tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57878186675863474712024-03-12T17:58:38.250-07:00Hunter On GamesA blog about games: games I've made, games I'm making, games I dream of making, and games I'm playing.Games that changed my life, and games that I hope will change yours.David Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01601318906655915875noreply@blogger.comBlogger99125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787818667586347471.post-11200050172638457412023-04-03T00:39:00.007-07:002023-04-03T00:46:44.401-07:00Cult of the Lamb Analysis<section>
<h1>Overview</h1>
Cult of the Lamb is a 2D isometric rogue-like and base management game. It was developed by Massive Monster, and published by Devolver Digital in August, 2022. <a href="https://youtu.be/nrYHLIbqzW8">You can find the video version here.</a>
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<h1>Dramatic Elements</h1>
In Cult of the Lamb, you play as the titular lamb. You are sacrificed to 4 powerful bishops, and immediately resurrected by "The One Who Waits," a being who was betrayed and imprisoned by the 4 long ago. He tasks you with building up your own cult, killing the 4 bishops, and freeing him.
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Along the way, you will meet a small cast of characters, and get to know more about "The One Who Waits" and the four bishops who betrayed him. There are also procedural story events that occur: two cult members can fall out, become friends, and you can develop relationships with them yourself by completing randomly generated quests.
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<h1>Formal Elements</h1>
<h2>Rules</h2>
<h3>Combat and Movement</h3>
Movement is confined to a 2D plane, much like in Hades. You cannot jump or climb on objects, and there are no inclined planes or stairs anywhere: combat all takes place on a single level. You are able to roll through any projectiles or dangerous areas.
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Combat itself is similar in many ways to Hades or Dead Cells. At the start of a run, you receive a random weapon and a random curse. The weapons fall into 5 broad categories: swords, daggers, claws, axes, and hammers. Daggers are the fastest, and do the least damage, while axes and hammers are the slowest and do the most damage per hit. Claws fall somewhere in the middle, and are reliant on the last hit in a combo to deal effective damage. Different status effects can be applied by the weapons: enemies can be stunned, poisoned, or can sometimes be resurrected as a ghost that attacks other enemies after they die.
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Curses could be AoE blasts, tentacles that shoot out of the ground to damage enemies, fire balls, fiery or icy sword slashes, or homing arrows that seek out enemies. These are tied to a resource called Fervor: without Fervor, you cannot cast a curse. Fervor is picked up from dead enemies and from enemies after you've attacked them.
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Some enemies will shoot arrows, which can be reflected back by attacking them, while the regular projectiles can only be reflected using certain shield curses.
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The rooms are randomly connected together in a grid pattern, but the interior layout is hand-designed. They are all square or rectangular in shape. Most contain a number of enemies, and sometimes more enemies will spawn in after the first group is defeated. The rooms can be freely moved between outside of combat. You'll have to carefully dodge, and time your attacks, because encounters can become very busy on the screen, with projectiles flying around, enemies leaping and flying, and pools of poison or outcrops of spikes to damage you littering the floor.
<h3>Enemies</h3>
Each of the four areas has several unique enemy types, as well as types that will appear throughout. The most basic types are dagger wielding cultists, but these also come in bow wielding and bomb throwing varieties. There are larger cultists who wield swords, and others that cast healing spells.
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In Darkwood, you'll find bats, and different kinds of worms: some will shoot at you, others will jump at you, and others are spiky.
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Anchordeep features sea-themed enemies, Anura has frogs, and Silk Cradle, of course, focuses on different types of spiders.
<h3>Making a run</h3>
Runs, called crusades in game, start with first choosing your area. On entering the area, you will be presented with a weapon and a curse. Each area will have between 9-11 rooms to start, and these will mostly be filled with enemies. You'll find some that spawn chests containing weapons and curses to swap out, and others that contain a tarot card. Upon completing these rooms, you'll be able to choose among several different paths leading to another group of rooms. You might find a room with resources, a follower, or an NPC offering a service. These other groups could also have different special buffs or debuffs: you might receive double gold, or have any empty hearts replaced with diseased hearts (these cause damage to all enemies on screen when you are hit), or enemies might leave a pool of poison when they die. Eventually, you will come to the boss area. Depending on how many times you've completed this area, you'll find different bosses. The first 4 times, there will be a unique boss - an underling for one of the bishops. After killing these four, the door to that area's bishop will unlock and you can defeat them. If you return to the area again, there will be another unique boss called a witness. Upon defeating the witness, you can start an endless run mode: there will be another group of paths leading to more rooms. The final room will be a randomly generated boss.
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Unless you have the Fleece of Fates, you'll be able to find rooms that give you a choice between two different tarot cards, and also find them randomly in chests at the end of an encounter. Tarot cards are similar to boons in Hades - they could change the behavior of enemies when they are hit or die, they could give you extra hearts, increase your damage during the day or night, increase your attack speed or attack damage, or many others. Like the boons in Hades, these will be lost when you die and return to your base.
<h3>Inventory</h3>
There is a basic inventory system, but you never need to worry about carrying too much or about playing inventory tetris.
<h3>Base and Cult Management</h3>
As your cult grows, so do the number of problems and opportunities. In the beginning, you'll want to have enough grass sleeping bags for your followers, and you'll want a farm that can provide enough food for you to make meals at the cooking station. However, the basic meals all have a high chance of making your followers sick.
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Soon, you'll find your base covered in shit and vomit. The shit can be used as "fertilizer" on your farm, but the vomit just serves to make other members sick. So, you'll have to go around picking it up. Later, you'll be able to build outhouses for them to use, manure boxes to deposit the fertilizer in, and clean-up stations so followers can remove their own vomit. If a follower should happen to die, leaving their corpse laying around will also make the base a bit dirtier and increase the chances of followers getting sick.
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OK. So, now your base is clean, but your followers have extremely low Faith: maybe you've died a bunch of times in a row, and maybe some of the beds have collapsed, so there are not enough places to sleep. If Faith remains low for long enough, some of them might dissent and begin spreading the word that your cult is BS. This will cause some followers to lose even more Faith, and eventually cause them to leave your cult. Depending on how far along you are in the game, you have a number of different options to handle this issue. You could reeducate them directly. If you have unlocked the prison building, you could put them in the prison and reeducate them, which also prevents them from spreading their doubts to other followers in the meantime, or you might hold a ritual and sacrifice them. If you have the murder action unlocked, you can straight up knife them. You could tackle it indirectly as well: complete a successful run to increase your followers' Faith, or conduct a bonfire ritual or hold a feast, both of which have the same effect.
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As I'm sure all cult leaders have done in history, you will find lots of uses for your followers. You can task them with tending the farm, cleaning up the base, chopping wood or mining stone for use in new buildings, consecrating these basic materials into sacred ones for more advanced buildings, and worshiping at the shrine to generate Devotion. Any unassigned followers will also help construct new buildings or decorations. Later on, you can send them out on missions to collect materials, or have a demon possess them, which allows them to accompany you on a run and give you a special ability - they might periodically shoot at an enemy, or drop a half heart on the ground to let you recharge your health. You can even marry an unlimited number of followers, which unlocks a kiss action you can use once a day to increase their Loyalty (each additional spouse also causes loss of Faith due to jealousy from the other spouses, so there is a trade-off here as well).
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Furthermore, you can give gifts or bless individual followers to increase their Loyalty. Loyalty, as opposed to Faith, will determine how quickly they work and how much Devotion they can generate at the shrine. Unlike Faith, Loyalty cannot be lost, only gained. Necklaces are particularly interesting here, as they give your follower a permanent trait boost - they might move faster or they might no longer need to sleep, or they might generate more Devotion.
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When a follower levels up their Loyalty, you will receive some bonus Devotion in addition to a commandment stone fragment. Once 3 fragments are collected, you can issue a new doctrine for your cult. These are arrayed into 5 themed groups: Afterlife, Work & Worship, Law & Order, Possessions, and Sustenance. Each group is divided into 4 tiers, and you'll have to make a binary choice at each tier. Usually, these are between two actions, rituals, buildings, or traits. For example, in Work & Worship, you'll have to choose between the faithful trait and the industrious trait. Being faithful makes your followers generate devotion 15% faster, while industriousness increases work speed by 15%.
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Two final points to consider regarding your followers are traits and age. Your followers age as the game progresses and will eventually die, although you can resurrect dead ones in a ritual. Each follower also has traits. So, some of them might gain faith when they get sick while others lose faith when they get sick. Some are cynical, and thus do not level up quickly. Others are hard workers or lazy. It might be worth your while to sacrifice a troublesome follower and replace them with one that has better traits.
<h3>Leveling up</h3>
Many things level up in Cult of the Lamb. First of all, your cult. This is leveled up by collecting Devotion at the shrine, which will then spawn a Divine Inspiration resource at increasing amounts of Devotion. Divine Inspiration is used to unlock new buildings and new perks for the buildings. These are divided into different tiers, with a certain number of buildings required to unlock the next tier.
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Some of these unlocks are upgraded versions of basic buildings - you can upgrade the grass sleeping bag to a tent to a luxurious hut that harvests devotion while the occupant is sleeping.
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When you conduct a sermon in the Temple, you gain Devotion specifically for leveling up your character. This lets you unlock different types of weapons and new curses for a run, and increases your starting health.
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As mentioned before, your followers also level up. They all start at level 1 Loyalty, and you can increase this by conducting sermons, giving them gifts, and completing their requests. Loyalty determines the amount of Devotion a follower generates at the shrine and during a sermon, and also changes their success rate for missionary work.
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Lastly, you can unlock fleeces and Crown abilities. When you defeat one of the bishops, you obtain a Heart of a Heretic, which can be used to unlock a new abilities in the Temple. A fleece is unlocked by spending a Holy Talisman, which is obtained by completing different NPC quests throughout the game. Only one fleece can be equipped at a time, while all unlocked Crown abilities are active at once.
<h2>Boundaries</h2>
Although there are no limits to how many resources you can carry, you are limited to one melee weapon and one curse at a time. Further, in terms of base management, many of your boxes have a limited capacity: the fertilizer box, seed silo, and compost bin can only hold 15 items at a time.
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There are also building limits: the base area is approximately 62 X 33 diamonds, or 2,046 diamonds large, but there is actually a large hole in the center of the area due to the Shrine placement. This removes at least 100 diamonds.
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Some decorations and special buildings can also only be constructed once.
<h2>Outcomes</h2>
There are a number of different outcomes to the game. When facing The One Who Waits, you could decide to sacrifice yourself. This will end the game right there. On the other hand, you could fight against him. If you win the battle, you could kill him or make him a follower. Making him a follower unlocks several special quests.
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<section>
<h1>Dynamic Elements</h1>
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<h2>Engine Building</h2>
The engine building pattern occurs mainly in your base management. You have control over the number of followers who pray at your shrine, and you can directly and indirectly influence how much devotion they generate - by leveling up their Loyalty you can increase their devotion generation, and by researching the Shrine Flame upgrade, you can burn grass or lumber to increase their praying speed. Conducting certain rituals also offers temporary boosts to praying efficiency.
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<h2>Dynamic Friction</h2>
The dynamic friction pattern makes several appearances. First, collecting Divine Inspiration to level up your cult requires increasing amounts of Devotion to unlock the next one. Further, each tier requires an increasing number of unlocked buildings before you can access the next tier.
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Second, to level up the lamb also requires increasing amounts of Devotion collected by delivering a sermon. Similarly to the cult, each tier requires you to unlock an increasing number of abilities before the next becomes available.
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Third, the enemies will become more difficult after completing an area.
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Finally, the areas themselves require an increasing number of followers to unlock.
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<h2>Converter Engine</h2>
Regular materials must be converted into consecrated materials, and you have control over which materials to convert, and over how many Refineries you've built.
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You can also view your followers as part of a converter engine - you give them food, which they convert into shit and Devotion. The shit can be taken back to your farm and used to grow more food.
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<h2>Trade</h2>
You can sell unwanted resources at your base, and you can buy new tarot cards, follower forms, and decorations at different vendors. Further, you can occasionally purchase new followers using gold coins from an NPC at different points in a run.
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<h2>Stopping Mechanism</h2>
The stopping mechanism occurs in several places. First, your rituals all have different cooldowns, preventing the player from spamming them.
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Second, your base actions can only be performed once per day: you can give a sermon, kiss a spouse, and reeducate a follower just one time per day-night cycle.
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Third, your curses all use the Fervor resource, and you can only hold a limited amount of it. Since you collect it by damaging enemies with your melee weapon and you only get a small amount from each hit, you are severely limited in how many times you can use a curse.
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Finally, when you sell items, you gradually reduce the price of the item. So, even very lucrative items will become devalued over time.
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<h2>Worker Placement</h2>
The worker placement pattern occurs literally in Cult of the Lamb: you can place your followers in different jobs and this has no cost to you.
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Another instance of worker placement is in your fleeces. Once unlocked, you can switch between any of them at will.
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<h2>Play-Style Reinforcement</h2>
Play-style reinforcement occurs in several areas. First, you are sometimes given the chance to choose between different weapons and curses. This lets you choose between the high-damage but low hit rate axe, and the faster but less powerful sword, for example, or between an AoE blast and a huge crack with tentacles that damage enemies they contact.
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Second, you can unlock different fleeces, each of which gives you different benefits. For example, the Golden Fleece gives you a +5% damage bonus per kill, but this resets when you take damage (you will also take double damage with this Fleece). On the other hand, the Fleece of Fates gives you 4 tarot cards at the start of a run, but removes all tarot card pick-ups for the rest of the run.
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Third, you customize your cult to match your play-style. For example, if you make a lot of runs and you always try to pick up followers on a run, it might make sense to invest in the cannibal trait: the chance of sickness from eating minced follower meat is 0%, and your cult's Faith is increased by 5 when they eat minced follower meat. This means you don't have to keep them around and find a bed for them, or feed them, as they are actually the food. This could be paired with the Good Die Young trait. This trait gives +10 Faith if an Elder follower is sacrificed, murdered, or consumed (but you lose 20 if they die naturally). Further, you could invest in the murder action, which would let you murder a follower at any time, and then cook them up later.
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Each player will probably end up with different combinations of such doctrines. To indulge a bit in the mathematics of it: since there are 5 categories and you must make a binary choice at each of 4 tiers for each category, that gives you 2*2*2*2*2*4= 128 different combinations of doctrines. Not a terribly large state space, but one that offers interesting options.
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<h1>Conclusion</h1>
Cult of the Lamb is an absolute gem of a game. The story is dark and the developers don't shy away from giving the player a horrifying suite of actions when managing your cult. Further, due to locking out half of the cult management options each play through, you are encouraged to play through at least once more to see how those options open up other possibilities. The combat is fun, but not deep enough to support hundreds of hours of play. But, it doesn't need to do so.
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The brilliance comes in managing your cult. The way that all the different elements tie together and interact is a wonder to experience. Basic actions like managing food and Faith, providing enough beds, giving sermons and performing rituals to harvest Devotion and level up follower Loyalty and your own skill tree link up to create interesting decisions. You'll regularly find yourself with an internal monologue like the following: Oh, my follower Alno just died: should I resurrect them? They did have level six Loyalty...I think I'll bury them in this empty grave, so others can grieve there and give me some bonuses to Faith. I'll resurrect them in a few days. Hmm. I was married to them! I'll definitely bring them back.
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If you like rogue-likes, I recommend giving this title a look. If you're interested in how to design interlocking systems, pay close attention to how the developers have designed their base and cult management elements.
</section>David Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01601318906655915875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787818667586347471.post-48138658021453808172023-04-02T03:09:00.001-07:002023-04-03T00:47:26.884-07:00Hogwarts Legacy Analysis<section>
<h1>Preface</h1>
This is an in-depth look at the story and gameplay elements of the game Hogwarts Legacy. This is not a political discussion about trans-activism, transphobia, or antisemitism. If you are watching this video hoping that I will spend the whole time dising J.K. Rowling for her personal opinions on a controversial subject, or that I will explore the supposed antisemitic slant found in elements of the game and books (it seems clear to me that the Wizarding World's goblins are a smash-up of dwarfs and goblins from Norse and European folklore - every artist gets their ideas from previous art - and are probably not the result of any Jew-hating tendencies), or that I will analyze the way that kneazle breeding reinforces heteronormative stereotypes, you've clicked on the wrong video. I'm not going to talk about being betrayed by a childhood hero, how words cause real world harm, or the alleged lack of diversity at the development studio. I'm just here to talk about the game mechanics and design in an effort to help myself (and hopefully others) understand what works and what doesn't.
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<h1>Overview</h1>
Hogwarts Legacy is a 3D open world action adventure game with some RPG and simulation elements. It was developed by Avalanche Software and published by the owners of the rights to much of the Wizarding World media, Warner Bro. Games. It released on February 10, 2023. <a href="https://youtu.be/gOFr-o_-RpQ">You can find the video version here.</a>
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<h1>Dramatic Elements</h1>
Hogwarts Legacy is a story-heavy game, but it suffers from the same issues that many of the books do: lack of original plotting elements.
<h2>Characters and Story</h2>
You play as a male or female 5th year student who is transferring to Hogwarts. Right away, your flying carriage is attacked and you soon discover that you have an ability to see (and use) an ancient type of magic that most others cannot. When you arrive at Hogwarts, you will take classes, learn spells, brew potions, raise fantastic beasts, learn to ride a broom, and many other staples and tropes of the Wizarding World. You will also be introduced to a rebellion led by a goblin, and get embroiled in that. You will uncover a wizard from the past who, like Voldemort, tried to transgress the appropriate bounds of magic and brought about a tragedy.
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As you progress through the game, your progress in the story will be repeatedly blocked by a list of tasks that you need to complete. These might be attending a new class, completing an assignment for a teacher, or some other to-do item. Upon completing these items, you'll be able to advance and learn more about your connection to this ancient magic, and what Ranrok, the leader of the goblin rebellion, is planning. I purposefully call this a list of tasks because that is how it is presented in the UI, and that is what it feels like. When I'm hit with a set of things I need to do in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, I don't usually feel like I'm being gated by the developers. The things I need to do feel like a natural projection from where I am to where I need to reach. In Hogwarts Legacy, you are being tasked by...a teacher that doesn't want you to go too far without completing their homework first.
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You will complete several trials which reveal more about the backstory of the conflict. Eventually you will confront the dark wizard who is helping the evil goblin and defeat him. At the end, you will confront Ranrok and defeat him. There are "two" endings, but these both funnel into the same conclusion. You can choose to use the forbidden power, or keep it a secret, but Hogwarts does not become a dark, evil place after choosing the "evil" path.
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As you play, you can stumble upon a good number of side quests from NPCs out in the world or from students or teachers at Hogwarts. These follow many of the tropes of other lackluster side content in other open world games: there are no real effects on the game world, the quests feature no surprising twists, and the design is very run-of-the-mill.
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The characters themselves suffer from similar problems. Often, they are meant to evoke characters from the original franchise - such as Professor Sharp, the potions professor, being a member of house Slytherin, having shoulder length dark brown hair, and being arrogant and strict. He is clearly meant to stand in for Severius Snape. That said, although the characters are not, for the most part, poorly written, most are one-dimensional, don't have arcs, and are just not interesting.
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<h1>Formal Elements</h1>
<h2>Rules</h2>
<h3>Combat and Movement</h3>
You'll be able to walk, run, and jump relatively freely in Hogwarts Legacy. Like most 3D action games, you can climb on specific rocky surfaces. You can even swim on the surface of bodies of water. You will also be able to fly around on a broom and on a hippogryph, although this is limited by area: you cannot fly inside the building of Hogwarts, inside caves or dungeon areas, nor inside the town of Hogsmeade.
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The combat has received a lot of attention. You have a basic attack that you can spam over and over. Your other combat spells each have a cooldown and different color: red, purple, and orange. Your magical enemies will periodically cast a color-coded shield, and you must use a spell of matching color to break the shield. You can use different fire and ice-based spells, together with some physics-based push, pull, slow, and slam spells. These are all flashy and fun to use, and they can be combined holistically: use Levioso to fling an enemy up into the air, juggle them a bit with basic attacks, then use Accio to bring them up close and personal before crisping them with Incendio and smashing them into another enemy with Depulso. You can "parry" many magic attacks using Protego, and you can dodge others that are not blockable. Holding the parry button will trigger a Stupify counterattack.
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There are two last twists - potions and combat plants, and ancient magic. Potions, such as Focus - which reduces cooldowns; or Edurus - which increases your defense, can be drunk in a pinch. Combat plants are things like Chinese Chomping Cabbage (bobs around and attacks nearby enemies), or Venomous Tentacula (shoots poison at enemies). These are selected from the same ring-based menu and triggered by the left bumper. As you attack, dodge, and use Protego, you will build up your Ancient Magic meter, which lets you unleash a devastating attack against an enemy. There is a secondary use of Ancient Magic, which lets you fling environmental objects into your enemies using the right bumper. These could be explosive barrels, rocks, or the disarmed weapons of your enemies themselves. This is totally context dependent - if there is something flingable, you'll be able to fling it.
<h3>Enemies</h3>
There is a good variety in the enemies - you have dark wizards, poachers, goblins, mongrels, spiders, and trolls. In each category, you have several different classes and types.
<h3>School Simulation</h3>
This is for the "I get to be a student at Hogwarts!" fans. There are a number of classes you can attend, and most of these are based on scenes from the Harry Potter books and movies. There are a few minigames related to using Accio, or mixing a potion.
<h3>Animal Raising Simulation</h3>
This is for the Fantastic Beasts fans. You can "rescue" different species in the wild, release them into the microcosms inside the Room of Requirement. You can decorate these areas, feed your beasts, groom them, and if you have a male and female member and a breeding pen, you can breed them.
<h3>Inventory</h3>
There are six gear slots: handwear, facewear, headwear, neckwear, cloaks and robes, and outfit. As you explore, complete quests, and kill enemies, you will pick up a lot of gear. Many of them can be upgraded by using different materials harvested from rescued beasts. There are also traits, such as increased damage against mongrels, or reduced damage from trolls, that can be unlocked through completing challenges or found in the environment and applied to your gear. Lastly, there is a transmog system which allows you to change the appearance of any piece of equipment.
<h3>Collectibles</h3>
There are tons of collectibles and activities in Hogwarts Legacy. There are bandit / poacher camps to clear out, hot spots of Ancient magic to find, Merlin trials to complete, field guide pages to collect, Demiguise statues to find, a house chest to unlock by slapping flying keys, combat arenas to clear, broomstick races to complete...I feel breathless just saying this many, but there are more.
<h3>Leveling up</h3>
Leveling up is tied to completing field guide challenges. As you unlock these different challenges, and as you progress through completing one of them, you will gain XP. From level 5 to level 40, you will be given one talent point to spend at each level up. There are 5 skill trees, with 10 (Spells), 10 (Dark Arts), 16 (Core), 4 (Stealth), and 8 (Room of Requirement) skills, respectively, that you can unlock. These are mostly tweaks to how spells work: as examples, you can unlock a shock wave that will spread out when you use Descendo to smash an enemy to the ground, or you could increase the amount of time that an enemy will remain stunned by Stupify.
<h2>Boundaries</h2>
There are limited slots for your gear, such as masks or glasses, scarfs, robes, hats, and regular outfits. Let me say that again: in Hogwarts Legacy, part of the Wizarding World, the same franchise that features tents that are bigger inside than out, bags of essentially infinite capacity, and the microcosms inside briefcases from Fantastic Beasts, has limited inventory space. A question to whoever designed this: why?. And you regularly encounter new items which you cannot pick up, cannot even check the stats on, until you destroy an item you currently have. This happened to me quite often on main quests and during side quests, both of which feature areas which you will not be able to enter again, leaving you with no choice but to destroy one of your currently held items. Oh, and you cannot sell ingredients (herbs or materials harvested from animals) to vendors, meaning that selling gear is almost your only source of income for most of the game, yet you are still forced to destroy these items.
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The only way that you can increase your inventory capacity is by completing set numbers of Merlin Trials, which are magic based puzzles scattered around the game. This makes no sense at all. I have have no idea why this is in the game, but, there you have it.
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In the Room of Requirements, there are also limitations for each category of item: potion tables, growing tables, breeding corrals, etc.
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I'll just reiterate the limitations on the use of your broom here. These usually appear as a text warning "Landing is not available" or "Cannot enter while riding a broom," and you will encounter some kind of magical shield going around the map borders and the town of Hogsmeade.
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One last boundary is enemy scaling. Each region of the game has an enemy level range - the enemies will try to scale to your level within that range. So if you are a level 5 but the scaling range is 10-30, the enemies will scale to level 10, whereas if you are level 35, they will scale up to 30.
<h2>Outcomes</h2>
There are a number of different endings, but these trigger a few minor cosmetic changes. No matter what, you will have to confront the dark wizard and the leader of the goblin rebellion. After you reach level 34, it is possible to take your O.W.L. exams and to receive the yearly cup through the intervention of one of the professors (just like Dumbledore's intervention in the books).
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<section>
<h1>Dynamic Elements</h1>
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<h2>Dynamic Friction</h2>
The dynamic friction pattern makes its usual appearance for character leveling and for challenges. Each level requires a larger amount of XP than the previous one, and each challenge requires you to execute the action more times than the previous one.
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A second instance of the dynamic friction pattern is in enemy scaling. As mentioned before, enemies will try to scale to your character's level, as long as your character is within the area's scaling range. If you are over or underleveled for the area, the enemy will clamp to the upper or lower limit, respectively.
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<h2>Static Engine</h2>
The static engine pattern occurs in the Room of Requirement plant resource spawning and in the beast resource harvesting. These are on timers of various lengths, but you are guaranteed to receive the resource after waiting.
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<h2>Stopping Mechanism</h2>
The stopping mechanism pattern mainly appears in the cooldowns for the various magical spells in combat. This prevents the player from spamming them.
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<h2>Worker Placement</h2>
The worker placement pattern appears in your spell selection pad. You can equip up to 4 spells at a time for quick use, and you will eventually unlock up to 4 sets of these for a total of 16 that you can switch between at will. That said, you can swap out any of these 16 for any of your spells - a potential of 23 different equippable spells (not counting your basic attack, ancient magic attacks, Alohamora, Petrificus Totalus, Revelio and others that are always available or are contextual available).
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Another instance of worker placement is in the potting tables. You can swap out what plant is being raised at any point.
</section>
</section>
<section>
<h1>Conclusion</h1>
I turned 40 years old a few months ago, and it struck me that one of the reasons I never got into Harry Potter originally was that I was already 15 when the first book was released. At that time, I was just getting into slightly more mature fantasy series, like Wheel of Time and A Song of Ice and Fire. In any case, I bypassed Potter-mania, and when the movies started to come out I was pretty underwhelmed and stopped watching after the Prisoner of Azkaban.
</br>
Two years ago, I decided it was high time that I start studying Japanese again, and I randomly decided that I would read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in Japanese. It took the better part of 7 months, but I was able to read it, out loud, in Japanese. I'm currently about 100 pages into Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I have finally watched all 8 of the Harry Potter movies, and the first movie of the Fantastic Beasts series. I say this to give you some background into my relationship with the franchise. Whatever you might think of J.K. Rowling's political opinions, she is not a bad writer. She is not amazing either, but she is definitely competent. She knows how to plot a story, write decent characters, and describe scenes without tripping over her own feet. That already places her in a class above, say, Dan Brown or E.L. James.
</br>
Hogwarts Legacy belongs to the same class: competent, but not amazing. The world itself is gorgeous, and has clearly received hours and hours of love and care to make it look the way it does. The music evokes the atmosphere of the movies wonderfully, and there are hilarious bits of lore scattered everywhere. Most of the puzzles make varied use of your magical abilities, and although not mentally taxing, provide a welcome diversion from the combat. And the combat is solid - it is fast, fun, and frenetic.
</br>
As an open world game environment, however, the developers have copied many of the same elements that gamers have grown tired of over the course of the last 10 years: lack of dynamic world events, collectibles that are there more for filling the massive space than for any meaningful purpose, copy-pasted bandit camps, side activities that are included for sake of completeness but never fully fleshed out, non-reactive characters and environments, and much more. Just like the exploding red barrels in Ghost of Tsushima, Hogwarts Legacy has included a lock picking minigame. You have Alohamora, for fuck's sake - what is the point of the minigame if you have the spell? No other spell works this way! And even worse, the lock picking is just a window dressed version of finding the correct angles on the twin sticks (the same activity as decrypting passwords in the Arkham series, or focusing on Elvish runes in Shadow of War, which makes me wonder if Warner Brothers Games force their studios to include this...). This is not the same level of phoned-in game design as recent Ubisoft titles, but it is just a few steps above.
</br>
And speaking of Ubisoft, the horror of the UI deserves special mention here. The left stick controls a cursor, which must be manually moved over to the element you want to select. There are almost no situations where the bumpers or triggers can be used to switch between menus, and none where you use the D-pad to switch between menu items. Buying and selling requires holding the A button on the Xbox controller for a second, which disincentivizes going to the shops. I'm not sure of the logic of this, but it makes for a painful experience any time you need to go through several menus.
</br>
The "RPG" elements of the game also leave more to be desired. In terms of RPG mechanics, you are technically limited to 35 talent points versus 48 unlockable skills. I cannot imagine many players investing in the 4 skills in the Stealth tree, so let's go with 44 skills. None of your skills drastically changes the effectiveness of your different spells, so you can freely choose among the skills and you will probably end up playing the game in a similar way to much of the rest of the player base. The particular spells you use in combat don't matter so much, as long as you have one Control spell (coded yellow - Arresto Momentum, Glacius, Levioso, Transformation), one Damage spell (coded red - Bombarda, Confringo, Diffendo, Expelliarmus, Incendio), and one Force spell (coded purple - Accio, Depulso, Descendo, Flipendo) equipped, you will be able to go through most combat encounters smoothly. The equipment also amounts to playing dress up. There are only two stats - offense and defense, and you just have to equip items which have the biggest of the those numbers. Having traits and upgrades tied to the beasts in your vivarium is a nice touch, but it is still quite shallow.
</br>
In terms of RPG narrative elements, you can't become a superevil character, despite slinging around unforgivable curse after unforgivable curse. I don't really want to hear that we are roleplaying a Hogwarts student, and clearly no Hogwarts student would become evil - just hand-wave about Draco, Voldemort, and all the rest. Further, the NPCs will not really react to what you do or don't do, either. Again, this feels the same as many of the other open world RPGs of the last decade - I'm looking at you Bethesda.
</br>
Regarding the sim elements, we have the same problems. You can customize your wand and broomstick, and the game developers have lovingly recreated scenes from the books and movies (such as the mandrake scene in herbology class, or the first time you ride a broomstick), but there are no consequences of class attendance or performance, or your wand choices. Long wands are not slower, for example, and flexible wands do not increase crit chance. The different cores have different descriptions, but they are just window dressing. There are cut-scenes where the teacher will say "Well done, Harry McLightingFace! Points to Hufflepuff." However, you can't affect the points for the different houses by your actions. You can't make Slytherin the masters of the school by answering questions in class or by following the rules, you can't sabotage other houses, and there is no affect of getting these points. These scenes are just there for show.
</br>
The other main sim elements, taking care of the beasts, are similarly shallow and facile. You brush them and feed them, and you periodically get some resource from them. But they never eat each other because they are starving due to your lack of care (since you've been busy riding your broomstick and zapping goblins and haven't stopped by the Room of Requirement in ages) nor just because one animal is clearly a carnivore and the other is clearly its prey - you'll never come back to your vivarium to find your kneazles with potbellys and your puffskeins nowhere to be seen. They don't get sick. They don't have life satisfaction meters related to the type of environment in the vivarium. They don't escape or attack each other, unlike the dinosaurs in Jurassic World: Evolution. The system is there, but it does very little.
</br>
The Room of Requirements, as a whole, however adds some much needed complexity. The different ways you can set up your plant stations, fertilizer stations, potion stations, etc, are sure to keep some players busy for a time. The way that beasts tie in to upgrading gear is sensible, and the fact that you can breed beasts and sell them for extra money is useful since in the early and midgame money sources are limited, but this also created a lot of dissonance for me - like, how is this different from the poachers? In any case, I found potions mostly useless, with the exception of the Wiggenweld / Healing potion, and I only made other potions to complete task objectives. The combat plants were occasionally useful, but again, I mostly only used them to complete a combat feat or task objective.
</br>
To wrap things up, Hogwarts Legacy is not a 1 out of 10, the opinion of sex toy reviewer specialist Jaina Grey over at Wired not withstanding. It is not a 10 out of 10, either, whatever Angry Joe would like you to think. If I were rating this game, I'd give it a solid 7 or 8. It is competently executed in many areas, but has some serious design problems in others. Many of the design problems stem from copying the open world play book that many developers have been using for the last decade. Others stem from trying to stay true to the feeling of the Wizarding World franchise, which is not very well-thought out and makes very little sense in and of itself. Still others are just bad choices made by the developers. Should we give them some shit for their bad choices? Yes, of course. Should we praise them for the areas where they have excelled? Definitely! Should we be fanboys and give them a free pass? How about no. Should we go all political and barely talk about the actual game at all? Again, no.
</br>
Hogwarts Legacy has undoubtedly benefited from the controversy surrounding J.K. Rowling, but that does not mean it is not worth your time. There are many moments of wonder and fun to be had here, but there are a lot of confoundingly poor design choices, too. Hogwarts Legacy is not an evil game created by a team of evil developers based on an evil franchise written by an evil person. It is a mostly fun piece of entertainment that I'm sure fans of the Wizarding World franchise will love. Even as something of an outsider, I enjoyed a lot of my time with Hogwarts Legacy, while I found the story pretty lackluster and many elements of game design shallow. I can say much the same about many other open world games - Watchdogs 2, or Days Gone, or Fallout 4, for example. To pull out my favorite overly dramatic Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn quote: "If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?"
</section>
<section>
<h1>Outro</h1>
I hope that you found my analysis and discussion of this game informative and useful. Until next time!
</section>David Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01601318906655915875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787818667586347471.post-63951064052239546812021-04-08T23:31:00.001-07:002021-05-08T02:28:56.676-07:00Ghost of Tsushima Game Analysis<style>
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You can find the <a href="https://youtu.be/E-pEcMABEjo">video version of this analysis here.</a><br />
<h1>
Overview</h1>
<div>
Ghost of Tsushima is an open world action stealth game developed by Sucker Punch Productions and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment in July 2020. It has only been released on the Playstation 4 and 5. It is set in a slightly fictionalized version of Japan in the year of 1274, during the Mongol invasion of Japan.
</div>
<h1>Dramatic Elements
</h1>
<div>
Ghost of Tsushima features a lengthy and involved story. Consider this your spoiler warning. If you don't want to know anything about the characters and story, <a href="#formal elements">please skip ahead to this section.</a>
</div>
<h2>
Characters and Story
</h2>
<h3>
Main Story
</h3>
<div>
Ghost of Tsushima follows the story of the fictional samurai and head of the Sakai clan, Jin. His father died before his eyes when he was young, and his uncle, Lord Shimura, raised him.
</div>
<br />
<div>
At the start of the game, Jin, Shimura, and all the samurai of Tsushima have gathered together to face the Mongol invaders. Similarly to the real historical events, the initial battle does not go well for the Japanese, who are soundly defeated. Shimura is taken captive by Khoutun Khan, a fictional relative of Kublai Khan, the leader of the Mongol Empire. Jin is left for dead on the battlefield, but is rescued by a local thief, Yuna. Because Jin is young and idealistic, and frankly foolhardy, he goes to rescue his uncle by himself, and is promptly thrown from the bridge to the castle. He barely survives.
</div>
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<div>
This conflict, between Jin's views of samurai honor and duty, and the more prudent path, makes its first appearance here. After surviving, Jin finds Yuna again and the two begin gathering allies, much like in Kurosawa's Shichinin no Samurai. You complete a few quests to gather them to your side, and to expand your movement abilities with a hook for climbing, and you set off to free your uncle a second time. Your allies include Yuna's brother, Taka, their friend Kenji, your friend and ronin Ryuzo, a famed archer named Ishikawa, and a local noble and warrior named Lady Masako.
</div>
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<div>
Although you are betrayed by one of your allies, you manage to free your uncle. This opens up the middle section of the island, and you begin another round of quests to get reinforcements and allies.
</div>
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<div>
This time the climax does not proceed smoothly. When you breach the castle walls and are about to enter the main keep, many of your soldiers are killed by a Mongol trap. Jin and his uncle come to a head about this: Jin insists that he should be allowed to sneak in, take out some of the Mongols, and allow the soldiers to enter with less resistance. Lord Shimura wants to do things the samurai way, which while honorable, will undoubtedly get many of the soldiers killed and may even result in a loss. Jin decides to sneak in and poison the Mongols and he has a final showdown with his betrayer.
</div>
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<div>
Although the siege was a success, Jin's uncle waits for word from the shogun to put him on trial for conduct unbefitting a samurai. One of his friends helps him escape, and you begin yet another round of quests to gather allies for the final push to expel the Mongols from Tsushima.
</div>
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<div>
After defeating the Mongol general, there is a short epilogue where Jin will confront his uncle. You may decide to spare his life or kill him, but this has no ramifications on exploring the world afterwards.
</div>
<h3>
Character-Based Quests
</h3>
<div>
There are a large number of character-based quests in Ghost of Tsushima. You will only have to complete the first step of Ishikawa and Lady Masako's quest in order to recruit them to your cause and can safely ignore them for the rest of the game if you wish.
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<div>
Ishikawa is a famous archer, and his quest revolves around tracking down a former student of his who appears to be helping the Mongols and teaching them the secrets of Japanese archery. I enjoyed the nuances of this story-line quite a bit, as it becomes clear that you can see the student's actions, and Ishikawa's under a few different lights.
</div>
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<div>
Lady Masako's story is a straight-up mystery revenge plot. You will probably guess who the architect of Lady Masako's misery is a few stroy beats before the finale, but it is still an enjoyable tale.
</div>
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<div>
Yuna's tales all involve some aspect of her checkered or horrific past.
</div>
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<div>
Norio is a warrior monk you will meet after rescuing your uncle. His stories are about re-establishing Cedar Temple, tracking down captured monks, and getting revenge against the Mongols for killing his brother.
</div>
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<div>
Kenji's tales usually involve him trying to grift someone unsuccessfully, and provide a bit of comic relief.
</div>
<h1 id ="formal elements">
Formal Elements
</h1>
<h2>
Players
</h2>
<div>
Ghost of Tsushima is a strictly single player game, although there is a "Legends" playmode that is multiplayer.
</div>
<h2>
Rules
</h2>
<div>
</div>
<h3>
Movement and Combat
</h3>
<div>
Like many open world games, Ghost of Tsushima has a complicated set of rules regarding movement. Jin can walk and run around the game world, although his running is limited by an invisible stamina meter. He can also climb on buildings, vault fences, and climb rock ledges that have been marked as climbable. Jin can swim, and can hold his breath underwater for a about 20-30 seconds in order to evade the attention of enemies. After you have received your grappling hook, you can use this to latch onto specially marked points and swing or climb them. Jin can jump across quite large gaps even without using his hook. If you fall from too large a height, you will take damage and may die. Later on, you can increase this distance by unlocking the ability to roll when you land and soft the force.
</div>
<br />
<div>
You can also move around the map using your horse. Your horse will jump over low barriers automatically, and has unlimited stamina. If you fall from too large a height while on horseback, you will die and must reload a save. Lower heights will simply cause you to fall off the horse, receiving no damage. Your horse cannot be killed, and like in many open world games can be called to your side by whistling.
</div>
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<div>
Combat is quite fast, and enemies have shorter tells compared to many other melee combat games. You will use the same weapons through out the game: a katana for melee combat, a tanto for stealth kills, a bow for ranged combat, and a heavy bow for dealing more damage. Later on you also get a blowgun, but this is of limited use.
</div>
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<div>
When engaged in melee combat, you can use light and heavy attacks in different stances to best take down the particular enemy you are facing. Heavy attacks deal more damage, and are mostly used to build the stagger meter on your enemies when they are blocking. The Wind stance is most effective against enemies using spears or halbeards, and you can use heavy attacks to knock them off their feet and deal stagger damage to them. Staggered enemies cannot block or defend themselves for a few seconds, so staggering them is quite effective. Stone stance is best for other swordsmen, Water is best for shielded enemies, and Moon is best for brutes. When an enemy attacks you, you generally have the same options as you do in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice: you may dodge, block, parry, or jump. A low sweeping attack may be jumped over, and most attacks can simply be blocked. If you block at the last moment, this triggers a parry and you may perform a counterattack. Dodging allows you to avoid the attack completely, and may be necessary quite often in the early game, as the enemies will have many unblockable attacks.
</div>
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<div>
Performing parries replenishes some of your resolve, as does killing enemies. Resolve can be used to heal, and (similarly to Sekiro) also to resurrect yourself if you die in combat. Most of your legendary techniques cost different amounts of resolve to use.
</div>
<br />
<div>
In practice, however, the combat feels very different from Sekiro. First, the types of attacks that are unblockable change over time as you level up. Second, unlike Sekiro, you do not have a stagger meter yourself. You can block as much or as long as you like and as long as enemies do not perform an unblockable attack. This removes most of the feeling of standing toe to toe against a powerful enemy without flinching or hestitating.
</div>
<br />
<div>
Fear also plays a large role as the game progresses. You will unlock armors and techniques which increase the fear of your enemies. Performing these techniques will cause nearby enemies to drop their weapons and cower in terror, or even runaway.
</div>
<br />
<div>
The stance matching is also a difference from Sekiro, and it doesn't feel similar to the stances from Nioh, either. The best comparision is actually the stances from the original Witcher game, with certain enemies being most vulnerable to particular stances and resistant to others.
</div>
<br />
<div>
The last difference is with difficulty and strategy. The enemies gain more armor as you progress through the game, with enemies in the first area being mostly unarmored, and those in the last being the most heavily armored. However, it still only takes a handful of sword swings to kill any enemy, with the exception of bosses and duel partners. Even for the bosses, you can handle these using the same techniques that you use on all the other enemies, and you don't have to use particular strategies or armor to fight them.
</div>
<br />
<div>
While the combat is fun and engaging at first, and it always looks stylish and cool, I found myself using basically the same strategy with nearly every enemy encounter in the game: match my stance to whatever weapon they have, then begin attacking and building their stagger meter. Parry any of their attacks, and continue until they are dead.
</div>
<h3>
Stealth
</h3>
<div>
Besides holding your breath underwater, you may enter a stealth mode on land. You will crouch down and it will be more difficult for enemies to spot you. You can throw wind chimes to attract enemies' attention to particular points, and they will also come to investigate fallen comrades.
</div>
<br />
<div>
If you get close to an enemy from the rear you can stealth kill them. You may also stealth kill an enemy by leaping on them from a height, and later on you unlock the ability to chain a few stealth kills together if there are other enemies nearby.
</div>
<br />
<div>
Using the bows and blowguns further allows you to silently take out enemies from a distance.
</div>
<br />
<div>
There is also a stealth vision mode which lets you "hear" enemies through barriers and at a distance for increased tactical play.
</div>
<br />
<div>
The movement system plays a critical part in stealth gameplay. You can approach a Mongol camp from the rear using cliffs, take out enemies from above, and use towers, your grappling hook, ropes strung between buildings, and the heights of the buildings themselves to sneak around like a ninja and take out enemies with relative impunity. Some camps have signals or enemies with horns who will call reinforcements if alerted, making for an increased challenge if detected.
</div>
<br />
<div>
This smoothness in slipping back and forth between a "dirty, under-handed" approach and calling out individual enemies for a duel is at the heart of the main conflict in Ghost of Tsushima.
</div>
<h3>
Inventory
</h3>
<div>
Ghost of Tsushima has a simple inventory system. You have a limited number of slots for quick items, and you can replenish them by purchasing them from vendors, or finding them scattered around the world. Besides these, there many different types of resouces you can find, including something just called supplies, different kinds of wood, cloth, and metal. These are used to upgrade your armors and weapons.
</div>
<br />
<div>
You cannot drop items, and there is a cap of 500 for the crafting resources. These can be sold for supplies at vendors.
</div>
<br />
<div>
Any headbands, masks, helmets, charms, weapon kits, or armor set you have picked up will remain in your possession, allowing you to change them at almost any moment.
</div>
<h3>
Level up
</h3>
<div>
The leveling system in Ghost of Tsushima is tied to your progress through the main story, the number of Mongol camps you have liberated, and the number of sidequests you have completed.
</div>
<br />
<div>
As you can see in the table, completing each "legend" level grants a number of technique points along the way. It also increases your health, and sometimes gives you a charm.
</div>
<table>
<tbody><tr>
<th> Legend Title </th>
<th>Number of Technique Points</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> The Broken Samurai </td>
<td>2</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> The Wandering Samurai </td>
<td>3</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> The People's Hope </td>
<td>4</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> The Unyielding Wind </td>
<td>5</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> The Shadow Samurai </td>
<td>6</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> The Hero of Tsushima </td>
<td>6</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> The Avenging Guarding </td>
<td>7</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> The Phantom Samurai </td>
<td>7</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> The Demon Blade </td>
<td>9</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> The Raging Storm </td>
<td>9</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Ghost of Tsushima </td>
<td>NA</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div>
These technique points can be used to unlock buffs for your four stances, improve your ghost weapons, and progress through two skill trees titled Deflection and Evasion.
</div>
<!--<h2>
Procedures
</h2>
<h3>
Complete a side mission
</h3>
<div>
As mentioned before, these are quite diverse, but all will typically involve a number of runs through Hades.
</div>
<h3>
Go shopping
</h3>
<div>
</div>-->
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<h2>
Resources
</h2>
<div>
There are a number of different resources.
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<ul>
<li>
<br /></li>
<li>
<br /></li>
<li>
<br /></li>
</ul>
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<h2>
Conflicts
</h2>
<div>
I have already mentioned the conflict between the notions of honor and practicality. This manifests itself between Jin and himself, as he must reject some of his past and his beliefs in order to rescue his uncle, and it also appears between the two men themselves.
</div>
<br />
<div>
This appears in terms of gameplay, as you will switch back and forth between samurai-inspired sword-play and ninja stealth climbing and assassinations.
</div>
<br />
<div>
Another aspect of this is the conflict between the Japanese and the Mongols. Besides the physical conflict, the Mongols represent practicatilty and a certain Machiavellian attitude, while the Japanese represent honor and inflexibility.
</div>
<br />
<div>
Finally, you see this same struggle between Jin and the various ronin and bandits you encounter randomly as you travel around Tsushima.
</div>
<h2>
Boundaries
</h2>
<div>
I have already mentioned the limitations regarding inventory. Besides those, there are story-based movement restrictions. Once you have escaped from your uncle in act 3, the first two areas of the game become inaccessable until you complete a certain mission. Other areas will be blocked off until you have completed the necessary parts of the story.
</div>
<h2>
Outcomes
</h2>
<div>
There is one main outcome: you defeat the leader of the Mongol invasion, and drive the Mongols from the island. Your dialogue choices throughout the game, the choices you made in composing the different <i>haiku</i>, how far you have completed the stories for Yuriko, Kenji, Yuna, etc, whether you decide to kill or spare your uncle in the final confrontation...None of this has any impact on the final state of the game.
</div>
<h1>
Dynamic Elements
</h1>
<div>
</div>
<br />
<div>
The dynamic friction pattern appears in many places. First, in the beginning, you might complete a quest with a minor legend increase, and this will completely fill one section of your legend bar, giving you a technique stone. Later on, this is minor increase will fill a much smaller amount.
</div>
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<div>
Second, as you move further into skill upgrades, the number of skill points required for each skill will sometimes increase.
</div>
<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjifbRlYYr-irWm8NO9mTzF37mZEn55My4YmG1CAn9SEqWrPlYu2gGr6r81dVQ2sl07ONk221uW2_9Q7c3EMGo1-kudiU1Ga67I4FGgiQKj8faiWW3dk407AKN2Xiac12imdtuK7_OC9nXW/s907/dynamicfriction.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="179" data-original-width="907" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjifbRlYYr-irWm8NO9mTzF37mZEn55My4YmG1CAn9SEqWrPlYu2gGr6r81dVQ2sl07ONk221uW2_9Q7c3EMGo1-kudiU1Ga67I4FGgiQKj8faiWW3dk407AKN2Xiac12imdtuK7_OC9nXW/s320/dynamicfriction.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div>
The static friction pattern also appears in the skill trees. Most of the skills cost a single point.
