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Splatoon (Nintendo 4x4 team shooter, Wii U, 2015)
- Thread starter iNvid02
- Start date
My new Gamezebo article is up. It's about Splatoon, and why its success would be a great thing for the shooter genre in general.
http://www.gamezebo.com/2014/06/25/splatoon-case-gameplay-vs-gunplay/
Had fun with this. I don't usually get to write about Nintendo (we're primarily a mobile site) so it was a nice change of pace.
http://www.gamezebo.com/2014/06/25/splatoon-case-gameplay-vs-gunplay/
Had fun with this. I don't usually get to write about Nintendo (we're primarily a mobile site) so it was a nice change of pace.
To Far Away Times
Member
Really want to try this.
Out of all the suggestions so far I would like to see the skate park the most. The game seems made for it.
The water park I'm not sure of, those tubes are pretty small choke points.
edit: Hmm. Thinking about tubes, it might be cool to do a chemical waste facility. There could be occasionally leaking pipes that leak goop that covers both teams progress.
Good stuff.
Cool, thanks for sharing.
foxuzamaki
Doesn't read OPs, especially not his own
well its not suppose to make different sounds with every paintball, its the same gun(so far) so ofcourse it has that specific sound or else it wouldnt make sense.
foxuzamaki
Doesn't read OPs, especially not his own
Awesome article.
StreetsAhead
Member
So apparently ~40 people are working on this right now, which is actually quite a small team, even by EAD standards. Maybe they'll ramp up development from now until launch, especially if they're hoping to have a single-player campaign of sorts.
foxuzamaki
Doesn't read OPs, especially not his own
maybe another team like monolithsoft(kyoto?) are helping
Amazeballs
Member
This game started off as a proof of concept and it seems that it only recently that Nintendo decided to make it into a full game. My guess is that Nintendo wanted to keep the team small and wait for for the feedback from E3 to assess their options. Or it could be that the game's pipeline is very efficient.
foxuzamaki
Doesn't read OPs, especially not his own
both are likely the answer.
Kai Dracon
Writing a dinosaur space opera symphony
I seem to recall a similar thing happened with A Link Between Worlds. A small team worked on it for 2 years IIRC then it went into high production to finish up with a lot of staff being moved over from other projects for the polish phase.
StreetsAhead
Member
Probably. 3D World, for example, was made with less than 100 people and was co-developed with 1-UP (and possibly more). Pikmin 3 is the same, partly outsourced, but only about double Splatoon's current number. It's likely they're using a combination of efficiency and outsourcing, or will be.
pitt_norton
Member
... i'm suffering from new splatoon information withdrawal symptoms... i can feel this game getting under my skin... i need it in my wii u now... sigh...
Yeah, same. Q12015 do we think?
ThatRandomCliff
Member
Already a ton man.
Hopefully they will add some aerial/acrobatic movements to the moment-to-moment gameplay. Be kind of cool if you could briefly burst through the air with ink or transfer yourself very briefly through mid-air globules before they land.
BeatResetsTheWorld
Banned
You mean like literally every other Nintendo game out there?
They ALWAYS start off their games as gameplay concepts. Read about the new Starfox. It was basically them testing different concepts before they found one that worked and that's when they started development
Amazeballs
Member
Not really what I meant. Nintendo always have games like Zleda and Mario in the oven, and while they do experiment with the mechanics (probably using proofs of concepts) they follow the same underlying concept. Mario is a platformer and sometimes RPG, Zelda is a always an action adventure puzzle game, and Starfox is a rail shooter. Splatoon's concept is completely unique than the one in Zelda and Mario in that it's a new untested genre for EAD; the entire game was a proof of concept. Star Fox seems to follows its old conventions but was put into development to test a novel control scheme.
That is not completely true. They came up the concept and looked at their existing IPs to used them in. When they found none would fit, they created original characters. If they could, this could have easily been a spin-off Mario or Kirby game. Also, Star Fox is not automatically an on rails shooter (Adventure and Command), despite some fans wishing that it was.
