Gamer's Perspective

[gamersperspective-blog]

What's Wrong With Skyrim and How To Fix it

  INTRODUCTION

 The Elder Scroll V: Skyrim is an open-world RPG released by Bethesda Softworks on the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. Skyrim has enjoyed both commercial and critical success largely because of its expansive world, quest lines, and other RPG elements. But there are a few flaws with its moment-to-moment gameplay. This gameplay pitch will try to improve upon an existing gameplay experience and is intended for an academic instructor.  

  THE CURRENT PROBLEM

Skyrim’s biggest problem with moment-to-moment gameplay is lack of control with melee combat. There are numerous weapons and a few different mechanics the player can use in combat such as light attacks, heavy attacks, and blocks. So on paper, melee combat in Skyrim looks like it could be fairly competent, but in practice, everything feels shallow and unsatisfying. Players do not have a lot of control with regard to how they want to swing their preferred weapon. Rapidly pressing the attack button while simultaneously walking away from an enemy to avoid being hit is the best tactic a player could use.

There is no strategy involved, which means that there is a lack of depth. Overall, combat has a low skill floor but it does not have a high skill ceiling. It would be easy for almost anyone to pick up the controller and start to button mash, but players who yearn for a deeper experience and the opportunity to show mastery and develop unique strategies will be disappointed. Moreover, because of this lack of control over combat, there is a feeling of repetition. The player’s inputs seemingly trigger the same two or three animations with button press.

  SOLUTION

The main solution to this problem is to implement analog controls for melee combat. Analog controls would be better than the current digital controls because it allows the player to choose how exactly he wants to swing a weapon. The digital controls that are currently implemented only allow the player to trigger a pre-canned attack animation that deals damage to enemies if the player is close enough.

With analog controls however, the player would have a larger assortment of possibilities with regard to exactly how he wants to swing a desired weapon. The player could choose exactly how hard he wants to swing, what body parts to target in what order, and in what direction he wants to swing. Because of the enhanced feeling of control, the player would be able to strategize how he wants to approach each battle, and if that strategy were indeed successful, the player would get to feel a sense of mastery and accomplishment. Because of the expanded amount of possibilities, repetition would take much longer to set in since there is no predetermined amount of attack animations.

  IMPLEMENTATION

This is how the new moment-to-moment gameplay experience will be with Skyrim’s combat system.

1.     Once in a combat situation, the player will take out his weapon with the “X” button and then hold down the right trigger to get into a combat stance with that equipped weapon.

2.     To lock onto a specific body part, the player (while still holding down the right trigger) presses the “A” button to cycle through the different body parts.

3.     To swing the weapon, the right analog stick is used. For heavy attacks, the player can pull back in one direction and push the stick in the opposite direction. For light attacks, the player simply pushes the stick in a desired direction without pulling back first.

4.     Rotating the right stick 360˚ will do a special attack.  

5.     Blocking is handled in the same way – holding down the left trigger.

6.     To do a shield bash, the player holds down the left trigger to block, and then pushes the right stick up.

  Additional note: A hit marker will appear accompanied by a “click” sound effect (e.g. Call of Duty multiplayer) that will provide the player with feedback when he lands a hit.

  CONCLUSIONS

With this new moment-to-moment combat system, the player will have a lot more control over each combat encounter. The new control scheme might take a while for players to get used to, but there will finally be a high skill ceiling since players can try to figure out ways to mix and vary their attack types and areas of each attack. Will the player choose to target the head only with heavy attacks or will he wear the body down with light attacks over time? The choice is up to the player.