</div>
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<p style="text-align: left;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEV-pFb_0_9LQUsTAomeAbiJGFXD4iwtx8-dX1I-I-Q-ImUTrTgs0y8jxuVPBhfTKZbdsRwZH4VV_Pdhuaq1DM8yVA88aVw6DNvhagEHBrsrJzqRtPTtGcTw1A1EL6ZeZyjH9jDC5PA8pf/s437/staticfriction.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="437" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEV-pFb_0_9LQUsTAomeAbiJGFXD4iwtx8-dX1I-I-Q-ImUTrTgs0y8jxuVPBhfTKZbdsRwZH4VV_Pdhuaq1DM8yVA88aVw6DNvhagEHBrsrJzqRtPTtGcTw1A1EL6ZeZyjH9jDC5PA8pf/s320/staticfriction.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div>
The escalating challenge pattern makes a minor appearance in Ghost of Tsushima. The enemies do somewhat increase in power as you progress through the game.
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<div>
The play style reinforcement pattern appears mostly in the form of whether you choose to clear a camp with stealth or with samurai combat. Clearing camps is one of the main side forms of receiving legend increases and technique points, which you can then use to bolster your prefered play skill set. Your main armor set usually has a small contribution to your different attack stats, and thus may be included in this pattern. The different masks, headbands, and helmets have no effects on gameplay.
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The static engine makes its classic appearance as the generator for technique points. You get them at pretty regular intervals for completing side quests, main quests, and clearing camps.
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The trade pattern makes a minor appearance in that you can sell crafting items to receive supplies.
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<div>
The stoppping mechanism appears in the familiar places: you have a limited amount of resolve, and limited means for replenishing it, an this stops you from spamming your healling abilities and special attacks.
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<h1>
Conclusion
</h1>
<div>
Let me mention here that I studied Japanese in college, and that since 2009, I have been living in Japan. I grew up watching the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and soon after that graduated to Ghost in the Shell, Berserk, Lone Wolf and Cub, and a host of other Japanese anime and manga. Although technically we don't have "belts" in Japanese fencing, I have a second degree black belt in kendo.
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During my time in Japan, I have visited several dozen castles, more shrines and temples than I can count, and visited approximately half of the 47 prefectures. My wife is Japanese, and although I am not fluent in Japanese, my Japanese ability is passable.
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In terms of its looks, it is difficult to think of a game that captures more of the spirit and palette of Japan. The only one that comes immediately to mind is Total War: Shogun 2, and even that game pales before Ghost of Tsushima. In many ways, it is actually more Japanese than Japan itself is. Modern Japan has huge areas in the cities and suburbs that could easily be mistaken for New York, London, or Sydney. Of course, these cannot be featured in a game set in 1274, but still...if you explore the countryside as I have, you will find vistas that would not look out of in France, Switzerland, or any other country with a temperate climate.
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<div>
The developers have instead condensed the essence of Japanese scenary and jammed it all onto the island of Tsushima. Thus, although the invasion landed on Tsushima on November 4th, 1274, the early game scenary is made to feature foliage from early autumn and summer. The northern section of the game is meanwhile covered in thick drifts and a layer of snow, despite being only 70 kilometers from northern tip to southern tip in the real world. The middle area is home to a swampy area with elevated broad walkways similar to what you can find in Oze National Park, stands of bamboo that you can see in many asian countries, and dramatic sea cliffs like in Jogasaki.
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<div>
Having listened to the Japanese audio version of the game, I can tell you that although there are trees with white flowers that drop in the wind like the famous Japanese cherry blossom trees, they are not called "sakura" in the game. If you are at all familiar with cherry blossom trees, you know that they bloom in the spring, usually between late February and early April. In the game, these trees are sometimes referred to as having been struck by lightning. One minor grudge with the Japanese audio is that the lips of the models are automatically synched to the English version of the game, no matter which one you're listening to. Since the dialogue is unskippable, you are stuck looking at what appears to be a badly dubbed American movie.
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On the plus side, the character design and relationships are great. The characters are all voice-acted superbly, and the story itself, while not groundbreaking, is sold. There are no romance storylines, thank god, and the animation quality is top-notch.
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In terms of combat and movement, the game attempts to bring to video game format both the speed and tension Akira Kurosawa's samurai movies, and the fluidity, grace and brutality of a stealth ninja movie, such as Enter the Ninja or American Ninja. The cinematic references themselves mirror some of the developer's own stated influences. I cannot praise the developers enough in the first of these tasks. The combat is fun and tense, navigation is fluid and smooth, and the game simply looks fantastic. The AI has received criticism for being simplistic and making stealth somewhat easy to pull off, but that is a minor problem.
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<div>
Where I have to level harsh criticism is in the extraneous game elements. In the game, you can collect banners from different samurai clans in order to receive costmetic upgrades to your saddle. You are also rewarded with chucks of story for each upgrade you purchase. But, there are 80 of these banners scattered around a large, vertically challenging landscape.
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Furthermore, you can visit Inari shrines to upgrade your charms, but there are 49 of these. Following a cute fox to get a minor reward is entertaining the first 5-10 times, but 49 is ridiculous. Then there are the large navigational puzzles when you visit regular shrines, and thankfully there are only 16 of these. You can compose <i>haiku</i> in specific locations, and there are 19 of these. Composing <i>haikus</i> gives you a headband, which you will probably never wear. If you liberate all the Mongol held villages, camps, breweries, mines etc, you will have done so 57 times. There are 18 hot springs to soak and relax in and receive a slight health increase. There are 23 Pillars of Honor, which give you a skin change for your sword and tanto, most of which you will probably never use. There are 16 Bamboo Strikes, where you complete a minigame to increase your resolve. There are 40 Records, which are snippets of text written by Japanese refugees or survivors, and there are 50 Mongol Artifacts to collect, which explain more about the Mongols. There are 8 lighthouses that you can light, because apparently the developers felt there were not enough pointless activities already.
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<div>
Do hot springs feature prominently in Japanese daily life and culture? Yes, of course, and they have for hundreds of years. Same for haiku, visiting shrines, etc. What I object to is the size of the island and thus the number of these activities. According to <a href="https://twinfinite.net/2020/07/how-big-ghost-of-tsushimas-map-is-measured/">Twinfinite</a>, the game world is approximately 29 km<sup>2</sup>, which while that might seem large, is about half the size of The Witcher III plus DLC maps. This 29 km<sup>2</sup> is also a 10x reduction from the actual size of Tsushima, which is about 274 km<sup>2</sup>. I feel that the game could have been made half the size it is, and thus with half the number of activities. The alternative would be to slightly reduce the size, and simply eliminate some of the activities or greatly reduce their number. Increasing the movement speed of your horse might also help.
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<br />
<div>In the current game, the sheer repetition of them, which is required in order to make the large game world feel full and to increase the chances of a player stumbling on one of these activities, is onerous and tedious, and many of the activities are highly unoriginal to boot. Collecting banners has been done by Ubisoft since Assassin's Creed in 2007, which also featured climbing towers, incidentally. Navigational puzzles of the same or similar design and caliber can be found in 2007's Uncharted or even earlier in God of War (2005) or God of War II, also released in 2007.
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There are seven mythic tales, which give you either legendary armor sets or new abilities to use in combat. This is the perfect number! We don't need 35 of these! There are 26 side quests that you can find by talking to villagers or peasants you rescue, and there are 37 quests that are tied to specific characters: 10 for Masako, 9 for Ishikawa and Norio, 4 for Kenji, 3 for Yuna, and two for Yuriko.
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To beat this dead horse a bit more, these 26 side quests and 37 character based quests are a side effect of the size of the game world. We simply don't need this many. If they offered twists or difficult decisions the way that Witcher quests often do, it would be wonderful. Most of these are straighforward and unimaginative, however.
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As explained before, Ghost of Tsushima has RPG elements. There are 7 Deflection skills and 7 Evasion skills, there are 5 Ghost Weapons, with a total of 9 upgrades, there are 7 Evolving Tactics skills with a total of 13 upgrades, and there are 4 combat stances with 4 upgrades each, for a total of 16 skills. You will probably not find yourself using most of the Ghost weapons very often, and in any case the way that you equip them involves an arcane combination of trigger buttons, D-pad buttons, and face buttons. The reason you will probably not use them so often is because they are simply not necessary. If you compare the Ghost weapons to the different combat abilities in Shadow of Mordor, the Ghost weapons come out poorly. In Shadow of Mordor, you need to use every ability you have to survive the more difficult combat encounters. However, in Ghost of Tshushima, every combat situation can be gotten through using Jin's unupgraded combat stances, without resorting to smoke bombs, sticky bombs, kunai, or the other items. The AI simply is not aggressive enough or smart enough, and enemies do not swarm you the way they do in Shadow of Mordor to necessitate the Ghost weapons.
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Continuing the litany, there are five skills that have no other purpose but to unlock the ability to use the Guiding Wind to find different types of locations or items.
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<div>
Now, don't get me wrong. I love RPGs. I have put over 450 hours into The Witcher series, with the bulk of that being The Witcher III. Across all my playthroughs of Demons Souls, Dark Souls, Dark Souls II, Bloodborne, Dark Souls III, and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice there are probably another 700 hours or more. Dragon's Dogma: about 40 hours. Ashen: about 20 hours. Diablo III: about 50 hours. Adding in Morrowind (90 hours), Oblivion (500 hours), Skyrim (450 hours). Fallout 3 (30 hours). Fallout: New Vegas (60 hours). Fallout 4 (90 hours). Grim Dawn (70 hours). Vampyr (40 hours). About 160 hours each for the two Mount and Blade games. I hope I've established my RPG cred with this little list. There are many other games I could add, but you get the idea.
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<div>
But Ghost of Tsushima does not need all the skills that it has. Similar to the activities, its skill trees have been bloated beyond what is necessary. As one example, the stances each have 4 upgrades. For some stances, these actually add the ability to block attacks that previously had to be dodged, which changes the way you use that stance in combat, but most of them are simply percentage upgrades to building stagger. This is boring and lazy design. It would have been better simply to leave these elements out than keep them in in their current implemention. In similar vein, the five skills for finding objects using the Guiding Wind in particular are simply there because the world is too expansive and finding things can be a pain. These, and the stance skills, would not be needed if the game world design was reduced in scale. Sucker Punch has been copying the playbook of Ubisoft's open world game design wholesale, and in all the worst ways.
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One last item in the category of pointless things. You can engage in dialogue periodically with NPCs, and you are often given two or three choices, but these have no affect on the game. They do not alter Jin's character in any way, and they do not change his relationship with other characters. They do not take you down different paths in the story. All you do is press a button and hear a slightly different piece of dialogue.
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<!--As one example, the way that you unlock new stances is by killing or observing Mongol generals or leaders. Since observing and killing can be used on the same Mongol leader, you can get two points for one leader if you observe them then kill them. You need 3 points for the Water Stance, 5 points for Wind Stance, and 7 points for Moon Stance. This adds up to 15 points total, or observing and killing 8 Mongol leaders, which technically gives you 16 points. I can tell you from experience, since I cleared out every single Mongol camp and base in the game, that there are way more than 16 Mongol leaders.
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<div>
The one thing that is clever that the developers did is that about half way through the game, you get Ghost mode which allows you to insta-kill three enemies after building up a meter by killing 7 enemies without taking damage, or by killing one Mongol leader. So although you can't get new stances anymore, you can use the Mongol leader as a resource to instantly fill this gauge.
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To finish this analysis, the gameplay itself is quite fun, and the world is abolutely gorgeous. These positive elements are dragged down by rote open world activities, skill design that is lazy, and game design so unoriginal that it includes the ubiquitous red barrels that explode...in a game set in 1274! These in turn are made necessary by a world that is too large for the story it is trying to tell. If you try to complete most of the side activities, you will spoil your enjoyment of the game.
</div>David Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01601318906655915875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787818667586347471.post-86205352081776762022021-03-24T02:22:00.001-07:002021-03-24T02:22:44.892-07:00Hades Game Analysis<style>
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You can find the <a href="https://youtu.be/mftejFJ9GKM">video version of this analysis here.</a><br />
<h1>
Overview</h1>
<div>
Hades is an isometric hack and slash rogue-like game developed and published by Supergiant Games. Development began following the release of their previous title, Pyre, and Hades was initially released as an early-access title in December, 2018 on the Epic Game Store. This was followed by an early-access release on Steam one year later, in December, 2019. The full version of the game was released in September, 2020.
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<h1>Dramatic Elements
</h1>
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Hades is an extremely story heavy game. Consider this your spoiler warning, although if you are familiar with Greek mythology, you might not find much that surprises you.
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<h2>
Characters and Story
</h2>
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In Hades, you play as Prince Zagreus, the son of Hades and Persephone. He is an instantly likeable character - he is funny, determined, and interacts sympathetically with everyone he speaks to. Prior to the start of the game, he had been led to believe that Nyx, the personification of night, was his mother, but after discovering that Persephone was his true mother, he determines to escape the underworld and reach her. The game follows his struggle to reach her and learn more about why she left.
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Besides Zagreus, there is a huge cast of characters. You will interact with Orpheus, the famous Greek singer of legend, and his muse Eurydice. Your trainer in combat was the famed Achilles himself, and you will also meet his friend/lover Patroclus. Sisyphus will give you aid during your journey, and you will battle against the Furies - Alecto, Tisiphone, and Megaera, the hydra, Theseus and the minotaur, Asterius, and finally against your own father, Hades.
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Most of the gods need no introduction, so I shall just mention them here - Zeus, Ares, Athena, Aphrodite, Poseidon, Demeter, Hermes, Dionysus and Artemis. Upon learning of Zagreus's desire to escape, they will all grant you boons during your journey, and you can also receive assistance from Chaos, different companions, and by finding Daedelus's tools.
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Of course, you will further a relationship with your father, Hades, and you can pet your dog, Cerberus. The maid of House Hades is Medusa, and you can have friendly competitions with Thanatos, the god of death.
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As you try to escape, you will undoubtedly die many times, respawning back in the House of Hades. Once you respawn, you may further any relationships or storylines that you have started with different characters. Once you have interacted with them, they will be locked until you try to escape again.
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Eventually, you will defeat your father, escape the underworld, and meet your true mother, only to discover that you cannot stay on the surface for very long, thus forcing you to battle your way out of the underworld again and again in order to reach her and learn more. You learn the backstory of your mother and father: Persephone wanted to get the F out of Olympus, and Zeus arranged for her to escape with Hades. The other gods, however, have no idea that this has taken place, believing her simply to have vanished. Demeter, Persephone's mother and thus your grandmother, is in mourning for her missing daughter, causing the surface to be covered in perpetual winter.
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Your continued visits will eventually convince Persephone to return to the underworld, allowing the player to trigger the true end of the game: you will continue to develop your relationship with your father, mother, and the Olympic gods, and you will finally invite all of them to a big soiree revealing that Persephone had eloped with Hades and given birth to Zagreus. As an explanation for why Zagreus would continue to battle his way to the surface, when his mother is back home, the developers have created a great excuse: his escape attempts are basically now penetration tests, and Hades gives you the official task of finding weaknesses in the underworld's defences. After all, nobody is supposed to be able to escape. In anycase, at the party, Hades and Persephone explain that they kept her presence in the underworld a secret from Olypmus for fear of reprisal from the Olympic gods. Through your determined efforts, you become something of a hero for finally reuniting these two estranged families, that of the underworld and that of Olympus.
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The game can continue to be played after this moment, since the underworld will always need tip-top security.
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Besides the main story outlined above, you can complete several side quests, although reuniting estranged friends or family members remains the main theme. For example, you can reunite Orpheus and Eurydice, Achilles and Patroclus, and Nyx and Chaos. You can also complete "favors" for many of the Olympic and Cthonic gods, which is always some task related to the aspect of the god. For Aphrodite, you must complete the romance option for the three "romanceable" characters in the game, while for Poseidon you must catch 18 fish, and speak to him after catching a fish in that escape attempt.
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<h1>
Formal Elements
</h1>
<h2>
Players
</h2>
<div>
Moving on the the formal elements, as is probably clear from the above, you can only play as Prince Zagreus.
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<h2>
Rules
</h2>
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<h3>
Combat and Movement
</h3>
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Similarly to Supergiant's other titles, Zagreus's movement is restricted to a single plane, essentially controlling the same as an isometric hack and slash game. You start with a single weapon, the sword, named Stygius, but as you play the game you will unlock a spear, a bow, a shield, cestus, and a gun. <a href="https://youtu.be/3anIKHxzjtc?t=172">According to the developers,</a> these are like classes in an RPG: they broadly define how you will play a particular escape attempt. The sword has several broad slash attacks, a thrust, and an AOE ground stomp, while the spear has thrusts, a chargeable sweep attack, and a throw.
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Each weapon has a regular attack and a special attack, and no matter what weapon you have, you can cast out a bloodstone to strike an enemy. There is also a dash for dodging. Depending on the weapon, you may be able to do a dash-attack and/or a dash-special. Some weapons also have charged attacks or charged specials, triggered by holding down the attack or special button, respectively.
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Combat in Hades is extremely fast-paced, and in the later rooms you will have to deal with larger numbers of enemies than in the earlier rooms. The enemies also come in larger or more numerous waves. The different weapons allow you to use different play strategies. For example, the spear is useful for keeping enemies at a slight distance, as the thrusting attack and the thrown special allow you to deal damage from further away. Although the spear does have a charged sweeping attack, this is less useful for crowd control due to the time it takes to charge it up. The bow breaks the attack pattern of most of the weapons: it's attack is strong, but extremely slow to charge, having no regular quick attack. Its special is to fire a number of arrows in a spread pattern in front of the player, allowing for extremely effective crowd-control. As one last example, the shield has a somewhat slow attack, but charging it allows the player to block attacks in front of them and deal damage through a shield bash upon release.
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As you progress through an escape attempt, you have a number of opportunities to create strongly synergestic builds. Although the particular boons and items you receive are randomly generated, by chosing appropriate ones you can create some spectactular builds. For example, once while using the cestus, I arrived at Hades with Aphrodite's Aid, Lightning Strike, Thunder Flourish, Divine Dash, Crystal Beam, Concentrated Knuckle, Stubborn Roots, and a host of other boons. The cestus starts out as one of the faster attacking weapons, but it has quite short range, and adding chain lightning to the attacks, and a thunder bolt to the special increases the range at which you can deal damage to foes. Concentrated Knuckle allows you to increase your base attack damage by +5 for each consecutive hit on an enemy, which is especially useful for enemies with a lot of health like the bosses. Stubborn roots lets your health slowly regenerate if you don't have any more lives left, which again is useful on tough bosses or encounters. Divine Dash lets you deflect damage received during a dash back at your enemy, allowing you to turn their own strength against them and maintain your health. Since you cannot block with the cestus, Divine Dash is really useful. Crystal Beam is a cast boon that alters the behavior of your bloodstones. Instead of throwing them, they drop at Zagreus's location, and fire a crystal beam that deals a small amount of damage every .2 seconds. These make the cast a kind of set and forget emplaced weapon. If you buff Crystal Beam with Glacial Glare (causes cast to inflict chill, which slows down enemies), or further combine it with Arctic Blast (applying ten stacks of chill causes a small explosion) or Killing Freeze (if all enemies are chilled they slow and decay), you have a quite powerful combination that can be used to control enemies in one area while you deal with another, or for a boss encounter, you can drop all of your bloodstones at once to concentrate their damage.
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<div>
You will probably have different weapons that you prefer, and different gods whose boons match your play style better, but the variety of viable strategies is quite stunning and it is very satisfying to explore the state space on offer.
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<div>
Regarding the enemies themselves, there is a pleasantly large variety. The first area of the game, Tartarus, features louts, thugs, numbskulls, wringers, and witches, among a few others. Louts are slow moving drunkards who perform a sudden charge attack, thugs are large slow moving enemies who do a telegraphed club smash, and witches are small enemies who float around the battle field and periodically cast orbs that will damage you. Most of these enemies can be killed in a few hits, although the louts and thugs usually take more.
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The second area, Asphodel, features gorgons, different bomb throwing enemies, and several varieties skeletons. The skeletons all have different attack styles - bone-rakers are berserk enemies that attack in combos of 2-6 attacks, and wave-makers hurl crescent shaped waves at Zagreus. Many of the skeletons and the bomb-throwing enemies will jump around the battlefield, making it difficult to target the same enemy for an extended period.
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<div>
Elysium features mostly different warrior types - brightswords, longspears, and strongbows, who when killed become a floating seed that can respawn as a new unit if it finds a discarded weapon. The final section, Temple of Styx, has the only living enemies in the game - rats and satyrs, who both can deal poison damage to the player. In any room in any area, occasionally, enemies will spawn in armored varieties, which means the armor must be chipped away before damage can be dealt to their health. Armored enemies cannot be staggered until the armor is removed, making it necessary for the player to watch for their tells more closely.
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<div>
In a typical room encounter, you will face an initial wave of enemies, and you will have to use your dash, attack, special, and cast to deal with them effectively - dodging their attacks, slamming them into walls for extra damage, manuvering behind them for a backstab bonus, using room traps against them, and controling the space around you so you can manuever as you wish. After they have been dealt with, a second, third, fourth, and sometimes higher, wave will spawn in.
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<div>
Once you clear a room, any poison, lava, traps, and enemy projectile attacks instantly disappear, preventing you from accidently taking damage.
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<h3>
Escaping and Choosing gear and boons
</h3>
<div>
You begin your escape attempt by selecting your gear: the weapon, the keepsake and the companion you'd like. Each escape attempt is composed of a number of rooms. Most rooms have enemies in them, which must all be killed before you can progress to the next room. Other rooms hold NPCs that you may interact with and receive aid from. Others will be simple reward chambers, giving you a boon, health boost, or health replenishment. Still others will allow you to purchase items from Charon. After clearing a room, you must claim your reward. If it is a boon, there will be 3 choices to choose from.
</div>
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<div>
<a href="https://youtu.be/oQPk9J7spw0?t=930">Although the sequence of room choices is randomly generated each playthrough, the rooms themselves are hand-designed. </a> The size of the room varies, and there will be well-placed low-walls and columns that can block enemy movement or projectile attacks if placed between the enemy and Zagreus, and a number of different traps as well.
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<div>
The boons that the Olympic gods grant come in several varieties: each god has one boon for each of your main abilities; Attack, Special, Cast, and Dash, and additionally a Call. Only one of these boons may be equipped at a time, but you are sometimes given the chance to swap boons. The Call ability must be charged up by dealing or receiving damage, and once it has been charged enough, you may call on that god for assistance. This might take the form of transforming Zagreus into a spinning blade that deals damage, in the case of Ares's call, or in calling down lighting strikes that repeatedly damage nearby enemies in the case of Zeus. Besides these 5 boons, each god has 16 other boons. These are organized in different tiers and have different requirements and conditions for appearing. 7 of these boons are duo boons, meaning they require you to have one specific boon each from two different gods. How do we get the number 7? Although there are 9 gods you can receive boons from, Hermes does not have any duos, and he has no boons in the five categories mentioned before, and of course a god cannot have a duo with him or herself. As an example, Demeter and Poseidon have a duo boon called Blizzard Shot, which requires that you have Poseidon's cast boon (called Flood Shot), and one of Demeter's Aid, Frost Flourish, Frost Strike, or Mistral Dash. Once acquired, when you cast, your bloodstone will move slowly, pierce foes, and fire icy shards around itself.
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The remaining boons are modifiers of different kinds. They might increase the potency of health increase items or health replenishment items, or they might add their god's signature effect to an action. Poseidon has a boon called Typhoon's Fury, which increases the amount of damage you deal when you slam foes into walls. Most of the gods have a revenge effect - Ares's is called Curse of Vengeance, which inflicts Doom on surrounding foes after you take damage.
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Chaos gives you a unique set of boons to choose from - each boon has some drawback that will be active for a number of encounters, and after that the drawback deactivates and you receive the perk of the boon. The drawback or curse is separate from the boon, so you get a kind of randomly generated loot item a la Diablo. You might get Abyssal Soul: Abyssal is the curse name, which means for the next 3-4 encounters you will take a massive increase in trap damage (300%-400%); Soul is the boon name, which indicates a certain gain in max health (between 30-80, depending on the rarity). To get a boon from Chaos, you need to enter a Chaos portal, which will cost some amount of health, unless you have the keepsake from Chaos equipped.
</div>
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<div>
After picking your reward, you must move on to the next room. Typically, you will have between 1 to 3 doorways to choose from, and you can see the type of reward above the doorway. So, you might have to choose between a Zeus boon and Demeter boon, or between a Daedelus upgrade and Obols, or many other combinations. For those mathematically inclined, if you have three rooms, there are 1140 combinations, or for two rooms there are 190 combinations. For one room, there are 20 possibilities.
</div>
<h3>
House Development and Decoration
</h3>
<div>
As you make repeated escape attempts, you will receive several different rewards. The boons from the gods disappear once you return to your house, as do any Obols you've collected. These are the gold coins placed on the tongue of the dead to pay Charon for the ride into the underworld. Gems, Darkness, Nectars, Keys, Titan Bloods, Diamonds, and Ambrosias will stay with you. Gems and Diamonds will primarily be used for improving the house. For example, you can pay 45 Gems to put down an Elysian Rug in the lounge. This has no gameplay effects, but allows you to control the look of the house, and serves as a sink for this resource. Or, you can unlock new songs for Orpheus to play by paying the required number of Diamonds.
</div>
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<div>
Generally, projects that effect gameplay require a number of Diamonds. You can purchase rest rooms that will appear randomly in different regions, giving you a chance to replenish your health if necessary, but there are many other projects.
</div>
<h3>
Relationship Development
</h3>
<div>
Hades has been described as having dating sim elements, and this is somewhat true. Each character you can interact with has a heart meter indicating how much they like you. You can increase their heart meter by giving them gifts - initially nectar, and after you have maxed out their first rank (usually 4-6 hearts), you must give them ambrosia to continue to increase their heart meter. In the early stages of the game, you can also increase their heart meter by having a set number of conversations with them.
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<div>
Increasing an NPC's heart meter has granular benefits. The first heart unlocked will give you a keepsake from that character which you can carry into battle to receive some perk. Giving them more nectars will unlock additional hearts, and reveal more backstory for that NPC, but has no effect on gameplay. For a limited number of NPCs, once all their basic hearts have been unlocked, you must switch to Ambrosia to unlock the next tier. The first Ambrosia will trigger the NPC to give you a companion keepsake, which functions something like a call. You can use the companion keepsake to receive help on a tough encounter or boss battle. So, Skelly's companion will spawn in Skelly himself, who will aggro the enemies until his health drops to zero. Unlike calls, these companion keepsakes can only be used once per encounter, although by spending Ambrosia to upgrade the keepsake, you can increase the number of times per escape attempt that each may be used.
</div>
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<div>
Similarly to the conversations, giving a Nectar or an Ambrosia can only be done once per NPC per escape attempt, so you cannot farm Ambrosia, then max out your relationship with Achilles, Medusa or another NPC in one go.
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<div>
Where Hades departs from most dating sims is in the lack of branching paths and in the ability to lose. In typical dating sims, you will be able to take different routes with each character. Some of them will lead to furthering your relationship, while others might actually lead to a loss of connection. None of this is possible in Hades. The closest Hades comes is whether you choose to consumate your relationship with the three romanceable characters.
</div>
<h3>
Inventory
</h3>
<div>
Hades has a very basic inventory system. There are no limits regarding the number of resources of any type you can hold, so you will not have to manage inventory slots or spaces. The most you will interact with your inventory is by trading. A trader shade eventually appears in the lounge, and you can sell gems for keys, keys for nectars, nectars for diamonds, diamonds for ambrosia, and ambrosias for titan bloods. The trader also sometimes has a limited offer, which might allow you to reverse one of the previous trades (selling titan bloods to get ambrosia, for example), or have a better deal (trade ten gem stones for one nectar).
</div>
<h3>
Level up
</h3>
<div>
Although Hades is a rogue-like game, like many rogue-likes in the last 11 years (I'm thinking of the games by FROM Software, Dead Cells by Motion Twin, Salt and Sanctuary by Ska Studios, and many others) not all the player's progress is lost upon death. You do return to the House of Hades, and you do lose all the Daedelus weapon upgrades, health upgrades, Obols, and boons from gods that you had collected during your previous run, but you don't lose Diamonds, Keys, Titan Bloods, Ambrosias, Darkness, or Nectars, and some of these are the key to advancing your character.
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<div>
The weapons are all unlocked using different numbers of keys. These are one of the randomly generated room rewards, and you can also trade gems to get more keys at the trader in the lounge in the House of Hades.
</div>
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<div>
Titan Bloods are mainly obtained by defeating the Furies and Hades for the first time with a weapon on a particular Heat level (we'll talk about Heat later). You will learn more about each of your weapons as you play, and you will eventually find that there are different aspects to each weapon. These aspects can be unlocked and upgraded using Titan Bloods. The gun, Exagryph, has an aspect called the Aspect of Lucifer. Using this aspect changes the bullets into a continuously firing laser beam, and changes the bomb into a small orb of Hellfire that deals a small amount of damage each second to an area, and if caused to explode deals a massive amount of damage to that area. Each aspect of the weapons change the default attack animations, timing, damage, and even behavior of the weapon.
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<div>
Another facet of leveling up involves Keys and Darkness. Nyx has given you a Mirror of Night, and you can use Keys to progressively unlock more stat modifiers, and invest Darkness to increase the stat buffs. A buff called Shadow Presence allows you to deal +15% damage to enemies at full health. You can increase this buff 5 times, giving you +75% damage. Other buffs alter the chances of receiving legendary or duo boons, change your maximum starting health, or alter how the bloodstones behave.
</div>
<h3>
Manage Heat Level
</h3>
<div>
When you first defeat a boss with a weapon, you will receive that boss's unique reward: for defeating the Furies at the beginning and Hades at the end, you get Titan Blood, for defeating the hydra you get a diamond, and for defeating Theseus and Asterius you get an Ambrosia. If you attempt another escape on the same heat level, you will receive a reward of darkness instead. In order to unlock the unique rewards again, you need to first complete an escape attempt on the current heat level (from the Furies all the way to Hades) with that weapon, then increase the heat level. Heat is managed through the Pact of Punishment. After defeating Hades the first time, this will unlock. Before leaving the House of Hades on an escape attempt, you can choose from different conditions on the Pact of Punishment. Each condition increases the heat level by some amount. The Hard Labor condition increases enemy damage by 20%, and increases the heat level by 1 for each rank of Hard Labor. It comes in 5 ranks, so you can increase the heat level to 5 just by increasing the rank of Hard Labor. Or you might choose Benefits Package, which gives armored foes one perk for each rank. The first rank increases heat by 2, and the second rank increases heat by 3. There are 13 other conditions that you can choose from. One point to keep in mind is that you can only collect bounties on the lowest heat level which you have not yet completed. So if you have completed heat level 2 with the bow, if you set your heat level to 4, you will only collect the reward for heat level 3.
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<div>
To belabor this point a little, this matters because you only get the unique reward on the first victory over the boss per weapon per heat level. If you want to get another Ambrosia, for example, there are only two other ways to get it. One is by completing a minor prophey that has an Ambrosia as a reward. As you play the game, you will quickly reach a limit, as you will already have completed the easier Minor Prophesies, and only the more difficult ones will remain. Eventually, you might have no Minor Prophesies left to complete. The other is by completing many escape attempts and farming Gems, then progressively trading Gems for Keys, Keys for Nectars, Nectars for Diamonds and Diamonds for Ambrosias. To get one Ambrosia in this way requires 1000 Gems! Since you can exchange one Ambrosia for one Titan Blood, one Titan Blood also costs 1000 Gems. So if you are not willing to increase the heat level, you need to get yourself ready for a lot of grinding to get the necessary gems to increase your relationship with an NPC, or to get that next aspect of a weapon.
</div>
<!--<h2>
Procedures
</h2>
<h3>
Complete a side mission
</h3>
<div>
As mentioned before, these are quite diverse, but all will typically involve a number of runs through Hades.
</div>
<h3>
Go shopping
</h3>
<div>
</div>-->
<h2>
Resources
</h2>
<div>
There are a number of different resources.
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>
Zagreus's health: Self-explanatory.
</li>
<li>
</li>
<li>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h2>
Conflicts
</h2>
<div>
<!--DPS versus survivability; speed versus damage-->
There are a number of conflicts in Hades. In terms of story and gameplay, there is the conflict between Zagreus and his father, and by extension the minions that you face throughout your escape attempt. Your father does not wish you to escape, and the minions have been tasked with stopping you.
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<div>
There are also conflicts between Olympus and the underworld. There are conflicts between the Olympic gods themselves. The former have already been discussed in the story section. Regarding the latter, these appear when you enter a room with boons from two gods. You will have to choose one of them, and then you will have to clear the spawned in enemies to receive the second reward. During the encounter, you will also face abilities from the god that you spurned - waves that seek you out in the case of Poseidon, or an AOE that makes enemies inside it temporarilly invincible in the case of Athena.
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<div>
There are conflicting choices facing you regarding the encounter rewards. Do you take the Centaur Heart, which increases your health or do you take the Obols for a purchase at Charon's Well later on? The choice depends on your current boons and Daedalus upgrades, as well as how you like to play.
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<div>
In more detail for the boon rewards, the choices will also depend on the above factors. You will have to choose whether to focus on increasing your critical chance (Deadly Strike from Artemis) or firing a seeking arrow when you cast, attack or special (Support Fire from Artemis), or gaining extra bloodstones (Fully Loaded from Artemis).
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<br />
<div>
There are further conflicts regarding when you can use companion keepsakes. Thanatos, Achilles, Maegara, and Dusa's companions may not be used against Hades, since they are essentially his employees. Later on this restriction is lifted, though. Maegara's companion may also not be used in the Fury boss battle.
</div>
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<div>
Regarding the boons from the gods, there are a large number of restrictions and limitations. To start with, as mentioned before, you can only equip one boon for each of your 5 abilities. There are further restrictions regarding weapon aspects and boons. Normally, your cast throws out a bloodstone, but if you have the Aspect of Beowulf equipped for your shield, you load the bloodstone into your shield, and when you do your shield bash, the attack transforms into the "Dragon Rush," and further gains any buffs that would normally be applied to your cast. Any cast boons that drastically alter the behavior of the cast cannot be combined with this Aspect, such as Artemis's True Shot or Demeter's Crystal Beam. Hades deals with these boon/aspect conflicts by simply preventing incompatible boons from spawning in, so you are never presented with a false choice.
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<div>
Hades deals with Daedelus weapon upgrades in the same manner. The Cruel Thrust upgrade for the sword cannot be combined with the Aspect of Arthur, but you will never see that upgrade appear while you are using that aspect. Besides conflicts between aspects and Daedelus upgrades, there are conflicts between Daedelus upgrades. So, the Flurry Slash upgrade, which transforms your attacks into all slashes for the sword, cannot be combined with Cruel Thrust, which gives bonus damage to thrusts.
</div>
<h2>
Boundaries
</h2>
<div>
There are a number of different boundary conditions in Hades. You can only use one weapon per escape attempt. After defeating each boss, you will enter a special room where you can:
<ul>
<li>replenish your health at a fountain </li>
<li>sell up to three boons to receive Obols</li>
<li>change your keepsake</li>
<li>buy items from Charon's well using Obols</li>
</ul>
</div>
<br />
<div>
You can also only use one companion keepsake per escape attempt. You are allowed change your regular keepsake, as long as you have not already used it before in that escape attempt.
</div>
<br />
<div>
You cannot give Nectars or Ambrosias to NPC's once you have maxed out their heart meter.
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<div>
Since there are a limited number of Pact of Punishment conditions, you can only increase the heat level up to 63, although you can only collect the unique boss rewards up to heat level 20.
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<div>
Despite the conflicts and limitations mentioned so far, there is a huge host of different possibilities regarding builds. Each escape attempt features one aspect of one weapon, and since there are 6 weapons with 4 aspects each, that yields 24 different ways to play. When you add in the gods' basic boons (I mean the ones for Attack, Special, Dash, etc), you can easily calculate that there are 8 gods each with a boon there, and there are no restrictions that your attack boon imposes on your special or that your call boon imposes on your dash etc, so there are 8 X 8 X 8 X 8 X 8, or 32,768 possible combinations. Combining this with the different weapons and aspects gives you 786,432 possibilities. Then there are the duo boons, the second and third tier boons dependent on different combinations of basic boons, and the boons that are not tied to a specific ability, such Demeter's Frozen Touch, which inflicts chill on enemies around you after you take damage. These latter boons can be obtained no matter what other boons you have.
</div>
<br />
<div>
And, we have not touched on Hermes's or Chaos's boons, as these do not take up an ability slot. So, while there is a definite limit on how boons, weapons, and aspects may be combined, there is a large state space for the player to explore.
</div>
<h2>
Outcomes
</h2>
<div>
There is one main outcome for the game, with several smaller ones for each of the side quests. The main outcome has already been described in the story section and hints have been dropped regarding the side quests there as well.
</div>
<h1>
Dynamic Elements
</h1>
<div>
</div>
<br />
<div>
The dynamic friction pattern appears in a number of different forms. The unlocking of different buffs in the Mirror of Night is one example. Unlocking more and more buffs requires larger numbers of keys, and several of the buffs require progressively larger amounts of darkness to upgrade.
</div>
<br />
<div>
The dynamic friction pattern also works together with the static friction pattern in the Mirror of Night. Many of the buffs do not require larger amounts of darkness, but simply the same static payment each time.
</div>
<br />
<div>
The static friction pattern appears by itself in the house customization elements. These cost a set amount of gems and although they do allow you to customize the look of the house, serve mainly as drains for gems.
</div>
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<br />
<div>
The slow cycle makes several appearances in Hades. The medium large slow cycle is making a particular escape attempt. You start in roughly the same state each time, and by the end you have gathered a host of different boons and power-ups creating a custom build in order to defeat your father and see your mother. This resets when you die, which happens whether you are victorious or not.
</div>
<br />
<div>
A smaller slow cycle appears in each area of the game, where you first face smaller groups of enemies, before gradually climaxing with a boss battle. Both these scales of slow cycle also incorporate the escalating challenge pattern, as the difficulty increases as you progress through each area, and also as you approach the final boss.
</div>
<br />
<div>
The largest instance of the slow cycle and escalating challenge appears when you have unlocked the Pact of Punishment. As you push yourself to get more unique rewards, you will play through the game multiple times with different weapons and under different heat levels, gradually increasing the heat level as you master different strategies at the lower difficulty levels.
</div>
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<div>
The playstyle reinforcement pattern appears in numerous ways. This frequently appears with the worker placement pattern. One example of the playstyle reinforcement is in the weapons and the Mirror of Night upgrades. Each buff has two variations, and you may choose the one which better matches how you like to play. Personally, I'm not great at avoiding damage, so I usually have the Thick Skin buff and the Death Defiance buff, which increase your health and the number of lives you have, respectively.
</div>
<br />
<div>
Another instance is in the weapon and aspect choices. In the early stages of the game, you only have the sword, but once I unlocked the spear, it became one of my favorites. Now that I've put much more time in the game, I often use the Aspect of Zeus on the shield, or the Aspect of Talos on the cestus. I'm sure other players have other weapons and other aspects that they prefer.
</div>
<br />
<div>
The reason I say this is worker placement is because in between escape attempts you are allowed to switch weapons and companion keepsakes, without consuming resources. You simply move your choice from one to another.
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<div>
The static engine is used throughout Hades, primarily as the reward generator. You are guaranteed to get <i>some</i> reward after completing an encounter, and you have some influence over what the reward is, since you can choose different rooms as you complete an escape attempt.
</div>
<br />
<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYsW6roi1htFfOQ9MzxEfRApq0wrBKruHfVdap4XEsZ2w0WK4aZmQKgAhKAshrQ1uvlPb4Pu0WIMNTvavKrHh11rn5J3TaZycBy0SJB4whsYjjDbAyywMKUod7dGbYyx7OgnJ3sV3eVkvH/s513/static_engine.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="247" data-original-width="513" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYsW6roi1htFfOQ9MzxEfRApq0wrBKruHfVdap4XEsZ2w0WK4aZmQKgAhKAshrQ1uvlPb4Pu0WIMNTvavKrHh11rn5J3TaZycBy0SJB4whsYjjDbAyywMKUod7dGbYyx7OgnJ3sV3eVkvH/s320/static_engine.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div>
The converter engine appears mostly in the trader, where you can trade gems for keys, keys for nectars...you remember how it goes. This is not an example of the trade pattern, because of the limited options for purchases.
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3jt0WqKo-MyiDGaSMZWaEaI4HIFopT1J9MH0_PYF-9EvodtiMXAkN1i7hFVJhvejEZ600gx8XxOta4LphFVcukYQvA6FumVqaD4AHnbvMOGny1gFvVynt21inE6RxckkT1-4xtx2uhCyb/s504/converterengine.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="312" data-original-width="504" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3jt0WqKo-MyiDGaSMZWaEaI4HIFopT1J9MH0_PYF-9EvodtiMXAkN1i7hFVJhvejEZ600gx8XxOta4LphFVcukYQvA6FumVqaD4AHnbvMOGny1gFvVynt21inE6RxckkT1-4xtx2uhCyb/s320/converterengine.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div>
The stopping mechanism appears throughout Hades. In terms of combat gameplay, there is a limit on the number of times you may dodge in a row. This prevents the player from zipping around the rooms basically immune to damage.
</div>
<br />
<div>
The requirement to charge up your god gauge in order to use your call is another instance of the stopping mechanism. The calls are quite powerful abilities, and without the god gauge it would be quite easy to spam them and breeze through otherwise difficult encounters.
</div>
<br />
<div>
Similarly, the restrictions on the uses of companion keepsakes function as stopping mechanisms. Sisyphus's companion, Shady, drops a rock on enemies that deals 1000 points of damage in an area, and also spawns in a care package of health, Obols and Darkness. Since this can only be used once per combat encounter and a maximum of 5 times per escape attempt, the player is prevented from abusing it.
</div>
<br />
<div>
The stopping mechanism also appears in the NPC interactions throughout the game. As mentioned before, you can only interact once with an NPC in the House of Hades, and you can only give one gift to that NPC or god per escape attempt. While this is an instance of the stopping mechanism, the brilliant thing is that it actually encourages you to make <i>another</i> escape attempt in order to progress the story or deepen your relationship.
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyaHpiEprg1FTz9WbAmUr6N_Z_miF-1c-GKOOoGxLFnhS4kts4g9tQhkFXGWAb170YVfz_9wp0-BrDxDcyum7VC5eFWA-GWqfEKLTm14jhD8oRnNzpVb3kFXcG9CtGb-udhm11V_fqfi-A/s1058/stoppingmechanism.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="275" data-original-width="1058" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyaHpiEprg1FTz9WbAmUr6N_Z_miF-1c-GKOOoGxLFnhS4kts4g9tQhkFXGWAb170YVfz_9wp0-BrDxDcyum7VC5eFWA-GWqfEKLTm14jhD8oRnNzpVb3kFXcG9CtGb-udhm11V_fqfi-A/s640/stoppingmechanism.PNG" width="500" /></a></div>
<br />
<h1>
Conclusion
</h1>
<div>
At the time of writing this, I have spent close to one hundred hours with Hades. The controls are smooth, responsive, and the combat feels great - you never feel totally over matched, but you never really feel invincible either.
</div>
<div>
Throughout over 100 escape attempts, I never came across a build that I felt broke the game, although I have found many builds that I'd like to try to recreate.
</div>
<div>
As someone who is quite familar with Greek mythology, I had a strong intuition for where the story was going early on, but I thoroughly enjoyed speaking with the characters and the gods. They are voice-acted wonderfully, and the dialogues do not overstay their welcome. And the way that players are encouraged to make just one more escape attempt in order to progress the story or further a relationship is brillant.
</div>
<div>
Overall, the design of the game is solid, and the mechanics work together to produce a thoroughly enjoyable experience time after time, play after play.
