Superpowered Player Character
by Kevin James · in Game Design and Creative Issues · 11/26/2012 (8:22 am) · 0 replies
Hey all,
Have you ever felt like you just wanted to kick butt and take names in a video game without all the annoying dying n stuff?
For me, I remember playing the first Crysis and being disappointed when I was gunned down by some measly grunt with an assault rifle. Now, I almost definitely stunk at the game, but still, I thought a super suit would help me out a little more.
I think Max Payne did a good job of giving the player an unbeatable edge if you knew how to use the "Bullet Time" (or slow motion). The game made the player feel like they had super powers, yet the player was not over powered.
The game I am currently envisioning is a 2D platformer shooter, with an equal focus on platforming and shooting. You control a human-like arachnid android with two configurable arms which can be either a sword or machine gun. You are given a plethora of acrobatic and parkour moves to include vaulting, wall running, wall jumping, rolls, flips, etc. And most importantly, you process events faster than biological lifeforms, enabling slow motion arbitrarily.
There's all the typical solutions to the problem of an over powered player character: gradual acquiring of abilities, gradual increase of strength of opponents, etc. But I wonder if it is possible to give the player a character who is superpowered, but not over-powered. Will it still be fun to play a game when you are obliterating your enemies at ease? What if the problem isn't staying alive yourself, but defending other characters who aren't nearly as powerful as you ... ?
Have you ever felt like you just wanted to kick butt and take names in a video game without all the annoying dying n stuff?
For me, I remember playing the first Crysis and being disappointed when I was gunned down by some measly grunt with an assault rifle. Now, I almost definitely stunk at the game, but still, I thought a super suit would help me out a little more.
I think Max Payne did a good job of giving the player an unbeatable edge if you knew how to use the "Bullet Time" (or slow motion). The game made the player feel like they had super powers, yet the player was not over powered.
The game I am currently envisioning is a 2D platformer shooter, with an equal focus on platforming and shooting. You control a human-like arachnid android with two configurable arms which can be either a sword or machine gun. You are given a plethora of acrobatic and parkour moves to include vaulting, wall running, wall jumping, rolls, flips, etc. And most importantly, you process events faster than biological lifeforms, enabling slow motion arbitrarily.
There's all the typical solutions to the problem of an over powered player character: gradual acquiring of abilities, gradual increase of strength of opponents, etc. But I wonder if it is possible to give the player a character who is superpowered, but not over-powered. Will it still be fun to play a game when you are obliterating your enemies at ease? What if the problem isn't staying alive yourself, but defending other characters who aren't nearly as powerful as you ... ?
About the author
Computer security, digital forensics, and platform jumper enthusiast. shells.myw3b.net/~syreal/
