what RPGs could learn from CoD4

One of Call of Duty 4's best features is its encouragement of variation through the Barracks and experience points. You can rank up without ever using more than one weapon, but there are bonuses to be had in trying many weapons. I'm not usually an achievement-oriented gamer, but I try to get every accomplishment with every weapon in that game.

The most experimentation a typical RPG encourages is swapping between melee and ranged attacks. But they could use a model similar to CoD4's. Instead of making every weapon a separate skill path, you could just have weapon upgrades be unlocked through use and encourage (without demanding) the player to try something new from time to time.

That applies to single-player as well as multiplayer. But, now that I think about it, I'm surprised I've never seen a fantasy battleground game (ala LOTR: Conquest) with weapon and skill variety similar to Call of Duty 4. Instead of ammo, melee weapons could have durability stats and eventually break... forcing the player to either switch weapons or pick up whatever's lying on the ground where another player fell. It doesn't take much imagination to see how CoD4's multiplayer could be adapted to many settings and scenarios.

In any case, my point is that RPGs shouldn't always expect players to stick with a single weapon class. It's feasible for all skills (like Perks) to be gear-agnostic. The same player may prefer different weapons and gear for different scenarios. And, of course, variation can keep gameplay fresh and enjoyable.

contextual powers

One of the great movements in design right now is contextual powers.

Assassin's Creed is a great example. A single player-command during combat (block + timed prevention strike = counterattack) can result in one of at least half-a-dozen moves. Which counterattack is seen depends on the relative position of defender-to-attacker and perhaps timing as well. Climbing is also contextual in Assassin's Creed. Simply direct Altair's movement and he'll use whatever actions are necessary to climb or leap that way. It's simple, fun, and occasionally surprising.

Fable 2 apparently makes spell-casting and ranged combat contextual as well. I'm anxious to see how that will work, but it also has me looking ahead to games of next year and beyond. How else might contextual powers be applied?


STORY
Game events are often activated by invisible triggers placed in the environment. When the player crosses a particular threshold or interacts with a particular object, a scripted event is set in motion. Triggers could also be used to activate variations in AI. When an AI character witnesses a particular event, crosses a particular threshold or such, then a change in personality occurs.

In Neverwinter Nights, child NPCs are invincible. If you attack one, the child will follow and attack your character relentlessly, eventually killing him. That's the closest thing I've seen to what I'm talking about, but that's still not it. That's basically a scripted event, a simple action command ("Kill the PC"). If it had been a change in AI, the children's perception of your character would change, but a number of subsequent events would be possible due to different personalities, different environmental circumstances, and other variables which combine on-the-fly.


ITEMS
I've long waited for contextual items. Item reward systems can be a lot of fun. I think they can be even more fun if some items are not what they appear to be, and if some items receive bonus powers in particular situations.

A broad item reward system has never been combined with a contextual combat system. It would be ridiculous to attempt as many attack animations as Assassin's Creed had for every weapon in a Diablo-type game. But breaking weapons down into a small number of classes (sword, axe, blunt, etc) would make this combo possible. In MMOs, it can be fun seeing how different characters' combat actions mix, but how much more so if there was significant variety within each character's optimal repertoire?

We've seen weapons and armor with effects or resistances that make them optimal for engagement with particular enemies. That's not the sort of contextual variety I'm praising here. In those cases, each item offers a single animation and three degrees of difficulty dependent on the enemy (ineffectual, average effect, superior effect). What I hope to see is different animations and other visible/audible effect variations independent of enemy type. Beyond mere show, I'm hoping for variety in type within one weapon.

When a player uses a "Frostbane" flaming sword against arctic inhabitants, he expects the sword to be more effectual and, though he might take some mild pleasure from pride in being smartly equipped, the experience is basically the same as using the weapon in any other scenario. On the other hand, imagine that the sword exhibits an effect type when fighting those arctic creatures that it doesn't exhibit elsewhere. What if the sword looked rather plain most of the time, but it glows hot as the player journeys further into the cold setting? What if fire suddenly erupted from the blade and was hurled at the enemy the blade was destined to fight?