</div>
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>God</th>
<th colspan="6">Boon</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th rowspan="34">Aphrodite </th>
<th><br /></th>
<th>Attack</th>
<th>Special</th>
<th>Cast</th>
<th>Dash</th>
<th>Call</th>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #bdc6c7;">
<th> Title</th>
<td>Heartbreak Strike</td>
<td>Heartbreak Flourish</td>
<td>Crush Shot</td>
<td>Passion Dash</td>
<td>Aphrodite's Aid</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #bdc6c7;">
<th>Description</th>
<td>Attack deals more damage and inflicts Weak (enemies deal less damage)</td>
<td>Special deals more damage and inflicts Weak (enemies deal less damage)</td>
<td>Cast is a wide and short blast and inflicts Weak</td>
<td>Inflicts Weak where you end up</td>
<td>Fire a seeking project that inflicts Charm (enemy fights for you for a short time)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="6"> Other</th>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #ebf0f1;">
<th> Title</th>
<td>Different League</td>
<td>Life Affirmation</td>
<td>Wave of Despair</td>
<td>Dying Lament</td>
<td>Empty Inside</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #ebf0f1;">
<th>Description</th>
<td>Resist damage from nearby foes' attacks</td>
<td>Any life increase or healing chamber rewards are worth more</td>
<td>When you take damage, inflict Weak on nearby foes</td>
<td>When foes are slain, they inflict Weak on nearby foes</td>
<td>Your Weak effects have a longer duration</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #bdc6c7;">
<th> Title</th>
<td>Cold Embrace</td>
<td>Sweet Surrender</td>
<td>Broken Resolve</td>
<td>Unhealthy Fixation</td>
<td>Blown Kiss</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #bdc6c7;">
<th>Description</th>
<td>Your cast crystal fires its beam directly at you for 4 seconds</td>
<td>Weak-afflicted foes are also more susceptible to damage</td>
<td>Your Weak effects are more potent</td>
<td>Your Weak effects also have a chance to Charm foes</td>
<td>Your cast shoots farther and is stronger against undamaged foes</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #ebf0f1;">
<th> Title</th>
<td>Smoldering Air</td>
<td>Sweat Nectar</td>
<td>Parting Shot</td>
<td>Heart Rend</td>
<td>Curse of Longing</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #ebf0f1;">
<th>Description</th>
<td>Your call charges up automatically, but is capped at 25%</td>
<td>Any Poms of Power you find are more effective</td>
<td>You cast gains any bonuses you have for striking foes from behind</td>
<td>Your Critical effects deal even more damage against Weak foes</td>
<td>Your Doom effects continuously strike foes</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #bdc6c7;">
<th> Title</th>
<td>Low Tolerance</td>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #bdc6c7;">
<th>Description</th>
<td>Your hangover effects stack even more times against Weak foes</td>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" rowspan="2">Daedalus Upgrade</th>
<th colspan="6">Infernal Arm</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Stygius</th>
<th>Varatha</th>
<th>Aegis</th>
<th>Coronacht</th>
<th>Malphon</th>
<th>Exagraph</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>N/A</th>
<th>4 keys</th>
<th>3 keys</th>
<th>1 key</th>
<th>8 keys</th>
<th>8 keys</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr style="background-color: #ebf0f1;">
<th colspan="2"> Title</th>
<td>Breaching Slash</td>
<td>Extending Jab</td>
<td>Dread Flight</td>
<td>Twin Shot</td>
<td>Breaching Cross</td>
<td>Flurry Fire</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #ebf0f1;">
<th colspan="2">Description</th>
<td>Your armor attacks deal +300%</td>
<td>Your Attack has more range and deals +40% damage to distant foes. </td>
<td>Your Special can strike up to 4 additional foes before returning.</td>
<td>Your Attack fires 2 shots side-by-side, but has reduced range.</td>
<td>Your Dash-Strike pierces foes and deals +900% damage to Armor</td>
<td>Your Attack is faster and more accurate; gain +6 ammo capacity.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #bdc6c7;">
<th colspan="2"> Title</th>
<td>Cruel Thrust</td>
<td>Chain Skewer</td>
<td>Sudden Rush</td>
<td>Sniper Shot</td>
<td>Rolling Knuckle</td>
<td>Ricochet Fire</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #bdc6c7;">
<th colspan="2">Description</th>
<td>Your thrust deals +200% damage and has +40% Critical chance</td>
<td>Your Special bounces to up to 7 foes, dealing +30% damage for each.</td>
<td>Your Bull Rush charges much faster. </td>
<td>Your Attack deals +200% damage to distant foes. </td>
<td>Your Dash-Strike deals +60% damage; added to Attack sequence. </td>
<td>Your attack bounces to +1 other foe</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #ebf0f1;">
<th colspan="2"> Title</th>
<td>Cursed Slash</td>
<td>Breaching Skewer</td>
<td>Pulverizing Blow</td>
<td>Explosive Shot</td>
<td>Long Knuckle</td>
<td>Spread Fire</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #ebf0f1;">
<th colspan="2">Description</th>
<td>Your Attack restores 2 Health, but you have -60% Health. </td>
<td>Your Special deals +400% damage to Armor. </td>
<td>Your Attack hits twice, but does not knock foes away. </td>
<td>Your Attack deals +300% damage in an area, but charges slower. </td>
<td>Your Attack has more range and deals +10% damage</td>
<td>Your Attack becomes a short spread that deals 40 base damage; lose -6 ammo capacity. </td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #bdc6c7;">
<th colspan="2"> Title</th>
<td>Dash Nova</td>
<td>Vicious Skewer</td>
<td>Dashing Wallop</td>
<td>Flurry Shot</td>
<td>Draining Cutter</td>
<td>Explosive Fire</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #bdc6c7;">
<th colspan="2">Description</th>
<td>Your Special makes you lunge ahead, then become Sturdy for 0.8 Sec. </td>
<td>Your Special deals +50% damage; +50% Critical chance on recovery.</td>
<td>Your Dash Attack deals +50% damage in a larger area. </td>
<td>Hold Attack to shoot rapidly, but you cannot Power Shot. </td>
<td>Whenever your Special slays foes, restore 2% life</td>
<td>Your Attack deals damage in an area and briefly slows foes. </td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #ebf0f1;">
<th colspan="2"> Title</th>
<td>Double Edge</td>
<td>Exploding Launcher</td>
<td>Explosive Return</td>
<td>Piercing Volley</td>
<td>Concentrated Knuckle</td>
<td>Delta Chamber</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #ebf0f1;">
<th colspan="2">Description</th>
<td>Your Dash-Strike hits twice and deals +20% damage. </td>
<td>Your Special is replaced with a shot that deals 50 damage in an area.</td>
<td>Your Special deals 50 damage to nearby foes when you catch it. </td>
<td>Your Special pierces foes and deals +400% damage to Armor.</td>
<td>Your Attack deals +5 base damage for each uninterrupted hit to a foe.</td>
<td>Your Attack is a 3-round burst; you never have to Reload. </td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #bdc6c7;">
<th colspan="2"> Title</th>
<td>Double Nova</td>
<td>Massive Spin</td>
<td>Minotaur Rush</td>
<td>Perfect Shot</td>
<td>Explosive Upper</td>
<td>Piercing Fire</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #bdc6c7;">
<th colspan="2">Description</th>
<td>Your Special hits twice but no longer knocks foes away. </td>
<td>Your Spin Attack deals +125% damage and hits a larger area.</td>
<td>Your Bull Rush gains a Power Rush that does +500% damage. </td>
<td>Your Power Shot is easier to execute and deals +150% damage.</td>
<td>Your Dash-Upper deals +100% damage in an area</td>
<td>Your Attack pierces foes and deals +50% damage to Armor. </td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #ebf0f1;">
<th colspan="2"> Title</th>
<td>Flurry Slash</td>
<td>Quick Spin</td>
<td>Breaching Rush</td>
<td>Relentless Volley</td>
<td>Flying Cutter</td>
<td>Triple Bomb</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #ebf0f1;">
<th colspan="2">Description</th>
<td>Hold Attack to strike rapidly, dealing 25 base damage per hit. </td>
<td>Your Spin Attack charges and recovers much faster.</td>
<td>Your Bull Rush deals +400% damage to Armor. </td>
<td>Your Special shoots +4 shots.</td>
<td>Hold Special for longer range and up to +100% base damage</td>
<td>You can use your Special 3 times in rapid succession. </td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #bdc6c7;">
<th colspan="2"> Title</th>
<td>Hoarding Slash</td>
<td>Flurry Jab</td>
<td>Charged Shot</td>
<td>Triple Shot</td>
<td>Rush Kick</td>
<td>Rocket Bomb</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #bdc6c7;">
<th colspan="2">Description</th>
<td>Your Attack deals bonus damage equal to 5% of your current Obols. </td>
<td>Hold Attack to strike rapidly, but you cannot Spin Attack.</td>
<td>Your Bull Rush instead fires a piercing shot that deals 80 base damage.</td>
<td>Your Attack fires 3 shots in a spread pattern.</td>
<td>Your Special becomes an advancing kick that also deals 40 base damage twice</td>
<td>Your Special is replaced with a rocket that deals 80 base damage. </td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #ebf0f1;">
<th colspan="2"> Title</th>
<td>Piercing Wave</td>
<td>Charged Skewer</td>
<td>Charged Flight</td>
<td>Charged Volley</td>
<td>Quake Cutter</td>
<td>Targeting System</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #ebf0f1;">
<th colspan="2">Description</th>
<td>Your Attack fires a wave that pierces foes, dealing 30 damage.</td>
<td>Hold Special to charge your skewer for up to +200% base damage. </td>
<td>Hold Special to charge your throw for up to +200% base damage. </td>
<td>Hold Special for up to 350% base damage; minimum range is reduced. </td>
<td>After using your Special, deal 90 damage in an area where you land</td>
<td>Foes targeted by your Special move slower and take +30% damage. </td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #bdc6c7;">
<th colspan="2"> Title</th>
<td>Shadow Slash</td>
<td>Serrated Point</td>
<td>Empowering Flight</td>
<td>Chain Shot</td>
<td>Kinetic Launcher</td>
<td>Hazard Bomb</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #bdc6c7;">
<th colspan="2">Description</th>
<td>Your Attack deals +200% damage when striking foes from behind</td>
<td>Your Dash-Strike hits 3 times, but your dash has -25% range. </td>
<td>After your Special hits, your next 2 Attacks deal +80% damage. </td>
<td>Your Attack bounces to up to 3 foes, dealing +15% damage for each.</td>
<td>Your Special becomes a charged ranged attack that deals 50 base damage.</td>
<td>Your Special deals +300% base damage in a large area, but can hurt you. </td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #ebf0f1;">
<th colspan="2"> Title</th>
<td>Super Nova</td>
<td>Flaring Spin</td>
<td>Dashing Flight</td>
<td>Point-Blank Shot</td>
<td>Heavy Knuckle</td>
<td>Cluster Bomb</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #ebf0f1;">
<th colspan="2">Description</th>
<td>Your Special hits a wider area and deals +20% damage. </td>
<td>Charging your Spin Attack makes you Sturdy and pulse 40 damage.</td>
<td>While you Dash, your Special is faster and deals +200% damage. </td>
<td>Your Attack deals +150% damage to nearby foes. </td>
<td>Your Attack becomes a slower 3-hit sequence, each deals 40 base damage. </td>
<td>Your Special fires a spread of 5 bombs, but each deals -30% damage.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #bdc6c7;">
<th colspan="2"> Title</th>
<td>World Splitter</td>
<td>Triple Jab</td>
<td>Ferocious Guard</td>
<td>Concentrated Volley</td>
<td>Colossus Knuckle</td>
<td>Seeking Fire</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #bdc6c7;">
<th colspan="2">Description</th>
<td>Your attack is replaced with a big chop that deals 90 base damage</td>
<td>Your Attack strikes 3 times in a spread pattern.</td>
<td>After blocking a foe, gain +20% damage and move speed for 10 Sec.</td>
<td>Your Special deals +3 base damage for each consecutive hit to a foe. </td>
<td>While using your Attack or Special, you are Sturdy</td>
<td>Your Attack seeks the nearest foe and deals +10% damage. </td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #ebf0f1;">
<th colspan="2"> Title</th>
<td>Greater Consecration</td>
<td>Winged Serpent</td>
<td>Unyielding Defense</td>
<td>Repulse Shot</td>
<td>Rending Claws</td>
<td>Concentrated Beam</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #ebf0f1;">
<th colspan="2">Description</th>
<td>Your Holy Excalibur aura is +45% larger and makes foes +10% slower</td>
<td>Your Frost Fair Blade Spin Attack travels for +80% longer. </td>
<td>After using your Naegling's Board Cast, you are Sturdy for 3 Sec.</td>
<td>Your Celestial Sharanga Attack creates a Blast Wave around you.</td>
<td>Maim-afflicted foes take +25% damage and move 30% slower</td>
<td>Your Igneus Eden Attack damage to a foe ramps up +100% faster. </td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #ebf0f1;">
<th colspan="2"> Title</th>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
<td>Flash Fire</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #ebf0f1;">
<th colspan="2">Description</th>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
<td>Your Igneus Eden Attack starts firing and fires +50% faster with +15% range.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #ebf0f1;">
<th colspan="2"> Title</th>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
<td>Triple Beam</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #ebf0f1;">
<th colspan="2">Description</th>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
<td>Your Igneus Eden Attack fires 3 beams in a spread pattern.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #ebf0f1;">
<th colspan="2"> Title</th>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
<td>Eternal Chamber</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #ebf0f1;">
<th colspan="2">Description</th>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
<td>Your Igneus Eden has ∞ ammo, but its damage no longer ramps.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #ebf0f1;">
<th colspan="2"> Title</th>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
<td>Greater Inferno</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #ebf0f1;">
<th colspan="2">Description</th>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
<td><br /></td>
<td>Your Igneus Eden Hellfire radiates +250% damage in a larger area. </td>
</tr>
</tbody></table> David Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01601318906655915875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787818667586347471.post-19865395152729141082021-02-28T17:23:00.000-08:002021-02-28T17:23:25.733-08:00Mad Max Game AnalysisYou can find the <a href="https://youtu.be/PUX8mgg55-M">video version of this analysis here.</a><br /><h1>
Overview</h1>
<div>
Mad Max is an open world action driving/brawler hybrid based in the Mad Max universe created by George Miller in 1979. The Swedish company Avalanche Studios started development from 2012 and it was published by Warner Bros in 2015.
</div>
<h1>
Formal Elements
</h1>
<h2>
Players
</h2>
<div>
You play as the eponymous Max, a former Australian police officer who lost his wife and children to a violent gang attack in a future Australia where society's rules are crumbling. Although undoubtedly inspired by earlier figures like Clint Eastwood's Man with No Name, Max has been a huge influence on later lone anti-hero figures in cinema: Riddick and The Mariner from Waterworld being two examples.
</div>
<div>
Max begins the game in a similar situation to the film, Mad Max 2: He is driving his famous Interceptor car across the wasteland searching for enough fuel to cross the Plains of Silence. He is suddenly attacked by the main villain, Scabrous Scrotus, a son of the villain from the movie Mad Max: Fury Road, Immortan Joe. Although it appears that Max kills Scrotus, Scrotus' followers take Max's car and leave him for dead.
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<div>
Following the characterization in Mad Max: Fury Road, Max has visions and has been driven over the edge by a combination of his traumatic experiences and the isolation involved in post-apocalyptic life.
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<div>
Max is the only playable character in the game, and it is primarily a single-player experience, although there are some racing activities which can be completed together with friends online.
</div>
<h2>
Rules
</h2>
<div>
</div>
<h3>
Combat and Movement
</h3>
<div>
The combat of Mad Max has been heavily inspired by the Batman Arkham series developed by Rocksteady Studios. Similar to that series, Max can pummel wastelanders using his fists, counter their regular attacks, dodge their unblockable attacks, and use his shotgun to deal massive damage quickly. The shotgun replaces Batman's larger arsenal of tools such as the batclaw, batarang, and others.
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<div>
As you counter, finish, and attack enemies successfully, you build up a combo counter that can send Max into a "Fury" mode, where your attacks deal more damage. Failing a counter or taking damage resets the combo counter. Like in the Arkham series, enemies come in a decent variety that force the player to use certain strategies against them. Your typical grunts can be wailed on to your heart's content, but shiv-wielders are fast and will dodge your attacks, forcing you to wait for their attack in order to counter them. Brawlers will block your attacks, and attack in heavy-hitting two punch combos or in unblockable grapples that pin you for their friends to take advantage of. Enemies with a larger weapon such as a club, axe, or machete attack more rarely than the other types, and can sometimes be tricked into taking out some of their friends with their wild swings. These weapons can be picked up and used until they break, or dropped at any time. Using your shotgun will automatically drop them. Shield carrying enemies have a number of unblockable attacks, and their shield must be destroyed before you can do damage to them. One last interesting enemy type is the warcrier, who is suspended above the battle and beats on a drum while exhorting the other enemies to attack you. This fills a meter that makes them "inspired," dealing more damage.
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<div>
Where Mad Max departs from Batman is in the embrace of certain timing based elements and in lethality. For example, in the Batman Arkham series, as long as the distance and timing are within certain limits, you can counter any enemy. In Mad Max, however, Max does not have Batman's athletic training and will not zip around the combat arena, so you must be more aware of the distance between you and the enemy you wish to counter, and you must also take into account timing. You can trigger some special abilities if you match the timing of your counter "perfectly." On the other hand, you can take a small amount of damage but still block the attack if you bungle the timing. This is similar to the "active reload" feature of the Gears of War games, and adds a further element of challenge and mastery to the combat.
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<div>
The shotgun Max carries allows him to quickly kill a single unarmored enemy, or to eliminate an enemy in an unreachable position. However, ammo is quite rare, and you can only hold a small number of shells at a time. The second element of lethality is the shivs that Max can pick up from knife wielding enemies and around bases. These can be used to finish off a stunned or downed enemy.
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<div>
Another departure, in this case negative, is in the animation system itself. In the Batman Arkham series, the enemies' animations are all locked to Batman's state. So, if Batman is in the middle of a punishing finisher move, no enemies can attack you. This creates a feeling of reliability while in combat, because you can always count on being "safe" when you enter an attack or move with a long animation time. In Mad Max, they made the same mistake as CD Projekt Red did in The Witcher III: Wild Hunt: they try to combine the cinematic feeling of the Arkham series with the more realistic enemy attack timing of Dark Souls. This means that during many of your inescapable animations, you can still be attacked by enemies. During my 40+ hours with the game, I found few reliable animations that would 100% of the time prevent enemies from attacking me. The Wall Slam or Wall Finisher animations were most reliable, but even these sometimes do not block enemies. I'm not sure if this was deliberate, in order to create a feeling of unease in the player, or if this is simply the animation systems not communicating effectively. While you get used to this uncertainty, it detracted from my enjoyment of the combat.
</div>
<div>
The game features an autosave system that prevents you from losing too much progress if you die. For example, while trying to clear an enemy base, you might face between 3-5 groups of enemies, each with different numbers and types - one group of two grunts, a knife-fighter, and 3 brawlers, another group of 2 shield-carriers, a brawler, and 5 grunts, etc. If you die on any group, the previous groups you've faced will remain defeated, and any scrap, objectives, or collectibles you've picked up will remain cleared. You will respawn just outside the base and have to make your way back to the group you died on.
</div>
<div>
Outside of combat, Max can walk and run around, jump and climb on different structural elements. Due to the size and emptiness of the game world, it is best traversed using a vehicle. The different scavenging locations and bases often feature ladders, zip-lines, and climbable elements marked in strong contrastive colors to signal that they are climbable. If it is not marked in this color, Max's extremely low jump probably will not clear it.
</div>
<div>
On to vehicle movement and combat. The vehicles interact with the world in mostly realistic ways. The tires grip asphalt and slide through the sand, rocks bump you into the air. By default there is roll assist, which mostly prevents the cars from flipping over, although I did manage to get the car stuck on its side once or twice. As you drive, the fuel tank will slowly drain, but this can be refilled at a base if you have the appropriate upgrade, or you can collect gas canisters at enemy bases or other scavenging spots. You can modify your main car in a large number of ways. There are several car bodies to find throughout the game, and these change the overall look of the car, but then there are the performance modifiers. You can install different upgraded versions of a V6 or eventually V8 engine, which influences your top speed, acceleration and handling; armor, which protects you from enemy cars and increases the weight (slowing the car down and reducing acceleration and handling), different rams, suspension systems and exhaust, different tires for asphalt or sand, rims that damage cars you grind against, and lots more. For weapons, there is a harpoon, used to latch onto structures and vehicles to rip away armor, doors, or wheels; a thunderpoon, which is an explosive rocket weapon, a sniper rifle for taking out snipers in towers, and flamethrowers mounted on the side of your car to damage enemies next to you. There are also cosmetic changes, such color, decals and both front and rear ornaments.
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<div>
Driving around the map is a real pleasure. If you reach max speed, you can hear the wind whooshing by, and car generates wind particle effects as you barrel down the mostly abandoned highways. The engine revs up, and you get a bit of tunnel vision as well from the camera changing the field of view. At the beginning of the game, your car, the Magnum Opus, will be quite weak, and you will have to disengage from enemies more often than you engage them. At a certain point, the tables are turned and you will become something of a hunter, actively taking out groups of roving bandits or convoys. You can ram into cars or enemies on foot, and you'll get a damage boost if you use your nitro, or you could use your shotgun, harpoon, and thunderpoon. Sometimes cars with loads of extra enemies will pull up besides you and the enemies will leap over to your car and try to attack you as you drive. You can even ricochet between cars on either side of you as you smash their doors and remove their armor plating.
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<div>
On the subject of damage, once your car reaches zero "health," you will have 5 seconds to get out before it explodes. If you don't make it out, your car will explode, taking you out with it. If you do, you have a few options. If you are driving your Magnum Opus, your BlackFinger Chumbucket will begin to repair it. You'll have to wait until the car's "health" reaches halfway before you can hop in and continue. If you are driving another car, you'll have the option of spending a certain amount of scrap to repair it instantly, as Chumbucket is only available in the Magnum Opus. If you die outside of an enemy base, you will be returned to the nearest friendly base.
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<div>
Returning to driving other cars, it is possible to drive any enemy car, provided you can kill the driver or force him to exit the car. You can then get in and drive it around the world, or drive it back to a friendly base. Doing so will add the car to your garage collection, if you don't already have that car. Once added, you can pick that car from any friendly base any time you wish to venture out into the wasteland. You will be able to fast travel, but doing so automatically switches to your Magnum Opus. One benefit from using an enemy vehicle is this provides a faction-based disguise, unless you get too close to an enemy vehicle. This allows you to avoid conflict with enemy patrols of that faction, and also to drive much closer to an enemy base before they realize what's up.
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<div>
One final subject that covers both vehicle and melee combat is fire. Some cars are equipped with gasburners or flamethrowers that will temporarily set your car on fire, dealing damage for a few seconds. The same can happen in different areas in the bases. There are often areas that are blocked off by a constant stream of burning gas, and if you make contact with it it will set Max on fire for a few seconds and deal massive amounts of damage. You can use this same principle on enemies, and either knock them into the fire or lure them into it.
</div>
<h3>
Base Development
</h3>
<div>
As you play the game, you will encounter a number of different bases led by friendly factions. You can perform a certain number of missions for them that will unlock special benefits for you, and you can also explore the map to find specific items which can be used in base development. For example, you might need four special items in order to build a water collection system. As water and food allow you to refill your health bar, having this system refills your water canteen automatically when you visit the base. You can travel to the locations marked on your map, pick up the items, and return to the base to build the system. There is a time limit on the frequency of refilling, however, so you can only refill your canteen about every 30 minutes.
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<div>
Besides a water collection system, there are many others. For example, you can build a maggot farm to refill your health automatically, a clean up crew to collect any scrap from vehicles you destroy in the region, and a oil reserve to refill the fuel on your car.
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<div>
Combat is impossible in friendly areas. These friendly bases are filled with NPCs who are immune to your attacks. Every other area of the game is considered hostile.
</div>
<h3>
Inventory
</h3>
<div>
Mad Max has an extremely simple inventory system. You always carry your shotgun, and you can pick up a limited number of shells and shivs to use in combat. Any scrap or ammo for your car weapons is automatically transferred, although like your shotgun, you have limited slots for your car weapons' ammo and cannot store any extra. There is no item management or even inventory screen.
</div>
<h3>
Region Management
</h3>
<div>
Each friendly base controls a region divided into several territories. Each territory has a number of minefields, enemy camps, convoys, sniper towers, totems and race locations. Completing races will unlock new cars for your base, while clearing the other challenges will reduce the threat in the region. Reducing the threat makes it safer to travel through the region, with fewer enemies spawned in as you drive around. Reducing the threat is also critical for unlocking certain upgrades, and advancing the story in some places.
</div>
<h2>
Procedures
</h2>
<h3>
Complete a mission
</h3>
<div>
These are relatively simple in structure, and usually involve killing a particular enemy or destroying a camp, or going to a location and finding an item. You might have to complete a race or speak with an NPC as part of the mission, but these serve to add spice. All missions advance the main story of Max's quest to get his V8 back, and eventually cross the plains of silence.
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<h3>
Scavenge
</h3>
<div>
Scrap is critical for upgrading the bases and the Magnum Opus. You will collect a large amount of scrap by clearing bases, destroying enemy vehicles, and in the early game, by finding locations marked as scrap sites.
</div>
<h3>
Eliminate a convoy
</h3>
<div>
Enemy convoys are large groups of cars with one main vehicle being protected. These patrol set routes, and can be really challenging to take out, especially in the early when your Magnum Opus does not have much armor or offensive ability. Once a convoy has been eliminated, you can pick up an ornamental object for your car, and the threat level in the region will be reduced.
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<h3>
Clear an enemy camp
</h3>
<div>
Camps come in several varieties. The main enemy camp in any region will house a "Top Dog," which will be a reskinned version of Scabrous Scrotus himself. They all fight in almost the same way, have the same animations, and can be tackled with almost the same strategy: bait them into charging, dodge, then wail. Rinse and repeat. There is very little variety here.
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<div>
Another camp type is an extended brawl. You will face a number of groups from Stank Gum's Legion, and you just have to kill all of them. Two other camps are oil pump camps, and transfer tank camps. The objective of these is to destroy either the tanks or the pumps. You will also find a number of scrap items, ammo, food, water, and base parts for you to collect, and Scabrous insignia for you to destroy. These are optional, but with the exception of the insignia, all benefit you.
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<div>
Camps have a number of navigational challenges or puzzles associated with them. You might have to lower a bridge whose winch is on the oppsite side, or you might have to locate the trigger to turn off a gas flame that is blocking your path. These serve to break up the combat challenges and add a bit of variety.
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<div>
As a prelude to actually clearing the base, you can often speak with an NPC placed outside it who will give you extra information, such as defenses, what to expect inside, and secret ways in. Also, the bases often have different types of defenses: snipers, towers that launch grenades, flame throwers that block the entrance, etc. Similarly to the warcrier's effects on enemies, spending a long time with these defenses aware of you will increase a defense meter. Once filled, the defenses will become supercharged, dealing more damage and more actively attacking you.
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<div>
As you continue playing, you will be dependent on these camps. After you clear them, friendly NPCs move in and take over, much like in the cleared villages in The Witcher III. Every 20-30 minutes, they will gather scrap that is deposited in your account for you to use however you want. Near the endgame, you will receive around 200-400 scrap at a time.
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<h3>
Clear a mine field
</h3>
<div>
Mine fields are both interesting and somewhat annoying in this game. Unlike most games with mine clearing, the mines are actually invisible until detected. You need to use a special vehicle, Chumbucket's buggy, in order to detect them. The buggy has a dog, who you encounter and rescue from Chumbucket at the beginning of the game. The dog will bark and face the direction of the nearest mine, and when you get close enough it will be revealed for you to disarm. Although novel, there are two problems with the implementation of this mechanic. First, you cannot fast travel with any car except the Magnum Opus, so if you fast travel with the buggy from anywhere to the nearest fast travel option, you will automatically switch to the Magnum Opus, defeating the purpose of using the buggy in the first place. The second is the sheer number of minefields. Most territories have two minefields, and each minefield has between 2-3 mines. 14 territories times 2 minefields times 3 mines is 84 mines! To summarize, you'll have to drive around in a very weak and exposed vehicle to the minefield, assuming you have already located it, then slowly putter around listening to your dog bark and watching which way he is facing until a mine is revealed. While this is interesting the first few times, 28 mine fields is a bit much.
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<h3>
Complete a race
</h3>
<div>
As mentioned before, sometimes completing a race will be necessary in order to progress the story. There are a few different kinds. One is simply to reach the finish line before anyone else, while another is a checkpoint based race: there are a number of lines of barrels set across the race track at different points, and at each line you must smash into one barrel before continuing.
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<h3>
Reveal a region
</h3>
<div>
There are 11 air balloons scattered over the world map. Once accessed, these function as fast travel locations. Very often these will be guarded, and sometimes you will have to make the air balloon functional again. For instance, once or twice you will find one that needs to be fueled up, and there will be no fuel canister in the area, so you will have to use a spare from your car if you have one, or you will have to go and find one then return. Once up in the air, you can use your binoculars to reveal different locations on the map, and to reveal the name of the region as a whole.
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<h3>
Level up
</h3>
<div>
Mad Max has a rather unique leveling system. Max has ten abilities, each with ten levels. In order to level up his abilities, you need to complete challenges. A challenge is basically set up as a condition: for example, collect 45000 total scrap in your playthrough, or defeat 10 Scrotus vehicles. Some of these, by their nature, are repeatable, like the second one. Others, such as completing all the base projects for all bases or for one particular base, can only be completed once. Each time you complete a challenge, you are rewarded with a Griffa point and an increase to your legend level as well. It seems that your legend level controls several aspects of the game: you can only get access to some upgrades for your car after reaching a set legend level, for example.
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<div>
Griffa, it is implied, is one of Max's hallucinations. In order to level up your abilities, you must travel to one of Griffa's locations, which are marked on the map. There, he will engage in some dialogue, and then you may upgrade your abilities. These include increasing your health bar, receiving bonus water from water collection sites, increasing the amount of health you gain by eating food, gaining extra scrap when you collect it, using fuel more efficiently, and several combat related abilities, like increasing your damage with a melee weapon or making melee weapons last longer before they break.
</div>
<h3>
Manage a base
</h3>
<div>
In keeping with the Mad Max ethos, there is not much for you to do in managing a base. Unlike Metal Gear Solid V, you will not assign staff to different departments, nor will you need to make sure income is sufficient. All you need to do is collect the appropriate parts out in the wasteland, bring them back when you have them all, and build the project in the base. Besides the in-game benefits of doing so, it feels really satisfying to see each base progress from an absolute shit-hole to...well, not paradise, but a less shittier hole, at least.
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<h3>
Upgrade the Magnum Opus
</h3>
<div>
At the beginning of the game, it will be quite basic and weak, but you can unlock rams, armor plating, new weapons, nitro boosters, and many more. Most of these just require scrap, but often have a game wide condition as well. This could be completing a story mission, or reducing the threat level in region below a certain threshold.
</div>
<h3>
Weather a storm
</h3>
<div>
Similarly to the massive sandstorm in Mad Max: Fury Road, sandstorms will frequently appear in different areas of the map. It is sometimes possible to evade them by driving outside their range, or even more simply by seeking shelter in a friendly base. These storms are dramatic and deadly. The sky darkens, lightening flashes down across the landscape, the normally quite soundscape is replaced by mad howling and blowing, you can barely see anything, and huge pieces of debris are whipped around which can lay Max out and kill him, and which (thankfully) only slightly damage the car.
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<h2>
Resources
</h2>
<div>
There are a number of different resources.
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>
Max's health: Self-explanatory.
</li>
<li>
Max's canteen: Holds a limited amount of water. You can collect this from water collection devices spread around bases and scrap locations. You can drink from this to restore some of Max's health.
</li>
<li>
Max's stats: Max has a number of abilities and stats that can be upgraded in different ways. Similar to the way that the Magnum Opus can be upgraded in the garage at any time, Max's gloves, jacket, shotgun, and fighting special abilities can be upgraded and unlocked using scrap. As discussed above, by completing challenges you get Griffa tokens, which you can take to Griffa's location and upgrade his health, etc.
</li>
<li>
Max's shotgun ammo: Really scarce, and useful in particular circumstances.
</li>
<li>
Max's Shiv ammo: Dito.
</li>
<li>
Car's health: Chumbucket will repair this automatically whenever get out and explore. Your car cannot be repeated while it is in motion.
</li>
<li>
Car's stats: Discussed above.
</li>
<li>
Car weapon ammo: Can be found in bases, and also replenished if you have the armory upgrades in a friendly base.
</li>
<li>
Region threat level: This is controlled by the number of threats in the region.
</li>
<li>
Base Upgrades: Discussed above.
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h2>
Conflicts
</h2>
<div>
The main conflicts in terms of game play are how you customize your car. There are a large number of trade-offs. Just as a few examples, let's say you want to build some kind of speed demon, so you max out the engine and exhaust, remove all the armor plating, and front ram. This gives you a light, fast car that will take damage very easily and probably not survive long in a tough fight. On the other hand, maxing out the speed also has a slight negative effect on the handling, so the greater your max speed and acceleration, the more difficult it will be to maintain a good course with such a car.
</div>
<br />
<div>
You could of course go the opposite way, maxing out armor, equipping the heaviest ram. This will make your car much slower, but more able to withstand and to deal damage. You can still have a powerful engine, but due to the weight of the armor and ram, it will be less effective.
</div>
<br />
<div>
For the story, of course the conflict between Max and the enemies is front and center most of the time. He wants his V8 engine so he can continue his insane plan to cross the non-existent Plains of Silence. But, there are a number of lesser conflicts. For example, whenever you level up, Griffa's dialogue speaks about how Max still has his humanity and his desire for friends and family, but Max repeatedly denies this, even as you the player make Max improve all the friendly bases and complete tasks to make their lives better. As the story progresses, it becomes clear to Chumbucket that Max sees him as a means to an end, and plans to install two large gas tanks in the back, leaving Chumbucket no place of his own. This leads to a short-lived conflict between the two of them.
</div>
<br />
<div>
Although never acted upon in the game, there are also conflicts between the different friendly bases. As you wander around them, the NPCs can be heard to say things like "I guess we're now trading with those assholes of Jeet's. I can't wait till we raid one of their convoys" or similar hostile comments.
</div>
<br />
<div>
One final conflict is between Max's goal and Hope. Hope is a slave/concubine that Max encounters in one of the friendly bases early on, and later takes on more significance as Max does a number of missions for her to rescue her daughter, Glory. Max initially denies his own humanity and attraction to her, but eventually risks his own life and his goal to help her.
</div>
<h2>
Boundaries
</h2>
<div>
The world map is surrounded by The Big Nothing, which takes the form of endless dunes and dramatic canyons (presumably once undersea valleys). You can enter this area for short distances but eventually you'll be forced to turn around.
</div>
<div>
As mentioned before, there are strict limits on inventory. You can only hold so much ammo for your shotgun and your car weapons, and the same goes for water. You can never carry food around: once found, you must either leave it, or eat it immediately.
</div>
<div>
There are also some limitations on car types. These are restricted to four-wheel vehicles, and only run the range of sedans, muscle cars, pick-ups, and beetles. There are no war rigs like in the movies, no motorcycles, etc.
</div>
<h2>
Outcomes
</h2>
<div>
There is only one basic outcome of the game. You have a final confrontation with Scabrous Scrotus in which he, the Magnum Opus, and Chumbucket all die. Hope was killed previously, as was her daughter, Glory. Max is on his own again, and he has Scabrous Scrotus's car in which to continue his journey.
</div>
<br />
<div>
After this event, you can continue to play the game and destroy enemy bases, complete races, etc. The Magnum Opus and Chumbucket are resurrected for this, which although very gamey, makes sense in terms of gameplay. After all, you can only make use of the Magnum Opus's weapons if Chumbucket is present, and without the weapons it is basically impossible to take down the defenses of a base, eliminate snipers, take down totems, etc.
</div>
<h1>
Dynamic Elements
</h1>
<div>
Besides the elements discussed below, the world of Mad Max is itself somewhat dynamic. As you drive around, you have the chance to encounter Scrotus's patrols, and this probability is affected by the threat level in the region. There is also the chance to encounter a sandstorm, and this seems to be randomly triggered.
</div>
<br />
<div>
Dynamic friction is used in many areas. As you unlock higher and higher upgrades for Max's combat abilities, and for his car, the prices in scrap of course increase.
</div>
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<div>
This manifests in the Fury Meter you have during combat. This is set on a timer, so it will inevitably empty and you will have to continue your combos in order to fill it again.
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<div>
The main manifestation of this is the car customization. As mentioned before, you can create a large variety of cars that fit your play style.
</div>
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<div>
The stopping mechanism is used to prevent the player from abusing the base upgrades and the Magnum Opus weapons. The weapons all have a limited amount of ammo, and there is a several second delay between uses of the weapons. As for the bases, there is a 20-30 minute delay between refill times.
</div>
<p style="text-align: left;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyaHpiEprg1FTz9WbAmUr6N_Z_miF-1c-GKOOoGxLFnhS4kts4g9tQhkFXGWAb170YVfz_9wp0-BrDxDcyum7VC5eFWA-GWqfEKLTm14jhD8oRnNzpVb3kFXcG9CtGb-udhm11V_fqfi-A/s1058/stoppingmechanism.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="275" data-original-width="1058" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyaHpiEprg1FTz9WbAmUr6N_Z_miF-1c-GKOOoGxLFnhS4kts4g9tQhkFXGWAb170YVfz_9wp0-BrDxDcyum7VC5eFWA-GWqfEKLTm14jhD8oRnNzpVb3kFXcG9CtGb-udhm11V_fqfi-A/s640/stoppingmechanism.PNG" width="500" /></a></div><p></p>
<h1>Dramatic Elements
</h1>
<div>
</div>
<h2>
Characters and Story
</h2>
<div>
The story does not follow any of the movies or other media exactly, but takes heavy inspiration from almost all of them, especially from the third movie and from the comic book series prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road. As an example, in Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, there is one character called Blackfinger, and in the game this is expanded out into a huge cult or religion of car worshiping mechanics whose fingers are of course black from working with grease all day.
</div>
<br />
<div>
Max has already been discussed at some length, as has his mechanic/blackfinger, Chumbucket. Other characters are Jeet, Deep Friah, Gut Gash and Pink Eye. These are the leaders of the friendly bases, and you can learn a little about them through dialogue and by completing missions. Crow Dazzle is the MC for the races, and for enemies you have Stank Gum and Scabrous Scrotus. We don't really learn much about the main villains. Stank Gum likes to wear people's skins, and Scabrous is just a big evil dude who took your car, and also happens to be one of Immortan Joe's sons. As mentioned before, the "top dog" enemies are all just reskinned versions of Scrotus, so there is very little personality there.
</div>
<div>
Last of all there are Hope and Glory. These appear to be non-canon versions of characters with the same names from the comic book series.
</div>
<div>
In terms of the actual story, while rich in lore and environmental details, the plot is very lite. Following being left for dead and having your V8 engine stolen, you quickly find Scrotus's dog, which Chumbucket is about to eat. Max saves the dog, and you and Chumbucket team up. Chumbucket agrees to be your mechanic in exchange for help finding parts for his Magnum Opus, a car that he is building and one which he attends to with religious and sexual devotion. To get the parts, you need to scavenge locations under the control of different groups of War Boys. Along the way, you will do missions for the leaders mentioned above, who will often give you information or weapons that enable your further progress.
</div>
<div>
Eventually,you will make it to Gas Town, compete in a race and Thunderdome style duel in order to get the V8, only to discover that Scrotus was still alive. He recognizes you, and you must fight him. This proves too much for Max, and Hope must rescue you. This triggers a number of missions to reunite Hope and her daughter, Glory. This also brings to a head the situation with Chumbucket: now that Max has what he needs, he no longer wants Chumbucket's company, and this triggers a break between the two. Max must leave to find Chumbucket, who has stolen the Magnum Opus. While Max is away, Scrotus and Stank Gum torture Chumbucket, and discover the location of Hope and Glory. When Max finds Chumbucket, Scrotus has already left, but Stank Gum is still there. Max kills Stank Gum, and returns to find Glory and Hope dead.
</div>
<div>
Chumbucket and Max team up one more time to kill Scrotus. After destroying Scrotus's convoy, you will have to use the Magnum Opus to push him over the edge of a cliff. Chumbucket refuses to leave the car, and so all three (Chumbucket, Scrotus, and the Magnum Opus) die.
</div>
<h1>
Conclusion
</h1>
<div>
Mad Max lacks a lot of elements that other open world games have. You won't find any animal skins to hunt and craft into holsters or pouches. You won't find any plants to collect and craft into medicines. You won't have any reputation tracking or a morality system. Nor will you be tasked with tracking down 11 different kinds of useless collectible objects. You will not be running out of energy and be forced to stop what you are doing to get some food, or suddenly become thirsty and need water, since this is not a survival game.
</div>
<div>
The main word that comes to mind as I wrap up this analysis is focus. Avalanche Studios has taken an iconic IP, and stripped it down to its barest essentials, and developed each one to the fullest. Mad Max, as a world, is about beating the shit out of bad guys and driving through a desolate landscape, and this game delivers that in spades. You get a great, although somewhat flawed, melee combat system, and you get great driving and vehicular combat. The story stays true to the ethos of the originals, and the design of the characters and world is excellent throughout. In terms of character and enemy design, my only bone to pick is with the lack of variety in the Top Dog Enemies.
</div>
<div>
Like a tough survivor out of the wasteland, Mad Max the game has been stripped of fat and is a lean experience. Even 5 years after its release, it remains a great play and a game well-worth your time.
</div>David Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01601318906655915875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787818667586347471.post-41374790937200550582021-01-04T17:54:00.002-08:002021-01-04T17:54:40.692-08:00Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Analysis<h1>
Overview
</h1>
<div>
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is a third-person open world action stealth game developed and published by Konami in September 2015. It is a single player game, with limited options for multiplayer.
</div>
<h1>
Formal Elements
</h1>
<h2>
Players
</h2>
<div>
In the game, you play as "Venom" or "Punished" Snake, and many characters will refer to you as Big Boss. You are the leader of a private military force, and you've just woken up after a coma of 9 years. You lost the lower half of your left arm, and you have a huge piece of shrapnel embedded in your forehead. You control Big Boss from a third-person perspective, but you can aim down the sights of your weapons in first person, and when you crawl through small spaces the camera also switches to this perspective.
</div>
<br />
<div>
You can play some missions as soldiers that you convert to your army.
</div>
<br />
<div>
</div>
<h2>
Rules
</h2>
<div>
</div>
<h3>
Combat and Movement
</h3>
<div>
As Big Boss, you get your left arm replaced by a robotic one before your first mission. You can thus use larger, two-handed weapons like rifles and rocket launchers. The movement system is limited to walking, running, crouching, crawling, and climbing on some surfaces. You can only walk or run up slopes of a certain angle, and this will lead to a lot of periodic frustration, as slopes that look climbable are sometimes not, and you will repeatedly slip down them. Crouching and crawling reduce your visibility, making it easier to sneak by enemies.
</div>
<br />
<div>
Most knee-high or wait-high ledges can be climbed over, and if there is a sharp edge or ledge, you can even jump up to head-high ledges. You can discover vertical cracks in many locations that can be crack-climbed.
</div>
<br />
<div>
Besides moving around under your own power, you can make use of a horse, D-Horse, different kinds of trucks, tanks, and later on, D-Walkers. There are two main maps, Afghanistan and Africa, in the game, and both are quite large and rugged. You can run from one area to another, but the maps are so large that it will take 5-10 minutes of sprinting. Vehicles function quite realistically, generating light and noise that will alert enemies nearby. They also have varying degrees of difficulty in traversing the rugged terrain. Vehicles take damage realistically as well, and if they take enough damage they will become immovable and eventually blow up.
</div>
<br />
<div>
There are two more ways of moving around. The first is by using your support helicopter. As you play, you will probably destroy enemy radar dishes which will unlock new landing zones. You can call your support helicopter to come and pick you up. Once you return to your aerial command center, you can pick an alternative landing zone closer to your goal.
</div>
<br />
<div>
Another way is by picking up shipping invoices at enemy bases. You can attach these labels to your cardboard box, if you have it equipped, and you can ship yourself from one enemy base to another using this method of "fast travel." This only works if you are at a shipping station, of course.
</div>
<br />
<div>
Moving on to combat, MGS V features both ranged and melee combat, but the primary focus is on stealth combat. As you attempt to complete a mission, you will usually approach an enemy base and do some scouting. You can use your companions to help you identify enemies and other points of interest, and you can also use a special scope to place markers or tag enemies. Although you are not punished for engaging in combat, there are a number of indirect costs. As you encounter enemies, you can take them out in a number of ways. For example, depending on which companion you have, you might be able to distract them, stun them, or kill them without getting your hands dirty. You can approach them in a stealthy manner, get behind them and choke them out. Once choked out, you could use your Fulton extraction device to send them back to Mother Base, kill them, and/or hide the body. You could use different weapons to eliminate them, either lethally or non-lethally. Depending on the weapon you use, this may alert other nearby guards. If you don't hide the body, it is possible that patrolling guards may find it, and raise the alert level of the base. If you draw your weapon and approach a guard, they will lay down their weapon and you can choke them out or pursue the other options outlined above. Besides choking an enemy out, you can interrogate them (provided you have an interpreter for the language) and get information about the base, high value targets, or valuable resources.
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<div>
Depending on your stance, your camouflage, the amount of light, the surrounding shrubbery, the amount of noise you make, and even how smelly you are, you will attract attention. This is shown by a white fuzzy ring around your character pointing in the direction of enemy attention. This can make the enemy leave their post or abandon their patrol to investigate the area. If the amount of suspicion crosses a limit, the enemy will "detect" or "spot" you.
</div>
<br />
<div>
If an enemy spots you and no other enemies in this area have been alerted, you will get a brief period of "reflex time," where time slows down and you can quickly close the distance and choke them out, tranquilize them with your tran gun, or use another means of silencing them.
</div>
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<div>
You can also go loud if you are discovered, or you can back off and try to hide. The base guards will try to find you based on your last-sighted position, as well as noises and suspicious sights.
</div>
<br />
<div>
As you interact with the bases, enemies will begin to adapt to your tactics. For example, many bases will begin to place land mines in strategic locations, enemies will begin to wear body armor or helmets, depending on your preferred target. If you mostly attack at night, more spot lights will be placed and enemies with night vision goggles will spawn in.
</div>
<h3>
Base Development
</h3>
<div>
As you play the game, you will extract soldiers, vehicles, placed guns, and resource containers using your Fulton extraction device. This starts out as a balloon that you can use only on soldiers, but you can upgrade it for placed guns, then for vehicles and resource containers, and through a hidden path, you can even develop a black hole version. Soldiers each have unique names, and random special abilities, as well as being ranked in categories like combat, base development, support, communications, medicine, and research. These soldiers can be convinced to join your private army, and they will contribute to the productivity and level of the section they are assigned to. </div><div> </div><div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjysGrO2IZvNmSkqiM2maP-GyEiSCIXuTOTDMaQt0B8tO44qFM8XImBjMnlAd1b0N1s153I6dyHNwKRdB5IlTUGUKXjkqMSv6lsPrjcnvUmxhonndYSeV9w6Y4_QBCYakkhEtlC5exTjPin/s1920/20200814212858_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjysGrO2IZvNmSkqiM2maP-GyEiSCIXuTOTDMaQt0B8tO44qFM8XImBjMnlAd1b0N1s153I6dyHNwKRdB5IlTUGUKXjkqMSv6lsPrjcnvUmxhonndYSeV9w6Y4_QBCYakkhEtlC5exTjPin/w640-h360/20200814212858_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div>
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<div>
Certain soldiers have specific traits that affect other staff, or that allow specific development options. For example, a staff member might have a "troublemaker" trait, which increases the chances of fighting among staff, whereas "diplomat" effectively cancels this. In terms of development, if you want to develop certain Fulton upgrades, you will need a soldier with "Transportation Specialist." There are close to 30 of these specialist traits.
</div>
<br />
<div>
In terms of staff contributions, if you capture a soldier with an A rank in research (as an example), you can assign that soldier to that section, and they will increase the level of that section, allowing you research more advanced weapons or equipment. Assigning a solider to base development effects the speed with which unprocessed resources get processed. As some technologies require a certain number of processed resources, this of course comes in handy. Alternatively, assigning a soldier to intel increases the number and accuracy of intel reports you receive when in the field. These could concern the placement of enemies, updates about the weather, etc. </div><div> </div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQboR5rGEazjFC5khHns5XLmdRpubPtpwBVR7fS5jElK-08D2H-MS8lriigMbQFKoqMpb5JlmohUHpDfdjUDvGYNBu5PMeimAWKKPItkOA9fUqewNjJUJJ6xNC3zPfir2UhEOTGIjuxcik/s2048/external-content.duckduckgo.com.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQboR5rGEazjFC5khHns5XLmdRpubPtpwBVR7fS5jElK-08D2H-MS8lriigMbQFKoqMpb5JlmohUHpDfdjUDvGYNBu5PMeimAWKKPItkOA9fUqewNjJUJJ6xNC3zPfir2UhEOTGIjuxcik/w640-h400/external-content.duckduckgo.com.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> </div>
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<div>
Each section has a limited number of positions available, and you must build dedicated base platforms for each section, and upgrade each one in order to expand the potential number of staff for each one. Each platform can be upgraded to level four, further expanding the staff limit of the section by 10 each time, except for the command platform, which increases the staff limit for all sections by 5. Each upgrade costs exponentially more money, time, and resources. If you want to go beyond these limits, you will need to purchase further FOBs (forward operating bases) around the world. Each FOB costs exponentially more "Mother Base" coins, encouraging the player to engage with the microtransaction system KONAMI has created.
</div>
<br />
<div>
Once purchased, the FOB works essentially the same as Mother Base. You must build a command center platform, and then you can build and upgrade platforms for the other sections. With FOBs, the exponential costs have been doubled down on, so each upgrade requires much more money, time, and resources than the one before it. It is not easier to acquire these, however, creating a strong FU feeling in the player.
</div>
<br />
<div>
You can travel to Mother Base and explore it, and you can also interact with the soldiers there. When a soldier sees you, it will raise their morale, making fights among staff less common.
</div>
<h3>
Inventory
</h3>
<div>
MSG V features a simple inventory system. The player may carry two main weapons, one rifle and one sniper rifle/grenade launcher/missile launcher. You may also have two secondary weapons, a pistol or SMG of some kind, and a modification of your prosthetic arm. You can carry 8 support weapons, and 8 items. Support weapons are items like different kinds of grenades, decoys, or mines, while items are things active camouflage, night vision goggles, or your phantom cigar, which allows you to speed up time until particular times of day. Your companions and vehicles also count as inventory items, and you may only have one of each at a time. If during a mission you need more ammo, you can call in a resupply drop, which acts like the reverse of a Fulton extraction: you get a box dropping out of the sky on a parachute to the location that you designated. As many players have noted, you can actually use this to knock out guards!
</div>
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<div>
You can also request different vehicles, buddies, and weapons using this air drop system.
</div>
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<div>
One point to mention about deploying to an area is that each item, weapon, vehicle, and buddy has a deployment cost. The higher the level of the item, the more it will cost you. This applies to the items you bring with you on the initial deployment, as well as those air dropped in during deployment.
</div>
<br />
<div>
You can equip any weapon or item that enemies drop, but this will cause you to drop your currently equipped item. So, for example, if I have a sniper rifle, but I want to take out a helicopter, I can pick up a rocket launcher that an enemy has dropped. Since sniper rifles and rocket launchers occupy the same slot, I will drop the rifle and equip the launcher.