  References

TheBestCODHitmarkers. (2011, December 4). Ultimate Hitmarker Montage. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCmZ3tCjfcQ

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. (n.d.). Retrieved April 18, 2012 from giantbomb.com: http://www.giantbomb.com/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim/61-33394/

[gamersperspective-blog]

Design & Developmental Analysis Project

25. Unfinished game/beta – Ghost Recon Future Soldier multiplayer beta (Xbox 360)

  Positives

+ Players can’t take a lot of damage before dying, which really makes staying behind cover and sticking with teammates important. Players are quickly punished for staying out in the open for extended periods of time

+ Cover system is intuitive and extremely functional – allows players to go quickly select a piece of cover and automatically sprint to that piece of cover by holding “A” button. While in the sprinting to cover state, player seems to move even faster than normal sprinting. This encourages players to use the cover system because the faster they move, they’re obviously harder to hit.

+ Players get extra experience points for getting kills while in cover, which provides yet another reason for players to play tactically and take their time while moving.

+ “Causality Assessment” gives players great feedback as to who killed them and from where. It also shows players what weapon killed them as well as the health status of their killer. Players can learn from this information and make adjustments going forward.  

+ Players get an extremely large amount of experiences points for reviving their teammates, which really encourages support actions and team play.

Negatives

-       HUD can be confusing – locating the objective marker can be a challenge at times, with numerous HUD elements on screen at once.

-       Some elements such as the player getting “detected” aren’t explained well. This can be very confusing and frustrating for players who don’t know what’s going on.

-        Not enough feedback for hitting enemies. It can be hard to tell if you’re hitting an enemy, especially at long range.

-       Blast radius for grenades is way too large. A player can be sitting behind cover and still be killed. Overall, grenades seem to be overpowered, and can throw off the balance of the game.

Thoughts

∼ It seems to take a while to level up. Players should be rewarded early on in order for them to continue to be interested in the game.

∼ Most weapons have a high amount of recoil, making them really hard to use at medium to long range. This makes the use of sniper rifles more relevant, since this seems to be the only weapon that can handle long-range combat. 

∼ It seems strange that a cover based shooter like this doesn’t have a blind fire mechanic.

∼ Grenades can be thrown an extremely long way, even when not aiming first. In a game that’s trying to be tactical and realistic, this aspect seems odd.

Would Likes/Fixes

° A blind fire mechanic would allow players under fire to shoot while not exposing themselves to danger.

° Looking at all the unlocks, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of weapons to strive for, so more unlockable weapons would be nice.

° A hit marker to let players know when their shots hit their intended target would cut down on the confusion involved with gun fights.

° A team deathmatch option – players who don’t want the complexity of objective based game types could enjoy the game as well.

[gamersperspective-blog]

Design & Developmental Analysis Project

20. Mobile phone game – Angry Birds Space (IOS)

  Positives/Gameplay Successes

+ Boss battles are fun and a creative – it’s a nice change from the rest of the gameplay because it forces the player to focus his attention on a single powerful target rather than multiple weak targets.

+ Space eagles are powerful weapons that can help players who might be stuck on a particular level. This bird can alleviate the frustration that can comes from constantly failing to pass a level by creating a black hole that sends pigs flying, dealing massive damage. It’s not a guarantee however, as it still takes a certain amount of skill to fling the eagle in the correct place, so it’s balanced pretty nicely.

+ Gravitational pull, momentum, acceleration, and other elements of physics come into play that forces the player to consider how each of the elements will affect their shot. Because of this, the player must think carefully and analyze each situation before each shot.

+ A lot of levels can be completed in multiple ways, which adds a sense of non-linearity to the game. This makes planning and strategizing even more fun because there’s no clear method to succeed. 

+ Getting a 3 star rating on levels is a very hard thing to do, which adds replay value.

Negatives/Gameplay Failures

-       Luck plays a big factor in the player’s ability to complete puzzles. The player could hit a structure one time, and then hit that same structure in the same place and the results could be completely different. This makes the player’s skill matter less.

-        The ice bird feels underpowered, as it only freezes structures, making them weaker. If this bird could actually deal damage, it would a lot more useful.

-       The player can’t choose the order in which to use his birds. If the player had that option, it could add another layer of planning and strategizing.

-       Aiming can be really sensitive. If the player lifts his finger off the screen at a slight angle, the bird might go in an undesirable direction.

