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Snow levels and their design choices continue to baffle me.

I

Imp the Dimp

Member
They exist because I like them

hqdefault.jpg


yoshi-island-snow-level.jpg
 
T

titiklabingapat

Member
Because snow and blizzards are slippery, your visuals are impaired and are generally a bitch to move through. They are also good for free refrigeration.
 
R

RaySpencer

Member
Otakumegane said:
Snow /Ice levels generally fall into these sets of design tropes.

1. Taking movement control away from the player. Slippery surfaces or snow slowing you down, it's the worst part of games like BotW which focuses on freedom of movement and the like, and generally all platformers like Mario.

2. Enemies stun you for longer periods of time. Compounded on point 1, more freedom is taken as enemies are an even bigger pain in the ass to deal with.

3. Lowered visual acuity/blocking of vision. Navigation and planning is more difficult as Snow either blocks your vision or lowers the draw distance viewable.


Why do snow levels even exist?
Click to expand...

Have you ever seen snow in real life?

I mean that as a serious question. I live in Canada and I see snow a lot, I love snow levels because they are very familiar to me.
 
T

Tarextherex

Banned
Nah they are cool

Btw the problem with them in BOTW isn't even the mobility or anything, it's that they all have the same music and stuff. There isn't much differences between each of the several snow mountains in the game
 
N

Nanashrew

Banned
I don't mind ice and snow levels too much. Now underwater levels on the other hand can be a pain depending one the game and the level of control they give you.
 
J

jwhit28

Member
After enough worlds of practice with the regular platforming, it's good to change up the platforming itself. Less friction, low gravity, auto scrolling, they all work pretty well when used sparingly.
 
N

Nickle

Cool Facts: Game of War has been a hit since July 2013
I'm just not a fan of getting slowed down by walking in snow, 95% of the time it does nothing but slow you down and annoy you. Realistic, but not fun.
 
D

Djamb3

Member
Probably the best level in Twilight Princess is the snow one. When done right can be incredible. Not a fan in Mario, although the levels sure are pretty.
 
D

Dr.Hadji

Member
All these mentions of snow levels and no mention of snowboarding, skiing or shield surfing? The sickest slopes for shield surfing can only be found in the snowy regions in BotW.
 
Stiler

Stiler

Member
Snow levels/environments I absolutely love when done right. Uncharted, AC III, and Rise of the Tomb Raider are some examples.

I love when they actually make snow look and feel like snow, where deep snow makes your character move differently in it and the snow itself moves around as you walk through it.

It's nice having different environments and variety within them imo and thats what a well done snow environment can do.

I hate when games have "snow" and then simply put a flat white texture on the ground and have 0 impact on the actual gameplay in terms of movement or other things, it makes the whole thing feel frivolous (IE Skyrim).
 
K

kubev

Member
I'd prefer for snow to slow my character down than for my character to just slow down because he/she needs to talk to someone for a moment.
 
H

HeatBoost

Member
This seems like the sorta "Why aren't all things a certain way" argument you see from time to time

Some people seem to have a platonic ideal of perfect game hegemony

Personally, I like variety. I'll take slippery footing over lowered visibility, though.
 
Z

Zen_Arcade

Banned
Chev said:
They don't take movement away from you, they ask you to consider movement in a different way. They exist because variety and experimenting with gameplay can be interesting.
Click to expand...
There's your answer OP.

There are plenty of good snow levels.
 
R

Released

Member
I dig them.

I don't feel as if a game should constantly be catering to my freedom or power or whatever. I personally love it when the game's world resists me.
 
C

Col.Asher

Member
The snowpeak ruins in twilight princess is my favorite dungeon in the series due to aesthetics alone. I like snow areas, they tend to be my favorite.
 
Spacejaws

Spacejaws

Member
I've always loved every snow map in the Battlefield series.

Yea it skips alot of you're complaints by default but still I love the aesthetic and dat signature footstep crunch that would make the creepy rice crispy goblins proud.
 
M

Mr_Moogle

Member
Now that you mention it OP, a lot of my favourite videogame locations have snow in them.

- Phendrana Drifts (Metroid Prime)
- Narshe (FFVI)
- Icicle Inn (FFVII)
- Ice Cap Zone (Sonic 3)
- Yoshis Island - World 5 (in particular downhill skiing)
 
L

ldar247

Banned
They're my favourite. They tend to have great music and aesthetics and I actually like platforming on slippery areas.
 
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