</div>
<h2>
Procedures
</h2>
<h3>
Watching a cut-scene
</h3>
<div>
This is a Hideo Kojima production after all. There are cut-scenes in the game, although from what I understand they are somewhat restrained compared to previous Hideo Kojima titles.
</div>
<h3>
Trading
</h3>
<div>
Using your iDroid device, you can sell resources and items you have at your Mother Base. Unfortunately, and quite illogically, for the player, you cannot buy resources. This again is probably to force engagement with the microtransactions that KONAMI has created.
</div>
<h3>
Complete a mission
</h3>
<div>
There are 50 main story missions, and 157 side ops. The main story missions all open with a cut scene and voice over explaining the context and the goals, while the side ops are open world filler of the kind that Ubisoft made famous. The main missions are timed, and each has a number of hidden optional objectives. For example, you might be trying to extract a scientist, and to complete the mission you must of course do this objective. However, you might have a bonus objective of extracting him using the Fulton device in a particular way, or there might be an bonus objective to rescue a prisoner nearby, etc.
</div>
<br />
<div>
Completing the mission within certain time limits, without being seen, without killing soldiers, and without raising the alarm all give you bonuses, as do completing the optional objectives. The missions have a large variety of settings and optional objectives, and there are many twists that appear during story missions.
</div>
<br />
<div>
The side ops are a trash heap. As an example, you can clear mines from mine fields. This involves going to the location, and then walking around shooting the mines until the area is clear. There are 10 of these. Ten! Or, there are 16 side ops which ask you to eliminate groups of heavy infantry. These are heavily armored soldiers that are not vulnerable to most small caliber weapons. You can use tanks, missile launchers, or you may sneak up on them, choke them out, and Fulton extract them to your Mother Base if you deem fit. But there are 16 of these missions! The number of the soldiers is slightly different, and they are in different parts of the map, but it is essentially the same challenge. Then there are the missions about extracting a wandering mother base soldier, extracting a prisoner, extracting a valuable soldier, or eliminating tank or armored-vehicle units. All of these appear in double digit numbers, are repetitive, and quite boring after the first few in each group. They do provide a decent amount of GMP in the higher ranks, but you can still earn more passively doing combat deployment.
</div>
<h3>
Manage Mother Base
</h3>
<div>
Mother Base is where you can check up on your soldiers, take a shower, and raise the morale of your staff. Mother Base requires a lot of management, and the game does a great job of simulating this. You can view all your staff via a menu, and sort them according to various characteristics. You can switch their section, and you can even enter direct contracts with them or dismiss them. Direct contracts prevents them from dying, being abducted from FOBs, or being sent out on dispatch missions.
</div>
<br />
<div>
Besides this, you will be able to build new platforms to expand your military capacity and increase the level of your different sections. You can also begin different research projects to unlock new weapons and items.
</div>
<h3>
Assign Combat deployment
</h3>
<div>
Using your iDroid device, you can also assign different combat teams to take on combat missions. Some of these can counteract the AI's adaptation to the your play-style. For example, if enemies have taken to wearing helmets all the time, you can send some of your soldiers on a mission to destroy the enemy's supply of helmets, making it easier for you to play the way you've become accustomed to. </div><div> </div><div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1AThC8T5USf4kuQ3ztLayRBcchEZULoN38xm_LII7wZAzsbMoq32AAWy-ZMVoupXSGZWRXlyLeJ91rGbas7dy2rMZxqKBjmV8ix6sesu7UzOZ4f005JNxafF_HOAy2XGeu46Dq-Gdjurz/s1920/20200826205328_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1AThC8T5USf4kuQ3ztLayRBcchEZULoN38xm_LII7wZAzsbMoq32AAWy-ZMVoupXSGZWRXlyLeJ91rGbas7dy2rMZxqKBjmV8ix6sesu7UzOZ4f005JNxafF_HOAy2XGeu46Dq-Gdjurz/w640-h360/20200826205328_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div>
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<div>
Alternatively, you can send your staff on combat missions to recruit new staff members with certain proficiency, gather plants or other resources, or just to engage in different lucrative missions, such as protecting a VIP or contracting to keep the peace in some war-torn area of the world. These missions vary roughly lineally in difficulty, benefits, and time required.
</div>
<h3>
Listen to music or interview
</h3>
<div>
There are hundreds of tapes scattered throughout the map, and many can additionally be picked up automatically by completing story missions. These give the player the opportunity to hear extra information. Many of these are exactly the same as the mission briefing tapes, but there are still some interesting revelations.
</div>
<h2>
Resources
</h2>
<div>
There are a large number of different resources.
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>
Health: Your avatar has rechargeable health like in many shooter games that came out after Gears of War. If you continue to take damage, you will eventually die, but if you can hide, your health will slowly recharge.
</li>
<li>
Staff: Your staff are an important resource that influences the power and efficiency of your private military organization. You can send the combat section on deployment missions to earn GMP, more staff, or resources. They can be killed during these missions, and other players can attack your FOBs and steal them from you.
</li>
<li>
GMP: GMP stands for gross military product, and it appears to be a kind of terminological joke by Hideo Kojima. It is the money in the game, and serves several purposes. First, you receive it as a reward for completing missions. You can spend it on base development, research projects, and on deployment to the two fields of operations.
</li>
<li>
Ammo: You can only carry a limited amount of ammo for each weapon at a time, but you can replenish this by walking over similar class weapons, finding ammo packs in a base, or by calling in a supply drop.
</li>
<li>
Vehicles: You eventually gain the ability to Fulton extract vehicles and bring them back to your Mother base, and you can then deploy with these during main missions and side ops.
</li>
<li>
Mother Base Coins: You receive a small number of mother base coins for each day you log in to the game, but this number is purposefully kept minuscule in relation to what you need to purchase in order to encourage microtransaction purchases. Fuck you Konami!
</li>
<li>
Private Force Points: Each day your soldiers will engage in in pitched battles against other players', and you will receive private force points for your victories. You can exchange these to purchase high-level staff, and different amounts of resources.
</li>
<li>
Weapons: Your weapons are critical resources. You need to consider the parameters of the mission and what you are likely to face, but you will probably develop a liking for a particular play-style revolving around certain weapons.
</li>
<li>
Plants: As you explore, you will find different varieties of plants growing in the world. When you pick them up, they get sent to Mother Base automatically. To increase the amount of plants you get more quickly, you can send your soldiers out on dispatch missions, or you can purchase them by exchanging PF points.
<ul>
<li>
wormwood
</li>
<li>
black carrot
</li>
<li>
golden crescent
</li>
<li>
tarragon
</li>
<li>
African peach
</li>
<li>
digitalis purpurea
</li>
<li>
digitalis lutea
</li>
<li>
Haoma
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
Materials/Resources: There are several kinds of materials:
<ul>
<li>
Common metal
</li>
<li>
Precious metal
</li>
<li>
Biological resources
</li>
<li>
Fuel resources
</li>
<li>
Minor metal
</li>
</ul>
</li>
These resources can be acquired in several ways. You can often find small containers of the different metals and other resources around enemy bases. However, you will also find large cargo containers of the resources at enemy bases, which you can extract using your Fulton device after it has been upgraded enough.
<li>
Base Section Level: Each base section has a level, and this is controlled by the number and quality of the staff assigned in each section.
</li>
<li>
Base Section Platform Number: Each section can be upgraded to four platforms in one base.
</li>
<li>
Number of Bases: Besides Mother Base, you can purchase offshore waters in which to build FOBs. These allow you to build more command, intel, research, etc platforms and continue to increase the section level and hire more store, potentially unlocking more research options. As mentioned before, additional FOBs are purchased with Mother Base coins, which are extremely limited. You get 15 per day, and buying an additional FOB location might cost over 1100 coins. Again, fuck you Konami.
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h2>
Conflicts
</h2>
<div>
There are a number of interesting conflicts going on in MGS V. For one, there is the conflict between being stealthy and going loud. It is possible to complete the game without killing anyone, for example, and instead always using a tranq gun or other non-lethal means of subduing them. If you traq an enemy, you can Fulton extract them out to Mother Base, where they will become one of your loyal soldiers. This provides a diagetic motivation for at least not killing everyone. You also receive post-mission bonuses for being non-lethal, and for maintaining perfect stealth. However, the game is much, much easier if you occasionally kill soldiers, and if you allow yourself to go loud.
</div>
<br />
<div>
There is also a conflict between continuing and developing your preferred playstyle, and the AI system's continuous adaptations to that. If you really like taking headshots from a distance, the enemies will start to wear helmets, and later on full body armor with face-plated helmets. It is still possible to eliminate these soldiers with headshots, but it requires extreme precision and timing in the former case, and anti-vehicle sniper rifles in the latter.
</div>
<h2>
Boundaries
</h2>
<div>
There are strict inventory limits. As discussed before, you can only have one rifle/SMG/shotgun and one larger two-handed weapon equipped at a time. This, together with ammo limitations, serves to restrict your playing options in interesting ways. Of course, it is possible to pick up an enemy's weapon, and to request a weapon air drop, but these are not always feasible in the heat of the moment.
</div>
<h2>
Outcomes
</h2>
<div>
Like many open world games, there is no definitive end to the game. However, if you complete the main story missions, you will destroy the main villains and prevent their plans for world destruction/domination from reaching fruition. The mission called The Truth, however, turns all this horrifying on its head, but more on that later.<br /></div>
<h1>
Dynamic Elements
</h1>
<div>
The dynamic friction pattern appears pervasively. In terms of base section level, it takes more and more staff at higher and higher competencies in order to increase the level of the base section. This requires a large number of FOB bases, each of which costs exponentially more than the previously purchased one. Building the platforms and upgrading the platforms in each FOB requires exponentially more time, GMP, and resources. Just as a small example, in terms of time, the first upgrade in Mother Base takes about 30 minutes of in-game time. When you upgrade one of the platforms to level 2 in your second FOB, it takes 6 days! That's a 288X increase in time cost.<br /></div>
<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjifbRlYYr-irWm8NO9mTzF37mZEn55My4YmG1CAn9SEqWrPlYu2gGr6r81dVQ2sl07ONk221uW2_9Q7c3EMGo1-kudiU1Ga67I4FGgiQKj8faiWW3dk407AKN2Xiac12imdtuK7_OC9nXW/s907/dynamicfriction.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="179" data-original-width="907" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjifbRlYYr-irWm8NO9mTzF37mZEn55My4YmG1CAn9SEqWrPlYu2gGr6r81dVQ2sl07ONk221uW2_9Q7c3EMGo1-kudiU1Ga67I4FGgiQKj8faiWW3dk407AKN2Xiac12imdtuK7_OC9nXW/s320/dynamicfriction.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
Besides the cycle of night and day, there is a cycle in terms of tension. When you are out exploring, the tension is typically low. As you get closer to an enemy outpost, the tension will increase some, and if you are proceeding with a mission, it will ratchet up accordingly as you try to avoid detection.
</div>
<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX-sLgIPwPM8cW2yfvitnEkhIflxbQipCi_LV5FVdzOdGE22g-YY1XY-K-AvsUVkpFGhK5DC-QvWJwSWPq2cOZ292IWQUWY8BK4g72uCjgbhZsQIl7r4ido2uIaeg76uGjGXArKQaUuiJG/s686/slowcycle.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="377" data-original-width="686" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX-sLgIPwPM8cW2yfvitnEkhIflxbQipCi_LV5FVdzOdGE22g-YY1XY-K-AvsUVkpFGhK5DC-QvWJwSWPq2cOZ292IWQUWY8BK4g72uCjgbhZsQIl7r4ido2uIaeg76uGjGXArKQaUuiJG/s320/slowcycle.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
The playstyle reinforcement pattern appears in a negative form in the fact that enemies in bases react to how you infiltrate them and how to eliminate them in order to guard against you. Instead of encouraging the player to stick to the same tactics, you are forced to explore the play space and try alternatives to the same strategies. In its positive form, if you prefer to play in a loud, aggressive way, you can use your resources to research more assault rifles, grenade launchers, etc. When you clear out a base, you can then Fulton the resources back to Mother Base, allowing you to unlock more aggressive research options.
</div>
<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZA3B35cIN4xH9FjK2YQ_Cke6MHZ3Ze88ISrqF7VHg2QoybQQ3eAbFNcehKjj24YhIiB0i5jWZQMNWKr2hIZIoP-HHKbLwyg0pR0UXe0gcwxoLv3ChzIwIXgr0oU9IkrG0fUdAKEBZ49-A/s932/playingstylereinforcement.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="601" data-original-width="932" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZA3B35cIN4xH9FjK2YQ_Cke6MHZ3Ze88ISrqF7VHg2QoybQQ3eAbFNcehKjj24YhIiB0i5jWZQMNWKr2hIZIoP-HHKbLwyg0pR0UXe0gcwxoLv3ChzIwIXgr0oU9IkrG0fUdAKEBZ49-A/s320/playingstylereinforcement.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
The worker placement pattern appears as literally assigning staff to different sections and receiving benefits based on the assignments.
</div>
<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4sXeCkKYk49SvcjIFzUDJrxA2R2qHsQXiF_FuItc7jNSF-8sZrc-VBP0LfvLoeodLJTnRkLgYKKE4XGMEBByfHt0whRvBmlLW4iLi0W1PzbSRW_Mn0xNIaZKpMNa4JT4Q9putKkB683Rj/s582/workerplacement.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="495" data-original-width="582" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4sXeCkKYk49SvcjIFzUDJrxA2R2qHsQXiF_FuItc7jNSF-8sZrc-VBP0LfvLoeodLJTnRkLgYKKE4XGMEBByfHt0whRvBmlLW4iLi0W1PzbSRW_Mn0xNIaZKpMNa4JT4Q9putKkB683Rj/s320/workerplacement.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
The trade pattern appears in a limited way. As mentioned before, you can only sell resources to receive GMP, and never buy them using GMP. If you want to buy resources, you need to purchase them using real money. Fuck you, Konami.
</div>
<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9ixqavd9h3kKtiZWdqftxonkMl5vCGx8UH6O9EyJuDoBvbclRs7oC9A7DCkpG0rgBVWrwXPIXX2vtsvOtFBF8Ubvb30UQ8l4EWENqE-UiIvSqgiZuHnvoFV-tJ3uSJFawvZtBvTOh1Aue/s643/trade.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="643" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9ixqavd9h3kKtiZWdqftxonkMl5vCGx8UH6O9EyJuDoBvbclRs7oC9A7DCkpG0rgBVWrwXPIXX2vtsvOtFBF8Ubvb30UQ8l4EWENqE-UiIvSqgiZuHnvoFV-tJ3uSJFawvZtBvTOh1Aue/s320/trade.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
The converter engine appears in a few forms. First, and most obviously, the number and level of platforms in a particular section determine the productivity and effectiveness of that section. In particular, the base development section takes unprocessed resources and converts them to processed ones. The rate at which it does this is controlled by how advanced the section is, so you can control the efficacy by your investments.
</div>
<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4UVEMI0Omm8cVFNld9qhPACkxttXsyQw0JJPN21on4eczqn0V5vW_4yneqR05afgxABEk3JH5qW8VxmrsSkEYqXmXO2bLEtYMStg1TiVs9waRfA9uKEEB8hiL5yR0C1PC_Ypzn5I04lT_/s504/converterengine.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="312" data-original-width="504" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4UVEMI0Omm8cVFNld9qhPACkxttXsyQw0JJPN21on4eczqn0V5vW_4yneqR05afgxABEk3JH5qW8VxmrsSkEYqXmXO2bLEtYMStg1TiVs9waRfA9uKEEB8hiL5yR0C1PC_Ypzn5I04lT_/s320/converterengine.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
The stopping mechanism appears mainly in the form of boundaries and limits on marking soldiers, time limits for supply drops, and limits on your mission rank based on your equipment and helicopter support. If you equip the stealth camouflage, which effective makes you invisible for short periods of time, you are restricted to A rank or lower for that mission.<br /></div>
<p style="text-align: left;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyaHpiEprg1FTz9WbAmUr6N_Z_miF-1c-GKOOoGxLFnhS4kts4g9tQhkFXGWAb170YVfz_9wp0-BrDxDcyum7VC5eFWA-GWqfEKLTm14jhD8oRnNzpVb3kFXcG9CtGb-udhm11V_fqfi-A/s1058/stoppingmechanism.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="275" data-original-width="1058" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyaHpiEprg1FTz9WbAmUr6N_Z_miF-1c-GKOOoGxLFnhS4kts4g9tQhkFXGWAb170YVfz_9wp0-BrDxDcyum7VC5eFWA-GWqfEKLTm14jhD8oRnNzpVb3kFXcG9CtGb-udhm11V_fqfi-A/s640/stoppingmechanism.PNG" width="500" /></a></div><p></p>
<h1>Dramatic Elements
</h1>
<div>
</div>
<h2>
Characters and Story
</h2>
<div>
Upon escaping from the hospital where you were held, you are flown to the Seychelles where remnants of your force have created a "Mother Base," which looks like an oil rig or drilling platform. You are fitted with a prosthetic arm to replace your lost left arm, and one of your companions, Ocelot, tasks you with rescuing Lt. Kazuhira Miller, also called Kaz. He is being held prisoner in a Russian military base in Afghanistan. Upon rescuing him, you will be given further missions relating to the incident shown in what is called the playable demo to Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes. In this playable demo, you infiltrate an XOF (the counterpart to the FOX group that Snake belonged to) base and make some discoveries, following which the mother base you had been building in the Caribbean is destroyed by XOF. Your helicopter is blown up, and you suffer from grievous injuries, resulting in the 9 year coma you awaken from at the beginning of the game.
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY8CM9VlG3SE225KpYyBJiWX7wvcpYgWohcYiMa33BP8PtOxj0syEu77UG-XX4ADyQHWnBWqLP2zpQx-2ZpjuFjpOX7sJt1vQlOD_QmgH4UMLUTBmY0QJBnKRAwec9D8H5snrPo0hY6e6-/s1920/20200815155939_1.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY8CM9VlG3SE225KpYyBJiWX7wvcpYgWohcYiMa33BP8PtOxj0syEu77UG-XX4ADyQHWnBWqLP2zpQx-2ZpjuFjpOX7sJt1vQlOD_QmgH4UMLUTBmY0QJBnKRAwec9D8H5snrPo0hY6e6-/s320/20200815155939_1.jpg" width="520" /></a></div>
<br />
<div>
Miller thirsts for revenge, as his dreams were destroyed, and he lost both an arm and leg to torture. The rest of the game plays out with you basically running errands for Ocelot and Miller in Africa and Afghanistan in order to gather more information about XOF, who is leading it, what they have been doing in the 9 years since they destroyed your base, and what they plan to do now. As a first time player to the Metal Gear Solid franchise, it is really, really fucking confusing. Although this is the last game released, it happens roughly in the middle of the chronology of this game universe.
</div>
<br />
<div>
<ul>
<li>
1964 - Snake Eater (Released in 2004)
</li>
<li>
1974 - Peace Walker (Released in 2010)
</li>
<li>
1975 - Ground Zeroes (Released in 2014)
</li>
<li>
<b>1984 - The Phantom Pain (Released in 2015)
</b></li>
<li>
1995 - Metal Gear (Released in 1987)
</li>
<li>
1999 - Solid Snake (Released in 1990)
</li>
<li>
2005 - Metal Gear Solid (Released in 1998)
</li>
<li>
2007 - Sons of Liberty (Released in 2001)
</li>
<li>
2014 - Guns of the Patriots (Released in 2008)
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<br />
<div>
As you complete these missions, you learn about several different plots revolving around parasites, both parasites that live on the skin, and ones that inhabit the vocal chords. The vocal chord parasites appear to be part of a plan to either eliminate all languages except English, or perhaps to eliminate only English. Different people say different things at different times. The skin parasites have been used to create two units called Skulls, a stealth Skull unit, seen below, and a combat Skull unit. They will appear at several points throughout the game to increase the tension and difficulty of a mission. There is also a plot about metal gears, the large bipedal robots that give the series its name.</div><div> </div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjodeI5g2D8eAX_V2JILEqGWZjqFpUj5N4duFl5ag5U8-25h9cGZIeEaYjwqFp0DVxe4ktUgwnkn5l7wd3pTdwGGa8nECrJOgQiVNR7fvbYDl_PuuGkErggLUKZbewMQaXy9vcDk-8_eU9b/s1920/20200821154845_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjodeI5g2D8eAX_V2JILEqGWZjqFpUj5N4duFl5ag5U8-25h9cGZIeEaYjwqFp0DVxe4ktUgwnkn5l7wd3pTdwGGa8nECrJOgQiVNR7fvbYDl_PuuGkErggLUKZbewMQaXy9vcDk-8_eU9b/w640-h360/20200821154845_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> </div><p>
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9C2k6z-qm_OAY0HXVhWWtj0y7aMYpexVTIwQlgDGB4BAParclWh2BHJOfaiTw-6oNyUMuURC86LWoWICxJvAlnOvazaGm89FGF6lOBYUrzf_AGYGj6og5sOPWs7LMcZ5mYzN2PBFVYrR7/s474/external-content.duckduckgo.com.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="266" data-original-width="474" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9C2k6z-qm_OAY0HXVhWWtj0y7aMYpexVTIwQlgDGB4BAParclWh2BHJOfaiTw-6oNyUMuURC86LWoWICxJvAlnOvazaGm89FGF6lOBYUrzf_AGYGj6og5sOPWs7LMcZ5mYzN2PBFVYrR7/w640-h360/external-content.duckduckgo.com.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>
</p><div>
To spoil the game a bit, as you continue playing story missions, you will eventually unlock a mission called "The Truth," in which you learn that you are not actually Big Boss. Although you played as Big Boss in Ground Zeroes, when you wake up in 1984, you are the medic on the helicopter. Essentially, you've been brainwashed into believing that you are Big Boss, besides undergoing cosmetic surgery to alter your appearance to match that of Big Boss. Ocelot and Miller are both aware of this, and this ties into the events of the first game in the franchise, Metal Gear, released in 1987. In that game, you play as Solid Snake, who receives orders from someone who we can presume to be the real Big Boss. He orders you to infiltrate a base called Outer Heaven and destroy a metal gear. Eventually, you will discover the leader of Outer Heaven to be Big Boss...but this Big Boss is actually the body double that you play as in The Phantom Pain. For some reason, Big Boss has decided to take out his body double. Although it might make sense in some way, in general the story is really overly complicated and does not stand up well to close scrutiny. </div><div> </div><div>To return to analyzing the story of MGS V, it essentially tells the story of you, the player/medic, becoming Big Boss, who is the villain of the next game! So, it turns this fantasy on its head, saying, "You want to be like Big Boss? Here you go. By the way, you realize he's an evil fuck, right?" Even the way that you recruit new soldiers is highly morally suspect. You kidnap these people, then torture them and brainwash them to believe in the Diamond Dogs private military force. These people become your staff!</div><div><br /></div><div>Besides this reversal, there are not at all subtle references to literature which further establish these themes. Your helicopter is named the Pequod, and in the beginning, the patient who helps you escape the hospital says to you "Call me Ishmael," the famous opening line of <i>Moby Dick</i>. There are also times when you are called Ahab, although it might be more appropriate to name Miller Ahab, as he is one who is driving the thirst for revenge throughout the game. Still, both the game and the book show how a good leader and man can become twisted into something evil by the pursuit of revenge.</div><div><br /></div><div>A more general reference is the year when the story happens, 1984, after the famous book by George Orwell. As you can tell from the byzantine descriptions above, the game definitely deals with complex political arrangements, where things are bluffed, double bluffed, and there always seems to be another layer underneath, where the truth can be found.<br /></div><div> </div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoYBAezhRvCyWoMt9fiFgrWssczGF15jIPV4AcYNvlBfjMLtthIHLuinSIAjjdyW0AjgCt9ssrgiKRslAPgm0eLHCX2fIOOzaPSS7hkGVNjknNH7fiifBNqGuXDgMzVaSpiEFKPI92d6uv/s1920/20200828160107_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoYBAezhRvCyWoMt9fiFgrWssczGF15jIPV4AcYNvlBfjMLtthIHLuinSIAjjdyW0AjgCt9ssrgiKRslAPgm0eLHCX2fIOOzaPSS7hkGVNjknNH7fiifBNqGuXDgMzVaSpiEFKPI92d6uv/w640-h360/20200828160107_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> </div>
<h1>
Conclusion
</h1>
<div>
There are a lot of gameplay and UI design choices at work in The Phantom Pain that are similar to those of Red Dead Redemption 2, and they produce similar effects. If you want to leave a combat area and return to Mother Base or your helicopter, you must pick a landing zone, wait for the helicopter to arrive, get in, and wait for it to depart. These are rendered in real-time/in-engine, and the camera is under your control while you are waiting for the helicopter to depart. You may even switch from one side to another and use a minigun to fire at enemies. But it still takes too much time. Yes, it adds in realism and atmosphere to the experience, but why does it require so much work and so much real world player time investment? Why can't you just Fulton yourself out? Similar choices regarding how you search cupboards in Red Dead Redemption 2 come to mind, where you must hold a certain button for longer than a second to begin searching, then hold a different button for longer than a second to pick up a single item, wait for the animation to finish, then hold it again to pick up a second item, etc. <br /></div>
<br />
<div>
While the systemic effects of sight, sound, smell and the enemy AI produce interesting stealth game-play, and the way that Mother Base management, research progress, and the Fulton extraction of resources and soldiers all interconnect produces great synergy, there are many areas where the design seems purposefully against the player. The main instance that comes to mind is the higher research items, which require extremely high section levels, GMP, resources, and time to unlock. These balancing choices effectively force the player to either grind away for hours and hours, or to give in and buy Konami's in-game currency. When player's have already invested $80 for a full game, it seems piratical to ask for even more money in this way.</div><div> </div><div>I don't want to come off as too negative in this conclusion, however. Hideo Kojima and his team of designers, artists, and programmers have produced one of the greatest open world games with a strong focus on stealth, and intimately interlocking gameplay systems. I've completed the main story and many dozens of side missions and dispatch ops over two complete playthroughs, one in 2014 and one in 2020, totaling about 171 hours of play. I quite enjoyed both my playthroughs, and I would not rule out playing it a third time in the future. The game's graphics have aged relatively well, and the gameplay is as sound as ever. It truly is a masterpiece.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyaij6j1xDkAPGV65_JLx6_qICzMV-R6x_6ILJMhZgTfD4T7VJmNjVkTL86H2L_uYnZLhBAIbT3xtT1DwkAjGrlu0XyTpO9ElvEG54NkEfEWxVwkY-pDxDmCf0fT6MYrG5iWUvDKnJgE8w/s1920/20200819201319_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyaij6j1xDkAPGV65_JLx6_qICzMV-R6x_6ILJMhZgTfD4T7VJmNjVkTL86H2L_uYnZLhBAIbT3xtT1DwkAjGrlu0XyTpO9ElvEG54NkEfEWxVwkY-pDxDmCf0fT6MYrG5iWUvDKnJgE8w/w400-h225/20200819201319_1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div>David Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01601318906655915875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787818667586347471.post-1843896819734043492020-09-10T18:42:00.001-07:002020-09-10T18:42:17.807-07:00Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord Analysis<h1>
Overview
</h1>
<div>
Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord was released as an early access title on March 30th, 2020. It was developed and published by TaleWorlds Entertainment, an independent game development company based in Turkey. It is a hybrid game that features elements of simulation, role-playing, and strategy.
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<h1>
Formal Elements
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<h2>
Players
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Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord's main campaign is single player, but there is a multiplayer battle mode available.
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The single player campaign sees the player create a character. You must pick a starting culture, gender, name, appearance, and backstory divided into different lifestages. The culture and backstory strongly influence how you will play the game, as your culture provides different bonuses and alters what backstory events will be available. These backstories in turn provide different starting bonuses to your stats, skills, traits, and renown. Since you can more easily level up at lower levels compared to higher ones, it will become more and more difficult to level up skills as your character level increases. You can control your character either from first or third-person perspective, although the campaign map can only be viewed from a top-down view common to many strategy games.
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Unlike most other strategy games, the campaign map automatically pauses when your character is not moving or taking another action, such as raiding a village or besieging a castle or city. This mechanic is the same as the original Mount & Blade, but will be familiar to other players from the more recent first-person shooter/puzzle game, SUPERHOT.
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<h2>
Rules
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This is going to be a long section. Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord tries to simulate and capture a lot of different aspects in their game, and this leads to a complicated and intertwined rule set.
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<h3>
Combat and Movement
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Let's start with the basics. When you are in a town, village, or on a combat map, you use the WASD keys to move around as in most FPS or TPS games. Your mouse will control where you are looking, and space bar can be used to jump. So far, so good, right? In towns and villages, you will not be able to attack anyone, except in special circumstances.
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Combat revolves around the title of the game: mounts and blades. You can either use a horse to gallop around the map, or you can run around on your own two feet. Horses provide a huge boost to mobility, but they also penalize your attacks somewhat, and some weapons are not available when mounted. They also make you harder to hit if you remain moving, and you can use them to charge foot soldiers, dealing damage to them just by the impact of the horse's body. The damage of your weapons are also strongly influenced by the speed you are traveling at, so horses can greatly amplify this. Certain polearms can be "couched" when your horse reaches a high enough speed, allowing you to lock it in place and deal a massive amount of damage during a charge.
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You can use a large variety of medieval weapons: one- and two-handed swords, maces, and axes, bows, crossbows, daggers, throwing weapons such as knives, axes, and javelins, as well as different polearms. Bows, crossbows, and throwable weapons work much as they do in other games: you must click left mouse button to ready your attack, and then you must take aim, taking into account that gravity will draw your projectile down the further away your shot is. You have a limited amount of time before your arm begins to tire and you must either cancel the shot, or take your chances with a wild one.
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The melee combat is based on a 4-axis scheme: up, down, left, and right. You click and hold the left mouse button to initiate an attack, and then you drag the mouse in the direction you wish to attack. Up leads to high attacks, a vertical chop. Left and right lead to slashes, and down triggers a stab or thrust. Releaseing the button triggers the attack animation. Blocking works the same way, although carrying a shield somewhat mitigates the need to match your enemey's attack direction. If you are using a two-handed sword, and your enemy attacks from the top, you need to block using the right mouse button and dragging up. Otherwise, if you are in range, the attack will pass through your guard and deal damage. One caveat is that not every weapon has every attack type. For example, thrusting polearms are never used for slashing, so left/right/up/down all play essentially the same animation. Maces and axes also feature restrictions: they cannot be used for thrusting.
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Although dirt simple, this system provides much of the draw for combat in the Mount & Blade series. Complex feints, dodges, and parries are possible when those 4 attacks and 4 blocks are combined with your character's movement. You can also kick or shield bash using F. Some weapons can also be toggled between a one-handed and two-handed mode using X, but this alters their damage and speed profile.
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You can fight until you run out of health. There is no stamina system limiting your attacks or your movement, so you can spam the attack button as much as you want, although this will often lead to your death, as enemies take advantage of your recovery to clock you with a mace or rock. Should you die, your fate will be determined by the context of the battle, which will be discussed in the next section.
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<h3>
Battle
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Combat in Mount & Blade takes place in set circumstances. It must be triggered by a particular dialogue outcome with an NPC, whether in a town or out on the campaign map. If you have other characters in your party, they will join you in battle. This is where the RTS elements enter. During battle, you can give commands to your party members based on numbered hot keys. By default, companions and infantry are set to 1, archers to 2, cavalry 3, and horse archers 4. There are further categories of skirmishers 5-6, and others, but I personally found I rarely used them. Commands are relatively simple, but powerful. You can indicate that a group of soldiers should advance, retreat, hold/travel to a position, charge, face a direction, take a formation (such as tight, loose, circle, wedge, etc). Mounted troops can be forced to mount or dismount, troops with bows or throwing weapons can be ordered to fire at will or hold their fire. If you prefer not to worry about all the details, you can delegate command to troop sergants, who will issue commands to each category of troop. Again, while simple, these commands add a whole layer of depth to combat, as you could command from the front as Alexander the Great, or stay aloof and issue your commands while staying out of direct combat. You could even do a mix, ordering positions and formations, then entering the fray yourself for a time. Flags indicate the position that troops will take, and which troops are currently selected.
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You can only enter a battle if your character's health is 20% or higher.
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Any character in battle can be killed or wounded. If the character is wounded, it will eventually heal after the battle and return to full health. If the character is killed, it is removed from the game permanently. You can turn this feature on for companions, but by default companions and named NPCs cannot be killed in battle. If you fall in battle and your troops are all killed, you will be captured by the enemy and you will have to bribe your way out, wait to be ransomed, or wait until your character escapes (after a random time). Most of your inventory will be gone, and your companions might have escaped before you, or they may still be prisoners. If you were attacking a bandit camp, your troops will drag you out and you will be able to heal and try again later.
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<h3>
Inventory and Party
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The inventory system is basically a weight based system. All items have a weight and take away from your carrying capacity. Mounts and soldiers increase your carrying capacity, so for example, when you are by yourself and you have one mount, you can usually carry about 30kg, while an army of 150 troops, with about 50 spare mounts might be able to carry 5000-6000kg, depending on the exact type of mounts. You can exceed your carrying capacity, but this drastically reduces your campaign map speed. Why would you need to carry so much, you might ask? Well, there are a lot of reasons. One is that you will probably spend a large amount of time fighting bandits or other lords' armies, from which you will receive a lot of loot. And I mean a lot of loot. So much so that by the mid or late game, you will not be able to sell all your unwanted loot in a single town. You will receive 20,000 or 40,0000 denars, which will clear out the town, and you will have to travel to another because you still have a ton of junk. And you need the money to pay your soldiers.
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That carrying capacity will also come in handy to feed your soldiers, and to trade, should you decide to do so. Your soldiers need to eat, and you need to carry enough food to feed them. If they don't get enough food, or if you can't pay them, they will desert and leave your party.
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Regarding your own personal inventory, and your companions, you can hold four different weapons at any given time, although bows and arrows are counted as separate, so you need two slots for a bow/crossbow to be effective. Your armor is divided into head, shoulders (no, not knees and toes, fuckwad), chest, hands, and feet. Because these areas are different in terms of hit detection and intrinsic damage resistance, you need to prioritize good armor in vulnerable places. The head, of course, is a smaller target than the body, but it leads to quick fatalities, while the body still offers a lot of damage and a much larger target. The arms and legs can receive fatal wounds, but the probability is much lower. Your personal mount and saddle also occupy their own equipment slots. Lastly, there is a "civilian" tab in your inventory, which allows you to select clothes for when you are walking around towns and villages. As of June, 2020, there is no effect of these civilian clothes, besides their armor ratings, by which I mean that different factions will not respond to you based on what you are wearing, nor will different groups, such as commoners, criminal gangs, and nobles respond to you based on your clothes.
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OK, time to dive in to discussing parties. Your party consists of yourself (the party leader), your companions, your troops, and your prisoners. Your companions are special NPCs that you can recruit from taverns around the game world. They have different backstories, cultures, appearances, starting inventories, attributes, and skills. They can contribute to your party/clan in many different ways. You can assign them roles such as engineer, surgeon, quartermaster, etc, which then makes them responsible for sieges, healing troops, and feeding troops, respectively. This means that they will gain experiences points for completing those actions, and also that their skill in that action controls its success and speed. Having a surgeon with 200 skill in medicine, for example, means faster healing compared to a surgeon with 50 skill in medicine. Companions can also be sent out on quests, provided that they meet the requirements. This allows you to take other quests yourself, and expands the rate at which you generate gold, positive relationships with others, and renown. You can also have companions form their own parties or trade caravans. Parties can be called on if you declare war and need additional soldiers for your army, while trade caravans travel from city to city and generate a fluctuating amount of gold. There are two more benefits or uses to mention. First, you can assign them as the governor of fiefs you own, increasing their efficiency and utilizing whatever special governor bonuses the companions have. Second, depending on their combat skills, they can make a powerful addition to your army. Having a master archer with a high tier bow and arrows equipped, or a two-handed weapon master with tier 6 long sword might not turn the tide of battle by themselves, but they can certainly help.
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Like your companions, your troops are also recruited, but they will likely come directly from cities and especially from villages. If you have a high positive relationship with the elders of a village or the influential NPCs of a city, you will have access to higher tier troops, but without that leg up, you can only recruit the more basic tiers. Each culture in the game world has a different troop tree, and there are several special troop trees based on unique factions and starting troop types. As they make kills, they will receive experience and level up, increasing their armor and weapon quality, as well as their attributes and skills. Unlike your companions, your troops can be killed in battle, so you need to think carefully before attacking another army or besieging a city.
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Lastly there are prisoners. When you wound an enemy in battle, they become available to take prisoner. They can be ransomed at a tavern, or if they are below tier 5, you can wait and you might eventually be able to recruit them. Noble prisoners can either be released or taken prisoner, and once captured, they can be executed or ransomed. Be careful about executions, as this has a massive impact on relationships with their clan and faction.
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<h3>
Skills and Attributes
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Nope, we're still not done talking about the rule systems. Bannerlord has six attributes: Vigor, Control, Endurance, Cunning, Social, and Intelligence. Each attribute influences your learning rate for three skills.
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<li>Vigor: influences One-handed weapons, two-handed-weapons, and polearms.
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<li>Control: influences bow, crossbow, and throwing weapons.
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<li>Endurance: influences riding, athletics, and smithing.
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<li>Cunning: influences scouting, tactics, and roguery.
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<li>Social: influences charm, leadership, and trade.
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<li>Intelligence: influences steward, medicine, and engineering.
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Each NPC and player character increases these skills in the same way: by engaging in actions linked to the skill. If you want to increase leadership, you need to lead a large army and maintain high morale in your armies. Medicine skill is increased both when troops are wounded and when you heal them, whereas riding is increased by riding a mount at high speeds and doing damage while mounted, in addition to simply having a mount equipped while moving around the campaign map. You get the idea. This is the same system, essentially, as The Elder Scroll Series. Thus, every skill has its own XP gauge, and every 25 skill levels, there is a perk you may unlock. Sometimes these are singular, but for others there are choices. For example, you may have to choose between increasing every party members' XP by a small amount each day, or increasing tier 1-2-3 troops' XP by a medium amount each day.
Your character's level is also determined how many skill-ups you receive. To go from level 3 to level 4, you need to receive 15 skill-ups, while going from 13 to 14, you need 65 skill-ups. You receive a focus point every time your character levels up, and every three level ups you receive an attribute point as well. Let's cover focus points first. Each skill has 5 slots for a focus point. Adding a focus point to a skill increases your learning rate and learning limit for that skill. So, effectively, if you receive 50XP in smithing, but you have all 5 focus points invested in it, and have an endurance of 5, your XP might be multiplied by 11, giving you 550XP. Both attributes and focus points have this multiplicative effect, but attribute points have a more pronounced effect. Both attributes and focus points influence your learning limit, and this is an additive operation. You can level up beyond the level limit for any skill, but your leveling will be much slower. It appears that the multiplicative effects are cancelled out beyond the learning limit.
Much like other RPGs, the amount of XP needed for each successive level increases.
Because of the rarity of attribute points, and the previously mentioned fact that you level your skills more slowly as your character level increases, it is important to pick your character's backstory carefully to get the attribute points you need in skills important for your playthrough. If you plan on being primarily a trader, you need to get a lot of points in social to begin with.
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<h3>
Crafting
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Crafting is a new addition to the Mount & Blade series. In the base game, only weapon crafting is allowed. To craft an item, you need to have all the required materials available, and you need to have its parts unlocked. In the beginning, you will have only a few basic parts for each weapon unlocked, and some weapons may be totally out of your reach because of this. As you perform blacksmithing actions, your skill will increase and you will also unlock new parts. These appear to be random.
To craft a one-handed sword, you need a blade part, pommel, guard, and handle. These exist in many different forms, and can be mixed and matched freely. Other weapons have different part categories. Each part has different ingredients, and so slightly alters the necessary materials. They also modify the attributes of the weapon, its swing speed, attack damage and type, cost, weight, etc.
Once a weapon has been crafted, you can name it anything you want.
Blacksmithing actions drain a special resource that you can replenish by resting in a town or village.
You can also dismantle unwanted weapons into their parts, which also gives you a chance to unlock new parts.
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<h3>
Questing
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With the exception of the main quest, questing in Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord works much the same as in Mount & Blade: Warband. There are village elders in each village, shop owners and gang leaders in each city, and hundreds of lords and ladies belonging to each faction to be found wandering the map, in castles, or in cities. These NPCs will randomly generate a problem for the player to solve, which will persist for a certain amount of time whether you accept them or not. Once accepted, you usually have a limited amount of time to complete them.
Village quests include training troops, protecting the village from extortionists, giving a village leader access to another village's grazing land, rescuing a village leader's daughter, solving a family feud, delivering a good to a city NPC, and others.
City quests include supplying goods to an artisan, selling the artisan's goods somewhere else, escorting a caravan, supplying weapons for a gang leader, attacking a rival gang, rescuing a henchman, removing poachers, and others.
Noble quests include tutoring a noble, finding a spy, supplying advanced troops for a garrison, and others.
If you fail one of these quests, your relationship with the quest giver will decrease, leading to reduced troop recruitment options and a chance that the NPC might not trust you with another quest in the future.
Completing quests allows you to improve your relationships with NPCs, which can lead to better troop recruitment, more quests, money, and renown.
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Relationships
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As you meet NPCs, you will begin to form relationships with them. Attacking an NPC will cause them to be hostile to you, as will laying siege to one of their fiefs. Completing quests for them and giving them gifts are early ways to increase your relationships, and as a vassal or a lord/lady, you will be able to vote on who receives fiefs and on whether to adopt certain policies. These offer other ways to modify your relationships.
You can also court NPCs of the opposite sex, get married, and have children, who will age and one day take your place if you die.
As one last point, your relationship status with NPCs will also affect what castles you can enter. If you have a neutral or positive relationship, you will be able to enter, but if your relationship is negative, you will be barred from entry.
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Procedures
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Completing a quest
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Completing a quest could involve a wide range of activities. For sake of illustrating the variety, I will use three examples.
First, you might have to make a delivery. The quest giver will give you a number of items, perhaps, wool, horses, cows, or iron, and you have to physically travel to the target NPC and hand them over. Once there, you also have the choice of keeping them instead.
Second, to train a noble. The noble who needs training will join your party. You may assign them to different roles just like other companions. They will remain in your party until the time is up or until they have leveled up 60 times. They will join in combat and any other activities you do.
Last, to take care of a troublesome company. The company will join your party, and begin stealing things from your baggage train. You must travel to different nobles and find one who is willing to hire them. To do this, you will need to pass different speech checks based on your honor, tactics, etc.
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<h3>
Trading
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Trading will get you a lot of money if you are observant and if you invest attribute points into it. You can buy resources from one village and sell to a city at a higher price, you buy a resource which is in excess at one city and sell at another where it is in high demand. This will net you a profit and increase your skill level in trade. You can also simply sell your loot from your battles. This will give you money, but no experience, since you did not pay for the goods.
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Leveling up
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As mentioned before, leveling up is triggered by getting the required number of skill level ups. You will then have to choose how to invest your focus point, and your attribute point if received.
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Talking to an NPC
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You will need to speak with an NPC in order to complete most quests, in order to receive quests, and also to barter. Depending on the subject of conversation topic, there may or may not be skill checks. For example, if you are trying to get married, there will be several skill checked conversations with your potential partner which you must pass before they will accept you. Or when you try to convince a noble to join your faction, the same will happen.
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Lay siege to a city or castle
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Sieging a castle or city is a quite involved process. You will first have to make a siege camp, which might take a few days depending on your engineering skill. Once you have a siege camp established, you could immediately launch an attack, or you might spend more time building siege engines such as ballistas, manganols, battering rams, and trebuchets. Once these are constructed, any siege engines that the city or castle has will attack your siege engines. To avoid this, you can put them in reserve and return them to the active state once more are completed. This way all of them can concetrate their attack.
When you begin the attack, you will have the chance to place your troops in different positions before the chaos ensues. You can command your soldiers as normal, and you can interact with the different siege engines you have placed.
Climbing the siege ladders, or storming the gates are tense and exciting parts of the game.
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Clear a bandit hideout
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When you clear a bandit hideout, you will spawn on a small combat map with some of your party members. You must kill all the bandits there, and once you do, a final boss group will spawn in. You can duel them or attack as a group.
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<h2>
Resources
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Health: Your health always starts at 100 points, and you may invest in certain perks which increase it slightly. If it drops to 0, you will be knocked unconscious.
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<li>Age: Your character's age will increase in time with the passage of days and years in the game.
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Character Level: Your character level increases as you get more skill ups.
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Perks: Perks are unlocked for each skill once you reach the necessary skill level.
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Attribute Points: Attribute points determine how quickly you level up.
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Skill Levels: Determined by the amount of XP you have earned in the skill.
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Focus Points: You receive one each level up. These are used to increase the learning rate and limit for a skill.
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Skill XP: Determined by the number of times you use the skill.
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Influence: You only receive this if you are a mercenary, vassal, or a leader of a faction. You can spend this on giving different fiefs to your nobles, instituting policy changes, or summoning armies.
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Renown: You can this for completing quests, winning battles, and tournaments.
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Money: This is in units of denars.
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Inventory Space: This is determined by the number of troops and horses that you have.
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Companions: As you increase your clan level, you will increase the number of companions you may recruit.
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Food: You can buy this from various vendors, or pick it up as loot from defeated parties. Having a larger variety increases party morale.
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Trade Items and Materials: Your parties will not consume these like food. These are items like wood, tools, leather, wool, iron, steel, etc. You can either trade them at cities, or in the case of material, you can get them by dismantling weapons.
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Weapons: These can be bought at vendors, crafted, or picked up from battle.
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Armor: These can be bought at vendors, or picked up from battle.
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Mounts: These can be bought at vendors, or picked up from battle. They increase your travel speed, and allow you to move around the battle field more quickly.
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Fiefs: Once you become a vassal or a factor leader, you can have fiefs and also assign fiefs to nobles in your faction. You will receive taxes based on the number of fiefs you have, their sizes, and their productivity.
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Workshops: You may buy workshops in any city that you are friendly with, but if you declare war on that faction, you may lose that workshop. These generate money every day.
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Parties: Similarly to companions, the number of parties you have will increase based on your clan level. You can assign a companion to lead a party, and in cities you can create a special trade caravan party, which will only travel and engage in trade.
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Party Morale: The higher your party's morale the more likely they will continue to fight.
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Clans: Besides your own clan, you can recruit any number of clans into your faction.
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Clan Level: This is primarily a function of your renown. It will effect your marriage prospects, party size, number of party limit, and number of companion limit.
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Movement Speed (Campaign): This is a complex calculation based on the number of mounts, troops, prisoners, wounded, and of course your inventory burden.
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Movement Speed (FPS): This is determined by your athletics skill if on foot, and by your horse speed if mounted.
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<h2>
Conflicts
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Leveling
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As mentioned before, because of the slow pace of leveling later on in the game, it makes sense to stack your character's social and intelligence attributes as high as you can from the character creation menu. Your combat skills will still increase much more rapidly early on simply because you use them more often in the early game.
As you level up, however, you will need to decide how to spend your attribute and focus points. As focus points are more plentiful, and skills only have five focus point slots, it is quite easy to get all five slots filled on the key social and intelligence skills, like steward, leadership, tactics, trade, and charm. Even though they occur more often, you still need to pick carefully.
A much more important and impactful choice is that of attribute points. You only get one every 3 levels, and these have a big influence on your playstyle.
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<h2>
Boundaries
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Inventory
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There are no hard limits to inventory, but inventory weight is limited by the factors mentioned above.
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Map
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You cannot go outside the map boundaries.
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Attributes, skills and focus points
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Each attribute can have a maximum of 10 points, while skills can go up to 330. Each skill can have a maximum of 5 focus points.
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Companions and Spouses
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You can only have 8 companions, and you can only have one spouse at a time.