Thoughts

∼ There are lines that show the trajectory of a shot, which can make the game easier at times. This somewhat takes the element of trial and error out of the game to an extent, which some players may or may not like. 

∼ Players have the option of buying space eagles with real money, which feels like a way to cheat in the game. Overall, it can make the game feel unbalanced if a player decides to buy spaces eagles, rather than earning them.

∼ The standard red bird is the only bird without a special power. Could it be a balancing issue?

∼ The green bird’s special power doesn’t seem to do much of anything, which leaves the player to rely only on it’s massive size to do any damage.

Would Likes/Fixes

° More worlds and levels. There’s not a lot of content as of now – the game be completed fairly quickly.

° More bird types. Maybe there could be a fire bird that can set wood on fire and do deal a little damage as well.

° Environmental hazards could add a risk-reward element to gameplay. Maybe there could be black holes, meteors, and other things of that nature.

° More enemy types could be interesting – there could be bigger pigs that can take more damage, and maybe smaller pigs that move around but can’t take a lot of damage before getting killed.

[gamersperspective-blog]

Design & Developmental Analysis Project

14. Game balance/ramping in a videogame – Trials Evolution (Xbox Live Arcade)

  Positives/Gameplay Successes

+ Instead of a massive tutorial at the beginning of the game that shows players all the mechanics at once, there are smaller ones that teach players as they go along, which is a much more efficient way to learn.

+ Beginning levels are easy, but not too easy, and it might give players an idea of what will come in later levels.

+ Even though there aren’t enough of them, secondary events give players opportunities to earn medals in order to unlock the primary events. This alleviates some of the pressure to get gold medals all the time.

+ Most levels have frequent checkpoints, which helps alleviate some of the frustration involved with trial and error.

Negatives

-       Only one difficulty level, which negates the opportunity for a player to turn it down if he is getting frustrated.

-       Players will eventually hit a wall; it’s just a matter of when. Later levels get extremely difficult and lesser skilled players will eventually give up because of the frustration.

-       Players don’t get rewarded for progressing through levels. There are faster bikes, but they’re much harder to control, and it they don’t make passing levels any easier. In fact, they may make them even harder. In order to stay in a good flow state, players should be given rewards that make the game easier for a while, before it starts ramping up again. With this game though, difficulty swiftly ramps up and doesn’t give the player any chance to catch his breath.

-       Unlocking new events have medal requirements, which forces the player to get at least some gold medals. Players hoping to squeak by with bronze medals the whole way through won’t be able to finish the game.

Thoughts

∼ About half way through the game, there’s an extremely long track, which can take up to 15 minutes to complete (most other tracks take between 1 and 2 minutes). To make matters worse, there are limited checkpoints. The track before this is relatively easy thanks to frequent checkpoints and a short completion time. What’s with this huge spike in difficulty halfway through the game?

∼ There are some dark areas of levels that add unnecessary difficulty to the game. Why would you add this to an already difficult and frustrating game?

∼ This game manages to avoid having luck play a factor, despite being a physics puzzle game, which is interesting. The player is always in control.

∼ There’s supercross events in multiplayer, but why not in singleplayer? That seems like it would be another good way for players to earn medals.

Would Likes/Fixes

° More levels and events would allow players to get only bronze medals and still be able to complete the game.

° Bike customization – the player could add performance parts to his bike that can make it easier to control, which could help in getting gold medals.

° A “Relax” mode in which players can just enjoy levels without having to worry about their time.

° More levels with big drops and jumps to give the player some excitement and break the pace of the slower, more methodical levels. 

[gamersperspective-blog]

Design & Developmental Analysis Project

10. Menu use in a videogame – The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (PC)

  Positives

+ Most of the menus (pause, main, character, magic, items) are logically designed and easy to learn. A tiered design allows player to see multiple layers of the menu at once, making it easy to find a desired selection.