Amazeballs
Member
Which is why they have to test it during E3.
Adventures was Nintendo slapping on the starfox IP onto a different game. Command is a rail shooter without the rail *shrug.* People buy them largely due to the IP.
I don't think they tested anything. Nintendo do not just change IPs just because they have a poor reception publicly. If they did, the Wonderful 101 would had Nintendo characters instead of being a new IP.
Also, Rare willingly changed Dinosaur Planet. Despite popular belief, Nintendo did not put a gun to their head and forced them. Star Fox Command expanded on the all-ranged mode that was in Star Fox 64, so Star Fox was already bending the on-rails part by the second game. People buy for IPs, but they also buy for gameplay too. Splatoon simply would not work with Nintendo other IPs, which is why they made new characters. They did not focus test at E3.
KratosEnergyDrink
Member
Strange ... a shooter is one of ny most anticipated games of 2015
Seems that I am a Dudebro now
Seems that I am a Dudebro now
BeatResetsTheWorld
Banned
Yeah exactly. Kirby's Epic Yarn started with a concept then they slapped Kirby on it. I wouldn't be surprised if Mario vs DK, Luigi's Mansion and a number of other spinoffs were the same
Like was said, Star Fox Adventures is a really good example of this
Oh the /v/ threads certainly were something to behold.
Yesterday I got the chance to play Splatoon and it was awesome. I was hyped about the game, but now I'm even more. The game was fast and very funny, playing 4vs4.
Also, I think it's remarkable that Nintendo tried to be sure that everyone in the event had played Splatoon (we played several matches). They wanted everyone to try the game, something they didn't do for anything else (Bayo2, Smash, Hyrule Warriors, Yoshi, Kirby were already there).
Also, I think it's remarkable that Nintendo tried to be sure that everyone in the event had played Splatoon (we played several matches). They wanted everyone to try the game, something they didn't do for anything else (Bayo2, Smash, Hyrule Warriors, Yoshi, Kirby were already there).
foxuzamaki
Doesn't read OPs, especially not his own
Where'd you go?
ZombiePlatypus
Member
I'm really blown away at the reception this game's gotten so far. To me it seemed like a really minimal and simple (but totally welcome) $20 DD game. But, I'm not gonna shoehorn it into something before I actually try it. Really excited to see how it actually turns out, even if it's a full retail title.
It was a press event here in Spain.
To be fair, with Smash, I don't think they would have to do that.
But yeah, Splatoon's now my most hyped Wii U game after Smash, and it partially sold me on the console. The game just looks so fun.
Herbspiceguy
Member
Idea for a Splatoon map; dinosaur museum. Huge dino models getting covered in ink, sliding/swimming off the tails. Broad, theatre-like, staircases.
The idea came from inking (big) objects instead of the usual walls and floors.
Cool or not?
The idea came from inking (big) objects instead of the usual walls and floors.
Cool or not?
Freezie KO
Banned
They seem intent on making it a full retail title, and the "Turf War" game type would indicate that there should be many other modes. Hopefully so. The core mechanics seem to have a lot of potential.
That's really the difference between this and something like Pushmo. Pushmo needs to be an eShop-only game because there's only so far you can the core mechanics. I hope they go all out with this one.
Ah, so their concerns are mostly about whether the game will get repetitive, they feel the gamepad is not essential despite the devs saying otherwise, and they wonder how much depth the single-player campaign or mode would have.
:3cAnother avatar change, Horizon?
One week trials until I find one I really like.
Since we have until 2015 for the release I think that:
We will have other multiplayer modes added (capture the flag, king of the hill etc). Pretty much expected at this point. New maps and more weapons, customization options, regular updates can keep things fresh.
Gamepad seems pretty essential in the sense of those quick/super jumps as the one guy pointed out. I'd also rather have my tv screen remain uncluttered.
Single player will probably have some goofy episodic story where they fight against orcas or something. Would probably last 3-5 hours set in a bigger open city area near the sea. It will basically be how people get a better grip for the control scheme and figure out new strategies that they can use in multiplayer.