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<h2>
Outcomes
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There is literally no ending for Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord. Like Mount & Blade: Warband, the game can always be continued. In one of my playthroughs for Mount & Blade: Warband, I created my own faction and decided to conquer the world. It took about 70 hours, but I was able to bring every castle and city under my control.
In Bannerlord, you can remain as a mercenary forever if that is your wish. You could never join any faction, and instead play as a merchant, buying shops, creating trade caravans, etc. You could become a vassal of a faction and help them paint the map one color, or you could start your own faction and try to do so yourself.
<!--If you die of old age, you can continue and play as your heir.-->
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<h1>
Dynamic Elements
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There are many dynamic elements in Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord. For starters, the dynamic friction pattern can be found in many design elements of the game. In increasing your skills, you need increasingly more XP for each level up. For each character level up, you require increasing more skill level ups. For each increase in clan level, you need more and more renown.
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The slow cycle also appears in many different places. After a tough battle, you may have suffered from losses. You can recruit refresh troops from nearby villages or cities, and begin the long process of engaging in battles to give them experience and leveling them back up to the troops you lost.
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<div>
Dynamic engines also make their appearance. Cities and castles can be customized with different buildings. These effect the economy, the population, and the stability of the area. If you create buildings which increase the economy, it gives you more money to spend from taxes, allowing you to build more buildings, etc, while if you focus on increasing the population, it gives you more militia and more soldiers to recruit. It also has a negative effect on the amount of food available. The point is, you can see that cities are engines that can be customized in different ways, producing different wide-reaching effects.
</div>
<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUTLhzBLp0ZL8t0YXrpMVleHiKyDpsJ6GK01EAV-2_S8hKccucBBWXt5jrmPKODXu8uxVEX6dXeWXLk-gXYnZamviA_D-uSSDndYEU_OD5zpmOKyww0fG1-VjYkcAxTRrtAp-MEuHHpmAo/s555/dynamicengine.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="307" data-original-width="555" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUTLhzBLp0ZL8t0YXrpMVleHiKyDpsJ6GK01EAV-2_S8hKccucBBWXt5jrmPKODXu8uxVEX6dXeWXLk-gXYnZamviA_D-uSSDndYEU_OD5zpmOKyww0fG1-VjYkcAxTRrtAp-MEuHHpmAo/s320/dynamicengine.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
Playing style reinforcement is another strong pattern. Because skills improve as you use them, you are encouraged to specialize and focus on skills that you enjoy using.
</div>
<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZA3B35cIN4xH9FjK2YQ_Cke6MHZ3Ze88ISrqF7VHg2QoybQQ3eAbFNcehKjj24YhIiB0i5jWZQMNWKr2hIZIoP-HHKbLwyg0pR0UXe0gcwxoLv3ChzIwIXgr0oU9IkrG0fUdAKEBZ49-A/s932/playingstylereinforcement.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="601" data-original-width="932" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZA3B35cIN4xH9FjK2YQ_Cke6MHZ3Ze88ISrqF7VHg2QoybQQ3eAbFNcehKjj24YhIiB0i5jWZQMNWKr2hIZIoP-HHKbLwyg0pR0UXe0gcwxoLv3ChzIwIXgr0oU9IkrG0fUdAKEBZ49-A/s320/playingstylereinforcement.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
If you have fiefs, you can optionally assign different companions to them as governors. This allows you to consider whether they would be better placed in a city, leading a caravan, a party, or staying in your own party. This is an example of the worker placement pattern.
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<div>
Of course, trade is another strong pattern in this game. You can buy and sell many goods, and the economy is roughly simulated, so that as you buy more of a good in one area, the price will increase, whereas selling that same good causes the price to decrease.
</div>
<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9ixqavd9h3kKtiZWdqftxonkMl5vCGx8UH6O9EyJuDoBvbclRs7oC9A7DCkpG0rgBVWrwXPIXX2vtsvOtFBF8Ubvb30UQ8l4EWENqE-UiIvSqgiZuHnvoFV-tJ3uSJFawvZtBvTOh1Aue/s643/trade.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="643" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9ixqavd9h3kKtiZWdqftxonkMl5vCGx8UH6O9EyJuDoBvbclRs7oC9A7DCkpG0rgBVWrwXPIXX2vtsvOtFBF8Ubvb30UQ8l4EWENqE-UiIvSqgiZuHnvoFV-tJ3uSJFawvZtBvTOh1Aue/s320/trade.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
The converter engine appears in several forms. Safety or stability leads to increased economic activity, for example, and over time influence will be converted into money.
</div>
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<div>
The stopping mechanism appears in a few places. For example, you cannot enter negotiations with the same NPC too soon after you have already negotiated with them.
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<h1>Dramatic Elements
</h1>
<div>
</div>
<h2>
Characters and Story
</h2>
<div>
As in the previous Mount & Blade game, you start as a nobody. The main difference is that there is a main quest involving either destroying or rebuilding the Empire of Calradia.
</div>
<br />
<div>
There are hundreds of characters in the game, and they start out in the same relationships and factions each time, but they make different decisions each time, which leads to slightly different events.
</div>
<br />
<div>
</div>
<br />
<div>
</div>
<h1>
Conclusion
</h1>
<div>
Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord is finally out, and it is well worth the wait. You will still encounter many bugs and strange behaviors, but it is such a vast improvement compared to Mount & Blade: Warband. You have a lot more agency, which is saying a lot. You could play in almost any way in the original, and the scope of the game has just increased. The combat still feels awesome, and growing your faction is still really engaging. The options the player is given almost always enhance the experience, and the dev team is hard at work to improve the experience, even now during the height of the covid crisis.
</div>
<br />David Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01601318906655915875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787818667586347471.post-41492125835181458582020-03-20T03:49:00.001-07:002020-03-20T03:49:39.529-07:00Horizon: Zero Dawn Game Analysis<h1>
Overview
</h1>
<div>
Horizon: Zero Dawn is an open world action RPG game developed by Guerrilla Games and published in 2017.
</div>
<h1>
Formal Elements
</h1>
<h2>
Players
</h2>
<div>
Horizon: Zero Dawn is a single player game in which you take control of Aloy, an exile from a tribe of people called the Nora. They live a primitive existence, mostly hunting and farming. Soon, it becomes apparent that this place is Earth in the future, and some catastrophe has reduced humans to this level, while sentient, and sometimes aggressive, machines have replaced most of the large fauna. As you play, you will quickly discover that something has gone wrong with the machines in the last 15-20 years, and you will start a game-long quest to find out what happened and how to fix it.
</div>
<h2>
Rules
</h2>
<h3>
Combat and Movement
</h3>
<div>
Movement works similarly to many third-person games nowadays. You use the left analog stick on the controller to move around, and the right analog stick to rotate the camera and aim. You can run, jump, swim and dive through the environment; and after reaching a particular moment in the story, you gain the ability to take control of certain types of machines, some of which work as mounts to carry you across the huge map. Following the conventions of other adventure games, such as the God of War series, Uncharted series and others, there are numerous areas in the world for you to climb on. These enable to you scale vertical walls, cross over gaps, slide down zip lines, and rappel from huge heights.
</div>
<br />
<div>
Combat is a mixed bag. Your primary enemies fall into two broad groups: humans and machines. Humans are the least interesting to attack. You can enter melee combat and use a mixture of light and heavy attacks to kill them, but they will enter an invulnerable state if you just spam the light attack button. This state is communicated by a "ting" noise when your attack lands, but not by any change in their or your animation. Animations are somewhat varied, but melee combat does not provide much strategy besides using one or two light attacks followed by a roll or a heavy attack. Further, there is only one melee weapon in the whole game: a spear. Ranged combat gives the player much more options. Your earliest weapon will be a bow, but you will gain access to a sling to launch bombs, a high-power bow that takes time to fully draw, and several other weapons. Almost all ranged weapons can use a variety of different ammo types, from piercing arrows which do more damage, fire arrows, shock arrows, ice bombs, etc. Unfortunately, this variety does not really matter when dealing with humans. Fire attacks eat away at their health over time, while shock attacks put them in stunned state, and ice attacks increase their vulnerability to other attacks, but these reactions are the same for every human, so you can follow the same basic strategy all the time. Human enemies have access to similar weapons as you, with the exception of heavies, which will often use a gun or grenade launcher taken from a machine. As heavies do in all games, they can soak up more damage before dying, and they move much slower.
</div>
<br />
<div>
Luckily, you will spend a lot of time dealing with machines, which are much more interesting than humans. Although there are some packs of roaming human enemies, most of the environmental danger will be different kinds of machines. As detailed in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50mIKB-NACU">a GDC talk</a>, the developers tried to give each machine a unique personality, with special sounds, and distinct movements and attacks. Each machine has appropriately designed and placed devices and armoring on its body, and these points are all weak to different combinations of elements. For example, the stalker is a combat-class machine that resembles a cross between a leopard and a scorpion: although basically leopard-like, the tail has been elongated and is used in melee combat to whip you. The stalker specializes in stealth and ambushes: it has a cloaking device similar to the predator's, which produces a slight shimmering effect around its body. This makes it difficult to spot unless you know what to look for. It also places mines around its territory, which blow up when you stumble upon them. It's main weapon, however, is a dart gun that it will fire at you from a distance. This deals a large amount of damage, and can one-hit kill you at lower levels. Both the mine launcher and the dart gun are components that you can specifically target and destroy to remove them as threats. If you use an arrow that does high "tear" damage, for example the tear-blast arrow, you can remove the dart gun and prevent the stalker from sniping at you. You could also target the stealth generator to remove its cloaking ability and make it easier to spot. As another strategy, the body of the stalker is exceptionally weak to shock damage, so if you use shock bombs, shock traps, or shock trip wires you can put it in a stunned state and deal a critical melee attack while it is down.
</div>
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<div>
Although you could discover these facts by trial and error, the developers produced a scene during Aloy's childhood where she stumbles on an ancient device called a "focus," which is a kind of wearable smart device that can be used for communication, analyzing the environment, and scanning machines to determine what kind of machine it is, what it is weak to, etc. When you encounter a machine or a group of machines, it often pays to use the focus to remind yourself which components to remove and in what way. The focus conveniently highlights the components for you, so they stand out from the body better.
</div>
<h3>
Stealth
</h3>
<div>
Stealth plays a large role in Horizon: Zero Dawn. Aloy may crouch when moving around in the world, which of course lowers her stance, reduces her visibility, and allows her to hide in specially colored grass as can be found in the Assassin's Creed franchise or the Middle Earth: Shadow series. Stealth is useful both when dealing with human and machine enemies. When clearing out an enemy camp, it helps to approach by stealth, tag enemies with your focus, and silently take them out one by one. Of course, this often fails miserably, forcing you to "go loud," but this can also be fun and thanks to the stealth mechanics, it is possible to rinse and repeat this if you prefer the quiet approach.
</div>
<br/>
<div>
For machines, as mentioned before, it is best to scan them before you charge in and start thrusting with your spear or peppering them with arrows. A position of stealth is perfect for this, and if you have the override codes for any of the machines, you can override one of them from stealth either gaining a mount or a potential ally for Aloy in combat. As an interesting twist, some machines have a scanner which can locate you even in hiding. This scanner, of course, can be targeted and removed by using a weapon with an appropriate damage type.
</div>
<h3>
Inventory
</h3>
<div>
Inventory is differentiated into different categories, such as weapons, armor, potions, resources, etc. Although not visible on Aloy's character model, these categories apparently each has a different satchel, which can be upgraded using items you collect in the world. Inventory space in each satchel is initially quite limited, but if you have a few upgraded satchels, this will make it easier to move around the world. You cannot carry more than you are allowed, so you won't suffer from slow walking, rolling, or other issues you might experience in the Dark Souls series or the Elder Scrolls series. When you reach max capacity for a category, you could disassemble the item (provided that you have the skill unlocked), or you just drop an item to make room. Fortunately, many items stack, so if you have five watcher lenses, these will stack to only take up one inventory slot in your resource satchel instead of five.
</div>
<br/>
<div>
In terms of equipable items, you can have four weapons equipped at the same time, no matter how many you carry. Armor functions as a complete set, so you cannot mix and match different boots, pants, jackets, gloves, etc. One small annoyance is that all your potential quick items are equipped all the time. So, if you have three different kinds of traps, and six potions, you will need to scroll through all of them to find the one you want. The up button on the d-pad is a hot button for using whatever medicinal herbs you've gathered. These fill a bar below your health bar, and the number of bars you get increases if you unlock certain skills.
</div>
<h3>
Skills
</h3>
<div>
Horizon: Zero Dawn has three built-in skill trees, with the expansion, The Frozen Wilds, adding a fourth. These trees focus on different aspects of gameplay: Prowler focuses on stealth, Brave improves and unlocks combat abilities, and Forager is a grab-bag of health improvements, resource gathering, and ease-of-use improvements. The Frozen Wilds adds Traveler, which focuses on passive abilities that improve resource-gathering/use and your mount.
</div>
<br/>
<div>
As you unlock skills in each tree, skills lower down become available. Although initial skills cost only one skill point, the lower skills increase by tier to two, three, and three skill points each. Luckily, the game designers have been quite generous with skill points. Although you cannot quite unlock every skill in the game, you will be awarded a skill point for every level up, and also for completing particular quests.
</div>
<h3>
Crafting
</h3>
<div>
There are many items in the game that you will find useful to have. Although you do not have to eat to stay healthy, because the world map is so large you might want to fast travel between different locations. To do this, you need to purchase or craft Travel Rations. The same goes for all your ammo for your different weapons, potions, and traps. Although you can buy them from vendors, it is often easier to simply carry sufficient resources for your needs around, then craft them as needed.
<br/>
The devs have included a handy "Create job" feature, which allows you to create a mini-quest or task based on the missing crafting ingredients for an item you want.
</div>
<h2>
Procedures
</h2>
<h3>
Defeating a boss
</h3>
<div>
Throughout the game, you will encounter several boss level enemies. These provide you with a challenge over and above the typical battle. Although the human bosses suffer from the same lack of variety as the other human enemies, they exacerbate them to some extent, as they have much more health than a typical human enemy.
</div>
<br/>
<div>
The machine bosses, as in so many other areas, are where Horizon: Zero Dawn shines. You might have to take down a Thunderjaw, for example. Let me describe it briefly. It is the size and rough shape of a T-Rex, so it can charge and bite you, stomp you with its feet, or smack you with its tail. It has two disc or missile launchers on its back, and two machine guns mounted on either side of its jaw. If you remove both the machine guns, it has a beam weapon that rakes the ground in front of it. It also has a scanner to detect you in hiding. The disc launchers are weak to tear damage, and if you remove them you can pick them up and use them against the Thunderjaw. It also has two heavily armored ports on either side of its torso which access a "heart." If you can remove the armor, this heart is easily damaged. One of my early strategies was to remove the disc launchers, then use a ropecaster, which is a kind of weapon that fires a harpoon first into the machine, then into the ground. This can be used to immobilize a machine, but a Thunderjaw requires several ropes to do so. Once it was locked in place, I would try to remove the heart covering, and blast away at the heart. Later on I would use tear-blast arrows to remove the disc launchers, use freeze bombs to increase its sensitivity to damage, then hit it with its own disc launchers.
<br/>
The machine boss battles force you to think on your feet, observe the machine carefully, watch for its tells, and be aware of what its weaknesses and strengths are so that you can best exploit them.
</div>
<h3>
Leveling up
</h3>
<div>
Each time you level up, your health will increase by 10 points, you will be awarded with a skill point. In the beginning, you could spread these points evenly over the initial tier of skills, as these all cost one point. However, the second tier of skills cost two points, requiring you to think about your investment.
</div>
<h3>
Exploring an area
</h3>
<div>
The world of Horizon: Zero Dawn is large, and varied. You will find grasslands, forests, mountainous tundras, deserts, and jungles. Everywhere you go, you will find different levels of verticality, from small hills, deep canyons, steep mountains, and dark caves. Although not as peppered with places to explore as The Witcher 3 or an Elder Scrolls game, there is still an impressive array of areas.
<br/>
You will frequently be tasked with going to an area, and finding a particular person or item, or perhaps clearing that area of enemies. The world looks gorgeous and it is fun to move around it, both on foot and using a mount. And although the devs have been inspired by the climbing systems of Uncharted and God of War, the climbing is fast, fluid, and often offers enough interaction and alternative routes to keep you interested.
</div>
<h3>
Crafting
</h3>
<div>
Crafting can be accomplished by two methods. In the first, primarily used for ammo, you just hold the right trigger button, select the weapon and ammo type using the right analog stick, then hold a button to craft a certain amount of ammo. This can be done at anytime, even in the midst of combat. As long as you have the necessary materials, the item will be created.
<br/>
The second method is to enter the inventory screen, and go to the appropriate tab there. You can also craft ammo here, this method is mostly used for potions, satchel upgrades, and for installing weapon and armor upgrades.
</div>
<h3>
Talking to an NPC
</h3>
<div>
In the beginning, I called Horizon: Zero Dawn an open world action RPG. Part of the RPG categorization comes from the fact that you are playing as a character that you can make act in different ways in dialogue. Your Aloy might be more sarcastic or more sensitive/empathetic than mine or vice versa. As far as I know, there are no consequences for these choices. If you are consistently gruff, for example, people do not react to you differently, you do not lose access to any content or quests, etc. These choices are there simply to give the player something to do in dialogue.
</div>
<br/>
<div>
The other choice that you have in dialogue is over the level of detail and background. If you are really into listening to people without much personality or enthusiasm talking, you can listen to the NPCs go on about the different aspects of their religions, political configurations and histories, and the economic woes they are facing because of reasons. The devs have created a lot of optional dialogue for the player so inclined.
</div>
<h3>
Copying gameplay from Batman: Arkham Assylum or The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
</h3>
<div>
Besides showing you the level, damagable components, etc for machines, your focus can also be used to enter "detective mode," similarly to the above games. This will be used to highlight the tracks of animals you wish to hunt, the patrol patterns of machines, the route taken by an NPC whose whereabouts you need to tease out, analyzing clues or items to find out more about what went down in an area, etc.
</div>
<h2>
Resources
</h2>
<div>
As is typical with large open world games, there is a plethora of different resources, both physical and intangible.
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>
Health: Health increases as you level up by 10 points. When it drops to zero, you will die and come back at the closest save point. If your health is below 25%, it will regenerate up to 25% over time.
</li>
<li>
XP: XP is gathered by killing enemies, animals, and for completing quests.
</li>
<li>
Level: Until around level 50, it takes level * 1000 XP to level up. So, if you are on level 1, it will take 1000 XP to reach level two, 2000 XP to go from level two to level three, etc. Each level up gives you skill point to spend.
</li>
<li>
Skill Points: These are used to purchase skills. You earn them by leveling up and by completing quests.
</li>
<li>
Skills: As mentioned before, there are four skill trees, with the three main ones having 12 skills (3 skills which cost one skill point, 3 skills which cost two skill points, 6 skills which cost three points), while the fourth have 8 skills (2 skills which cost one point, 2 skills which cost two points, and 4 which cost three points).
</li>
<li>
Armor and Weapon Upgrades: You will find different "coils" (upgrades for weapons) or "weaves" (upgrades for armor) throughout the game. These might provide better handling, making it easier to move around with heavy weapon, or make it easier to draw, or they might provide extra damage in shock, fire, freezing, or corruption.
</li>
<li>
Satchel Upgrades: Although these are probably meant to function the same as the different pouches in the Far Cry series, they don't feel exactly the same. In the Far Cry series, there is a diverse range of different animals, and there is usually a special animal species of each genus which is difficult to find and will give you the max upgrade for one pouch or another. It can be quite challenging to find the territory for this animal, and even more difficult to successfully hunt it. In Horizon: Zero Dawn, satchel upgrade materials are usually a number of skins or bones from different animals, but the process is much more like farming, as certain items have different likelihoods of dropping. You might have to kill 10 or 20 or more rats in order to get that rat skin you needed for a particular upgrade. In any case, there is a story-motivation reason for there being so little diversity in the animal species in the game, so this is more forgivable.
</li>
<li>
Armor and Weapons: Armor provides different levels and kinds of protection for the player. Some might protect you better from melee, others from ranged attacks, and still others might provide better resistance from shock, fire, or freezing attacks.
</li>
<li>
Resources: Yes, in a list of resources, I have to include an item called resources. Which contains an item called resources, which contains....Sorry. Nobody likes recursive humor...Anyway, resources in Horizon: Zero Dawn are scraps of metal, wood, different herbs, and all the diverse machine parts you can pick up. Some are special items that are vendor trash: 3,000 year old coffee cups or watches, special metal flowers, action figures of animals. Others are extremely useful: metal scraps, for example, are both money and the heads of your arrows. Most shops function on a kind of combination between a barter economy and commodity trading: for each item you will need a certain number of metal scraps, but for many items you will also need specific combinations of other items. For example, to buy a certain weapon, you might need 400 scraps, the lens of a Thunderjaw, and two crystal braidings.
</li>
<li>
Potions and Traps: There are two main types of potions: there are three kinds of health potions (regular, full, and resistance), and several different general resistance potions (against fire, corruption, shock, etc). Similarly, there are different elemental traps.
</li>
<li>
Money/Metal Scraps: Metal scraps function as the game's money, but are also used in crafting different kinds of ammo, and in many different items.
</li>
<li>
Medicinal Herbs: Medicinal herbs are different from the other herbs in that they have a separate pouch, and can be used via a quick slot button at any point. Their main purpose is to provide a way for the player to replenish their health without having to make a health potion, which relies on different kinds of meat that can be hard to have a good supply of.
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h2>
Conflicts
</h2>
<h3>
Leveling
</h3>
<div>
Although is not possible to unlock every skill, but at the same time, you will probably end up with a very similar build of Aloy as everyone else. This is because the skills you unlock do not tie into the specific weapons, with the exception of the bow skills.
</div>
<h3>
Stealth versus "Going loud"
</h3>
<div>
It is possible to focus more on direct conflict or on taking out enemies quietly.
</div>
<h2>
Boundaries
</h2>
<div>
</div>
<h3>
Grappling and Climbing
</h3>
<div>
It is only possible to climb on "yellow" things, items which have been hand placed by devs to allow the player to traverse the levels.
</div>
<h3>
Inventory
</h3>
<div>
As mentioned before, the inventory for each category of equipment is limited, although it may be expanded. This forces you to sell items, disassemble items, or just to get rid of them altogether.
</div>
<h2>
Outcomes
</h2>
<div>
There is only one main outcome for the game: you find out what happened to cause the machine to become more aggressive and you solve the problem.
</div>
<h1>
Dynamic Elements
</h1>
<div>
There are many examples of dynamic friction in Horizon: Zero Dawn. I will mention four here. First, the leveling system works by way of dynamic friction. Every time you get a level up, it will take more XP to reach the next level. Second, the number of skill points needed in order to unlock each higher tier skill increases. Third, the amount and rarity of ingredients increases as you upgrade your satchels. Fourth, the enemy difficulty increases as you progress through the story.
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A second dynamic element is the use of stopping mechanisms. There are again four that come immediately to mind. First, the spear override, which lets you take over machines, has a cooldown timer, preventing you from spamming it. Second, higher power weapons generally have significantly longer draw times, again preventing you from making too frequent use of them. Third, weapons like the Stormslinger, which shoots electrical bolts, has an "overheat" meter, which fills as you shoot and if maxed out will cause damage to you. Fourth, the limited inventory prevents you from carrying everything you could possibly need in near infinite amounts, forcing you to be more careful and strategic.
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The third dynamic element is trade. There are dozens of vendors throughout the game, and it is possible to sell many farmable items to them in exchange for metal scraps, and also to use some of those items to buy new equipment.
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The fourth dynamic element is worker placement. Your equipped weapons function somewhat like workers, allowing you to build up different elemental meters on your machine foes.
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A fifth dynamic element is playstyle reinforcement. Depending on which skills you unlock, and which equipment you use, you might be better suited for stealth combat or for all out war.
</div>
<h1>
Dramatic Elements
</h1>
<div>
</div>
<h2>
Characters and Story
</h2>
<div>
Horizon: Zero Dawn features a large cast of characters. Most of these have little in the way of real personality or characterization. The main character is of course Aloy, the player. She starts as an outcast of the Nora tribe, raised by another outcast, Rost. It is not exactly clear why Aloy is an outcast at first, but she develops into a headstrong young woman. Most of her scripted dialogue makes her speak like a hyper-aggressive pubescent boy, and even her body language is distinctly masculine. As the story progresses, she learns more and more about the history of her people, the Nora, and the other tribes. Eventually, she begins to discover more about the ancient history of Earth and what happened to produce the world she lives in.
</div>
<br />
<div>
Aloy quickly becomes a member of the Nora through a ritual known as the "Proving." Through this she encounters more people both in her tribe and in other tribes. For example, she meets a man called Erend, who is from a tribe called the Oseram. His tribe was historically persecuted by another tribe called the Carja, but now the Carja have a new king, and Erend is a member of his army, and possibly something of an emissary. Later, Aloy will travel to the Carja lands and assist the people and the king there.
</div>
<br />
<div>
At one point, Aloy will receive assistance from someone else using a focus. With his help, she will discover that a corporation developed a range of autonomous machines which function by absorbing organic matter to repair themselves. In typical SF fashion, the corporation loses control of them, and the only option humans have left is to develop an AI that is deeply buried and sealed in the Earth. After the machines go into hibernation due to absorbing all organic matter, this AI will be responsible for cloning and raising humans and animals stored in DNA banks. You learn that Aloy is actually the clone of one of the scientists who designed the AI. One of this AI's subroutine's, called HADES, gets out of control and causes the AI to self-destruct. HADES has the goal of resurrecting the slumbering machines and returning Earth to a barren wasteland, and of course you must stop him. The AI had you created in the hope that you would grow up, gain access to the AI's data banks, and find a way to stop HADES.
</div>
<br />
<div>
The story of the expansion is similarly connected to this AI. A tribe in the far north worships one of the AI routines as a goddess, but "she" has been taken over by "HEPHAESTUS," another subroutine. You must battle some great machines and find a way to stop HEPHAESTUS from continuing his manufacture of deadly assault machines bent on killing humans.
</div>
<h1>
Conclusion
</h1>
<div>
Horizon: Zero Dawn succeeds on many different levels. It combines stealth, RPG-style leveling, and exploration elements that other franchises have popularized, and creates a fun, in-depth combat system (at least in regard to the machines). The story is original, but the acting and presentation sometimes lack emotion, and at other times are overly dramatic. The Frozen Wilds expansion fixes a lot of the story issues, at least in terms of acting and personality.
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The world is beautiful, and well-designed, with distinct areas and truly interesting machines to dispatch.
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Much like Darksiders, which combined Bayonetta-style combat with Zelda-inspired level design and items, Horizon: Zero Dawn combines pre-existing elements into a fun experience. To horribly mix metaphors, it is like what writer Neal Stephenson labels the Midwestern predilection for "recombinant food:" foods like rice krispy treats, which take already complete food items (rice krispy cereal and marshmallows), and re-purpose them into a new Franken-food. Horizon: Zero Dawn offers little that is truly original, but what it does offer is well-executed, and well-worth the time it takes to play.
</div>
David Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01601318906655915875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787818667586347471.post-16038047245157085492020-02-22T06:08:00.000-08:002020-02-22T06:08:31.573-08:00Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice Analysis<h1>
Overview
</h1>
<div>
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is an action RPG developed by FROMSOFTWARE and Activision. It was released on March 22, 2019.
</div>
<h1>
Formal Elements
</h1>
<h2>
Players
</h2>
<div>
Sekiro is a strictly single player game, and unlike other recent games developed by FROMSOFTWARE, there is no multiplayer competitive or cooperative element, and players cannot leave messages for each other. As you play the game, you control an initially nameless shinobi. The prologue functions as an introduction to the basic gameplay and mechanics, as well as providing a background and motivation for the player.
</div>
<h2>
Rules
</h2>
<h3>
Combat and Movement
</h3>
<div>
Combat in Sekiro shares many similarities to other games produced by FROMSOFTWARE, but has several important distinctions. You control a shinobi armed with a sword, which you use to attack enemies. The animations are fast and fluid, and you can interrupt most by pressing a different action button. Although Dark Souls 3 and Bloodborne also featured quicker animations than were typical for FROMSOFTWARE, you were still locked into an animation once it was triggered. Unlike Dark Souls or Bloodborne, attacking, dodging, and jumping do not drain stamina. In Sekiro, there is no stamina bar. You can attack, dodge, or jump repeatedly as much as you want. Instead you deal with two bars: a health bar, and a posture bar. When you attack enemies, you reduce their health bar. If you can reduce it to zero, you can kill the enemy. The same holds true for the player: if your health bar is reduced to zero, you die. In practice, you will only sometimes reduce the enemy's health bar to zero. More commonly, you will attack, doing some damage and also increasing their posture bar. If they block, or if the player continues to attack, the posture bar will continue to increase. If you max out their posture bar, this puts the enemy in a stunned state, during which you can one-hit kill them, regardless of the status of their health bar. The same is also true for the player: when you take damage, you increase your posture bar, and if your blocks are poorly timed, you further increase your posture bar. If it maxes out, the enemy can one-hit kill you.
</div>
<br>
<div>
If you avoid taking damage or being attacked for several seconds, the posture bar will slowly drop. Holding block will increase the rate of drop, but your health level effects this rate: having high health makes posture reduce more quickly, while low health causes posture damage to linger. Running around slows the rate of posture recovery. This all flies in the face of what most players and fans of FROMSOFTWARE games have come to expect. I started playing Sekiro immediately after finishing my third playthrough of Bloodborne, and I felt like was being punished for having played Bloodborne. All my habits and instincts were wrong.
</div>
<br>
<div>
Besides the posture system, there is the blocking and deflecting system. Most enemy attacks can be blocked. This is achieved by simply holding the block button before an enemy attack. Deflecting is achieved by tapping the block button just before an enemy attack connects. Some enemy attacks cannot be blocked, for example, thrusts. These must be deflected or dodged. The precise timing of deflection is critical. You can hear a slight difference in the sound effect of the deflection based on your timing: perfect deflections have a sharp, ringing sound, while imperfect ones are duller and more wooden. In contrast to thrusts, sweeps cannot be deflected or blocked, but most be dodged or jumped over. Finally, grabs must be avoided entirely.
</div>
<br>
<div>
Lost? That's how most players will feel coming into the game. Instead of a relatively simple choice of block/parry/dodge/attack, where parrying is simply a high risk/high reward form of blocking, you must read the enemy's state and animations, and correctly figure out: Should I press the attack? Are they readying an attack that I can block? Will they thrust (forcing me to dodge or use a perfect deflection), or sweep (forcing me to dodge back or to jump over it)? Much of the tension of previous FROMSOFTWARE games is still here, and the density of the choices you must make in real-time is much the same, but they have increased the number of different response options you must choose from based on the enemy's tells. Compare this to walking into an unfamiliar grocery store and being forced to best match a BBQ sauce to a particular cut of meat or wine while someone is punishing you for any hesitation or dilly dallying.
</div>
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<div>
Like all FROMSOFTWARE games, you eventually begin to read the opponents automatically. On my first playthrough, it took me about 5 hours spread over several days to beat Isshin Ashina the Sword-Saint, the final boss of the game for several endings. On my fourth playthough, I beat him on my first try and felt somewhat detached throughout the fight. I knew what to expect from him, and I had seen his attack patterns many times previously. I felt something like Neo must have at the end of the first Matrix movie, calmly countering Agent Smith's increasingly desperate attacks before finishing him off. Counter to the popular wisdom concerning game design, Sekiro is difficult to learn but easy to master.
</div>
<br>
<div>
Items and your shinobi prosthetic can play critical roles in combat. At the end of the prologue, you will lose your left arm in a duel. This is replaced with a prosthetic arm which can be equipped with enough different gadgets to make James Bond blush. Enemies with large wooden shields can be taken down by upgrading your prosthetic with an axe to destroy the shield, while other enemies who spew out fire or terror can be safely blocked by equipping different kinds of armored umbrellas, and still other armored enemies can be stripped of their armor using a spear upgrade. Many animal or beast enemies can be stunned by firecrackers, and others are weak against fire damage, which can be inflicted using a flame-cannon/thrower. Only three upgrades can be equipped at a time, but thanks to the ability to pause the game completely, you can easily swap these out even in the midst of combat. Similar to focus in Dark Souls 3 or bullet ammo in Bloodborne, the use of these powerful abilities is limited by an item called a "Spirit Emblem." These can be purchased at a save point, found in the environment, or received from enemies upon their death.
</div>
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<div>
The typical health items which regenerate after spawning at a save point make their appearance in Sekiro. There are also rocks to stun enemies with, jars of oil to use with the flame-cannon, different sugars which increase your damage, buff your posture, or make you extra stealthy, and many others. You will need to experiment or check a wiki to see which you should carry for which enemies.
</div>
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<div>
One last twist to combat is dying. In Sekiro, if you die you have a single chance to respawn immediately where you died. This can give you one more go at the enemy or boss without losing money or XP. If you die a second time, or if you decide to respawn at the last save point, you will lose half of your XP and money permanently, unless you receive "Unseen Aid," which occurs randomly but at a percentage determined by how often you have died previously. This "Unseen Aid" chance can be reset using in game items and following an optional side quest.
</div>
<br>
<div>
The basic movement system is roughly similar to previous games by FROMSOFTWARE. You can walk, run, and jump around the levels, but the biggest changes are in the freedom to explore the levels in different ways. There are many ledges that you can hang from or shimmy along, increasing the number of places that you can reach. Your shinobi prosthetic also has a grappling hook, which you can use to grapple from tree branches, building decorations, and even particular enemies. This opens up the levels immensely, making you feel like a real ninja rapidly traversing both horizontally and vertically. The target may be changed in midair, allowing you to chain from one point to another with grace and aplomb. While walking near steep ledges or along tree branches, the game developers have made it impossible to simply walk off the edge, which is one of the many instances of truly considerate design in the game. After all, how likely is it that a competent ninja would clumsily plummet off a ledge to their death?
</div>
<br>
<div>
Besides these forms of movement, Sekiro is the first FROMSOFTWARE game to feature swimming. Exploring several underwater segments is pretty fun. It does not match the feeling of Subnautica, but the swimming areas are well-laid out, and the camera and movement controls are competent and feel nice.
</div>
<h3>
Stealth
</h3>
<div>
Another change is to the stealth or aggro system. In previous games, you could sneak up on enemies, but after they knew about your existence, they never forgot until you got far enough away to cause them to reset their state. In Sekiro, you can sneak behind, above, or below enemies and execute them with a single deadly blow. As long as they are out of sight of other enemies and far enough away, you can chain these stealth kills together. Further, the placement of ledges, walls, and tall grass allows you hide from the enemy and execute further stealth kills, or to return to an undetected state if you managed to get seen by an enemy.
</div>
<h3>
Inventory
</h3>
<div>
Sekiro features a few changes from the standard inventory system in previous FROMSOFTWARE games. In previous games, you could carry 99 items of each type, including weapons, armor, health items, and throwable items. Sekiro removes all armor and weapon customization, and limits the number of items you can carry severely. For example, you can only carry three of any type of Buddhist sugar at a given time. If you pick up a fourth one, it will be sent to your remote storage. If you respawn or rest at a save point, any carried items that are at less than capacity will be stocked up from your storage. You can have up to five different quick items equipped at any time, but again, because of the ability to safely pause the game, you can use any item you want at any time, or switch your quick slot items easily.
</div>
<br>
<div>
The above limitations on numbers are partly to refocus the game away from the item management and stat matching in previous games, and partly to maintain the difficulty. Since the player can pause the game completely and thus switch out items and abilities without worrying about dying while doing so, the number of items you can carry must be correspondingly reduced in order to maintain challenge.
</div>
<h3>
Skills
</h3>
<div>
Skills and stats is another area where FROMSOFTWARE has departed from the past. Instead of having different stats such as strength, agility, endurance, intelligence, etc, there are five different skill trees. As you kill enemies, you receive experience points which you can see in the upper right corner of the screen. After a set amount is reached, those points are converted into a skill point. The amount of XP needed to reach the next level increases with each point earned in a way familiar to fans other RPGs. The skills themselves require different amounts of skill points, generally increasing as you progress farther from the root.
</div>
<br>
<div>
Only one combat skill and one ninjutsu skill may be equipped at a time, but most skills are in fact passive. For example, you will unlock the ability to run and slide. While running, if you press the crouch button it will trigger a short slide that let's you evade an enemy's detection, or to get back into cover quickly. Once unlocked, you do not need to equip or unequip this ability. An example of a combat skill would be the Ashina Cross. This is a quick attack skill which causes Sekiro to make two rapid cuts in the shape of a cross. This costs spirit emblems to perform. All combat skills are triggered by pressing the R1 and L1 buttons at the same time. An example of a ninjutsu skill is the Puppeteer Technique. This allows you make an allay of an enemy after committing a death blow on them. Like the Ashina Cross, it costs spirit emblems to perform.
</div>
<h2>
Procedures
</h2>
<h3>
Defeating a boss
</h3>
<div>
There are two main kinds of bosses: mini-bosses and main bosses. Main bosses are few and far between. There are very few bosses which you <i>must</i> kill in order to progress in the game. There are two primary benefits to killing any kind of boss in Sekiro. First, you can often receive a prayer bead, which after four are collected can be used to increase your health and posture. Second, you can unlock a new area which was not available before killing the boss. Main bosses have the additional benefit of granting you a battle memory, which can be used to increase your attack power.
</div>
<br>
<div>
The prayer beads and battle memories highlight one of the key differences between Sekiro and previous FROMSOFTWARE games. In previous FROMSOFTWARE games, you could grind certain areas in order to beat a boss. However, in Sekiro, while you can grind for XP, money, and items, XP is only used to grant skill points. Skill points can be used to purchase skills from any skill tree you've unlocked. These might give you a new attack, or increase the power of healing items, etc. BUT, they will not increase your health or posture bar, and they will not increase your attack power. Money and items can be used to upgrade your shinobi prosthetics, or to buy items and materials from merchants (some of which might allow the player to increase health and posture), but are not generally key to beat bosses. Furthermore, in previous FROMSOFTWARE games, there were companions that the player could summon if a certain boss was proving too much of a challenge. So, two major crutches that veteran players might have used to get through a boss have been removed. If you were hoping to increase your attack damage stat or your health for just a slight edge in the boss battle, you're SOL. In the parlance of many fans of the Souls-borne games, you have to "git gud." You will not be able to get a friend to help you, and you will not be able to grind XP and increase your health or damage. You'll need to learn the patterns of the boss and the best ways to counter them, and what kinds of damage they are weak to. THEN, you will be granted your battle memory or your prayer bead.
</div>
<h3>
Leveling up
</h3>
<div>
Leveling in Sekiro is quite different in feeling from most RPGs. You can increase your health only by collecting four prayer beads and offering these at a save point, and although you can find a few of these lying around, and you can purchase one, the vast majority of the 40 total prayer beads can only be earned by defeating bosses. By the same token, you can only increase your attack power by defeating main bosses, who will grant you a battle memory. Like the prayer beads, these must be offered at a save point in order to take effect. XP, as mentioned before, is earned by killing enemies, and is automatically converted to a skill point after the next plateau is reached. Like prayer beads and battle memories, skill points can only be spent at save points to unlock new skills.
</div>
<h3>
Exploring an area
</h3>
<div>
Exploration has been touched on lightly before, but like many FROMSOFTWARE games, there are many areas, events, quest lines, and even endings that are easy to miss. Although exploration feels better than ever before, the designers have drastically increased the number of different paths through an area. To fully explore an area will usually require a great deal of dedication, patience, and even multiple revisits, as it is likely that the player will not have all the required abilities to reach every part.
</div>
<h2>
Resources
</h2>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>
Health: Health works the same as in many games. You have a set amount, and it can be reduced by receiving damage from falls, poison, fire, terror, and regular attacks. Low health slows the regeneration of your posture bar. If it reaches zero, you enter a death state. The twist is that you have one chance to come back to life right where you died.
</li>
<li>
Posture: Posture determines your ability to block further attacks and avoid damage. If you block using poor timing, or if you forget to block, your posture bar will begin to build. If it maxes out, you will be put in a temporary vulnerable state.
</li>
<li>
Sen: Sen is the money in Sekiro. It is needed to purchase items and to upgrade shinobi prosthetics. Like XP, you will lose half of all sen that you carry when you die. If you store it in money bags, you can keep it.
</li>
<li>
XP: Keeping with Souls-Borne tradition, the player gathers XP by killing enemies. The main difference is that once a certain amount of XP is gathered, it is converted into a skill point. Until this happens, that XP is similar to the souls or blood echoes from previous games: upon death, the player will lose half of all XP, unless they receive "Unseen Aid." Any XP that has been converted into a skill point will be kept, no matter how many times you die. The amount of XP needed for each successive skill point increases according to similar curves to souls or blood echoes in previous games.
</li>
<li>
Skill Points: Skill points are used to purchase abilities from the different skill trees that Sekiro has. As you play the game, you will unlock more skill trees with different abilities.
</li>
<li>
Skills: Unlike other FROMSOFTWARE titles, skills in Sekiro are divided into several skill trees, which can be unlocked by progressing in the game, completing optional activities and dialog checks. Each skill has prerequisites and a skill point cost. Most skills are passive buffs, but some are combat or shinobi skills. The player may unlock as many of these as they like, but only one combat and one shinobi skill may be equipped at a time.
</li>
<li>
Shinobi Prosthetics: There are 10 shinobi prosthetics in Sekiro. Once you receive your prosthetic arm, you get one basic skill: you can grapple onto specific objects in the environment. For example, tree branches protruding from cliffs, and specifically shaped trees; and lastly certain decorative elements on the roofs of buildings. All the other prosthetics must be discovered by the player through exploring the environment or by purchasing them from vendors. Only three prosthetics may be equipped at a time, but they can be switched dynamically during gameplay. Every prosthetic has several different upgrades which either increase its effectiveness, or alter its effects in some key way.
</li>
<li>
Dragonrot: This increases as you die more and more. This makes NPCs in the world sick, and prevents the player from advancing their questline. It also lower's your chance of receiving "Unseen Aid."
</li>
<li>
Throwable Items: These include items like pottery shards and oil jars. They can be used in several different contexts, but are most useful to get the attention of enemies, or to set them up for a fire attack.
</li>
<li>
Consumable Items: These are items like different sugars which provide different attack buffs, or Divine Confetti, which allows the player increased damage to particular enemy types.
</li>
<li>
Sake: You will be given or will find several different varieties of sake throughout the game. These can be given to different NPCs as gifts to unlock different dialogue options. Usually, these will be nostalgic monologues about some past friend or event, which bears indirectly on the story of Sekiro.
</li>
<li>
Materials: The final set are materials which are used to craft shinobi prosthetics. These are things like Fulminated Mercury, Lapis Lazuli, or Scrap Iron. They can sometimes be randomly dropped from enemies, but others can only be found once in the environment or purchased from vendors in limited amounts.
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h2>
Conflicts
</h2>
<h3>
Leveling
</h3>
<div>
Although the strength of the conflict has been reduced, there is still a conflict in terms of what skill to choose. Most skills require more than one skill point to unlock, so deciding which one to unlock can feel like making a big investment.
</div>
<h3>
Game Story Path
</h3>
<div>
Fans of FROMSOFTWARE games will notice a requiring theme about immortality. In Dark Souls, the player and most of the NPCs and enemies are cursed to come back to life again and again. At the end of the game, you can choose to continue the age of fire, or end it, beginning the age of dark. The exact implications of each path are not exactly clear. Similarly, in Bloodborne, you are a beast hunter who is possibly trapped in some kind of dream or nightmare. When you die, you don't really die but can come back again and again, as do the enemies. At the end, you can choose to leave the dream, continue the dream, or perhaps to become some kind of in-human god-like being. Again, the implications are not exactly clear, but the in-game justification for why the player and the enemies respawn is clear and well-implemented.
</div>
<br>
<div>
In Sekiro, we also find a preoccupation with immortality and a clear message about it. In all FROMSOFTWARE games, immortality is regarded as a kind of curse or perversion of the natural order. Certain members of the Ashina clan want to make use of the Dragon Heritage or Divine Blood in order to create an immortal, unstoppable army. It makes sense that the two main story paths in Sekiro are the player either choosing to make use of this power, or agreeing with the Divine Heir that it is indeed a perversion and trying to destroy it.
</div>
<h2>
Boundaries
</h2>
<div>
</div>
<h3>
Grappling
</h3>
<div>
Not everything may be grappled to in Sekiro. Some enemies in particular animation states can be grappled to, if you have unlocked the skill which allows this. Particular branches can be grappled to. Roof decorations may also be grappled to.
</div>
<h3>
Inventory
</h3>
<div>
Your inventory is severely limited, as has been detailed before.
</div>
<h3>
Prayer Beads
</h3>
<div>
As mentioned before, there are only 40 total prayer beads, and once a prayer bead has been received, either from an area or from a boss or vendor, it will no longer be available there for any playthrough.
</div>
<h2>
Outcomes
</h2>
<div>
There are four different main endings, but there are several different states that NPCs can be in at the end.
<ol>
<li>
Shura: This ending effective short circuits the game. You decide to betray your lord, and "stay loyal" to your father. You end up actually killing your father, and becoming a demon of hatred.
</li>
<li>
Regular: You decide to stay loyal to Lord Kuro, and you give him Divine Dragon Tears to cut his connection to the divine realm. He dies, but the Dragonrot curse is ended
</li>
<li>
Happy?: You decide to stay loyal to Lord Kuro, and you give him Divine Dragon Tears and an Aromatic Flower to cut his connection to the divine realm. In order to free your lord of the curse and and allow him to live, you must take your own life.
</li>
<li>
Happiest: You decide to stay loyal to Lord Kuro, and you give him Divine Dragon Tears and Frozen Tears to cut his connection to the divine realm. He dies in some sense, but his soul is carried by another, and Sekiro and this other person travel to the west in search of the origin of the Dragon's blood. This removes the curse of immortality from the mortal realm.
</li>
</ol>
</div>
<h1>
Dynamic Elements
</h1>
<div>
There are several dynamic elements in Sekiro. First of all, there are the stopping mechanisms of resurrection and inventory. You may only resurrect once, unless you use a special item to refill this ability, or unless you can fill the second resurrection bar by getting death blows. Both these methods are limited by either the number of enemies in an area, or by the number of items you can carry. The inventory limitations prevents players from cheesing the game.
</div>
<br>
<div>
Secondly, there is the near ubiquitous use of dynamic friction for the acquisition of XP, as found in almost every RPG.
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<div>
Third, work placement is found in the effects of equipping or swapping out abilities and ninja prosthetics.
</div>
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<div>
Finally, the attrition pattern can be found in the gradual loss of XP and sen upon repeated death, and in the gradual build-up of Dragonrot. Under this paradigm, the first 4 deaths can take you from any random amount of XP to only 6.25% of the original amount. Each subsequent death takes away the same percent (50), but since the amount has become so small after 4, these deaths matter less and less.
</div>
<h1>
Dramatic Elements</h1>
<div>
Although all FROMSOFTWARE games have featured a story, Sekiro is perhaps the first that takes place in a world that is easy to understand, and the developers have gone out of their way to make the main story beats comprehensible to the players. That is not to say that it will always be clear what to do, what the consequences of different choices are, or even what the conditions are for achieving different branches in the story. There is still some of the attitude of "players are like mushrooms so keep them in the dark and throw shit on them."
</div>
<h2>
Characters
</h2>
<div>
The main character is Sekiro, a boy found on a battle field by a master shinobi and trained in that profession. You are initially called Wolf. You lose your arm protecting your lord in the prologue, and are afterwards named Sekiro, which translates into something like "Lone Wolf" or "One ~~ Wolf," where ~~ could be arm, leg, ball, ear, or eye.
</div>
<br>
<div>
Your "father," a shinobi called Owl, plays a main role in the story. Although he raised Sekiro, he later fakes his own death and tries to kill Sekiro in order to get control of the "Divine Heir." You will have to decide whether to help him or stay loyal to the Divine Heir.