Experiences like that don't just make players grin and think "cool...". Experiences like that make us wide-eyed, exhilirated, and we tell our friends about it days or even weeks later. It's more impressive, and it's feasible.


SKILLS
One of the cooler concepts I've ever read was something the Darkfall devs suggested about their Alfar race early in production (I don't know if the game still includes this scenario). The Alfar are ruled their god in physical form as a king, and that god is literally insane. All of their magic comes from him. So the spellcasters of that race have unpredictable magic. As the god's mood and sanity shift from one moment to the next, so does the potency of their spells. Sometimes their magic will sputter and fail, while at other times it is excessively powerful and brilliant.

While that's an extreme example, I think there's a lot of hope for similar variety within any particular skill. Variety can keep games fresh and replayable. It would be great if a skill gained early in a game could still surprise its user near the end.


How else might context be used to make games more fun?

Weapon Foleys

I was just watching some gameplay videos of Hellgate: London. You can find them at www.gametrailers.com. Hellgate has been one of the games I'm most looking forward to for a long time now, but there's one thing about the videos that disappoints me somewhat: the sounds. Some of the weapon sounds are good, but many are weak and uncompelling.

Truth is, I'm not sure what there is to say about this subject, because I would think most concerns would be fairly obvious, but here's a ramble anyway.

There are two parts to the sound of most weapons: launch/swing and impact.

Just focusing on the impact sounds: In gameplay trailer 3, the ammo of the first gun shown sounds like weak or distant firecrackers. The fire-jet weapon sounds like a soft aerosol. The rebound-splash weapon sounds decent in that the explosions have a "thud" quality providing a feeling of true impact, but it is still unexciting. The sword with a shock effect seems to create only a shock sound with the sword's impact being completely nullified. And so on.

When making weapon foleys, there must be a feeling of violence/force. That feeling should be related to, but not entirely dependent upon, the weapon's appearance and animation. If the sound doesn't provide excitement by itself, when you close your eyes and it's not associated with any immediate cause, don't think it will become exciting once added to a visual event, because it won't.

So, for example, here's how I would change those sounds in trailer 3: In addition to the popping gunpowder sound of the first gun, there's should a sound of those bullets exploding flesh apart (a dull, wet sound). The fire-jet should be mostly fire crackling and roaring, with only a touch of the aerosol effect. The rebound shot should have some sound when the shot rebounds, and the explosions should have a searing sound added to the gunpowder pops. The sword should be heard in addition to its shock effect.

If a weapon has any sort of elemental or magical effect, be it fire, electricity or dark energy, the sound of that energy alone is not enough...there must be a sound representing what that energy is doing to the enemy body. The sound of hitting someone with a ball of fire should sound different than turning on my gas stove. The sound of bashing someone with an electrically-charged warhammer should be different than simply turning on an old buzzing TV.

Even if you're making a new fantastic sort of weapon, the sound of impact is important. If your weapon launches a screaming spectre at your foe, make a sound to represent its dissolution into or passing through the enemy's body.

The sound of the launch/swing is also important, of course, because it is a sound more immediate to the player's avatar; it more represents the character's actions. In his movies, John Woo demonstrates the powerful impact of guns cocking and clicking. Sounds of exertion are great. If I'm bringing a warhammer crashing down on the enemy's head, it's much more immersive if, instead of merely hearing the impact, I hear my character shouting or grunting with violent exertion. The tension of a taught bowstring adds emotional tension for the player.

Anyway, hopefully Flagship will revamp a lot of their sound effects to make Hellgate a much more immersive game. As demonstrated by those scenes in war films where the sound drops out or the music takes over, sounds play a huge role in how we perceive visual events. Nuances of sound lead to nuances of emotional appeal and interpretation.