Honestly, the map function can be emulated with a single screen. I think only one face button is used right now for jump. Make one of the others the map button. Press it and the map comes up, the other 3 face buttons are assigned to your teammates. Press one of those to jump to your teammate or press the map button again to close it. edit: Oh, forgot about the spawn warp. Assign that to a trigger.
If they decide to let us go online with 4 players on one system they'll have to do something similar to this. The second screen map is cool and interesting but not necessary for this game imo.
BeatResetsTheWorld
Banned
You do realize you can jump ANYWHERE you have territory, not just to a teammate, right? It would be gimped without the touchscreen. There's no way to emulate it nearly as well
That's not how it works. You can only jump to your teammates or spawn. It's important to make inroads into the opposing teams territory and act as a beacon for your teammates to push even further. Jumping anywhere would be unbalanced/not fun (though I think jumping to teammates has potential to be abused as well, but we don't need to discuss that now). You can see in the gameplay footage when a ring appears around the player, that signals when one of their teammates tapped them and will be jumping to their position shortly.
protomouse
Member
Easily game of the show for me. Really interesting to hear from a new generation of Nintendo designers as well. Hopefully more to come!
PS. Hope I didn't steal anyone's avatar.
PS. Hope I didn't steal anyone's avatar
.Games like Splatoon should serve as a reminder to Nintendo that it can always attempt to innovative on the software level instead of trying to innovative with gameplay ideas using the GamePad or any other type of controller/peripheral. Anyway, it is refreshing that a shooter like Splatoon exists, as it defies typical genre expectations as well as the target demographic that its generally aimed at.
Wowfunhappy
Member
I don't think that would work well during a faced-paced game.
With the gamepad, it's:
1) Find teammate
2) Touch him/her
Your method is:
1) Press map button
2) Find teammate
3) See/process what button is assigned to teammate
4) Press button
It's not so much the extra steps as the extra mental processing involved. You can't just touch the teammate as soon as you see him/her, you have to actually look next to that teammate to see the corresponding button, and then press that button. Not only does it take longer, but it takes mentally away from the larger game being played, and you'll have to switch back afterwards.
BeatResetsTheWorld
Banned
Oh, if that's true then nevermind
TheCongressman1
Member
But it being an option allows players to decide what works best for them. No reason not to include other control setups.
I agree that it will take more focus, but I don't think it would be that big of a deal. To me it would be:
1. Press map button
2. See A, B, X moving around on map (and ZL or whatever for spawn)
2b. (optional) Determine who player is (on the map there is the floating letter and over it is the players name)
3. Press button
It could be done very quickly.
Pretty sure. I think they explained it on the Treehouse interview.
Freezie KO
Banned
I hope there's a no respawn mode in this. I love those, and it could get really tense if there's always a possibility of squids stealthily hiding in the paint.
Having used the GamePad in games like Pikmin 3, I feel that looking down away from the primary screen is more effort. In that game, I would've preferred the ability to pull up the map with a button and point/draw a path with the pointer.
And if this game would give me pointer aiming to shoot, I would happily give up the touchscreen map.
Going off your comment, Splatoon stood in stark contrast with the experiments that Miyamoto was showing at E3. I really think that was one of the takeaways at the show. Project Giant Tech Demo didn't excite anyone, but a new take on a shooter really showed how imaginative Nintendo can get.
Wowfunhappy said:
Having used the GamePad in games like Pikmin 3, I feel that looking down away from the primary screen is more effort. In that game, I would've preferred the ability to pull up the map with a button and point/draw a path with the pointer.
And if this game would give me pointer aiming to shoot, I would happily give up the touchscreen map.
Going off your comment, Splatoon stood in stark contrast with the experiments that Miyamoto was showing at E3. I really think that was one of the takeaways at the show. Project Giant Tech Demo didn't excite anyone, but a new take on a shooter really showed how imaginative Nintendo can get.
Labrynian Rebel
Member
I'm still bracing myself for this game to get terrible sales despite being amazing.