</div>
<br>
<div>
Lord Kuro, the Divine Heir, is the lord who Sekiro must protect and serve. His blood is somehow connected to the divine realm, which when given to a servant, creates a bond between them, and will cause the servant to resurrect whenever killed. Through one of the optional areas and missions, we discover that Kuro has given his blood to Sekiro 3 years before the start of the game. This explains why Sekiro can keep respawning again and again. However, it does not explain why enemies that you've killed have returned. He comes to view this immortality as a kind of curse, and asks Sekiro to help remove it from the world.
</div>
<br>
<div>
The sculptor was featured in the first reveal of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice in 2018. Like Sekiro, he is lacking his left arm. As the game progresses, you will learn that his shinobi name was "Orangutan," and that Lord Isshin was forced to cut his arm off to prevent him from become a Shura, a kind of demon of hatred. The sculptor's shrine functions as an initial safe place, and the player can upgrade their shinobi prosthetics by speaking with the sculptor.
</div>
<br>
<div>
Lady Emma is a doctor who appears at the shrine. She is the daughter of another famous doctor, who appears to have some connection to the Divine Blood or the Dragonrot curse in the past. You will be able to upgrade your Gourd of Life, the main way of replenishing your health in the game, by giving her seeds you've found. Like prayer beads, there is a set number of seeds in the game, and once you've found one, it will be replaced by other items in later playthroughs. You can also eavesdrop on her at different times and places in order to pursue different quest lines or endings.
</div>
<br>
<div>
There are at least a dozen more NPCs in the game, but these are the ones you will probably interact with the most often. There are different merchants, but these have little personality. You can also sometimes interact with enemies, or eavesdrop on them to get more information, but these moments are rare.
</div>
<h2>
Story
</h2>
<div>
The story takes place in a fictionalized version of feudal Japan. The land of Ashina is under attack, and you must protect your charge, Lord Kuro, from his enemies. You lose your arm doing so, and the sculptor helps you and gives you a prosthetic arm. You spend much of the game trying to reach your lord. Once you do, you are faced with the same enemy who dismembered you in the prologue. From here, your lord tasks you with gathering components needed to reach the divine realm in order to cure the immortality curse. Once you have gathered the materials, you will have to fight your way back to the castle. There you must choose between helping your father and helping Kuro. If you choose to help your father, you will become a demon of hatred. If you choose to help Kuro, you must travel to the divine realm in order to get tears from the Divine Dragon. Once returning to the mortal realm again, you will have to fight your way back to the castle before defeating the final boss(es) of the game.
</div>
<br>
<div>
Along the way, you will explore dungeons, haunted forests, deep gorges where you must navigate ledges and branches, the obligatory poisonous ground level, and of course feudal Japanese castles and battlegrounds.
</div>
<h1>
Conclusion
</h1>
<div>
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is another masterpiece from FROMSOFTWARE. It captures that feeling of triumphing over impossible odds that has kept fans playing since 2009's Demon's Souls. At the same time, it successfully innovates in key areas. Gone is multiplayer, gone is messaging, and gone is the sword-and-board combo that got many people through Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, Dark Souls 2, and Dark Souls 3. You don't need to worry about character customization or armor/weapon/stat matching. In their place you have skill trees for the first time in a FROMSOFTWARE game, and you also have a dynamic movement system that makes you feel like a ninja. Gone is the grind of trying to get just one more boost to health or strength or what-have-you. Instead you have a system that forces you to observe your own reactions to enemies, and alter them appropriately until you emerge victorious.
</div>
David Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01601318906655915875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787818667586347471.post-34379589425743973862020-02-01T06:37:00.000-08:002020-02-01T06:37:23.737-08:00Red Dead Redemption 2...lacking in imaginationHey all,<br />
<br />
I've been playing Red Dead Redemption 2 for several weeks now, and while the graphics, physics, and hardware performance are utterly amazing, I'm left cold by mountains of bizarre design decisions.<br />
<br />
To pick one that others have already touched upon: looting. In order to loot a body, you must HOLD...no hold it longer, idiot...the triangle button, then wait for the looting animation to finish...just a little longer... yeah, OK... no sorry it's not done yet. If this was some momentous occasion, the waiting and drama involved in this SIMPLE BANAL ACTION might seem appropriate, like the hubbub that Santa Monica Studios makes of Kratos patting his son on the back. However, that is not the case. You will loot hundreds, perhaps thousands of bodies in RDR2, and you will have to hold triangle, and wait for the animation for all of them. If you are looting a building, may God have mercy on your immortal soul. Going through a wardrobe involves holding that same triangle button FOR EVERY SINGLE DOOR/DRAWER in the wardrobe, and FOR EVERY SINGLE ITEM you will have to HOLD square...no, don't fucking tap it...this requires some consideration...I mean, if you didn't really mean to pick it up then you can still change your mind...AND WAIT FOR THE GODDAMN ANIMATION to finish. <br />
<br />
Yes, I do understand that in the "real world" if I want to open a wardrobe and go through it, I will have to open every single fucking drawer in the fucking thing, and one by fucking one take out the items I want...I'd like to point out that RDR2 is not the real world, but a piece of <i>entertainment software</i> that emulates certain aspects of it. How entertaining is looting in RDR2? As this is a great way to support your gang, restock on bullets, and sometimes even necessary for story missions, why make it so boring? Why discourage players from doing it by making it take so much time? Why not streamline it? It is like coating a dildo with sandpaper: it just introduces friction where and when you least want it.<br />
<br />
To pick another example, one which I haven't seen discussed, the way items attached to your horse react in a crash. Say you have a deer carcass tied to the back of your horse when you suddenly crash into a tree. This carcass will go flying and you will have to go find it, pick it up (by HOLDING THE FUCKING SQUARE BUTTON....WAITING FOR THE ANIMATION...), and put it back on your horse (by FUCKING HOLDING THE FUCKING SQUARE BUTTON....FUCKING WAITING FOR THE FUCKING ANIMATION...). Why? Your <i>saddle </i>didn't come off. Your <i>guns </i>and <i>inventory items </i>didn't go flying all over half of Creation...just the carcass. Now, if you had skinned the deer instead, you could have put the skin on the back of your horse (by FUCKING HOLDING THE MOTHERFUCKING SQUARE BUTTON....GODDAMN WAITING FOR THE SHIT FUCKING ANIMATION...), which now acts as if it is epoxy bonded. You could even have a stack of skins and they will not come off in a crash. Only carcasses and hogtied people act that way, and to make it more interesting, they can even be washed off if your horse gets into water that is too deep. Is it realistic? In a <i>limited </i>way, yes. Does it make for fun, interesting gameplay, with engaging choices? No. It means you waste more time holding buttons and waiting for animations to finish. It means you may lose carcasses and hostages in a crash or in death.<br />
<br />
Just one more example: autosaves. If you decide to manually save your game, you might be asked whether you really want to overwrite the previous autosave. To do this, contrary to what you'd expect, you simply press X. However, when you load that save file and the game asks whether to autosave over it, now you must HOLD x. Why the difference? How exactly is making the first decision to overwrite an autosave different from the second one?<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.polygon.com/2019/4/22/18298277/red-dead-redemption-2-review-rdr2-story-design-criticism">In Polygon's wonderful piece about the design choices of RDR2</a>, they mention the seemingly complete lack of thought that went into the user experience. Your character moves stiffly, slowly, and is awkward to control in tight places. It is easy to accidentally shoot someone who you just wanted to talk to, because shooting and talking are literally controlled by the same button (it just depends on whether you have a weapon equipped or not). Or when you go fishing, baiting and putting the rod away are mapped to the same button, the difference being held or pressed.<br />
<br />
A little more than half way through the game, the leader of the gang,
Dutch, makes this remark "Real? How I detest that word. So lacking in
imagination." How wonderful for a game that has gotten press coverage
for simulating how a horse's testicles will retract in cold weather.David Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01601318906655915875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787818667586347471.post-33358848382744875422019-08-21T19:30:00.000-07:002019-08-21T19:30:08.852-07:00A Tale of an Idiot, Told by An IdiotShakespeare gives Macbeth a famous quote "It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." This month I'm really feeling that quote. When I left Japan almost two months ago, I was really hoping that I would not be coming back for any significant length of time. My hopes were not realized, alas, and here I am back in the same pattern of working on games in the morning that almost no one plays, then teaching English in the afternoon and early evening.<br />
<br />
On top of that dreary outcome, there's my desktop. I had started to rebuild it before I left, but managed to smash several pins on the motherboard. Luckily, I got a refund and when I returned I bought the same type of motherboard and had the staff install the CPU. When I finished rebuilding it, I was still getting some really odd boot errors, so I did some searching and found an English-speaking PC service company that would send technicians to your house. After spending an hour, the tech was able to narrow it down to either a faulty motherboard, or incompatibility between the motherboard and the RAM. For this I paid $130.<br />
<br />
Thinking to kill two birds with one stone, I took the PC apart in order to return the motherboard and buy a different brand of RAM. I somehow managed to smash more pins while I was trying to install the CPU slot cover (which is supposed to <i>protect </i>those pins). I hadn't purchased the month return policy this time, and the tech at the store tried to repair the pins as best he could (this cost about $50), but even with new memory, I couldn't get it up and running.<br />
<br />
So.<br />
<br />
I'm quitting making my own PC for all time. When I buy a desktop in the future, I'm going to leave it to professionals. I've wasted so much time and money on this, and I've started getting those sores in my mouth that I only get when I'm really stressed, that I just can't do this any more. I sold my last batch of PC parts yesterday, getting about 1/2 or 1/3 price for all of them, because that's how it goes. It's better than nothing.<br />
<br />
My laptop works fine, and I can even play some games on it. The main thing is that I can continue my game development on the laptop. I'm continuing my job hunt as well, but more and more I'm thinking that I will remain as an independent/hobbyist. I'm 36 years old, and I'm very stubborn. I don't particularly like taking orders, or working on the types of games that most studios seem to be making: slot machine games for mobile, cheap movie franchise tie-ins, mobile games with depth, etc. Why would I want to spend my time working on a type of game that I wouldn't even play for free??? I'll keep going on my own, and fuck the rest.David Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01601318906655915875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787818667586347471.post-907318224172694282019-07-22T11:44:00.001-07:002019-07-22T11:44:24.952-07:00Mid-Vacation BlogHey all,<br />
<br />
So I'm here on what I'll call my "vacation," for lack of a better term. I can't elaborate more on it for now, but I'd like to outline a few things that have been going on.<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>I've visited my family at their summer house, which was really fun and great. We went out on their boat, saw some fireworks, and most important for me, I got a chance to speak with my mom, sister, and step-dad face-to-face under relaxed circumstances. </li>
<li>I bought a new laptop. It seems to be working fine so far, and although it cost about the same as my desktop, it is actually portable, as laptops tend to be. It is also pretty good for development. I've got all my usual suite of dev software on it: Unity, Unreal, Visual Studio Community, Audacity, Blender, and GIMP. These all run really smoothly, and I haven't encountered any major issues.</li>
<li>I've completed one game jam, and I'm currently working on another, themed around vikings.</li>
<li>I've been going to a local rock climbing gym, and have met some nice people there. Before I left Japan, I injured my right thumb (a sprain or possibly hyper-extension), and that has hindered my climbing a bit. I think it might be a few weeks before it is really healed, so I'm trying to tape it, and not use my thumb in the meantime.</li>
<li>I have done some sightseeing, both locally and in DC when I visited my other sister there.</li>
<li>I've read a lot of books: the <i>Hyperion Cantos</i>, the first half of David Farland's <i>Runelords</i> series, part of Swink's <i>Game Feel</i>.</li>
</ol>
I've also been playing a little. The Epic Games Store released Torchlight, Overcooked, and Limbo for free, so I've been playing them a little as well. That's about all for now.David Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01601318906655915875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787818667586347471.post-47105171023269875902019-06-18T22:58:00.000-07:002019-06-18T22:58:11.078-07:00Vampyr Analysis<html >
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<div class="maketitle">
<h2 class="titleHead">Vampyr Analysis</h2>
<div class="author" ><span
class="cmr-12">David Hunter</span></div><br />
<div class="date" ><span
class="cmr-12">June 19, 2019</span></div>
</div>
<h3 class="sectionHead"><span class="titlemark">1 </span> <a
id="x1-10001"></a>Overview</h3>
<!--l. 11--><p class="noindent" ><i>Vampyr </i>is an action RPG developed by Dontnod and released by Focus Home in
June, 2018.
<!--l. 13--><p class="noindent" >
<h3 class="sectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2 </span> <a
id="x1-20002"></a>Formal Elements</h3>
<!--l. 15--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.1 </span> <a
id="x1-30002.1"></a>Players</h4>
<!--l. 16--><p class="noindent" ><i>Vampyr </i>is a strictly single-player experience. You take control of Dr. Jonathan Reid,
a medical doctor who specializes in blood and who has recently returned from the
front of WWI. The camera is placed in the common over-the-shoulder position,
and it follows Jonathan around during his time in London. As a newborn
vampire, you must find out about your maker, and as a doctor you must try to
treat the people of four districts of London at the height of the Spanish Flu
outbreak.
<!--l. 18--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.2 </span> <a
id="x1-40002.2"></a>Rules</h4>
<!--l. 21--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.2.1 </span> <a
id="x1-50002.2.1"></a>Locations</h5>
<!--l. 22--><p class="noindent" ><i>Vampyr </i>is secretly divided up into areas: some areas are marked as ”safe,” and you
will never be attacked there, and indeed you cannot attack others or use your
vampire powers in these areas. If you are under attack in a ”danger zone,” and cross
the border into a ”safe” area, your enemies will immediately lose interest in you and
begin going back to their original positions.
<!--l. 23--><p class="indent" > The ”danger zones” are a throwback to the checkpoints of <i>Far Cry 2</i>: you will
often encounter the same or similar enemies when traveling between safe locations,
despite having cleared them out many times before.
<!--l. 24--><p class="indent" > Certain rooms in buildings and even certain areas are blocked off for
story purposes. The developers clearly did not want players to experience
some content before reaching particular story beats, so those rooms and
areas are locked or blocked with gates until you reach that point in the
story.
<!--l. 25--><p class="indent" > Most rooms and areas, however, are available to explored from the beginning, and
the player may find new weapons, ingredients for the crafting system, or story clues
for the main story or for investigations.
<!--l. 26--><p class="indent" > As a vampire, you cannot swim, jump, fly, or climb. There is a scripted teleport
ability, but this is limited to pre-decided points: if you approach one, you will see a
teleport prompt show up, which you will need to use in order to reach that
area.
<!--l. 28--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.2.2 </span> <a
id="x1-60002.2.2"></a>Gear</h5>
<!--l. 29--><p class="noindent" >The gear in <i>Vampyr </i>is limited to one-handed and two-handed weapons, plus off-hand
weapons (such as knives, stakes, shotguns, and pistols). The player may also
pick up many books, letters, photos, watches, rings, and other items, some
of which might have significance for the story. Most of these can be sold,
broken down into crafting parts, or used in crafting weapon upgrades, or
medicines.
<!--l. 30--><p class="indent" > Only two main hand weapons can be equipped at one time, and the same holds
for off-hand weapons. If a two-handed weapon is equipped, it will occupy both
main-hand and off-hand slots. <hr class="figure"><div class="figure"
>
<a
id="x1-60011"></a>
<!--l. 32--><p class="noindent" ><img
src="20190525195750_1.png" alt="PIC"
>
<br /> <div class="caption"
><span class="id">Figure 1: </span><span
class="content"></span></div><!--tex4ht:label?: x1-60011 -->
<!--l. 34--><p class="indent" > </div><hr class="endfigure">
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.2.3 </span> <a
id="x1-70002.2.3"></a>NPC Interactions</h5>
<!--l. 37--><p class="noindent" >There are 64 total citizens, 16 per district for each of the four districts. You will have
the chance to discuss many different things with them, from one man’s love of food,
to another woman’s belief that she is a vampire. By speaking to them, speaking to
others in their social circles, finding objects related to them, and by secretly
observing them at key moments, you can learn about them, and unlock more
dialogue options. These may give you the chance to undertake an investigation for
them,
<!--l. 39--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.2.4 </span> <a
id="x1-80002.2.4"></a>Stats and Leveling</h5>
<!--l. 40--><p class="noindent" >Like many RPGs, <i>Vampyr </i>has both active and passive skills. These are locked behind
both XP requirements and level requirements: you must have enough XP and be of a
high enough level to purchase a skill. <hr class="figure"><div class="figure"
>
<a
id="x1-80012"></a>
<!--l. 42--><p class="noindent" ><img
src="Vampyr_Skills.png" alt="PIC"
>
<br /> <div class="caption"
><span class="id">Figure 2: </span><span
class="content"></span></div><!--tex4ht:label?: x1-80012 -->
<!--l. 44--><p class="indent" > </div><hr class="endfigure">
<!--l. 46--><p class="indent" > <hr class="figure"><div class="figure"
>
<a
id="x1-80023"></a>
<!--l. 47--><p class="noindent" ><img
src="20190615165157_1.png" alt="PIC"
>
<br /> <div class="caption"
><span class="id">Figure 3: </span><span
class="content"></span></div><!--tex4ht:label?: x1-80023 -->
<!--l. 49--><p class="indent" > </div><hr class="endfigure">
<!--l. 51--><p class="indent" > <hr class="figure"><div class="figure"
>
<a
id="x1-80034"></a>
<!--l. 52--><p class="noindent" ><img
src="20190615165207_1.png" alt="PIC"
>
<br /> <div class="caption"
><span class="id">Figure 4: </span><span
class="content"></span></div><!--tex4ht:label?: x1-80034 -->
<!--l. 54--><p class="indent" > </div><hr class="endfigure">
<!--l. 56--><p class="indent" > Active skills usually have a branch to them, allowing the player to focus
particular aspects of an ability. For instance, the player may choose between receiving
blood or stun from an opponent when using the Claws ability. Passive skills are
just stat boosts: they increase either the raw amount or a percentage of a
stat.
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.2.5 </span> <a
id="x1-90002.2.5"></a>Quests and Investigations</h5>
<!--l. 60--><p class="noindent" >Your main quest is always displayed, but you can also have a secondary
investigation tracked in the HUD as well. Completing steps in both the main quest
and any side investigations will give you XP that you can use to level up.
These may also unlock new areas for exploration as you progress through
story.
<!--l. 62--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.2.6 </span> <a
id="x1-100002.2.6"></a>Combat</h5>
<!--l. 63--><p class="noindent" >Combat plays out similar to melee combat in many games of recent years that have
been influenced by the <i>Souls </i>series. One-handed and two-handed weapons both have
a basic attack, while one-handed weapons can be used together with an off-hand
weapon and two-handed weapons have a parry that can be used to counter an enemy
attack. Both kinds of attacks drain stamina depending on the item used. If
stamina drops to zero, you will be unable to attack or dodge until it recovers
enough.
<!--l. 64--><p class="indent" > If you stun an enemy, either by sneaking up on them or by using an off-hand
weapon, you will be able to bite them to replenish your blood.
<!--l. 65--><p class="indent" > Combat is a matter of timing and space, where you need to watch your
opponent’s attack patterns, take advantage of lulls or recovery animations, and
manage your health, stamina and blood levels in order to win through. Although it
never reaches the heights of the <i>Souls </i>series, it is fun to engage in combat for most of
the game, and the boss battles add enough variety to keep things from getting
stale.
<!--l. 66--><p class="indent" > Certain damage types, such as fire or gas attacks, deal aggravated damage. This
lowers your maximum health that you can naturally regenerate to. To remove
the aggravated damage requires use of your bite-heal ability or a health
serum.
<!--l. 68--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.3 </span> <a
id="x1-110002.3"></a>Procedures</h4>
<!--l. 71--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.3.1 </span> <a
id="x1-120002.3.1"></a>Talking to an NPC</h5>
<!--l. 72--><p class="noindent" >You will spend a long time talking to NPCs in <i>Vampyr</i>. There are over 64 NPCs in
the game, and most of them have extensive dialogue trees for you to explore,
gathering information about them, their associates, the current situation in London,
and also usually increasing the value of the NPC, should you decide to ”Embrace”
them. <hr class="figure"><div class="figure"
>
<a
id="x1-120015"></a>
<!--l. 74--><p class="noindent" ><img
src="20190525195809_1.png" alt="PIC"
>
<br /> <div class="caption"
><span class="id">Figure 5: </span><span
class="content"></span></div><!--tex4ht:label?: x1-120015 -->
<!--l. 76--><p class="indent" > </div><hr class="endfigure">
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.3.2 </span> <a
id="x1-130002.3.2"></a>Searching an Area & Scavenging</h5>
<!--l. 79--><p class="noindent" >Although not an overwhelmingly large world, the four districts of London provide a
good amount of level to explore, with lots of surprising hidden nooks and crannies
containing extra story elements.
<!--l. 80--><p class="indent" > Besides exploration for its own sack, there are many times when you will have to
move through an area in search of a particular item. This could be laying
around, or it could be in one of many container types, such a cans, boxes, or
cabinets.
<!--l. 82--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.3.3 </span> <a
id="x1-140002.3.3"></a>Selling Loot</h5>
<!--l. 83--><p class="noindent" >There does not appear to be any limit for inventory items, but it may be
advantageous to sometimes sell unwanted items to different vendors throughout
London. Each seems to specialize in different types of items, from weapons and
ammo, to medicine or general crafting parts. If you search areas very thoroughly, you
will probably be able to find enough materials to upgrade your weapons without
selling to much junk, but it can be useful to sell something to pick up a particular
needed item.
<!--l. 85--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.3.4 </span> <a
id="x1-150002.3.4"></a>Leveling Up</h5>
<!--l. 86--><p class="noindent" >You may only level up by resting in a safe house. Resting also pushes the time
forward one night. This updates the health of the citizens in the districts you’ve
visited, and also resets the enemies in the danger zones.
<!--l. 87--><p class="indent" > It is further possible to reset all your invested XP for a small XP sacrifice,
allowing you to respec your character.
<!--l. 89--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.3.5 </span> <a
id="x1-160002.3.5"></a>Managing Health Conditions</h5>
<!--l. 90--><p class="noindent" >Your stamina recharges quickly when not in use, and your health will also recharge
toward the limit of the aggravated damage you’ve received. Using your vampire
active abilities requires blood, which you can get from a serum, by biting enemies
during combat, or from using weapons that have been upgraded to take blood from
enemies on attack
<!--l. 92--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.4 </span> <a
id="x1-170002.4"></a>Resources</h4>
<!--l. 95--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.4.1 </span> <a
id="x1-180002.4.1"></a>Tangible Resources</h5>
<!--l. 96--><p class="noindent" >
<ol class="enumerate1" >
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-18002x1">Money: Used to buy weapons, ammo, and crafting materials from vendors.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-18004x2">Weapons: Used to attack enemies. Can also be sold for money, or upgraded
using crafting materials.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-18006x3">Ammo: Used in pistols and shotguns. It can be sold for money.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-18008x4">Books, pages and collectibles: These provide story information, advance
the main quest, and sometimes provide clues for side investigations.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-18010x5">Crafting materials: These can be sold for money, or used to craft medicine
or upgrade weapons.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-18012x6">Junk: These can be sold for money or broken down into crafting parts</li></ol>
<!--l. 105--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.4.2 </span> <a
id="x1-190002.4.2"></a>Intangible Resources</h5>
<!--l. 106--><p class="noindent" >
<ol class="enumerate1" >
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-19002x1">Health: Determines how much damage you can take.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-19004x2">Stamina: Recharges quickly once used, limits your attacks and dodges.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-19006x3">Blood: Can be gained from enemies and serums. Used by vampire abilities.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-19008x4">XP: Gained by killing enemies, completing story beats and investigations,
and finding new information about citizens.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-19010x5">Level: Increases your health by 10 points per level, and also unlocks certain
abilities.</li></ol>
<!--l. 115--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.5 </span> <a
id="x1-200002.5"></a>Conflicts</h4>
<!--l. 117--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.5.1 </span> <a
id="x1-210002.5.1"></a>NPCs</h5>
<!--l. 118--><p class="noindent" >The biggest conflict is with NPCs. As you learn more about them, you may be more
or less inclined to Embrace them. Several Citizens have unpleasant personalities, or
have committed numerous crimes and ill-treated others, while other citizens seem
sympathetic, are trying to help others or improve their lot, and are sometimes the
victims of others.
<!--l. 119--><p class="indent" > Embracing them will give you access to a larger pool of XP, but it also makes
enemies more difficult, increasing their damage and health bars.
<!--l. 120--><p class="indent" > Besides the gameplay ramifications, embracing more citizens leads to a darker
ending, and will reduce the stability of the district the citizen belongs to. If not
monitored or managed, this could lead to everyone in a district suddenly dying,
preventing you from embracing them, or performing an investigations which might
grant you XP (also increase the XP you would receive if you decided to embrace that
citizen).
<!--l. 121--><p class="indent" > In my first playthrough, a embraced several citizens who I deemed of low value or
as having a negative impact on the district. This resulted in just the situation above:
one district was totally wiped out, another suffered from recurring diseases that
requires treatment each new night, and I was unpleasantly surprised by the negative
ending.
<!--l. 124--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.5.2 </span> <a
id="x1-220002.5.2"></a>Leveling</h5>
<!--l. 125--><p class="noindent" >If you decide to embrace citizens willy-nilly, you will have access to a larger pool of
XP, and so will be able to unlock more abilities and higher levels of those
abilities.
<!--l. 126--><p class="indent" > If you are more selective, or decide to refrain from embracing citizens altogether,
you will face the choice of what abilities to invest in.
<!--l. 127--><p class="indent" > For both of my playthroughs, I found that the benefits provided by the passive
vampire abilities far outweighed investing in the active abilities, and the
costs of each active ability upgrade are a further discouragement to doing
so.
<!--l. 129--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.6 </span> <a
id="x1-230002.6"></a>Boundaries</h4>
<!--l. 132--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.6.1 </span> <a
id="x1-240002.6.1"></a>Map</h5>
<!--l. 133--><p class="noindent" >Although large enough for the story, there are many areas that are blocked off and
that you cannot explore.
<!--l. 135--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.6.2 </span> <a
id="x1-250002.6.2"></a>Leveling</h5>
<!--l. 136--><p class="noindent" >There is no hard limit for leveling, but each enemy only gives 5XP, and without
embracing many citizens it is impossible to unlock all the abilities.
<!--l. 138--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.7 </span> <a
id="x1-260002.7"></a>Outcomes</h4>
<!--l. 139--><p class="noindent" >There are three main outcomes in terms of endings, but there are many
different final circumstances under which you may finish the game. The endings
depend on the number of citizens you have embraced, with zero giving you the
”happy” ending, and anything more than one giving you a sad/horrifying
ending.
<!--l. 141--><p class="noindent" >
<h3 class="sectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3 </span> <a
id="x1-270003"></a>Dynamic Elements</h3>
<!--l. 143--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3.1 </span> <a
id="x1-280003.1"></a>Patterns</h4>
<!--l. 144--><p class="noindent" >This section focuses on game patterns as discussed by Ernest Adams and Joris
Dormans in <i>Game Mechanics: Advanced Game Design</i>.
<!--l. 146--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3.1.1 </span> <a
id="x1-290003.1.1"></a>Static Engine</h5>
<!--l. 147--><p class="noindent" >This pattern can be seen in giving the player a set reward for each enemy killed and
in finding money: enemies always give 5 XP and you always find 5 shillings lying
around.
<!--l. 149--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3.1.2 </span> <a
id="x1-300003.1.2"></a>Playing Style Reinforcement</h5>
<!--l. 150--><p class="noindent" >This is evident especially in terms of blood and stun. If you prefer to do a lot of
damage with your weapons, you will not be able to receive much blood from them.
Instead, you can change some of your vampire powers to give you blood, although
this will often not offset the cost of using them. Or, you could use off-hand weapons
or again upgraded vampire powers to reduce enemy’s stun upon use, and this would
give you more chances to use bite in combat, and replenishing your blood
thusly.
<!--l. 151--><p class="indent" > Other opportunities for reinforcement come from the types of vampire abilities
you unlock. If you prefer a stealthy approach, you can use a shadow walk power that
will let you sneak up on enemies in danger zones, or you can unlock several
powers (such as blood spear or shadow mist) that allow you to attack from a
distance.
<!--l. 153--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3.1.3 </span> <a
id="x1-310003.1.3"></a>Dynamic Friction</h5>
<!--l. 154--><p class="noindent" >This shows up in the way that combat changes. Although officially combat is
supposed to become easier the more citizens you embrace, it felt that enemies
increased in level from night to night more than when I did not embrace
anyone.
<!--l. 156--><p class="indent" > <hr class="figure"><div class="figure"
>
<a
id="x1-310016"></a>
<!--l. 157--><p class="noindent" ><img
src="Vampyr.png" alt="PIC"
>
<br /> <div class="caption"
><span class="id">Figure 6: </span><span
class="content"></span></div><!--tex4ht:label?: x1-310016 -->
<!--l. 159--><p class="indent" > </div><hr class="endfigure">
<h3 class="sectionHead"><span class="titlemark">4 </span> <a
id="x1-320004"></a>Dramatic Elements</h3>
<!--l. 163--><p class="noindent" ><i>Vampyr </i>features strong story elements.
<!--l. 165--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">4.1 </span> <a
id="x1-330004.1"></a>Characters</h4>
<!--l. 166--><p class="noindent" >The characters of <i>Vampyr </i>are well realized, both in terms of writing and in voice
acting. Each character brings their back history and view point to the conversation,
and often you cannot enter the interesting dialogue branches without doing some leg
work, talking to others who are familiar with them, eavesdropping, or finding critical
notes, diaries, other clues.
<!--l. 167--><p class="indent" > Each district also provides different speech patterns. Those in Pembroke tend to
be higher class, as do those in the West End, while the Docks and Whitechapel tend
to speak as foreigners, blue collar workers, etc.
<!--l. 169--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">4.2 </span> <a
id="x1-340004.2"></a>Story</h4>
<!--l. 170--><p class="noindent" >You are thrown into the situation of having just been bitten by a vampire
earlier, and have awakened on a pile of corpses. You accidentally feed on your
sister, who you don’t recognize at first due to your thirst. This sets off a
chain of events leading to your appointment at Pembroke Hospital, where
you work on the night shift. You are tasked with helping the hospital cope
with the flu epidemic, and also with unraveling the mystery behind your
maker.
<!--l. 171--><p class="indent" > This forces you to explore the different districts, and you encounter several other
vampires, who are if not friendly, at least not overtly hostile. You eventually find out
that the curse of being a vampire is somehow related to an ancient blood goddess,
who will periodically attempt to manifest in the world. When she does, it leads to a
bloodbath/disaster, and you are tasked with preventing her from rampaging around
the world.
<!--l. 172--><p class="indent" > There is even a love story that ties in nicely with the main story, but I’ll leave
that out for now.
<!--l. 174--><p class="noindent" >
<h3 class="sectionHead"><span class="titlemark">5 </span> <a
id="x1-350005"></a>Conclusion</h3>
<!--l. 175--><p class="noindent" ><i>Vampyr </i>is an interesting RPG, but it suffers from trying to be all things to all
people. While the combat is mostly fun, it can be frustrating and if you play multiple
times or travel a lot, it can easily get repetitive. The dialogue and social systems are
innovative, and might have been better served by more development time and a great
focus on the social ramifications of being a vampire in a highly networked and
dependent society.
</body></html> David Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01601318906655915875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787818667586347471.post-6982500739571230722019-03-06T18:02:00.002-08:002019-03-08T03:01:44.795-08:00Anatomy of a Game JamRecently, a former housemate and I competed in a game jam. In this blog, I'd like to go over our process for making it.<br />
<br />
As a little background, we've known each other for the better part of six years, during which he has been working to become a writer/novelist, while I've been working to become a game programmer/designer.<br />
<br />
Our game jam planning session took place at a bar in Tokyo, where we started discussing the theme: cycles. I have to give it to my writer friend, because he almost instantly hit upon the idea of reincarnation.<br />
<br />
We began discussing what animals to use, as well as actions. For myself, I wanted to limit the amount of player movement or interaction with the environment. The time limit for the game was only 100 hours, and happened to overlap with my main working days, cutting out 28 hours, and I don't believe in sacrificing my sleep in order to work on something, so that takes about another 21 hours, which left 61 potential hours of work.<br />
<br />
Anyone who knows of my love and obsession with Buckminster Fuller will know how happy I was when I realized we had ended up with four animals, each of which had three characteristic actions, each of which is shared with one other animal, allowing one to model it as a tetrahedron.<br />
<br />
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<br /></div>
We began coming up with situations, and for balance reasons ended up with 14 situations which equally distributed the different actions.<br />
<br />
The idea was that each time you played, you would start as a random animal with a random lifespan. You'd be presented with random situations many times in your life, and you would be presented with three choices. These choices would be unique to each situation, in the sense that each situation would have a unique combination of choices. Although there are actually 20 such possible combinations, we only used 14.<br />
<br />
Each time you make a choice, this is saved and used to calculate the animal you will start as in the next life. Since each animal has three characteristic actions, the top three most frequent choices you made are used to pick the next animal. For example, if you chose rest, socialize, and mate most frequently, in the next life you will be a dog.<br />
<br />
After each choice, you'll be presented with another randomly chosen situation, and will have to make another choice. This will repeat until you die, when you'll be reborn as another animal.<br />
<br />
All that, if you can believe it, was worked out over drinks at a number of bars in the course of several hours. After that, my writer friend and I parted ways, he to do some writing and myself to do some programming.<br />
<br />
I began with the ChoiceType class and Animal class. I knew I needed to store a few strings in each to begin with, and a list or array of ChoiceTypes in the Animal class. Eventually, I'd end up storing a few sprites in the Animal class, but the ChoiceType class has remained essentially unchanged.<br />
<br />
Then, I started working on the Situation class. This is where a lot of the information is contained. Originally, this had a few strings and two matched lists of ChoiceTypes and strings. This was to hold a choice and the text for the consequence, but it was difficult to keep everything matched correctly, so I switched to using a dictionary. Now, because I was using Unity, I had a problem: Unity's default serialization does not cover dictionaries, so any information I entered would be lost if I closed the program. Fortunately, I found some nice code that allows you weasel around this issue with minimal fuss, so I was able to use a dictionary.<br />
<br />
The Situation class holds a name, a description of the situation, a sprite, and a dictionary which uses ChoiceType as the key. For each choice, it stores a prompt, a sprite, and a consequence. The first and last are just strings describing what (will) happen(s).<br />
<br />
The code for these classes is relatively minimal, but I also wrote some custom Inspector classes to allow me to enter the data more easily, and since I was using some custom classes, there would be no easy way to display some of the information. For example, the dictionary stores a custom class that has two strings for the prompt and consequence, plus a sprite showing the fallout of the choice. This is the "value" associated with each key in the dictionary. Although it is a serializable class, there is no reason to expect Unity to be able to display such a class by default.<br />
<br />
This took up about 5-6 hours spread between the first two days of the game jam. I also started relearning how to use Fungus, a huge library of scripts that is most commonly used by people who don't know how to code. It allows you to create a vast array of different and interesting situations and setups, provided you are willing to enter all your data into it, or barring that, to also use Lua, which I am not familiar with. Given the pressure of the time limit, and since I had already entered the data into the custom ScriptableObject classes I described above, I decided I would only make use of two prefabs provided with the library: the menu dialog, and the say dialog. By using these, I would be able to display the text for each situation and the consequence of a player's choice, and I'd be able to give the player well formatted choices to pick from.<br />
<br />
The main game logic happens in class cleverly titled GameManager. This loads all the animals and situations from memory, and deals with picking a random animal at first, or one based on player choice if this is a replay. It also handles displaying the Menu Dialog and Say Dialogs, as well as player death, and showing the correct graphics.<br />
<br />
The GameManager class was coded over the last day and a half of the game jam, but was not truly finished until after the deadline.<br />
<br />
All told, I think there is in the neighbor of a thousand lines of code in the project. If you include all the Fungus stuff, it would balloon into 10,000s or 100,000s lines, but I didn't author any of that. My writer friend put in a solid 6,000 words of story and description, without which the project never would have seen the light of day.<br />
<br />
We're thinking of possibly expanding it in the future, but I think we can both be proud of it as it stands.David Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01601318906655915875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787818667586347471.post-25217017097874585682019-01-29T16:51:00.004-08:002019-01-29T17:07:04.761-08:00Subnautica Analysis<html >
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<div class="maketitle">
<h2 class="titleHead">Subnautica Analysis</h2>
<div class="author" ><span
class="cmr-12">David Hunter</span></div><br />
<div class="date" ><span
class="cmr-12">January 30, 2019</span></div>
</div>
<h3 class="sectionHead"><span class="titlemark">1 </span> <a
id="x1-10001"></a>Overview</h3>
<!--l. 13--><p class="noindent" ><i>Subnautica</i> is a first-person open world survival game by Unknown Worlds
Entertainment, which was released in January, 2018.
<!--l. 15--><p class="noindent" >
<h3 class="sectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2 </span> <a
id="x1-20002"></a>Formal Elements</h3>
<!--l. 17--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.1 </span> <a
id="x1-30002.1"></a>Players</h4>
<!--l. 18--><p class="noindent" >In <i>Subnautica</i>, you play as the lone survivor of a scientific exploration team sent to
an alien planet. Your space-ship crashes at the very opening of the game, and you
spend the rest of the game surviving, trying to find out what happened, and why.
You control your character exclusively from the first-person, and even vehicles are
controlled in this way. You will never met any living NPCs, and there are no other
players in the game.
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<!--l. 27--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.2 </span> <a
id="x1-40002.2"></a>Objectives</h4>
<!--l. 28--><p class="noindent" >As a survival game, you will spend a large amount of time managing your health
conditions. You have health, breath, thirst, and hunger meters. Your breath limit
starts at 45 seconds and will deplete whenever you are underwater and not in a
vehicle. It replenishes quickly whenever you’re above water or in a vehicle. Hunger
and thirst slowly deplete, although thirst drops at a slightly quicker rate. Health
drops whenever you are attacked by an animal, burned by fire, fall from a great
height, or receive too much radiation. Whenever one of these meters drops to zero,
you will die and respawn in the nearest lifepod, seabase, or cyclops. Managing these
conditions will occupy most of your first few hours in the game, but as you
explore, gather more resources, scan new items, and venture farther and
deeper from the safety of your landing zone, you will discover more about the
planet, what happened to your ship, and why. You will even find a way to
escape.
<!--l. 30--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.3 </span> <a
id="x1-50002.3"></a>Rules</h4>
<!--l. 32--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.3.1 </span> <a
id="x1-60002.3.1"></a>Movement</h5>
<!--l. 33--><p class="noindent" >In <i>Subnautica</i>, you will spend most of your time swimming. In this mode, you can
move vertically and horizontally, although the fastest movement directions are
straight forward. While swimming, you can catch fish, pick up eggs, harvest plants,
and gather resources from scrap and from rock outcrops.
<!--l. 34--><p class="indent" > There are some sections where you will walk around. These parts work the same
as most FPS, where you can run, jump, walk and strafe, although there
are no guns or other weapons besides a simple knife with which to defend
yourself.
<!--l. 35--><p class="indent" > Movement in the vehicles functions mostly the same. One of the differences is in
the control options for lights, movement speed, and grappling arms in certain
vehicles. For instance, you can eventually build a PRAWN diving suit, which is like a
large mech suit. This suit normally sinks to the bottom of the ocean, but you may
use a limited jump jet function to return to higher areas. Later, this can be upgraded
and a grappling arm may be created, allowing you to latch onto cliffs, creatures, or
other features. This can be used to allow your jet to recharge so you can scale
a cliff too high for the jump jet, or to launch yourself forward at speeds
not normally attainable. The seamoth and cyclops submarines offer other
possibilities.
<!--l. 36--><p class="indent" > One last difference between swimming and vehicle movement is the depth limits.
All the vehicles have depth limits, after which their hulls will start to take crush
damage. You will never receive crush damage, no matter the depth, but you may
enter water which is too hot and start to get boiled.
<!--l. 38--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.3.2 </span> <a
id="x1-70002.3.2"></a>Gear, Items, and Inventory</h5>
<!--l. 39--><p class="noindent" >As a survival game, items and materials are crucial. You have a personal inventory
made of 48 slots, although different items and tools take up different numbers of
slots. You also have seven wearable slots which do not take up space in your
inventory.
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<!--l. 44--><p class="indent" > Unfortunately, you will also spend some of your most frustrating periods
managing inventory. All of your tools occupy inventory slots, which reduces the
amount of materials that you can scavenge. Similarly to the <i>Souls</i> series, when you
die, you will lose any items that you picked up recently. These can be recovered by
returning to the spot where you died.
<!--l. 45--><p class="indent" > The main frustrations will come from moving things around. During the mid and
endgame portions, you will need large numbers of various materials including
titanium, nickel, kyanite, and many others. To store these, you will need to
construct numerous storage lockers. To construct a particular item, you
will need to go from locker to locker, gathering the requisite numbers of
each material, then carrying them to the fabricator, modification station, or
vehicle upgrade station. And since advanced items often require mid-level and
low-level crafted items, this will mean a kind of recursive and repetitive
to-and-froing: ”I want to craft item A, oh so I need 2 Bs, 3 Cs, and 1 D. Oh. I don’t
have any Bs, so to make 1 B I need 3 Es and 1 F. Oh. I don’t have any Fs.
To make one, I need 2 Gs.” Now that you have the item with the lowest
priority, you can craft it, then craft the item you make from that one, etc,
etc.
<!--l. 47--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.3.3 </span> <a
id="x1-80002.3.3"></a>Crafting</h5>
<!--l. 48--><p class="noindent" >Crafting plays a major part in <i>Subnautica</i>. Each item crafted either takes the same
amount of slots or fewer than the materials, so space is not an issue in this
case.
<!--l. 50--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.4 </span> <a
id="x1-90002.4"></a>Procedures</h4>
<!--l. 52--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.4.1 </span> <a
id="x1-100002.4.1"></a>Searching an Area & Scavenging</h5>
<!--l. 53--><p class="noindent" >Much of the game will be taken by searching for materials, particular resources, parts
to scan, and fish to eat. This will involve moving around in a 3D environment in the
ocean. The lighting becomes darker the deeper you travel under the surface, and this
is also effected by the time of day. The lighting effects how easy it is to spot
items.
<!--l. 54--><p class="indent" > Another consideration is the depth. Depth varies greatly, although not to the
degree on Earth. Some items can be found nearly at the surface, while others can
only be found below 1000 meters under the surface. Related to depth is the
complexity of the path to the location. Some items are only found inside sunken ship
segments which may have locked doors, blocked hatches etc; or inside convoluted
caves. Both these tie in to the fact that you are underwater for most of
the game. In order to reach a resource location, you need to factor in the
amount of time it will take to reach there, in addition to returning to the
surface.
<!--l. 55--><p class="indent" > Easing the difficulty of deep exploration is the fact that as long as your vehicles
have power, they will generate oxygen, allowing you to use them to dive to the
maximum depth of the vehicle without worrying about returning all the way to the
surface for oxygen.
<!--l. 56--><p class="indent" > Two final considerations are inventory and animals. If you are searching for
materials, you need to make sure you have enough room in your inventory to carry
them, or be willing to drop other items to make room, or play inventory tetris with
your storage and your vehicle’s storage (assuming it has storage). Lastly, there are a
large number of different animals in <i>Subnautica</i>, most of which will ignore or flee from
you, but there is a non-trivial number of animals which will attack and kill you, and
some can damage or destroy your vehicles as well. Since you are swimming
in the ocean for most of the game, these can be hidden by distance and
appear from almost any direction to harass you or kill you, or damage or
destroy your vehicle. Lights and sounds will attract some of them, and because
they can appear quite suddenly, it can be shocking and scary to encounter
them.
<!--l. 57--><p class="indent" > In any case, fish and different kinds of plants can be either caught in mid-ocean or
harvested from the seabed. There are different kinds of rock outcroppings which can be
struck to reveal a procedurally generated mineral, such as titanium, silver, gold,
lead, etc. There are also larger outcroppings which of course hold larger
amounts of the mineral, but which require the drill arm upgrade for the
PRAWN suit in order to be harvested. The plus side to these is both the larger
amount and the purity: if you drill into a titanium outcropping, you will only
receive titanium, so you don’t have to wonder if you’re going to get what you
want.
<!--l. 58--><p class="indent" > In sunken ship segments, and also scattered around the play area, you will find
fragments of seabase parts, interior modules, vehicles, and others. Once the required
number of fragments for a part has been scanned, you may construct it (provided you
have the necessary materials).
<!--l. 59--><p class="indent" > A sub- or separate category of scavenging is related to the story. Your radio in the
life-pod, and any later radios you build will receive transmissions throughout the
game. Most of these will be from other life-pods that also launched from your ship
(although you will find no bodies and no survivors). Pieces of the background and
elements of the story will be revealed in this way, through the tried and
true method of audio logs (as in <i>Bioshock </i>and many series after that), and
text messages. Further, many of these will contain plans for needed tools,
vehicles, etc. As you learn about the aliens of the story, you will also hear some
translations of their transmissions, and learn about their civilization and
technology.
<!--l. 61--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.4.2 </span> <a
id="x1-110002.4.2"></a>Managing Inventory</h5>
<!--l. 62--><p class="noindent" >This is one of the most annoying parts that you will have to regularly engage in. In
order to gather ingredients, you will need to make excursions in the seamoth, cyclops,
PRAWN suit, and in your normal diving suit. For example, in order to get
kyanite in usable quantities, you will need to venture out in the cyclops
submarine to the Lost River area, then take the PRAWN suit with the drill arm
attachment down to the Inactive Lava region, then start drilling kyanite
outcroppings. Since inventory on the PRAWN suit is even more limited than
your own (24 slots), you may need to make several trips back and forth in
order to empty the PRAWN’s inventory and your own into the cyclops,
before returning to your life pod or seabase. Now, these excursions themselves
are not the main issue, but dealing with the resources you’ve now collected
is.
<!--l. 63--><p class="indent" > In the beginning, you will probably just throw material willy-nilly into storage
lockers, but this will soon become unmanageable. For myself, I had to build
approximately 10 storage lockers, and use some of my precious stores of
copper ore to build labels for them in order to make it quick and easy to
get the right items in the right place. Further, I had to move the storage
lockers from a hallway in my base to a full room, which required a lot of
back and forth movement and inventory juggling. Although ”realistic,” it
would have been better for items in the cyclops, PRAWN or seamoth to be
automatically moved to storage lockers, and to have materials in storage
lockers automatically accessible to the base fabricator and other stations. This
would prevent you from having to put things in the right place, then retrieve
them from the ”right place” when needed and moving them to the correct crafting station (Fabricator, Modification Station, or Vehicle Upgrade Station,
etc).
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<!--l. 68--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.4.3 </span> <a
id="x1-120002.4.3"></a>Crafting & Construction</h5>
<!--l. 69--><p class="noindent" >Like scavenging, crafting items and constructing vehicles, vehicle upgrades, and base
parts will take up a significant part of game play time. You start the game with a
single life pod with a storage locker, radio, and Fabricator. This will allow you to
turn some basic materials into tools and useful items, purify water, and cook food.
However, the storage locker is quite limited in space, and in order to advance in the
game you will need to build vehicles, which requires the Mobile Vehicle Bay. To
construct this, you will need to first build a scanner from the Fabricator, using
a battery and a piece of titanium (the battery will of course need to be
constructed first, using a piece of copper ore and two acid mushrooms). You
will need to explore the area until you find enough fragments of the Mobile
Vehicle Bay to allow its construction, then you can gather the materials
(a titanium ingot, made from 10 titanium ores, one lubricant, made from
creep vine seed clusters, and one power cell made from two batteries and one
silicone rubber, also made from a creep vine seed cluster) and build it at the
Fabricator.
