Fahzgoolin
Banned
I'm unashamedly a gun nut in video games. FPS's are automatically more entertaining to me just because I love the gameplay feedback. Oddly enough, I'm not super into guns IRL. I think they are amazing pieces of tech that are still comically crude. They are basically just hollowed-out metal poles that have an explosion behind them to propel a chunk of metal.
I'm saying all of this to make the point that I think that sometimes games with weighty, awkward, unweildy, and almost unpredictable gunplay can feel more satisfying and rewarding for the player.
One of my favorite examples is the original Metro 2033 (NOT the CODified Redux). The original was frequently shat on by many for having "awkward feeling gunplay", or "clunky shooting." I actually agree with that, but I think it works in its favor. You can get good and precise in that game, but the guns feel appropriately makeshift and human. You line up a shot with your revolver and get excited when you make the shot. The shotguns feel great. The "bastard gun" feels appropriately janky like it's supposed to be. The original game was a success in contextual story based gameplay interactions. I think it also works because of the slower pace of the encounters and enemy types. Unfortunately, the original isn't being sold anymore and only the Redux versions are available; featuring COD style aim-feel with pretty glowing iron sights.
Another older example is TimeSplitters 2. Can you imagine if it's challenge based story missions featured COD-like precise and aim-assisted gunplay? It would be terrible. Part of the gleeful satisfaction of the game is embracing how darn difficult it is to line up a shot because you have to do Goldeneye 64 style hard aiming at times. It makes every encounter intense, gratifying, and appropriately frustrating. Time Splitters
3 Future Perfect deviated from this aiming style, but Free Radical was smart enough to design their enemies and levels around the modern style of shooting in the campaign in a good way.
One more quick example is Counter Strike. I'm actually quite bored of the game itself, but I fire it up and revisit it just to buy a desert eagle and land a long distance one shot kill on a rifle wielding enemy. I boot it up just to show myself and feel how good it is to control the recoil pattern on the AK and make precise sprays with it. It's naturally unintuitive, but feels so good. I love watching new players drop their jaws in bewilderment and exclaim, "How are my shots not hitting them!? It was right on em! How are they so good? Can't I ADS?"
Aiming a real gun IRL is not easy and it's great when games make it appropriately challenging or unweildy.
I love it when games appropriately make the gunplay feel a little cumbersome or awkward because it makes me feel connected with the weapon in a way that COD can never make me feel. When I master clunky or cumbersome shooters it strokes my silly little vain gaming ego...kind of like how Dark Souls sword combat can be awkward AF, but it feels good to master. Dark Souls has many enemy combat design choices that piss me off. However, even when I'm angry at the game, the simple, awkward, yet challenging, swordplay feels incredible. It's why I compulsively buy them and beat them even though they trigger me.
I want to contrast this with a recent example of an awkward aiming interaction that ruined a game for many: Halo 5. The gameplay is fast and chaotic. Enemies are bobbing, weeving, charging, and a fleeing a lot
. All of those things aren't all bad in and of themselves, but the feeling of aiming just didn't feel right with the action on screen. 343 even updated it with deeper sensitivity, dead zone, and aim acceleration options, but it didn't help too much. IMO the game needs a little more aim-assist. Not Destiny levels, but more along the lines of Halo 2. IMO the game in its current form would be better experienced and a more fun game on PC with keyboard and mouse due to the level of precision that you can achieve with them. That could be another conversion though.
Ultimately, I think that developers shouldn't be afraid of using purposefully clunky or left-of-center gunplay if it fits the context and design for the game. I wish devs would stop trying to be like COD in their gunplay (Metro Redux series). I likewise don't want devs swinging the other way and making aiming harder for the sake of it (Halo 5). Ironically, Halo 5 still had to shoe-horn in ADS cuz of their demographic's CODspectations.
Anyone else have examples of this? Doesn't just have to be shooters!
I'm saying all of this to make the point that I think that sometimes games with weighty, awkward, unweildy, and almost unpredictable gunplay can feel more satisfying and rewarding for the player.
One of my favorite examples is the original Metro 2033 (NOT the CODified Redux). The original was frequently shat on by many for having "awkward feeling gunplay", or "clunky shooting." I actually agree with that, but I think it works in its favor. You can get good and precise in that game, but the guns feel appropriately makeshift and human. You line up a shot with your revolver and get excited when you make the shot. The shotguns feel great. The "bastard gun" feels appropriately janky like it's supposed to be. The original game was a success in contextual story based gameplay interactions. I think it also works because of the slower pace of the encounters and enemy types. Unfortunately, the original isn't being sold anymore and only the Redux versions are available; featuring COD style aim-feel with pretty glowing iron sights.
Another older example is TimeSplitters 2. Can you imagine if it's challenge based story missions featured COD-like precise and aim-assisted gunplay? It would be terrible. Part of the gleeful satisfaction of the game is embracing how darn difficult it is to line up a shot because you have to do Goldeneye 64 style hard aiming at times. It makes every encounter intense, gratifying, and appropriately frustrating. Time Splitters
3 Future Perfect deviated from this aiming style, but Free Radical was smart enough to design their enemies and levels around the modern style of shooting in the campaign in a good way.
One more quick example is Counter Strike. I'm actually quite bored of the game itself, but I fire it up and revisit it just to buy a desert eagle and land a long distance one shot kill on a rifle wielding enemy. I boot it up just to show myself and feel how good it is to control the recoil pattern on the AK and make precise sprays with it. It's naturally unintuitive, but feels so good. I love watching new players drop their jaws in bewilderment and exclaim, "How are my shots not hitting them!? It was right on em! How are they so good? Can't I ADS?"
Aiming a real gun IRL is not easy and it's great when games make it appropriately challenging or unweildy.
I love it when games appropriately make the gunplay feel a little cumbersome or awkward because it makes me feel connected with the weapon in a way that COD can never make me feel. When I master clunky or cumbersome shooters it strokes my silly little vain gaming ego...kind of like how Dark Souls sword combat can be awkward AF, but it feels good to master. Dark Souls has many enemy combat design choices that piss me off. However, even when I'm angry at the game, the simple, awkward, yet challenging, swordplay feels incredible. It's why I compulsively buy them and beat them even though they trigger me.
I want to contrast this with a recent example of an awkward aiming interaction that ruined a game for many: Halo 5. The gameplay is fast and chaotic. Enemies are bobbing, weeving, charging, and a fleeing a lot
sprint in Halo is gross
Ultimately, I think that developers shouldn't be afraid of using purposefully clunky or left-of-center gunplay if it fits the context and design for the game. I wish devs would stop trying to be like COD in their gunplay (Metro Redux series). I likewise don't want devs swinging the other way and making aiming harder for the sake of it (Halo 5). Ironically, Halo 5 still had to shoe-horn in ADS cuz of their demographic's CODspectations.
Anyone else have examples of this? Doesn't just have to be shooters!