+ Items in the items menu are categorized by type (apparel, weapons, food, etc.) making it extremely easy to find what you’re looking for. 

+ The items menu allows the player to look at an actual 3D model of the item itself, which gives a nice tactile element to the navigation experience. Being able to see the item itself gives the player a better idea of what exactly he might be getting out of that particular item.   

+ Magic menu is also categorized by type (destruction, illusion, restoration), making spells really easy to find and select.

+ A 3D map of the game world is available at all times while in the outside world. While in a dungeon or cave, a functional 2D map is also available, and it lets you know which areas of the dungeon or cave you have explored and are yet to explore.

+ Map markers show the player which locations were cleared and which locations are yet to be fully cleared, allowing the player to discern which areas he might want to go back to in the future.

Negatives

-       The favorites menu has no sorting or categorizing option, making it hard to find what you’re looking for, especially when you have a lot of items and spells on the favorite list.

-       The look of the menus doesn’t seem to match the look of the actual game itself, which can take you out of the experience. Menus are very minimalist, while the game itself is set in a gritty fantasy world.

-       Roads are not visible on the 3D world map, which can make navigation difficult at times.

-       The quest log is on the pause screen, but it would be better if it were in the main character menu alongside the rest of the game menus (map, skills, items, magic). Going into 2 separate menus for game-focused elements is not very functional.  

Thoughts

∼ Menus seem to have been designed for console controls, as it doesn’t work as well with a mouse. In short, the menu lists require too much scrolling, and it would be nice if the lists were bigger and it had a smaller font.

∼ Opening the favorites and character menu stops the action in the world around you, which is nice, but not entirely realistic.

∼ While in the dialogue menu, it can sometimes be hard to tell which options you already chose since they don’t get grayed out enough after you select them.

∼ Skills menu is visually appealing, but you can’t see enough of the skills at one time, which means there is a lot of scrolling involved.

Would Likes/Fixes

° Fantasy-themed menus would bridge the gap between the game world and the menu system. Maybe the menus could look like a journal and pages would flip depending on what option gets selected.

° The system tab on the pause menu feels out of place. The player needs to go 2 tabs to the right just to save the game. Maybe it should be the default tab when the player pauses the game.

° It feels a little counterintuitive for the dragon shouts to be in the magic menu. Maybe it deserves its own menu with it being categorized by what kind of shout it is.

° A favorites menu that was color-coated based on type of favorite (weapon, spell, item, apparel) would make finding what you need easier.  

[gamersperspective-blog]

Design & Developmental Analysis Project

09. HUD use in a videogame – Syndicate (Xbox 360)

  Positives

+ Some elements like hacking prompts and breaching prompts are partly integrated within the game world itself, which heightens immersion.

+ If the player looks at a random object in the game world such as a box or gas tank, the name of that object is displayed within the HUD, which helps the player feel more immersed in the game world. Little details like this fit really well within cyberpunk aesthetic, and it makes the game world feel more cohesive.    

+ Enemies get highlighted once they’re dead, letting the player know what and what not to focus on during a gunfight.

+ DART Overlay mechanic makes the screen black and white, while also highlighting enemies that are behind cover, which is obviously very helpful.

+ “App” meters change from white to orange to easily let the player know its currently not available, which lets the player focus more on the action and not have to look at the meters to see if there full or not.

+ There are different bullet icons that are always showing which let the player know exactly what kind of firing mode he is currently on for each gun (automatic, semi-automatic, or burst). This means the player will rarely be caught in a situation where a weapon is in an undesirable firing mode for a particular combat sequence.

Negatives

-       Overall, the HUD has a very complex look, with a lot of different elements on screen at once, which can be distracting during gameplay.

-       There are a lot of different bars and symbols on the screen that all look very similar, which can make it hard to discern each element’s function early on in the game. Some players might have difficulty understanding what each and every element represent.

-       HUD elements move slightly when the player looks around, which is not only distracting, but could maybe cause motion sickness for some players.