<!--l. 70--><p class="indent" > Eventually, you will find previous seabases and many other items and fragments
for upgrades, and these will allow you to build your own seabases.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbFTSp7gymnTQj_kBDwkmI_pBVGP2iF0ugI_SBiRlwmLBuTg418TxD9aOrawy1y72V0B9pXmqQPm6WmxBC-s4ebCw4WaeW1vGNiFdBVf77slG_g_azNaPOSXAl7jwPeS_etVgUVIJuGyAW/s1600/SubnauticaScreenshot2019012313551550.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbFTSp7gymnTQj_kBDwkmI_pBVGP2iF0ugI_SBiRlwmLBuTg418TxD9aOrawy1y72V0B9pXmqQPm6WmxBC-s4ebCw4WaeW1vGNiFdBVf77slG_g_azNaPOSXAl7jwPeS_etVgUVIJuGyAW/s320/SubnauticaScreenshot2019012313551550.png" width="320" height="180" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="900" /></a></div>
<!--l. 74--><p class="indent" > This system is quite in depth, if you can pardon the pun. From basic rooms, you
can attach different kinds of connecting passages, both vertical and horizontal, as
well as building reinforcing panels, windows, airlocks, and hatches for either the
rooms or passages. Inside the base you can build a plethora of different modules,
from planters, bed, chairs, and desks, to battery rechargers and water filtration
machines.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidOZNgvrrhbOMNnjas_ohlmdZv5QR3WEGt82TuvlRD0-pBY44LUY7lvVIeZ9zUPzRzqcudJMnFqpOGIIAqfxa-Ud1ewpg6UuuUPMMj0EB3uEQRwoaRrwCxI6PPy8hSAZIRGdtOw7eOR-mv/s1600/SubnauticaInterior.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidOZNgvrrhbOMNnjas_ohlmdZv5QR3WEGt82TuvlRD0-pBY44LUY7lvVIeZ9zUPzRzqcudJMnFqpOGIIAqfxa-Ud1ewpg6UuuUPMMj0EB3uEQRwoaRrwCxI6PPy8hSAZIRGdtOw7eOR-mv/s320/SubnauticaInterior.png" width="320" height="180" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="900" /></a></div>
<!--l. 78--><p class="indent" > On the exterior, you have similar options. You may build flood lights and spot
lights to illuminate your base, solar panels to provide power, and several other
cosmetic and utilitarian choices.
<!--l. 80--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.5 </span> <a
id="x1-130002.5"></a>Resources</h4>
<!--l. 81--><p class="noindent" >In <i>Subnautica</i>, like in many survival games, there are numerous resources.
<!--l. 83--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.5.1 </span> <a
id="x1-140002.5.1"></a>Tangible Resources</h5>
<!--l. 84--><p class="noindent" >
<ol class="enumerate1" >
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-14002x1">Minerals: There are numerous minerals in the game:
<table class="multicols" id="multicols-1"><tr><td class="multicol-1">
<ul class="itemize1">
<li class="itemize">titanium
</li>
<li class="itemize">copper
</li>
<li class="itemize">gold
</li>
<li class="itemize">silver
</li>
<li class="itemize">quartz
</li>
<li class="itemize">lead
</li>
<li class="itemize">lithium
</li>
<li class="itemize">salt
</li>
<li class="itemize">diamond
</li>
<li class="itemize">nickel
</li>
<li class="itemize">magnetite
</li>
<li class="itemize">uraninite
</li>
<li class="itemize">kyanite
</li>
<li class="itemize">ruby
</li>
<li class="itemize">crystaline sulfur</li></ul>
</td></tr></table>
<!--l. 105--><p class="noindent" >These are all gathered from rock outcroppings, or mineral outcroppings,
although titanium can also be produced by processing ship scrap, and a few
minerals may be found just laying around on the seabed.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-14004x2">Plants: Just like minerals, there are numerous plants in the game. Most of
these are just to provide ambiance, but others can be harvested for
useful materials or for food. Some can be planted in a special seabase
module.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-14006x3">Animals: You will see dozens of different fish and other creatures in throughout
the world of <i>Subnautica</i>. These range of tiny cave worms to horrifying leviathan
beasts that can kill you quickly and damage or destroy your vehicles. Smaller
fish can be captured for food, and even raised inside a special seabase
module.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-14008x4">Food: Some smaller animals and some plants may be collected for
food.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-14010x5">Water: Like the saying goes, “Water, water everywhere, but not a
drop to drink.” The water in the ocean is not drinkable, but must be
processed, either using a bladder fish, bleach, or using a water filtration
module.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-14012x6">Materials and advanced materials: From basic minerals, animals, and plants,
you may craft materials and advanced materials. Although not incredibly long,
production chains can involve gathering several diverse resources, and multiple
processing steps. As one example, in order to craft the Shield Generator
Module for the Cyclops vehicle, you need 1 advanced wiring kit, 1 polyaniline,
and one power cell.
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<!--l. 114--><p class="noindent" >As you can see, from basic minerals and plants to finished product, there are
three intermediary steps. This is one of the more complicated items you might
build in the game.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-14014x7">Vehicles: You may craft as many vehicles in each category as you like, although
due to the material requirements for the vehicles themselves and for their
upgrades, this may not be advisable. Personally, I ended up building two
seamoths, one cyclops, and one PRAWN suit, besides the Neptune rocket and
launch pad. Although not a resource, you may customize your vehicles
to some degree, giving them different names and altering the color
scheme.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-14016x8">Vehicle Upgrades: As mentioned several times now, you may craft upgrades to
your vehicles. These may increase the strength of the hull against animal
attacks, allow it to recharge its power source using sunlight or heat, increase
the depth it may dive to, or several others. These muse be crafted using the
vehicle upgrade console or the cyclops upgrade console, and may themselves be
upgraded using the modification station. They can be carried around,
removed, and installed in different vehicles, or even stored in storage
lockers.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-14018x9">Equipment and tools: There are multiple tools in <i>Subnautica</i>, ranging from your
basic knife, flashlights and fire extinguishers to advanced items like stasis rifles
and propulsion cannons. Although these later sound like weapons, the former is
used to freeze animals in place so you may escape, and the later is used to push
or pull large crates out of the way during certain exploration sections. There
are also tools which change the state of the items around you, such
as a repair tool which allows you to repair damage to your vehicles
or seabase sections, or a powerful base constructor tool which allows
you to build new base sections and modules. Many of these require
power to run, so you will need a good supply of batteries and power
cells. You can also get different pieces of equipment which do not use
inventory slots when they are equipped. These are items like swimming
fins, a compass, your diving suit and mask, and of course your diving
tank. Many of these may be modified or upgraded at the modification
station.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-14020x10">Seabases and seabase interior/exterior modules: As you progress in the game,
you will likely begin building a seabase. There are over 20 different modules for
the seabase, including foundation pieces and basic/advanced rooms, different
types of connecting halls and vertical passages, and many different machines
and accessories.</li></ol>
<!--l. 121--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.5.2 </span> <a
id="x1-150002.5.2"></a>Intangible Resources</h5>
<!--l. 122--><p class="noindent" >
<ol class="enumerate1" >
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-15002x1">Light: Light influences how difficult or easy it is to spot resources as you
explore, and greatly effects the atmosphere of the game. When you see a
huge leviathan lunge out of the darkness at you, it really gets your heart
racing.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-15004x2">Health: You have a separate health bar from your hunger, thirst and
oxygen. This can be filled by using a medkit, and depletes when you are
attacked by an animal, in hot water, touch lava, or fall from a tall height.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-15006x3">Oxygen: As described before, you spend most of your time underwater, so
the longer you stay under, the lower your oxygen meter gets, unless you
are in a powered vehicle.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-15008x4">Hunger: This drops naturally over time, and may be filled by eating food.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-15010x5">Thirst: This also drops naturally over time, and may be filled by drinking
water and by eating some food items.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-15012x6">Vehicle stats: Your vehicles have several different stats: movement speed,
amount of power, amount of storage, number of upgrade slots, and hull
integrity.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-15014x7">Seabase stats: Similarly to your vehicles, your seabases have stats: hull
integrity, amount of power generated, amount of power used, etc. If hull
integrity becomes to low to due damage or due to lack of reinforcement or
adding too many sections/windows, this can lead to floods. Lack of light
during night can also cause power to stop being generated by solar cells,
which can lead to no oxygen being produced, and machines which require
power to stop working.</li></ol>
<!--l. 133--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.6 </span> <a
id="x1-160002.6"></a>Conflicts</h4>
<!--l. 134--><p class="noindent" >Like any good story or game, there are many conflicts in <i>Subnautica</i>. One of the most
basic is risk versus reward. As you continue to explore the world of <i>Subnautica</i>, you
will go farther away from your life-pod, and ever deeper underwater. Although you
will also given tools to make this exploration easier, the risks do increase, as do the
rewards. Generally speaking, more of the animals farther away from from your
life-pod are aggressive and are larger (capable of doing more damage to you and
your vehicles), and there are additional hazards, such as hot lava or boiling
water, running out of oxygen hundreds of meters under water, poisonous or
acidic chemicals, radiation and fires. You must continuously monitor your
situation and decide if it makes sense to press on, return to your vehicle, return
to the surface, etc, knowing that you might not be able to find your way
back easily, or that you might be attacked trying to escape or on your way
back.
<!--l. 135--><p class="indent" > There are also conflicts involving the use of resources. There are several uses for
most, so you must decide which use will be most beneficial to you. Of course, this is
not immediately obvious and you may make a lot of mistakes or short-sighted
decisions in this regard.
<!--l. 136--><p class="indent" > One final area is in cyclops vehicle pairing. The cyclops submarine can contain
one extra vehicle, such as the seamoth or PRAWN suit. If you decide to take
the cyclops out on a resource run, you must decide whether to bring one
of the smaller vehicles with you, and if so, which one you want to bring
along.
<!--l. 139--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.7 </span> <a
id="x1-170002.7"></a>Boundaries</h4>
<!--l. 142--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.7.1 </span> <a
id="x1-180002.7.1"></a>Inventory</h5>
<!--l. 143--><p class="noindent" >As mentioned previously, inventory is limited to 48 slots, although vehicles sometimes
come with internal storage and you may construct additional storage lockers in your
seabases.
<!--l. 145--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.7.2 </span> <a
id="x1-190002.7.2"></a>Map</h5>
<!--l. 146--><p class="noindent" >Although the area which you may explore is quite large, at least 12 km<sup><span
class="cmr-7">2</span></sup>, and due to
the verticality of the enviroments, the actual explorable volume is much closer to 6
km<sup><span
class="cmr-7">3</span></sup>.
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<!--l. 152--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.8 </span> <a
id="x1-200002.8"></a>Outcomes</h4>
<!--l. 153--><p class="noindent" >There is one outcome for the game: you discover the reason why your ship
was shot down, help a leviathan reproduce and cure the infection of the
planet, and construct a complete Neptune rocket and launch pad, escaping the
planet.
<!--l. 155--><p class="noindent" >
<h3 class="sectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3 </span> <a
id="x1-210003"></a>Dynamic Elements</h3>
<!--l. 157--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3.1 </span> <a
id="x1-220003.1"></a>Patterns</h4>
<!--l. 158--><p class="noindent" >This section focuses on game patterns as discussed by Ernest Adams and Joris
Dormans in <i>Game Mechanics: Advanced Game Design</i>.
<!--l. 160--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3.1.1 </span> <a
id="x1-230003.1.1"></a>Slow Cycle</h5>
<!--l. 161--><p class="noindent" >This pattern has many manifestations. There is a cycle between day and night, with
the consequences that have been explored above. There is an oxygen cycle, where you
will start from a vehicle, seabase, or the surface and begin exploring the
ocean until lack of oxygen forces you to return. Inventory fullness creates
a similar situation, as does the discovery of new fragments or plans: first
finding a fragment for a new plan that you think will be useful, then further
exploration to find more fragments, then resource gathering in order to build
it.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizGOd-_SYxFfdsxB833aMobzmDIEUNxl1zvOXSLIVOgSL4MDXsu1QjEVenAsSVIcdFuqG-IUOWGEW16Yf8jggOnmN5iVe-GPydhWxfczOh7oUBDQNgC_SNkLtvZXcWQKhv2NZ7EMb_VcKU/s1600/slowcycle.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizGOd-_SYxFfdsxB833aMobzmDIEUNxl1zvOXSLIVOgSL4MDXsu1QjEVenAsSVIcdFuqG-IUOWGEW16Yf8jggOnmN5iVe-GPydhWxfczOh7oUBDQNgC_SNkLtvZXcWQKhv2NZ7EMb_VcKU/s320/slowcycle.PNG" width="320" height="176" data-original-width="686" data-original-height="377" /></a></div>
<!--l. 166--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3.1.2 </span> <a
id="x1-240003.1.2"></a>Static Friction</h5>
<!--l. 167--><p class="noindent" >The static friction pattern most obviously appears in the drain of the hunger
and thirst meters. These slowly drain over time, until you consume food or
water.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEV-pFb_0_9LQUsTAomeAbiJGFXD4iwtx8-dX1I-I-Q-ImUTrTgs0y8jxuVPBhfTKZbdsRwZH4VV_Pdhuaq1DM8yVA88aVw6DNvhagEHBrsrJzqRtPTtGcTw1A1EL6ZeZyjH9jDC5PA8pf/s1600/staticfriction.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEV-pFb_0_9LQUsTAomeAbiJGFXD4iwtx8-dX1I-I-Q-ImUTrTgs0y8jxuVPBhfTKZbdsRwZH4VV_Pdhuaq1DM8yVA88aVw6DNvhagEHBrsrJzqRtPTtGcTw1A1EL6ZeZyjH9jDC5PA8pf/s320/staticfriction.PNG" width="320" height="190" data-original-width="437" data-original-height="260" /></a></div>
<!--l. 172--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3.1.3 </span> <a
id="x1-250003.1.3"></a>Converter Engine</h5>
<!--l. 173--><p class="noindent" >Due to the amount of crafting in the game, the converter engine plays an
important role. You can, in the early game for example, go out swimming in the
ocean, catch fish, bring them back to your pod or base and cook them in the
Fabricator. After scanning enough items and encountering certain plants, you may
build planters inside your seabase to grow edible plants, which allows you to
spend more time focused on other activities. These plants can also be used
to provide power to your seabases. Since you can affect this conversion of
plant or animal matter into energy or food by builder more or fewer alien
containment modules or garden planters, this is a prime example of the converter
engine.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW8ZR0Pr7arvzh560HfwjEGlprEgjm0jlISFaRXLNRMGWpm_Yg4vaMeK3qRsw8WszfBl3980p7UDMpYOXa4Jw1eBN65tf7i293xam0l1mb5Wo9LMYddVcEogbo5HWOc6voM3AkOth75qxF/s1600/converterengine.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW8ZR0Pr7arvzh560HfwjEGlprEgjm0jlISFaRXLNRMGWpm_Yg4vaMeK3qRsw8WszfBl3980p7UDMpYOXa4Jw1eBN65tf7i293xam0l1mb5Wo9LMYddVcEogbo5HWOc6voM3AkOth75qxF/s320/converterengine.PNG" width="320" height="198" data-original-width="504" data-original-height="312" /></a></div>
<!--l. 179--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3.1.4 </span> <a
id="x1-260003.1.4"></a>Escalating Challenge</h5>
<!--l. 180--><p class="noindent" >This pattern mainly manifested in the increasing depths and distances from your
home base you must explore, and the increasing numbers and aggressiveness of the
creatures.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO4xtdDyg_ywjYhbh9kMCoxZ37hwkNlgPHrPGQdUrnVYa1jL4V2w12QUT0gfz1GGkmB8b0sl-PKlYT0Bo_ykd89vbeTyo-jFaahxhCAFS2czHb9h6oYfcMQhHv7WiZZE6Ol4U5iio7EJGK/s1600/escalatingchallenge.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO4xtdDyg_ywjYhbh9kMCoxZ37hwkNlgPHrPGQdUrnVYa1jL4V2w12QUT0gfz1GGkmB8b0sl-PKlYT0Bo_ykd89vbeTyo-jFaahxhCAFS2czHb9h6oYfcMQhHv7WiZZE6Ol4U5iio7EJGK/s320/escalatingchallenge.PNG" width="320" height="78" data-original-width="1048" data-original-height="254" /></a></div>
<!--l. 187--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3.1.5 </span> <a
id="x1-270003.1.5"></a>Worker Placement</h5>
<!--l. 188--><p class="noindent" >The worker placement pattern appears in a few places. One is in the inventory
management of tools. Although you could carry all your tools with you all the time,
you cannot have all of them equipped at the same time. So you will have to switch
them out and in as the situation demands. The other is cyclops vehicle pairing. You
can store one smaller vehicle, such as a PRAWN suit or seamoth. If you have
both, you will need to decide which one to take with you when you move the
cyclops.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6YYDQz61xKWm1rMP_e4TSQOZhRruG8Wn2lgU9-arROi35vK-yauKvthHETRxV77mFXpanc-unA1jgnv0WIpKEUgyddi-Jwn7jxRtNMHGNg7-yTWObU1BX7JZfyIdyRal72khstoZ2dyJH/s1600/workerplacement.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6YYDQz61xKWm1rMP_e4TSQOZhRruG8Wn2lgU9-arROi35vK-yauKvthHETRxV77mFXpanc-unA1jgnv0WIpKEUgyddi-Jwn7jxRtNMHGNg7-yTWObU1BX7JZfyIdyRal72khstoZ2dyJH/s320/workerplacement.PNG" width="320" height="272" data-original-width="582" data-original-height="495" /></a></div>
<!--l. 194--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3.1.6 </span> <a
id="x1-280003.1.6"></a>Unified Analysis</h5>
<!--l. 195--><p class="noindent" >Below, find a unified analysis.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUozzawwGafQ9VhEv_hGEFf45QgMLt6nmQG0noRgN3k_Oc9HJPzIK_O2fMngjYOTV6DIqLXzVtgd7YBO-F5rMTj4Zfcn0VFbV4aDv1csoZVZcAJiLzLXSguUGZYIdo3pYHVvByw6PyXnUs/s1600/SubnauticSystems.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUozzawwGafQ9VhEv_hGEFf45QgMLt6nmQG0noRgN3k_Oc9HJPzIK_O2fMngjYOTV6DIqLXzVtgd7YBO-F5rMTj4Zfcn0VFbV4aDv1csoZVZcAJiLzLXSguUGZYIdo3pYHVvByw6PyXnUs/s320/SubnauticSystems.PNG" width="313" height="320" data-original-width="513" data-original-height="524" /></a></div>
<!--l. 200--><p class="noindent" >
<h3 class="sectionHead"><span class="titlemark">4 </span> <a
id="x1-290004"></a>Dramatic Elements</h3>
<!--l. 201--><p class="noindent" >There is a story to <i>Subnautica</i>, however, as it is mostly presented in text files and is
not given great emphasis in the game, it is very easy to ignore it or even not realize
that there is a story.
<!--l. 203--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">4.1 </span> <a
id="x1-300004.1"></a>Characters</h4>
<!--l. 204--><p class="noindent" >There are characters, but with one exception they are all dead and you have no
interaction with them. The player character is flat, undeveloped, and voiceless. The
only other character you meet and interact with is a large telepathic leviathan
creature. This character is also flat and undeveloped.
<!--l. 206--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">4.2 </span> <a
id="x1-310004.2"></a>Story</h4>
<!--l. 207--><p class="noindent" >The story, such as it is, is this: you are a member of a scientific expedition. Your
space ship, the Aurora, is shot down over a planet with only a serial number. You
survive the crash in a life-pod, and must immediately put out a fire in your pod. As
you scavenge materials to make tools, hunt fish to get food and water, you will
receive signals from other life-pods. You will also receive warnings from your tablet’s
AI about your oxygen, hunger, and thirst levels, besides information about your
surroundings, and the status of the Aurora. For example, the Aurora will begin to
pump out radiation shortly after crashing, making the area around it dangerous to
traverse without a radiation suit. You may explore the ship and repair the
nuclear reactor in order to prevent further radiation and an eventual explosion,
but this information is indirectly convened to the player, and is completely
optional.
<!--l. 208--><p class="indent" > These radio broadcasts will reveal the locations of the other life-pods. These
crashed without survivors, but do contain more story and useful item plans.
Eventually, you will encounter seabases and even an island base built by a previous
group of researchers who crashed on this planet. Because of reasons which do not
make a lot of sense, they were forced from their island base to various seabases before
being wiped out.
<!--l. 209--><p class="indent" > You will also encounter various alien bases with advanced technology, although
the aliens themselves are all gone. From these, you discover that you, and all the
creatures on the planet, have been infected by a virus or bacteria. The aliens had no
cure for this disease, and put the planet under quarantine, which is why your ship
and the previous ship was shot down (miraculously close to each other). In order to
escape the planet, you will need to deactivate the alien quarantine gun, which
involves discovering that there was one leviathan creature which had immunity to the
disease. For some reason, the aliens decided to capture this creature and imprison
it, rather than letting it release its immunity granting chemicals into the
water and saving the planet. Instead, they imprisoned it and stopped it from
reproducing, which killed almost all the living things on this planet’s ocean.
The only reason there are living things on the planet now is because you
crashed close to its prison, and the creature is releasing small amounts of
immunity drug into the water, which allows the nearby creatures to combat the
disease. In order to get immunity to this disease, you must gather a lot of
ingredients, craft some fertilization enzymes, then release the newly hatched
leviathan creatures into the ocean. Then, you can deactivate the quarantine
gun, which takes a blood sample from you in order to make sure you are
disease free, and launch your Neptune rocket. If you have not constructed
your Neptune rocket, you will have to construct it, and then prepare it for
launch.
<!--l. 211--><p class="noindent" >
<h3 class="sectionHead"><span class="titlemark">5 </span> <a
id="x1-320005"></a>Conclusion</h3>
<!--l. 212--><p class="noindent" ><i>Subnautica</i> is a beautiful and unique survival game set in an amazing and compelling
ocean world. The core game play loops of exploration, scavenging, and crafting are
smooth and well-designed. They reinforce each other and link together to create an
interesting experience.
<!--l. 213--><p class="indent" > All is not brightness and sunshine, however. The inventory management leaves a
lot to be desired, and the story, although meant to be mysterious and to
motivate the player to progress, is mostly nonsensical. On the technical side,
<i>Subnautica</i> features lots of bugs, including ugly pop-in, buggy collision detection,
and numerous loading bugs. During one sitting, the <i>water </i>didn’t load. Yes,
that’s right. In a game where you spend 90% of your time in and under
water, there wasn’t any. The fish still swam around as if water was there,
but my vehicles and my body reacted as if I was in the air. I had to find a
cliff and jump off it repeatedly until I died, and this forced the water to
reload.
<!--l. 214--><p class="indent" > In short, <i>Subnautica</i> is a great survival game and well-worth the price, but be
prepared for some frustrations involving inventory, and just turn your brain off when
you encounter any story elements.
</body></html> David Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01601318906655915875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787818667586347471.post-62210905077952473622019-01-03T16:14:00.003-08:002019-01-03T16:17:48.191-08:00The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing Analysis<html >
<head><title>The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing Analysis</title>
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<div class="maketitle">
<h2 class="titleHead">The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing
Analysis</h2>
<div class="author" ><span
class="cmr-12">David Hunter</span></div><br />
<div class="date" ><span
class="cmr-12">January 4, 2019</span></div>
</div>
<h3 class="sectionHead"><span class="titlemark">1 </span> <a
id="x1-10001"></a>Overview</h3>
<!--l. 12--><p class="noindent" ><i>The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing</i> is a third-person action RPG in the
tradition of Diablo. It was developed by NeocoreGames and released in December,
2013.
<!--l. 14--><p class="noindent" >
<h3 class="sectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2 </span> <a
id="x1-20002"></a>Formal Elements</h3>
<!--l. 16--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.1 </span> <a
id="x1-30002.1"></a>Players</h4>
<!--l. 17--><p class="noindent" >In <i>The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing</i>, you can control of the son of Abraham
Van Helsing, famous as the vampire hunter from Bram Stoker’s classic <i>Dracula</i>. You
control this avatar from the traditional 3/4 top down perspective, however the
camera actually displays in perspective, rather than in orthographic mode.
The camera is not rotatable, but the ground often has more 3D-ness and
verticality than is usually found in these kinds of games. Besides controlling the
avatar of the son of Abraham Van Helsing, you also have a ghost companion,
Katerina. Although she is controlled by the AI, the player may modify the AI
behavior, give her different equipment, and level her up in a similar way to Van
Helsing.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidFSESDx8mpq-A1Zjq4IKhyAg5WvSKa2uy5E-yyo0sqOXAZHrcMl8jzwviAzEm3GSwDRO2M0a-QyHODaip5UeqPy3MdqEErxLBKD3r7wn3ezoDqG1pYpDhzwcZKzV3DIAZf_oFZZ16HIYH/s1600/20181226103643_1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidFSESDx8mpq-A1Zjq4IKhyAg5WvSKa2uy5E-yyo0sqOXAZHrcMl8jzwviAzEm3GSwDRO2M0a-QyHODaip5UeqPy3MdqEErxLBKD3r7wn3ezoDqG1pYpDhzwcZKzV3DIAZf_oFZZ16HIYH/s320/20181226103643_1.png" width="320" height="180" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="900" /></a></div>
<!--l. 21--><p class="indent" > The main campaign is strictly single player, but multiplayer sessions may be
created online.
<!--l. 22--><p class="indent" > Your Van Helsing comes in three classes: a traditional ”Hunter” class, who can
use swords and guns, ”Thaugmaturge” class, who can use powerful magic,
and the ”Archane Mechanic” class, who can use a kind of magical gun or
cannon.
<!--l. 24--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.2 </span> <a
id="x1-40002.2"></a>Objectives</h4>
<!--l. 25--><p class="noindent" >The main objective is to defeat an evil scientist who as taken over a city
in central Europe. You have been hired by a mysterious client to oust the
scientist and rescue the city. While traveling to the city, the only bridge to it
gets dynamited, forcing you to make a detour and of course help lots of
people and defeat lots of bosses along the way to the city through a different
route.
<!--l. 27--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.3 </span> <a
id="x1-50002.3"></a>Rules</h4>
<!--l. 29--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.3.1 </span> <a
id="x1-60002.3.1"></a>Movement</h5>
<!--l. 30--><p class="noindent" >Similarly to other action RPGs, <i>The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing</i>has
severely restricted movement options. Your avatar may move horizontally along the
plain, although there are many stairs, hills, and sometimes elevators that you may
use to move vertically.
<!--l. 31--><p class="indent" > There is no swimming, jumping, dodging, or flying. The player may not
move through enemies, unless you use a special dash ability. Enemies may
crowd around the player somewhat unrealistically, ignoring each other’s
colliders.
<!--l. 33--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.3.2 </span> <a
id="x1-70002.3.2"></a>Gear, Items, and Inventory</h5>
<!--l. 34--><p class="noindent" >Like many ARPGs, it is all about the loot. There are many different items and pieces
of equipment. For weapons, you have the one-handed and two-handed melee or
magical items, as well as one-handed and two-handed ranged or magical items. For
the most part, these use the common trade of a higher attack frequency with less
damage with one-handed weapons for the lower attack frequency but much
higher attack damage with two-handed weapons. One melee and one ranged
weapon may be equipped at any given time, although many more may be
carried.
<!--l. 35--><p class="indent" > There are also armor and accessory slots:
<ol class="enumerate1" >
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-7002x1">body armor
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-7004x2">hat
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-7006x3">cloak
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-7008x4">belt
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-7010x5">gloves
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-7012x6">boots
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-7014x7">necklace
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-7016x8">trophy
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-7018x9">ring (two may be equipped)</li></ol>
<!--l. 47--><p class="indent" > These are accessed by using the right joystick to pick a category on a radial menu;
however, this is extremely sticky and imprecise, making it time-consuming and
extremely frustrating to manage your inventory.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwsUkCMHM8recDzfroKB8TxrOQzEJ7MIjAuJDm7vk2EcOQqSqLOGlZ24Nsa59fYNaNlyygwzTCz8PnpCnRNM-l97Za1CxcluDecvk8VchSiT24Z65lDKlxoVpw55EzMDOwHLdkjxzaPn1K/s1600/20181226103701_1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwsUkCMHM8recDzfroKB8TxrOQzEJ7MIjAuJDm7vk2EcOQqSqLOGlZ24Nsa59fYNaNlyygwzTCz8PnpCnRNM-l97Za1CxcluDecvk8VchSiT24Z65lDKlxoVpw55EzMDOwHLdkjxzaPn1K/s320/20181226103701_1.png" width="320" height="180" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="900" /></a></div>
<!--l. 52--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.3.3 </span> <a
id="x1-80002.3.3"></a>Crafting</h5>
<!--l. 53--><p class="noindent" >There is a crafting system in <i>The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing</i>, but this is
never adequately explained, and for the entire game you can safely ignore it. For
completeness sake, here is a brief description: you can ”Enhance” weapons and armor
by using different essences which are dropped as loot from slain enemies. Essences
may themselves by enhanced or combined to create new properties. You can also
remove these essences from weapons by dismantling them. Weapons and
armor have a limited essence capacity, so you must choose which essence you
apply.
<!--l. 55--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.3.4 </span> <a
id="x1-90002.3.4"></a>Quests</h5>
<!--l. 56--><p class="noindent" ><i>The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing</i>features quests, many of which are optional.
Completing the optional quests will give you extra XP and other possible
rewards. They may also increase your reputation, allowing you to unlock a
perk.
<!--l. 59--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.4 </span> <a
id="x1-100002.4"></a>Procedures</h4>
<!--l. 61--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.4.1 </span> <a
id="x1-110002.4.1"></a>Talking to an NPC</h5>
<!--l. 62--><p class="noindent" >Many times you will be tasked with speaking to an NPC. This is done in the
time-honored fashion that has not changed much since <i>Planescape: Torment</i>: You
click the interaction button, and you have a simple menu to choose from. You have a
few points in the story where your choices may lead to a different path or influence
later play, but these are very small changes.
<!--l. 64--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.4.2 </span> <a
id="x1-120002.4.2"></a>Searching an Area & Scavenging</h5>
<!--l. 65--><p class="noindent" >Several quests involve gathering a certain number of items, and this means exploring
all the regions or locations in an area. They may be laying around, they
may be in containers, or it might be necessary to kill a particular type of
enemy.
<!--l. 67--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.4.3 </span> <a
id="x1-130002.4.3"></a>Killing a Boss / Mob</h5>
<!--l. 68--><p class="noindent" >There are several bosses spread throughout the game world of <i>The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing</i>. Most of them are optional, and will give you a
lot of XP, gold, items, and a boost to your reputation. They usually have
special abilities, such as draining your mana, spawning walls which block
your escape, health regeneration, etc, and naturally have a huge amount of
health.
<!--l. 69--><p class="indent" > There are hundreds of mobs of different monsters around the world, ranging in
size from a handful to several dozen creatures. While attacking either a
boss or a mob, you can choose from melee or ranged attacks, and also from
different styles of attack. Each attack has three different variations which
can be unlocked, and which consume rage when used. However, this is also
never clearly explained and I played most of the game without realizing
it.
<!--l. 71--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.4.4 </span> <a
id="x1-140002.4.4"></a>Managing Inventory</h5>
<!--l. 72--><p class="noindent" >This is one of the most annoying parts that you will have to regularly engage in. You
start up with 50 inventory slots, but this is deceiving because it seems that items
may take up more than one slot. You can also transfer items to Katerina, who can be
sent to the shop to sell her items. However, this is also never adequately explained.
There is a perk which will allow you to get 100 inventory slots, so if you don’t realize
you can do the above, you could invest in this perk. I must reiterate that managing
inventory is a huge pain in the ass. Not only do you have quite limited space
considering the amount of items that will drop (even at low luck levels), but the
using the controller to access your items and check them out is more or less
broken.
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<!--l. 76--><p class="indent" > You use the right joystick and push it towards one of the categories along the
radial menu. There are ten item categories, which means you have 36<sup><span
class="cmsy-7">∘</span></sup> for
each category. When you select one category, it is extremely sticky, so even
when you move the position of your joystick much more than 36<sup><span
class="cmsy-7">∘</span></sup> away from
that category, it remains selected. Even for angles greater than 50<sup><span
class="cmsy-7">∘</span></sup> or 60<sup><span
class="cmsy-7">∘</span></sup>
different than the selected category, no change is shown. Although 36<sup><span
class="cmsy-7">∘</span></sup> is not a
huge range to aim for when moving your joystick, it is not small either.
Still, the game cannot detect where you are aiming accurately, and since the
categories are so sticky, it is difficult to change the category to the one you
desired.
<!--l. 78--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.4.5 </span> <a
id="x1-150002.4.5"></a>Leveling up</h5>
<!--l. 79--><p class="noindent" >Each time you kill a monster or complete a quest, you receive XP, which will increase
your level after you receive a certain amount. Your companion can also level up in
the same way. Each time you level up, you will receive 3 skill points and 5 stat
points. Skill points are of course used to increase skills, although skills with a higher
level requirement need two skill points.
<!--l. 80--><p class="indent" > There are four stats you may invest in, two types of skills (one for melee and one
for ranged) with 11 skills each (some of which are passive stat boosts), 10 auras
which are passive stat boosts, and 7 tricks, which are also basically passive
skills.
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<!--l. 84--><p class="indent" > There are also perks, which become available after increasing your reputation.
These could be increasing the effect of potions, giving your character a one time
gift of extra skill points, decreasing the level requirements for weapons, or
others.
<!--l. 86--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.5 </span> <a
id="x1-160002.5"></a>Resources</h4>
<!--l. 87--><p class="noindent" >In <i>The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing</i>, like in many RPG games, there are
numerous resources.
<!--l. 89--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.5.1 </span> <a
id="x1-170002.5.1"></a>Tangible Resources</h5>
<!--l. 90--><p class="noindent" >
<ol class="enumerate1" >
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-17002x1">Gold: Gold is dropped by slain monsters, found in loot containers, and
also received as a reward for completing quests.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-17004x2">Essences: Essences are also dropped from slain monsters and found in loot
containers. They can be used to modify weapons and armor.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-17006x3">Potions: Potions can be found around the game world in loot contains,
and are also dropped by slain monsters. You may also purchase them from
merchants. The two main potions are health and mana, although a few
unique ones also exist.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-17008x4">Trophies: These are also dropped from slain enemies. Like the trophies in
<i>The Witcher </i>franchise, they are body parts which give some bonuses to
different stats, increasing max health or mana, increasing attack speed,
granting fire or ice damage, etc.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-17010x5">Armor, Weapons, and Accessories: Guess what, these also drop from slain
enemies, can be purchased from shops, and found in crates around the
game world.</li></ol>
<!--l. 98--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.5.2 </span> <a
id="x1-180002.5.2"></a>Intangible Resources</h5>
<!--l. 99--><p class="noindent" >
<ol class="enumerate1" >
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-18002x1">Player and Companion Level: As you earn XP, your level will increase.
This unlocks some skills and allows you to use better equipment.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-18004x2">Player and Katerina XP: Both Van Helsing and his companion Katerina
gain XP from killing enemies. Van Helsing further gains it by complete
quests.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-18006x3">Reputation: This is gained by killing powerful enemies
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-18008x4">Skill Levels and Points: Each skill has level requirements and other
prerequisites. By investing skill points in a skill, you increase certain
aspects of the skill, either its potency, area of effect, duration, or possibly
reduce its man/rage cost or cooldown period.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-18010x5">Stat Levels and Points: By investing stat points in a stat, you increase
the numerical value of the stat, which increases other stats which are
dependent on it. For example, by increasing the Body stat you increase
the physical damage the character can do in melee, their health, and their
defensive abilities, while increasing Dexterity increases ranged damage,
chance to dodge, etc.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-18012x6">Perks and Perk Points: Perks are either one time gifts of skill points or
passive stat boosters.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-18014x7">Reputation: This is increased by killing bosses and powerful optional
monsters throughout the game world.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-18016x8">Health: When this drops to 0, you will respawn at the nearest town.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-18018x9">Mana: Used to cast spells and for special attacks.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-18020x10">Rage: This builds as you kill enemies, and can be consumed in a special
attack.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-18022x11">Item Stats: Each item has a handful of stats, which like most of the game
mechanics are never adequately explained. Weapons have a damage range,
and may have bonuses to health, health regeneration, luck, reduced ability
cooldown times, or many others. Armor and accessories have similar stats,
but with a protection rating instead.</li></ol>
<!--l. 114--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.6 </span> <a
id="x1-190002.6"></a>Conflicts</h4>
<!--l. 115--><p class="noindent" >The main conflict in terms of story and gameplay is player versus environment. There
are many enemies and monsters that fill each area, and they will attack
you once you come into range, then follow you for quite a distance before
stopping.
<!--l. 117--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.6.1 </span> <a
id="x1-200002.6.1"></a>Point Investment</h5>
<!--l. 118--><p class="noindent" >You cannot unlock all skills to their max during a full game, so you must choose skills
to invest in that match your playstyle and equipment.
<!--l. 120--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.7 </span> <a
id="x1-210002.7"></a>Boundaries</h4>
<!--l. 121--><p class="noindent" >As mentioned before, movement does have a somewhat greater sense of verticality
due to the way the base layer is allowed to move up and down, but there is no
jumping, swimming, or other types of movement allowed. Further, the maps are of
the historical rooms/dungeons plus corridors variety so commonly found in games of
this genre.
<!--l. 123--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.7.1 </span> <a
id="x1-220002.7.1"></a>Inventory</h5>
<!--l. 124--><p class="noindent" >Only 50 item slots exist for the player, plus another 50 for your ghost companion,
although you can get 50 more from a perk. You can only have one of each item type
equipped at any given time, with the exception of the rings, although it is difficult to
notice this and it is not explained or pointed out.
<!--l. 126--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.7.2 </span> <a
id="x1-230002.7.2"></a>Skills</h5>
<!--l. 127--><p class="noindent" >You cannot max out all skills in a single playthrough, and although you might be
able to unlock the base versions of all the skills, you cannot have them all equipped
at the same time. At most six skills may be equipped, one mapped to each of
the face buttons on a controller, and the other two to the right bumper
and right trigger. This too has persistent bugs that make it annoying to
play: frequently your mapped skills will become unmapped, forcing you to
return to the skill menu and manually mapping them to specific buttons
again. In addition, when you switch from melee to ranged weapons, certain
skills that are available for both modes get moved to different buttons. The
reasoning is never explained, and it is just something you have to put up
with.
<!--l. 129--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.8 </span> <a
id="x1-240002.8"></a>Outcomes</h4>
<!--l. 130--><p class="noindent" >There is only one outcome: you defeat the evil scientist who was terrorizing the city
of Borgovia.
<!--l. 132--><p class="noindent" >
<h3 class="sectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3 </span> <a
id="x1-250003"></a>Dynamic Elements</h3>
<!--l. 133--><p class="noindent" >Unlike many ARPGs, there is no grinding in <i>The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing</i>. When you kill a monster, that monster will never respawn in that area
again, so when you clear an area, it stays cleared for the whole game. This removes
the possibility of many dynamic elements related to how many monsters spawn
in and what kind of monsters spawn in. There is no day/night cycle, nor
weather cycle, and you do not gain or lose reputation with any NPCs nor
factions.
<!--l. 135--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3.1 </span> <a
id="x1-260003.1"></a>Patterns</h4>
<!--l. 136--><p class="noindent" >This section focuses on game patterns as discussed by Ernest Adams and Joris
Dormans in <i>Game Mechanics: Advanced Game Design</i>.
<!--l. 138--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3.1.1 </span> <a
id="x1-270003.1.1"></a>Slow Cycle</h5>
<!--l. 139--><p class="noindent" >During one section of game play, waves of enemies will attack your base, and you
must defend against them.
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<!--l. 144--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3.1.2 </span> <a
id="x1-280003.1.2"></a>Stopping Mechanism</h5>
<!--l. 145--><p class="noindent" >As in many RPGs, this is seen in cooldown mechanisms on abilities and
potions.
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<!--l. 151--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3.1.3 </span> <a
id="x1-290003.1.3"></a>Escalating Challenge</h5>
<!--l. 152--><p class="noindent" >The number and power of enemies generally tends to increase over the course of the
game.
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<!--l. 159--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3.1.4 </span> <a
id="x1-300003.1.4"></a>Worker Placement</h5>
<!--l. 160--><p class="noindent" >During the previously described tower defense section, you may place different traps
along different routes which enemies may travel to reach your base. Since the gates
used during each wave are different, you may try to rearrange the traps in between
waves, and also change the place that Van Helsing is focused on in order to achieve
greater or more effective coverage.
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<!--l. 165--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3.1.5 </span> <a
id="x1-310003.1.5"></a>Dynamic Friction</h5>
<!--l. 166--><p class="noindent" >This is mostly seen in the increasing XP and skill point requirements as you level up
and try to unlock higher skills.
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<!--l. 172--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3.1.6 </span> <a
id="x1-320003.1.6"></a>Trade</h5>
<!--l. 173--><p class="noindent" >Given the amount of loot that drops, you must trade it in or you will be come
woefully short on cash and will not be able to buy enough health potions throughout
the game. There is almost no other use for money, however, as the merchants almost
never have loot better than what can be found by killing monsters, and there is
little point in upgrading your armor or weapons through infusing them with
essences.
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<!--l. 178--><p class="noindent" >
<h3 class="sectionHead"><span class="titlemark">4 </span> <a
id="x1-330004"></a>Dramatic Elements</h3>
<!--l. 179--><p class="noindent" >Although there is a story and there are characters, like in many ARPGs, nobody is
playing the game for the characters or the story.
<!--l. 181--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">4.1 </span> <a
id="x1-340004.1"></a>Characters</h4>
<!--l. 182--><p class="noindent" >Van Helsing is poorly characterized, while his ghost companion Katerina
has a snide sarcastic personality. Almost all the other characters have no
personality, just a few lines of dialogue that convey information and flavor
text.
<!--l. 184--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">4.2 </span> <a
id="x1-350004.2"></a>Story</h4>
<!--l. 185--><p class="noindent" >As mentioned before, the story is about Van Helsing being called in to save the city
of Borgovia from the machinations of an evil scientist who is making machines. That
terrible pun is also about as clever as the writing throughout the game, which makes
lots of tongue in check references to <i>The Lord of the Rings </i>movies, <i>Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail</i>, and many, many other cultural and intellectual
properties.
<!--l. 186--><p class="indent" > Anyway. As the bridge that leads to the city is destroyed in front of your eyes,
you journey to a village to find someone who can lead you to the city. This person is
out on business, and, it should go without saying, you need to go rescue them. They
give you their advice, and you spend the rest of the first half of the game fighting
through different areas to make it to the city. The last half of the game is spent in
many different sections of Borgovia itself, first tracking down your client,
then dismantling the evil scientist’s machines and machinations one by one.
The evil scientist paraphrase lines from pop culture all through the fight,
perhaps in an attempt to alleviate some of the tedium of the fight. There is
something of a cliff hanger or hint at the sequels at the end, when someone
makes cryptic comments about something that I really don’t care about
anymore.
<!--l. 188--><p class="noindent" >
<h3 class="sectionHead"><span class="titlemark">5 </span> <a
id="x1-360005"></a>Conclusion</h3>
<!--l. 189--><p class="noindent" >Like their other title, <i>King Arthur: The Roleplaying Wargame</i>, <i>The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing</i> presents a few interesting twists (such as having a permanent AI companion) on a tried-and-true
formula. Unfortunately, it shares many of the flaws that <i>King Arthur: The Roleplaying Wargame </i>does: flawed gameplay mechanics, a few persistent bugs, and UI woes. Like their other title, it might be worth checking out if you are a fan of the property or a huge fan of Neocore. If you prefer innovative gameplay, deep leveling systems, fun combat that keeps you on your toes, and a good story, then you should stay away.
</body></html> David Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01601318906655915875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787818667586347471.post-10033029342026041582018-12-24T17:39:00.002-08:002018-12-24T17:48:54.318-08:00The Flame in the Flood Analysis<html >
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<div class="maketitle">
<h2 class="titleHead">The Flame in the Flood Analysis</h2>
<div class="author" ><span
class="cmr-12">David Hunter</span></div><br />
<div class="date" ><span
class="cmr-12">December 25, 2018</span></div>
</div>
<h3 class="sectionHead"><span class="titlemark">1 </span> <a
id="x1-10001"></a>Overview</h3>
<!--l. 10--><p class="noindent" ><i>The Flame in the Flood </i>is rogue-like survival game developed by The Molasses Flood
and published in January, 2017. The game takes place in a procedurally generated
flooded world, consisting mainly of a river and many islands and river bank
settlements, which the player may visit to scavenge for supplies.
<!--l. 12--><p class="noindent" >
<h3 class="sectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2 </span> <a
id="x1-20002"></a>Formal Elements</h3>
<!--l. 14--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.1 </span> <a
id="x1-30002.1"></a>Players</h4>
<!--l. 15--><p class="noindent" ><i>The Flame in the Flood </i>is a strictly a single player experience and is played from the
third-person perspective, with a 3/4 top-down non-rotatable camera that follows
the player avatar, a young girl named Scout, around. She has a small dog
companion named Aesop, who is not controllable by the player, but by a simple
AI.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5vwJ5fv9i0WsXw96-cSBSDojouyQaAinK6jzLXRH9Aee-jNl1IvNaMZ2ksZQeObnjSQqmwu67-WCm092mkaG9FD6CsADTkYtw_oqLnRy9xwM8HshDUwwURVrUbx9pWxE7ZvHoLbmOUSEL/s1600/20181222153249_1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5vwJ5fv9i0WsXw96-cSBSDojouyQaAinK6jzLXRH9Aee-jNl1IvNaMZ2ksZQeObnjSQqmwu67-WCm092mkaG9FD6CsADTkYtw_oqLnRy9xwM8HshDUwwURVrUbx9pWxE7ZvHoLbmOUSEL/s320/20181222153249_1.png" width="320" height="180" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="900" /></a></div>
<!--l. 20--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.2 </span> <a
id="x1-40002.2"></a>Objectives</h4>
<!--l. 21--><p class="noindent" >Some apocalyptic event has triggered flooding, and the local area is more
or less abandoned and emptied of people. As a young girl with only her
small dog to accompany you, you must make your way down river on a
raft in order to investigate a radio signal that spoke about a safe haven.
Along the way, you will encounter rabbits, crows, snakes, wild boar, wolves,
and bears, and you will need to make sure you have enough food, water,
and body warmth to stay alive, besides managing health conditions such as
snake bites, broken bones, open wounds, stomach parasites, and infections,
and of course trying to avoid the deadly predators mentioned before. While
traveling on the river, you will need to steer your raft to avoid colliding
with rocks and floating debris, and will need to navigate rapids and decide
where and when to land, as the developers went out of their way to make
sure that it is impossible to visit every settlement and island in a single
playthrough.
<!--l. 23--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.3 </span> <a
id="x1-50002.3"></a>Rules</h4>
<!--l. 24--><p class="noindent" >Although <i>The Flame in the Flood </i>is a rather small game, it features rich
interactions.
<!--l. 26--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.3.1 </span> <a
id="x1-60002.3.1"></a>Movement</h5>
<!--l. 27--><p class="noindent" >Scout, the player’s avatar, can move around on the mostly flat ground. She cannot
climb or jump or swim, but she can run until her stamina bar is depleted. She can
also wave her walking stick to scare away crows and wolves, but this also reduces her
stamina.
<!--l. 28--><p class="indent" > She cannot move while interacting with a crate or other container or object,
but she can cancel the interaction in order to run away from an attacking
animal.
<!--l. 29--><p class="indent" > While on the boat, the player only controls the movement of the boat, although
the inventory and crafting screens may still be accessed. This is not such a great idea
most of the time, as these menus do not pause the game, so the boat will continue
moving down the river and may crash into something. The player may use
stamina to stroke hard, causing the boat to move more quickly for a short
time.
