range of close range weapon)

· Suspense
o For death or failure there has to be consequences
§ Knowing that if you die you won’t come right back to life
§ Players must value staying alive
o The game is winding down to the last minutes when it is a close game
§ Players must be able to tell how close they are to winning/losing. This is because if a player doesn’t know how close they are to winning/losing it doesn’t create enough suspense and will result in players going through the motions of the game instead of coveting every capture/kill/round they get
o Having everyone in the server watching you(dead spectator) clutch a win
§ Knowing that other people are watching you increases your adrenaline
o Being outnumbered or surprised
o Staying alive/killing the enemy or completing an objective results is better weapons and power-ups (if you don’t die you can’t lose your weapon/power-up)
o Anything that puts the odds of you winning or surviving extremely low
· Experience (Newbs => intermediate => professional)
o This is done by creating aspects in the game that require a learning curve. This learning curve is created by all of the other great aspects of a competitive game such as knowing the glitches, game aspects, and strategy
§ (must be careful not to make the game to complex or else the player will become lost)
o Players must learn the best places in the map to control and the best places to surprise their opponent
o A player must develop accuracy and reaction time

· Maps
o Different maps so that player does not become bored.
o Maps should require the players to develop new strategies
o
o Various sizes(maps should be well within the size of small-huge)
§ Small=bad (does not generate enough suspense creation or enough room for strategy creation and anticipation)
§ Huge=bad (players lose interest and end up playing long games of hide-n-seek with the enemy)
o Avoid an irritation found in all MMORPG games which is finding yourself running across a landscape wasting time just to get to a location and dieing within seconds

· Game Play Rules
o The speed of game play should work like a story except ending at its climax
§ Counter-Strike is an excellent example of this, each round ends with the anticipation of the bomb or the last players battling it out
o It is impossible/not as fun if a player is constantly in danger. If a player is always in danger they will never get any adrenaline pumping

· Movement
o The player movement speed should be fast based but not at a hyper-speed
§ Movement speed should be set so that the player does not get mad that they are moving so slow.
§ If movement speed is at a hyper-speed the player easily loses control of their player and counteracts many of the other aspects
o The player should be able to piece together fluid movements throughout the map
· Luck
o PWNing the other team such as an ace/killtacular/wicked sick/god like
o Killing someone without knowing it such as through a wall
o Killing multiple people with a single shot without trying
o Anything else in game that makes anyone say lol/rofl/how did that happen