-       No number of grenades displayed. The player doesn’t really know how many grenades he has until he tries to throw one, which can be frustrating.

Thoughts

∼ There are a lot of numbers and percentages on the screen at any given moment. This could be intimidating for some players, and might deter them from enjoying the game.

∼ Even the button prompts have meters associated with them, which adds even more complexity to the HUD.

∼Stance indicators (crouching, standing) go away after a couple of seconds, which can be a bad thing because there’s not a huge difference in movement speed between the 2 stances.

∼ Objective markers are small, especially when the player is far away from the objective. It can be difficult to find at times, especially when there are so many icons and meters on the HUD to begin with.

Would Likes/Fixes

° Color customization. If the player had the ability to customize things like the color of the HUD, it would make for a more personalized experience.

° The ability to turn off certain elements within the HUD would allow for even more personalization for the player, especially if he finds some of the elements to be distracting.

° It would be nice if more of the HUD were integrated into the game world. Objectives could be displayed on walls, and maybe ammo counters could be apart of the actual guns.

° Somehow, the HUD needs to be less frantic. Bars, meters, and icons quickly jitter about the screen. This could be the feel Starbreeze is going for, but it really has the tendency to be distracting. Maybe some of the bars could be consolidated, and the movement reduced, even if it’s just a little.    

[gamersperspective-blog]

Design & Developmental Analysis Project

03. Pre – 1990 Videogame – Space Invaders (Arcade)

  Positives/Gameplay Successes

+ Controls are extremely intuitive and responsive. 

+Difficulty curve is perfect. It does a good job of starting off slow and gradually getting faster as the player gets accustomed to the controls and enemies.

+ There’s a nice tension that rises as the game goes on. Enemies start spawning closer to the bottom of the screen, they start to move faster, and they also seem to fire more often. Overall, enemies get more aggressive as time goes on, forcing the player to adapt accordingly.

+ The mystery ship that flies across the top of the screen is a nice way for players to earn extra points if they can hit it. It’s a nice risk-reward situation since the player sometimes has to go out of his way to hit it.

Negatives/Gameplay Failures

-      There are not enough enemy types, which leads to gameplay becoming repetitive.

-     Overall, enemies are predictable. All enemies follow the exact same horizontal movement patterns throughout the whole game. With more movement variation, the player would be forced to stay on his toes more.

-     Enemies the player gets more points for destroying are not necessarily harder to destroy.

-     All enemies move at exactly the same speed at all times which can make the game feel mechanical. If enemies moved at different speeds from one another, the game would feel a lot more natural.

Thoughts

∼ The player can accidently destroy parts of his base, which can be a little frustrating at times, but it does add one more thing for the player to think about while playing.

∼ The ammo shot by all the different enemies seems to travel at similar speeds and do the same amount of damage. Again, they’re no differentiation between enemy types.

∼ The mystery ship has a different number of points associated with it every time, but seems to travel at the same speed each time. Maybe it would be better if the faster the ship is traveling, the more points the player gets for destroying it.

∼ Only enemies in the front of the formation seem to shoot. It would be interesting if enemies further back in the formation could shoot at the same time as well.

Would Likes/Fixes

° More weapon types. Using the same gun all the time can get boring after a while.

° Power-ups. There should be some kind of reward that the player can get from completing waves besides extra lives. This could make the player want to keep playing to see what kind of special items or abilities he could get.

° Boost mechanic. This could help the player more effectively get out of sticky situations and would help prolong playtime, which would increase tension as time passes.

° More variation with enemy behavior. A sense of randomness would be accomplished to keep the game from becoming monotonous. Maybe there could be enemies that randomly appear and disappear, or enemies that move diagonally or in circles. 

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A Taste of What's To Come

Hello and welcome to the Gamer's Perspective, a blog where I write about current issues and events currently happening in the game industry. I will also get into covering my own personal gaming experiences and post some of my assignments for my game design degree program at Full Sail University.