<!--l. 31--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.3.2 </span> <a
id="x1-70002.3.2"></a>Gear, Items, and Inventory</h5>
<!--l. 32--><p class="noindent" >The player starts with a few items, and must scavenge the environment to make more
complicated items. Gear comes in a few categories:
<ul class="itemize1">
<li class="itemize">Clothing: This plays a key role because as the player progresses in the
game, the temperature will decrease quite rapidly, and drops even more
during the night. The player may equip pants, boots, a jacket, gloves, and
a hat.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Tools: The player can create stone knives and hammers, and steel knives
and hammers. These are necessary for crafting other items.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Traps: Using crafting materials, the player may make a variety of traps.
Snares and box traps are suitable for capturing rabbits, while spear traps
work for wolves, boars, and bears, although bears will need several traps
before dying.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Kits and Healing Items: The player may craft basic materials into leather
kits, stitching kits, and a variety of healing items to treat food poisoning,
broken bones, cuts, and other ailments.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Food and Drink: The player can find many items to eat. Fresh or raw
food will spoil after a certain amount of time, while cooked or salted food
lasts longer. The player must also worry about getting enough to drink,
but rain water is clean to drink, and river water can be filtered at a fire,
providing you have crafted a filter.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Crafting Materials: The player can pick up and gather many objects in
the environment, from crow feathers and dandelions, to fishing line and
nuts and bolts. Most of these are not useful in and of themselves, but they
are crucial for making other items.</li></ul>
<!--l. 41--><p class="indent" > The player has a limited inventory starting at 12, which can be expanded by
crafting pouches to a maximum of 28 (each pouch expands your inventory by 4 slots).
The boat’s inventory may also be expanded to 16 by upgrading it at a Marina.
Aesop, your dog companion, may also carry a maximum of 6 items. Certain items
may be stacked, but the amount in each stack depends on the item type. Jars of
water and some food items may be stacked up to 5, but penicillin and other items
may be stacked to ten.
<!--l. 42--><p class="indent" > In one of the rogue-like elements of the game, if you die and start a new
campaign, the items which Aesop is carrying are carried over into the new
game.
<!--l. 44--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.3.3 </span> <a
id="x1-80002.3.3"></a>Crafting</h5>
<!--l. 45--><p class="noindent" >Crafting may take place on the boat, on land, at a workbench, or at a fire.
Certain items can only be crafted at a fire or at a workbench. Each item
requires specific materials, which will be consumed upon crafting it. The player
may only craft an item if they have room for it in their inventory, or if the
items consumed in crafting will create room for the item. Each item requires
only one inventory slot. Crafting does not pause the game, so you cannot
craft an arrow or trap to get you out of a jam, unless you first reach a safe
spot.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ2LDRp_udFinXGK22i64prhhP7eE_qI2HFYYOnHnEycKAOVTqVBbA2eiybk87zNK6W0xlzAyG0aGT_LBuI76MHhsmjSipMtBluj94D6o87W6l67y_gq-gZWTWE_HX_kjSVIEhy7m5RLWL/s1600/20181222153315_1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ2LDRp_udFinXGK22i64prhhP7eE_qI2HFYYOnHnEycKAOVTqVBbA2eiybk87zNK6W0xlzAyG0aGT_LBuI76MHhsmjSipMtBluj94D6o87W6l67y_gq-gZWTWE_HX_kjSVIEhy7m5RLWL/s320/20181222153315_1.png" width="320" height="180" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="900" /></a></div>
<!--l. 50--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.3.4 </span> <a
id="x1-90002.3.4"></a>Quests</h5>
<!--l. 51--><p class="noindent" >The player may find mail boxes on random islands. These may contain a cache of
useful items, but they may also have a task or quest for the player to complete. This
could be eating a certain amount of meat, killing a creature or a number of creatures,
or performing an action such as making a fire, or healing yourself. Completing a
quest will magically give you an item. This part of the game doesn’t really make
much sense.
<!--l. 54--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.4 </span> <a
id="x1-100002.4"></a>Procedures</h4>
<!--l. 55--><p class="noindent" ><i>The Flame in the Flood </i>has a few basic procedures.
<!--l. 57--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.4.1 </span> <a
id="x1-110002.4.1"></a>Talking to an NPC</h5>
<!--l. 58--><p class="noindent" >On random islands, the player may encounter an NPC or two. These do not move
around, do not attack the player, and will only engage in limited dialogue or
trade.
<!--l. 60--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.4.2 </span> <a
id="x1-120002.4.2"></a>Searching an Area & Scavenging</h5>
<!--l. 61--><p class="noindent" >As a post-apocalyptic game, a common procedure will be to either be tasked with
finding an item, or the player might want or need to find a health item, or just
collecting scrap parts or plants for crafting. This will involve moving around the
island or settlement and checking boxes, buildings, and cars for items. During
exploration, encountering an animal is highly likely.
<!--l. 63--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.4.3 </span> <a
id="x1-130002.4.3"></a>Killing an Animal</h5>
<!--l. 64--><p class="noindent" >Bears, boars, wolves, and rabbits are killable in <i>The Flame in the Flood</i>, but
snakes, ants, bears, boars and wolves pose a danger to the player. Boars will
charge and chase the player for a short distance, causing a broken bone
or laceration which may later become infected if left untreated. Repeated
charges can kill the player. Wolves will hunt the player and jump in to attack,
causing lacerations. These attacks can also be fatal if the player does not
escape or heal themselves. Wolves and boars can be scared away briefly by
waving Scout’s walking stick. Wolves and boars can be killed using a single
spear trap, and or several arrows. Wolves can additionally be killed using
tainted meat or poisoned bait. Bears will only attack the player if the player
gets very close to them, however this is extremely foolhardy to do without
preparation. Bears move very quickly and cannot be scared away by waving the
player’s walking stick. It takes 3-4 spear traps, or many arrows to kill a bear,
and unless these are ready, the bear’s repeated attacks will probably kill
Scout. Ants bite the player if you walk across their nests, and snakes will
also bite and poison the player if you get too close. The ant bites can lead
the way to staph infections and death, while snake bites can be fatal by
themselves.
<!--l. 65--><p class="indent" > The killed animals provide meat and skin for the player to eat or to use in
crafting other items, such as bait, pouches, or clothes.
<!--l. 67--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.4.4 </span> <a
id="x1-140002.4.4"></a>Managing Health Conditions</h5>
<!--l. 68--><p class="noindent" >There are four main health bars the player must manage: hunger, thirst, sleep, and
body temperature. Hunger, thirst, and sleep all gradually decrease until
the player eats, drinks, or rests. Different food items will refill the hunger
meter to different amounts, while any beverage will replenish the thirst meter
by 50 points. Resting can be done in 1 hour increments. The default is 4
hours, which will give +50 to rest, and deplete hunger by 8 and thirst by
10.
<!--l. 69--><p class="indent" > Body temperature depends on the current outside temperature, whether you are
wet, and your current clothing. Each item of clothing has a heat rating, and this is
compared against the current temperature to determine whether you maintain or lose
body heat.
<!--l. 70--><p class="indent" > Besides these health bars, there are numerous other conditions that effect Scout’s
survival. If she has been attacked by a wolf, boar, or bear, she may get a laceration,
which will cause her rest bar to be decreased by 20 points, and cause her hunger bar
to decrease 3.5 times quicker. If it is not treated, it could cause a staph infection,
which will continue the punishing drain on hunger, and add a similar drain on
thirst. This condition will lead to death if not treated after around 8 hours.
Snake bites similarly reduce rest and hunger, while also causing thirst to
deplete 7.5 times quicker. Broken bones decrease Scout’s speed, and cause
hunger to decrease as the previous afflictions. Eating raw meat, spoiled food,
or drinking dirty water can all cause their own different problems, from
dysentery, giardia, parasites, or blood flukes, each of which could lead to death
or cause your hunger or thirst meters to drop rapidly to zero, killing you
indirectly.
<!--l. 71--><p class="indent" > Animals are not the only threat in <i>The Flame in the Flood</i>. There are also
patches of brambles and poison ivy, which cause small cuts and itchiness,
respectively.
<!--l. 72--><p class="indent" > Luckily, all these conditions can be treated. Snake bites can be cured by drinking
dandelion or sumac tea, broken bones can be splinted, poison ivy can be rubbed with
aloe, etc.
<!--l. 74--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.5 </span> <a
id="x1-150002.5"></a>Resources</h4>
<!--l. 75--><p class="noindent" >Like any survival game worth its salt, <i>The Flame in the Flood </i>comes with many
resources.
<!--l. 77--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.5.1 </span> <a
id="x1-160002.5.1"></a>Tangible Resources</h5>
<!--l. 78--><p class="noindent" >
<ol class="enumerate1" >
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-16002x1">Food: Food comes in many forms: it could be raw, cooked, or jerked meat
from rabbit, bear, wolf or wild boar, raw or cooked yucca, or several other
varieties. Each will give the player a different amount of energy.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-16004x2">Beverages: Beverages are generally limited: the player may drink dirty or
clean water, teas, and alcohol.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-16006x3">Crafting Items: There are many different crafting items in the game,
ranging from saplings, old lumber, and nuts and bolts to fishing line,
various animal hides, and moldy lumps (when food spoils it turns into
these). Each takes one slot in the player’s inventory, but most can be
stacked into groups of 5 or 10.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-16008x4">Clothing: Each item of unequipped clothing takes up a slot in the player’s
inventory. Unwanted clothing can be shredded into rags, which are used
for making bandages and other items.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-16010x5">Traps, Bombs, and Weapons: There are three kinds of traps: snares for
rabbits, box traps for rabbits, and spear traps for larger animals. The
player may also may bows and arrows, however, it usually takes several
arrows to kill a boar or wolf.</li></ol>
<!--l. 86--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.5.2 </span> <a
id="x1-170002.5.2"></a>Intangible Resources</h5>
<!--l. 87--><p class="noindent" >
<ol class="enumerate1" >
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-17002x1">Hunger: This gauge measures how full you are, so as it drops you will
become weaker and weaker until you starve. It is replenished by eating.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-17004x2">Stamina: This gauge measures how much energy you can use in a short
time. Running, pushing hard when on the boat, and waving your walking
stick all deplete it.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-17006x3">Rest: This measures how rested you are. It slowly drops the more time
you spend awake and moving around. It can be refilled by sleeping.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-17008x4">Thirst: Slowly drops over time until you drink something.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-17010x5">Body Temperature: If this gets low enough you will die of hypothermia.
Keep it high by staying close to fires and by wearing warm clothes.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-17012x6">Raft Condition: The raft has ”health” which can be damaged by running
into rocks. If this reaches 0, the raft will sink and Scout will die.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-17014x7">Tools: Once crafted, these do not take up inventory space. Their condition
will slowly deteriorate as you use them to craft more items.</li></ol>
<!--l. 98--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.6 </span> <a
id="x1-180002.6"></a>Conflicts</h4>
<!--l. 99--><p class="noindent" >There are many conflicts in <i>The Flame in the Flood</i>. You cannot visit every location
that is generated along the river, so you must choose which you wish to visit. Do you
go to the campground/wilderness and try to pick up some rabbit skins and flint, or
do you go to the gas station and collect some gas for your boat? Either choice could
have profound consequences.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWLd3v71IXiK0kPH1uXVaYvB4zeKH7AkL3KCvCtuP7f7J6GUIC7WKdbcWnBNkHQw9rzJszKAAImohTCciKju1CVeP3bl2-F2MWxZe3ClWOBwl4XdygEi0DsDIUyJRWf9H_K2yABMsQ-ir1/s1600/20181222153522_1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWLd3v71IXiK0kPH1uXVaYvB4zeKH7AkL3KCvCtuP7f7J6GUIC7WKdbcWnBNkHQw9rzJszKAAImohTCciKju1CVeP3bl2-F2MWxZe3ClWOBwl4XdygEi0DsDIUyJRWf9H_K2yABMsQ-ir1/s320/20181222153522_1.png" width="320" height="180" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="900" /></a></div>
<!--l. 103--><p class="indent" > Once you reach a settlement of your choice, you need to decide whether you wish
to explore it. It may be night time, and wolves are more plentiful at night. You need
to ask yourself: Is the risk worth it? Can you stay away from any wolves you
encounter, or are you prepared to deal with them using traps, arrows, and poisoned
bait?
<!--l. 104--><p class="indent" > You must also deal with inventory. You cannot carry an infinite amount, so you
must prioritize accordingly. Do you need those extra mulberries, or would the space
be better used by old lumber to use for raft upgrades?
<!--l. 107--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.7 </span> <a
id="x1-190002.7"></a>Boundaries</h4>
<!--l. 108--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.7.1 </span> <a
id="x1-200002.7.1"></a>Map</h5>
<!--l. 109--><p class="noindent" >The map in the campaign is limited to a certain distance and number of
regions. The game will begin its ending sequence after that limit has been
passed.
<!--l. 110--><p class="indent" > The settlements can only be explored to their limits, and there is no climbing,
swimming, jumping, or flying allowed, making the horizontal exploration of each area
crucial.
<!--l. 111--><p class="indent" > The river, likewise, may only be explored in a single plane, and there are no
branchings: at most, there are islands in the river which must be navigated around,
but you will always rejoin the main flow.
<!--l. 113--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.7.2 </span> <a
id="x1-210002.7.2"></a>Inventory</h5>
<!--l. 114--><p class="noindent" >The player, the raft, and the player’s dog (Aesop) all have limited inventory, which
have already been described before.
<!--l. 116--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.8 </span> <a
id="x1-220002.8"></a>Outcomes</h4>
<!--l. 117--><p class="noindent" >There are two main outcomes: the player may die by many different events,
as outlined above, leading to a game over screen and the choice to load
from a previous checkpoint or to completely start fresh, or the player may
struggle all the way to the end, and be awarded with the happy ending of the
game.
<!--l. 119--><p class="noindent" >
<h3 class="sectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3 </span> <a
id="x1-230003"></a>Dynamic Elements</h3>
<!--l. 120--><p class="noindent" >There are numerous dynamic elements in <i>The Flame in the Flood</i>.
<!--l. 122--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3.1 </span> <a
id="x1-240003.1"></a>Day/Night Cycle and Weather</h4>
<!--l. 123--><p class="noindent" >The time of day will slowly change between daylight and nighttime. This is
accompanied by changes in lighting and temperature changes. This also affects how
likely wolves are to appear.
<!--l. 125--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3.2 </span> <a
id="x1-250003.2"></a>River and Island Placement</h4>
<!--l. 126--><p class="noindent" >As a procedurally-generated game, the exact curvature and width of the
river, the placement of the islands and settlements, and the exact layout
of of each settlement is dynamic. This is discussed in detail in this <a
href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6N56YpHCHBM" >GDC
Talk</a>.
<!--l. 128--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3.3 </span> <a
id="x1-260003.3"></a>Patterns</h4>
<!--l. 129--><p class="noindent" >This section focuses on game patterns as discussed by Ernest Adams and Joris
Dormans in <i>Game Mechanics: Advanced Game Design</i>.
<!--l. 131--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3.3.1 </span> <a
id="x1-270003.3.1"></a>Slow Cycle</h5>
<!--l. 132--><p class="noindent" >The main use of the slow cycle pattern occurs in the day/night cycle. This influences
the temperature and the chances of wolves appearing.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizGOd-_SYxFfdsxB833aMobzmDIEUNxl1zvOXSLIVOgSL4MDXsu1QjEVenAsSVIcdFuqG-IUOWGEW16Yf8jggOnmN5iVe-GPydhWxfczOh7oUBDQNgC_SNkLtvZXcWQKhv2NZ7EMb_VcKU/s1600/slowcycle.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizGOd-_SYxFfdsxB833aMobzmDIEUNxl1zvOXSLIVOgSL4MDXsu1QjEVenAsSVIcdFuqG-IUOWGEW16Yf8jggOnmN5iVe-GPydhWxfczOh7oUBDQNgC_SNkLtvZXcWQKhv2NZ7EMb_VcKU/s320/slowcycle.PNG" width="320" height="176" data-original-width="686" data-original-height="377" /></a></div>
<!--l. 137--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3.3.2 </span> <a
id="x1-280003.3.2"></a>Stopping Mechanism</h5>
<!--l. 138--><p class="noindent" >The stopping mechanism is used in several places. You can find it in the limited
stamina bars, preventing you from holding wolves at bay indefinitely and from simply
steering or stroking against the flow of the river and going wherever you want.
It also appears in the inventory limitations, preventing you from carrying
those 200 stacks of reeds and saplings you’d really like to, as they are so
usefully.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyaHpiEprg1FTz9WbAmUr6N_Z_miF-1c-GKOOoGxLFnhS4kts4g9tQhkFXGWAb170YVfz_9wp0-BrDxDcyum7VC5eFWA-GWqfEKLTm14jhD8oRnNzpVb3kFXcG9CtGb-udhm11V_fqfi-A/s1600/stoppingmechanism.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyaHpiEprg1FTz9WbAmUr6N_Z_miF-1c-GKOOoGxLFnhS4kts4g9tQhkFXGWAb170YVfz_9wp0-BrDxDcyum7VC5eFWA-GWqfEKLTm14jhD8oRnNzpVb3kFXcG9CtGb-udhm11V_fqfi-A/s320/stoppingmechanism.PNG" width="320" height="83" data-original-width="1058" data-original-height="275" /></a></div>
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3.3.3 </span> <a
id="x1-290003.3.3"></a>Escalating Challenge</h5>
<!--l. 145--><p class="noindent" >The main component of the escalating challenge pattern is found in the steady drop
in temperature as you proceed further down the river. Wolves also become more
common, and resources become scarcer.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIzcugtGArdnlrmb0aQebD3YuT6m11z0TUn5TeejKZ6dEbJU7vipUXQ1v-TuFQF5dqG2LQfcfzk4extOOGuZcM39fYDTcdisX_InsrrrQUe3KWauE8_VOmVJwwBoSBRldWBoz8TT-Cbjun/s1600/escalatingchallenge.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIzcugtGArdnlrmb0aQebD3YuT6m11z0TUn5TeejKZ6dEbJU7vipUXQ1v-TuFQF5dqG2LQfcfzk4extOOGuZcM39fYDTcdisX_InsrrrQUe3KWauE8_VOmVJwwBoSBRldWBoz8TT-Cbjun/s320/escalatingchallenge.PNG" width="320" height="78" data-original-width="1048" data-original-height="254" /></a></div>
<!--l. 150--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3.3.4 </span> <a
id="x1-300003.3.4"></a>Static Friction</h5>
<!--l. 151--><p class="noindent" >The static friction pattern is used extensively in many survival games to simulate the
drain of hunger, thirst, sleep, etc, and <i>The Flame in the Flood </i>is no exception. It is
used for the items mentioned above, as well as in the crafting times and
scavenging times for different items. Since they take time, you cannot just
spam the button, but decide carefully whether to invest the time in it or
not.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhupfJNrFgvw92spppeA1F6VSKQ1oJyUXMGaRkeF1I4M4B-l4NgGrESV6apJTVzEg0uBlmKNJDY-lp5FTpk4BdPlldHugiekh1MT2o0eEt-d2gzAWUUiEfC2KHpe6SjWffm0TXtlr2uskuQ/s1600/staticfriction.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhupfJNrFgvw92spppeA1F6VSKQ1oJyUXMGaRkeF1I4M4B-l4NgGrESV6apJTVzEg0uBlmKNJDY-lp5FTpk4BdPlldHugiekh1MT2o0eEt-d2gzAWUUiEfC2KHpe6SjWffm0TXtlr2uskuQ/s320/staticfriction.PNG" width="320" height="190" data-original-width="437" data-original-height="260" /></a></div>
<!--l. 157--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3.3.5 </span> <a
id="x1-310003.3.5"></a>Trade</h5>
<!--l. 158--><p class="noindent" >You sometimes encounter other characters who will engage in limited trade. You do
not have much control over this: they will peek at your inventory, and offer you
something in return for one of the items. You can either accept this, reject, or try for
a different deal.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnm0Lg_PkQ01_psuKuzZwl3fXEafgL8q3rdBfQniPoLsalIeIHnf0TPEqejQL8HMxgSKrHbqk-Fzau_venCveDUo-TeGqF0JgmYWoofaJYE0MuFb1ZxWvx2zO5o-RKOsKmbCDX7pw1GiLJ/s1600/trade.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnm0Lg_PkQ01_psuKuzZwl3fXEafgL8q3rdBfQniPoLsalIeIHnf0TPEqejQL8HMxgSKrHbqk-Fzau_venCveDUo-TeGqF0JgmYWoofaJYE0MuFb1ZxWvx2zO5o-RKOsKmbCDX7pw1GiLJ/s320/trade.PNG" width="320" height="215" data-original-width="643" data-original-height="433" /></a></div>
<!--l. 163--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3.3.6 </span> <a
id="x1-320003.3.6"></a>Unified Analysis</h5>
<!--l. 164--><p class="noindent" >In the two graphics below, you will find most of the patterns above mentioned.
The first works something like Frogger: you must move from location to
location as islands and rocks move by you. You may choose to enter an island,
where the second mode takes place. If you encounter a rock, the raft takes
damage.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNBGoAzwUKPm39IP_vwVG_rQR58f9O_NL7zIj3gLQDt7azvMDrtVqISONBTENOu7yqdHdqRMkDUQ-tZRgBmCrNA5S-wmyEVAH09kvtMpeNbEQOOh1ZoQtw0dMQCJlOalbxIT_93SWYaRUZ/s1600/TheFlameInTheFloodMain.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNBGoAzwUKPm39IP_vwVG_rQR58f9O_NL7zIj3gLQDt7azvMDrtVqISONBTENOu7yqdHdqRMkDUQ-tZRgBmCrNA5S-wmyEVAH09kvtMpeNbEQOOh1ZoQtw0dMQCJlOalbxIT_93SWYaRUZ/s320/TheFlameInTheFloodMain.PNG" width="320" height="275" data-original-width="910" data-original-height="781" /></a></div>
<!--l. 169--><p class="indent" > In this mode, you may move around and scavenge item and craft them. You can
also encounter animals which have a chance of injuring you and inflicting different
maladies.
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<!--l. 174--><p class="noindent" >
<h3 class="sectionHead"><span class="titlemark">4 </span> <a
id="x1-330004"></a>Dramatic Elements</h3>
<!--l. 175--><p class="noindent" >Since <i>The Flame in the Flood </i>relies heavily on procedural generation, designed
dramatic elements are rather limited. There are a few NPCs which the player may
encounter and speak with, but their dialogue is extremely limited, at most about 5-8
lines, and does not feature any role-playing elements of choosing different options,
which then affect your standing or reputation with that NPC or group of NPCs.
Of course, this is not the focus of the game, so the lack of these elements
allows the player’s own adventure and journey to survive to shine all the
more.
<!--l. 176--><p class="indent" > There are quilts which tell small stories that can be found in certain settlements,
but these do not add much in the way of information about where everyone is, what
exactly happened, or why.
<!--l. 178--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">4.1 </span> <a
id="x1-340004.1"></a>Characters</h4>
<!--l. 179--><p class="noindent" >There are a handful of characters, although there is almost no dialogue and almost
no meaningful interaction among them.
<!--l. 181--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">4.2 </span> <a
id="x1-350004.2"></a>Story</h4>
<!--l. 182--><p class="noindent" >The story, such as it is, is this: there has been some kind of disaster that has caused
the world to become flooded. You take control of a young girl known only as Scout,
who appears to be a member of the Girl Scouts. She is accompanied by her
dog, Aesop. During her journey she encounters a few children, and several
different adults. These interactions are limited to a few lines of dialogue,
and a few different choices, which do not seem to have a large effect on the
story.
<!--l. 183--><p class="indent" > At first she will make her way down river to find a radio signal. After finding the
tower, she will have to continue down river to find another location, and finally she
will reach a ”kingdom” or theme park area with many other girls and dogs who have
survived similarly harrowing adventures.
<!--l. 185--><p class="noindent" >
<h3 class="sectionHead"><span class="titlemark">5 </span> <a
id="x1-360005"></a>Conclusion</h3>
<!--l. 186--><p class="noindent" ><i>The Flame in the Flood </i>is a relatively small and short game. After dying, reloading,
dying and restarting several times, I was able to make it to the final area in
about 13 hours. I felt like I had really survived and gone through all the
trials and rough spots that Scout had. I shouted in dismay when a wolf
attacked me, I cringed and grimaced when I made a bad raft maneuver and
drowned. When fever or sepsis caused me to collapse, I sighed and went
back to another save, determined not to make the same stupid mistakes
again.
<!--l. 187--><p class="indent" > The music adds to the atmosphere, coming in and fading out at all the right
moments.
<!--l. 188--><p class="indent" > As a survival game, the cute arts makes you think you are in for a gentle
experience, which is dashed as soon as you try to take alive for more than a few days.
Your water will run low, you might eat some rotten food and come down with
parasites, or any number of other accidents might befall you. It will take
careful planning, thought, and no small amount of luck to make it to the end.
Should you do so, you will have had a delightful, and difficult experience.
</body></html> David Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01601318906655915875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787818667586347471.post-86443617975776271202018-09-18T22:25:00.001-07:002018-09-18T22:26:06.381-07:00Grim Dawn Analysis<html >
<body>
<div class="maketitle">
<h2 class="titleHead">Grim Dawn Analysis</h2>
<div class="author" >
<span class="cmr-12">David Hunter</span>
</div>
<br />
<div class="date" ><span class="cmr-12">September 19, 2018</span>
</div>
</div>
<h3 class="sectionHead"><span class="titlemark">1 </span> <a
id="x1-10001"></a>Overview</h3>
<!--l. 10--><p class="noindent" >Ever since 1996, when the first <i>Diablo </i>was released by Blizzard, the ARPG has
become a revered, beloved and also sometimes derided genre. <i>Grim Dawn </i>is one of the
newer ARPGs, and was developed by Crate Entertainment and released on PC in
February, 2016.
<!--l. 12--><p class="noindent" >
<h3 class="sectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2 </span> <a
id="x1-20002"></a>Formal Elements</h3>
<!--l. 13--><p class="noindent" >Although the graphics and complexity of the action have of course improved since
1996, many elements have remained the same.
<ol class="enumerate1" >
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-2002x1">3/4 top-down isometric camera angle.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-2004x2">The player controls a single character by pointing and clicking on the map,
items, and characters. Number keys and hotkeys can be used to trigger
abilities, or open/close menus.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-2006x3">The player will battle dozens of enemies at a time, collecting randomized
items, money, and weapons and armor.
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-2008x4">The player will navigate a 3D world with different buildings, caves, mines,
etc to explore.</li></ol>
<!--l. 21--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.1 </span> <a
id="x1-30002.1"></a>Players</h4>
<!--l. 22--><p class="noindent" >The player’s character is a recovered ”Taken,” a human whose body was taken over
by a being from another plane, called Aetherials, but then released. The player may
choose a male or female character, and after reaching level 2, from one of six initial
classes.
<ol class="enumerate1" >
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-3002x1">Soldier: tanky and aggressive melee damage dealers
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-3004x2">Demolitionist: focuses on using guns and bombs
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-3006x3">Occultist: uses curses, summoned monsters, poison and acid damage
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-3008x4">Nightblade: dual-wielders, high DPS but low health,
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-3010x5">Arcanist: use powerful magic spells and weapon enchantments
</li>
<li
class="enumerate" id="x1-3012x6">Shaman: high damage melee fighters, can also summon beasts and use
lightning magic</li></ol>
<!--l. 31--><p class="noindent" >After reaching level 10 a second class may be chosen.
<!--l. 32--><p class="indent" > The player controls the avatar as described above, by clicking on the
ground, various objects, and characters. There is no direct control scheme, no
dodging, swimming, or flying, or any other advanced movement options or
controls.
<!--l. 33--><p class="indent" > Like most ARPGs, the player has several equipment slots for armor, accessories,
and weapons. You will spend a large amount of time going over item stats, comparing
them, and cogitating about which ones you should keep for later, sell, equip now,
dismantle, etc.
<!--l. 35--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.2 </span> <a
id="x1-40002.2"></a>Objectives</h4>
<!--l. 36--><p class="noindent" >The avatar wakes up after the Aetherial has left your avatar’s body. Immediately, you
are tasked with assisting nearby village of Devil’s Crossing by investigating what is
causing so many living dead to appear. This leads to other tasks to help them
out, then to help out the neighboring village, etc. These tasks will see the
player slaughtering hordes of undead, insects, trolls, robbers, and religious
fanatics, as well as gathering important items and materials to help out
the settlements. Throughout these trials, you will come to know the threat
posed by Aetherials in more detail, and essentially work your way up their
hierarchy.
<!--l. 38--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.3 </span> <a
id="x1-50002.3"></a>Rules</h4>
<!--l. 39--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.3.1 </span> <a
id="x1-60002.3.1"></a>Areas</h5>
<!--l. 40--><p class="noindent" >There are many areas that only unlock after a particular story point has been
reached, and dozens that require materials, such as scrap or dynamite, to clear debris
away and/or build a new bridge. The player may fast travel at any point, even
during combat, to a previously existing portal somewhere else on the map. In
general, the above ground area enemies scale to the player’s level within
limits determined by the area itself. The opening areas of the game have a
maximum level of around 20, for example, while mid-game areas max out around
40.
<!--l. 42--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.3.2 </span> <a
id="x1-70002.3.2"></a>Combat</h5>
<!--l. 43--><p class="noindent" >The combat revolves around using the left mouse button for your main attack
/ability, right mouse button for a secondary ability, and the number and letter keys
for others. There is no active dodge, but you can avoid certain enemy attacks by
moving out of their area of influence.
<!--l. 44--><p class="indent" > If the player dies, the player will respawn at the closest main town, leaving a
tombstone behind with some XP. If the player moves through to that area again, the
monsters that have already been killed remain dead, but bosses regain some of
their health. If the player can reach the tombstone without dying, they may
regain some of the lost XP, but if they die before reaching it, it will be gone
forever.
<!--l. 46--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.3.3 </span> <a
id="x1-80002.3.3"></a>Stats and Leveling</h5>
<!--l. 48--><p class="noindent" >The player has direct control over three main stats:
<ul class="itemize1">
<li class="itemize"><span
class="cmbx-10">Physique </span>is the main influence on player health, health regeneration, and
defensive ability. It is also one of the main requirements for armor, melee
weapons and shields.
</li>
<li class="itemize"><span
class="cmbx-10">Cunning </span>is the main requirement for ranged weapons. It provides bonuses
to physical, piercing, and duration damage.
</li>
<li class="itemize"><span
class="cmbx-10">Spirit </span>is the main requirement for spells and magical items. It gives
bonuses to magical damage types.</li></ul>
<!--l. 54--><p class="indent" > When the player levels up, they will be given one stat point to invest in one of
these stats, plus three skill points. Skills points may be invested either directly in
skills or in increasing the level of one’s class. Your character has a particular level,
which increases based on experience received from killing monsters, finding lore
books, and completing quests. Your classes for that character also have levels, which
are determined by how many skill points you invest in them. Investing points in a
class gives bonuses in differing amounts to the three main stats above, in addition to
increasing health and spirit. Besides these benefits, increasing your class level will
also unlock further skills in that class’s skill tree at 5- or 10-level intervals.
Once a skill has been unlocked, the player may use one of the three skill
points to activate it or to increase the skill’s level. Depending on the skill,
this could mean increasing the damage dealt, increasing the range of its
effect, increasing the effect size or duration of the effect, or several other
changes.
<!--l. 55--><p class="indent" > Besides your three main stats, player level also functions as a requirement for
some items, so even if you have enough Physique to use a shield, perhaps you must
be a level 20 character, but you are currently at 15. Tough luck.
<!--l. 56--><p class="indent" > Throughout the world of <i>Grim Dawn</i>, the player can find many shrines. Some of
these can be repaired or restored by sacrificing items, while others have been
defiled by monsters which the player must slay in order to cleanse them.
Once restored or cleansed, the player will receive a devotion point. Devotion
points make up the other main prong of the leveling system. The player may
invest devotion points in constellations: groups of stat bonuses and skills
which must be unlocked in a particular order. Each constellation belongs to a
class:
<ul class="itemize1">
<li class="itemize">Ascendant: related to immense feats or reverence from others
</li>
<li class="itemize">Chaotic: entropy and destruction
</li>
<li class="itemize">Eldritch: wild forces of magic
</li>
<li class="itemize">Order: harmony and balance
</li>
<li class="itemize">Primordial: life, death, reality itself</li></ul>
<!--l. 64--><p class="noindent" >and may have affinity requirements (for example, the tier two constellation Affliction
requires the player to have 4 points of devotion in Ascendant, 3 points in Chaotic,
and 4 points in Eldritch before it unlocks and becomes available to the player). As
the player unlocks stars in a constellation, they will receive affinity bonuses with the
class to which the constellation belongs. These may help to unlock more powerful
constellations with higher affinity requirements. Some constellations have a special
skill which may be associated with a class skill of the player’s choosing. For example,
by completely investing in the Falcon constellation, the player may unlock the Falcon
Swoop ability, which spawns a certain number of falcons that fly through enemies
dealing damage based on the currently equipped weapon, plus a certain
amount of bleeding damage over three seconds. This skill can be triggered
by using a class skill. If you are playing as a Shaman, say, you could link
the Falcon Swoop to the Shaman’s Wind Devil skill, which creates swirling
tornadoes that deal damage to any enemies in their path. Whenever you use
the Wind Devil skill, you will have a chance of also triggering the Falcon
Swoop skill, increasing your damage across a broader spectrum of damage
types. As long as you have Falcon Swoop it will gain experience as you do,
gaining in power, duration and the number of falcons that come to your
aid.
<!--l. 67--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.3.4 </span> <a
id="x1-90002.3.4"></a>Reputation</h5>
<!--l. 68--><p class="noindent" >Similarly to <i>Din’s Curse </i>and <i>Depths of Peril</i>, the monsters and human groups in
the game have opinions of the player’s actions, and will even battle each
other. The more monsters of a group that you kill, the worse your reputation
with that group becomes. This will lead to more monsters spawning in, and
more hero units will appear as well. For human factions, if the player has
a positive relationship with them, this will allow the player to purchase
items at greater discounts, access unique item crafting recipes, and a few
other benefits that increase proportionately to your reputation with the
faction.
<!--l. 70--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.3.5 </span> <a
id="x1-100002.3.5"></a>Crafting and Inventory</h5>
<!--l. 71--><p class="noindent" >Harking back to the ARPG oldies, <i>Grim Dawn </i>uses a grid based inventory system
that inspires players to take up <i>Tetris </i>in order to better squeeze extra loot into it.
Each item takes up a certain number of slots on the grid, from two-handed swords
that take up 1x4, chest and leg armors which are 2x3, to general components
and accessories which are 1x1. In general, equipable items do not stack,
while consumables do. Over time, the player will receive extra bags that
increase one’s inventory space, and there is a ”smuggler” character who
serves a storehouse for items the player wants to keep for the long haul or
to transfer to another character. Still, you will spend a large amount of
time pondering whether a +3% Physique bonus outweighs a +3% attack
speed.
<!--l. 72--><p class="indent" > Items come in five tiers based on value/rarity:
<ul class="itemize1">
<li class="itemize">Common: ordinary items, weapons, and armor. Provide no magical
damage or protection.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Magical: a common item that can have one magical prefix and/or one
magical suffix.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Rare: a magical item that has a chance of getting a rare affix (Magical
Prefix+ Magical Suffix, Rare Prefix + Magical Suffix, Rare Prefix + Rare
Suffix). Rare affixes provide more substantial bonuses.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Epic: These items are unique: they have unique stats, unique art, etc, and
are not based on the random generation of Prefix + Base Item + Suffix.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Legendary: Legendary items are higher level epic items: they are unique,
but just better quality. They do not start to drop until the player reaches
level 50.</li></ul>
<!--l. 80--><p class="indent" > As the player travels around the world of <i>Grim Dawn</i>, they will kill thousands,
possibly millions of enemies. These enemies will quite often drop loot, which the
player will pick up because there was a nice jingle sound and they look shiny and
special. The player must then sort through the loot. Besides equipable items, there
are also materials or components that will drop. These are frequently based on body
parts of the slain enemies, Ancient Armor Plate from undead enemies, or Vicious
Jawbone or Bristly Fur from various animal or beast enemies. Collecting the required
number of these components allows the player to create a complete piece of material
which may be applied to an appropriate piece of equipment to give it a
bonus, or used at a blacksmith to craft a new item. For truly high level
legendary items, there will be a complex crafting chain: collecting X of material
A, Y of material B, and Z of material C, then combining some of A and
other materials to create a more advanced material D, combining B and
something else to create material E, and possibly using a blueprint and still
more materials to create a relic or other advanced item F, before finally
combining it all together to get the item you wanted: AFT, which stands for
About Fucking Time. Besides requiring the parts and level to craft these
items at the blacksmith, you will also need enough ”iron bits,” the in-game
currency.
<!--l. 82--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.4 </span> <a
id="x1-110002.4"></a>Procedures</h4>
<!--l. 83--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.4.1 </span> <a
id="x1-120002.4.1"></a>Leveling and Upgrading</h5>
<!--l. 84--><p class="noindent" >Deciding how to level up your character is a recurring procedure the player will
undertake. As described above, this involves three main choices: how to spend your
stat point, how to invest your skill points, and finally how to invest any devotion
points you received from cleansing shrines.
<!--l. 85--><p class="indent" > The second part is deciding on equipment, which will depend on your character
build, skills, and what item upgrade materials you have available.
<!--l. 87--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.4.2 </span> <a
id="x1-130002.4.2"></a>Exploring</h5>
<!--l. 88--><p class="noindent" >The world of <i>Grim Dawn </i>is a large interconnected network of paths with some larger
open areas. Throughout the world, the player can find numerous caves, mines, ruins,
dungeons etc, which are of course filled with monsters and other creatures which the
player may kill indiscriminately. There are also pieces of lore scattered around which
tell a larger story of people fleeing their homes, good or at least neutral humans
turning to crime and banditry, and many people being taken over by demonic
invaders.
<!--l. 89--><p class="indent" > The player can also find secret hidden areas, areas not marked on the map that
can only be accessed by destroying a particular wall or having a particular key. These
often contain high level loot or even one-time chests, which one appear once per
character on each difficulty setting.
<!--l. 91--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.4.3 </span> <a
id="x1-140002.4.3"></a>Crafting</h5>
<!--l. 92--><p class="noindent" >Crafting ties into many of the game systems: combat, in which the player may find
needed components, the many faction-based shops and vendors which may have a
critical item, and the faction-based reputation system which unlocks higher level
recipes/blueprints and materials.
<!--l. 94--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.4.4 </span> <a
id="x1-150002.4.4"></a>Boss-Slaying</h5>
<!--l. 95--><p class="noindent" >The majority of game time will be spent moving from a hub to the next boss in the
game, whether the boss is required to be killed in order to unlock the next
area of the game, or is one of the ubiquitous bounties that the player may
complete for the factions in the game. The bosses are typically higher level than
the player (between 2-5 levels higher), and come with large health bars,
powerful spells and attacks, and some unique abilities. Killing them will
typically give the player XP, money, items, and a boost/deduction with several
factions.
<!--l. 97--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.5 </span> <a
id="x1-160002.5"></a>Resources</h4>
<!--l. 98--><p class="noindent" >This section covers the resources in <i>Grim Dawn</i>.
<!--l. 100--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.5.1 </span> <a
id="x1-170002.5.1"></a>Abstract</h5>
<ul class="itemize1">
<li class="itemize">Health: This will slowly regenerate over time given the right equipment
and stats. If it goes to zero the player dies and will reappear at the last
main town the player visited.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Spirit: This is used for casting spells and using special abilities.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Player Level: The player’s level will increase once enough XP has been
acquired. Each level up increases the amount of XP required to reach the
next level, and also provides +10 to both Offensive and Defensive Abilities.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Class Level: Upon leveling up, the player will receive 3 skill points, which
may be invested in skills or in increasing the player’s class level. Each class
provides different bonuses per level to Cunning, Physique, Spirit, Health,
Spirit Energy, Offensive Abillity, and Defensive Ability. New abilities also
unlock at the 5, 10, 15,20, 25, 32, 40, and 50 marks.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Player XP: Player XP is received by reading lore, killing enemies, and
completing quests.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Skills: Each class has approximately 30 skills, which about 2-5 new skills
unlocked at each of the marks mentioned above.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Skill Points: The player will receive between 3-1 skill points each time
they level up their character. Until level 50, they receive 3 points, then
the number drops to 2, again drops to 1 after level 90.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Devotion Points: For each shrine which the player cleanses, you will receive
one devotion point which can be spent as described previously.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Celestial Power XP: Each equipped celestial power gains XP as the player
gains XP. So, if you kill 10 monsters worth 100 XP each, each celestial
power you have equipped will gain 1000 XP.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Celestial Power Level: When you reach a set amount of XP for each
Celestial Power, it will move to the next rank, which will increase its
power.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Stats: The stats described in <a
href="#x1-80002.3.3">2.3.3<!--tex4ht:ref: leveling --></a> are all abstract resources, although they
are effected by player level, class and class level, and currently equipped
items.</li></ul>
<!--l. 115--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.5.2 </span> <a
id="x1-180002.5.2"></a>Concrete</h5>
<ul class="itemize1">
<li class="itemize">Consumables: There are many different consumables, but the main two
are health potions and spirit potions. Consumables have a cool down, so
they cannot be spammed.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Items: Items come in several different varieties: there are many types of
weapons, some usable with with one hand, others requiring two; there are
pieces of armor for each armor slot on the character; there are accessories,
such as rings, amulets, relics, etc. These may be equipped if the player has
the requisite stats, or they may be sold, dropped, or dismantled.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Materials: The player can gather many materials throughout the world
of <i>Grim Dawn</i>. These can be gathered from fallen enemies, received from
dismantling items, or assembled from lower level materials at a blacksmith.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Notes: The player can find dozens of different notes throughout the levels
of <i>Grim Dawn</i>. These grant varying amounts of XP and tell the player
extra backstory about what occurred.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Blueprints: Blueprints and recipes are special consumable items that allow
the player to assemble the item detailed in them at a blacksmith, provided
they have the required materials and money.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Pets: The player may only have one pet active at a time. This is usually
a summoned creature that will accompany the player for as long as it has
health. Pets may deal damage to enemies and keep them occupied while
the player is dealing with others. They also have special abilities which
increase their effectiveness.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Money: The game uses iron bits as its cash. Chests and monsters
sometimes drop iron bits, but they can also be received for completing
quests, and by selling items. Money is required to purchase items from
vendors, dismantle items, create items, and to respec the player’s skill and
devotion points.</li></ul>
<!--l. 126--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.6 </span> <a
id="x1-190002.6"></a>Conflicts</h4>
<!--l. 127--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.6.1 </span> <a
id="x1-200002.6.1"></a>Stat Point Investment</h5>
<!--l. 128--><p class="noindent" >The player only receives 85 stat points to spend, along with 220 skill points. This is
not enough to max out your stats nor your skills, therefore, the player must choose
carefully and consider which skills and stats will most benefit their class, equipment,
and build.
<!--l. 130--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.6.2 </span> <a
id="x1-210002.6.2"></a>Factions</h5>
<!--l. 131--><p class="noindent" >The player cannot please each faction equally. While most quests and most human
factions are neutral regarding each other, two in particular are diametrically opposed.
Depending on who the player decides to support, the opposing faction will become
your enemies.
<!--l. 133--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.7 </span> <a
id="x1-220002.7"></a>Boundaries</h4>
<!--l. 134--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.7.1 </span> <a
id="x1-230002.7.1"></a>Stat Point Investment</h5>
<!--l. 135--><p class="noindent" >The player only receives 85 stat points to spend, along with 220 skill points, although
these hard limits are extended in the expansion packs.
<!--l. 137--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.7.2 </span> <a
id="x1-240002.7.2"></a>Level</h5>
<!--l. 138--><p class="noindent" >The player may reach a max level of 85, but this is increased in the DLC.
<!--l. 140--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.7.3 </span> <a
id="x1-250002.7.3"></a>NPCs</h5>
<!--l. 141--><p class="noindent" >Most NPCs cannot be attacked or killed. However, their status may change
depending on the player’s dialogue choices.
<!--l. 143--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.7.4 </span> <a
id="x1-260002.7.4"></a>Map</h5>
<!--l. 144--><p class="noindent" >Many areas of the map are initially locked to the player until they can either
complete the requisite quests to unlock them, or until they can gather the needed
materials to do so.
<!--l. 146--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.7.5 </span> <a
id="x1-270002.7.5"></a>Inventory</h5>
<!--l. 147--><p class="noindent" >The player begins with a 12 x 8 inventory grid, but will later acquire additional bags
of 8 x 8 each.
<!--l. 149--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.8 </span> <a
id="x1-280002.8"></a>Outcomes</h4>
<!--l. 150--><p class="noindent" >There is one main outcome for <i>Grim Dawn</i>: the player defeats the final boss, a
mythical creature that is attempting to bring an invading army of Aetherials into the
mundane world. The player may continue to play at that difficulty to farm, or to
finish any remaining quests.
<!--l. 152--><p class="noindent" >
<h3 class="sectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3 </span> <a
id="x1-290003"></a>Dramatic Elements</h3>
<!--l. 153--><p class="noindent" ><i>Grim Dawn </i>has relatively strong story elements. The characters for the main quests’
main conversations all have voiced dialogue, but the rest of the optional dialogue and
all the other characters’ dialogue is unvoiced. There are almost no scenes besides
the opening one, and there are no cutscene or special animations during
conversation.
<!--l. 155--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3.1 </span> <a
id="x1-300003.1"></a>Characters</h4>
<!--l. 156--><p class="noindent" >The weakest part of <i>Grim Dawn </i>is in the characterization of the characters. They
have very little personality, and will mostly only speak to the player about the
mission at hand.
<!--l. 158--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3.2 </span> <a
id="x1-310003.2"></a>Story</h4>
<!--l. 159--><p class="noindent" >The story begins with several people cornering an Aetherial that has taken over a
human’s body. They hang the Aetherial, which then flees the body. The body is the
player. You awaken after having been possessed, and are quickly given a task to help
a nearby village, as usually happens when you almost die from hanging. The player
will interact with the NPCs of the village, and even find survivors out in the areas
now occupied by robbers and monsters. After completing the first task,
it naturally leads to another, and then another; necessitating the player’s
eventually departure to other settlements to seek help for the beleaguered Devil’s
Crossing.
<!--l. 160--><p class="indent" > Along the way, the player will encounter other settlements and NPCs in need of
assistance, and other factions. Upon reaching Homestead, the player will have the
opportunity to choose between the Order of Death’s Vigil and Kymon’s
Chosen. Whichever faction the player does not choose will become an enemy
faction, and whenever the player encounters that faction’s units, they will be
hostile.
<!--l. 161--><p class="indent" > After assisting Homestead, the player will fight their way to Fort Ikon. Rinse and
repeat the previous steps.
<!--l. 163--><p class="noindent" >
<h3 class="sectionHead"><span class="titlemark">4 </span> <a
id="x1-320004"></a>Dynamic Elements</h3>
<!--l. 164--><p class="noindent" >This section covers the game features that change in reaction to the player’s
actions/game progress.
<!--l. 166--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">4.1 </span> <a
id="x1-330004.1"></a>Day / Night Cycle</h4>
<!--l. 167--><p class="noindent" >The game features a day/night cycle. As time passes, the lighting will change from
day to night and back again. This seems done mostly for cosmetic reasons and does
not affect the monsters or gameplay.
<!--l. 169--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">4.2 </span> <a
id="x1-340004.2"></a>Enemy Spawning</h4>
<!--l. 170--><p class="noindent" >The number and type of enemies that will spawn in is determined partly by the
character’s level and also by the character’s reputation with the faction that they are
fighting.
<!--l. 172--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">4.3 </span> <a
id="x1-350004.3"></a>Faction Reputation</h4>
<!--l. 173--><p class="noindent" >As the player helps out a faction, their reputation with that faction will naturally
increase. Conversely, if you kill thousands and thousands of Aetherial monsters, your
reputation with the Aetherials will be highly negative. A positive reputation gives the
player discounts on items, access to special faction items, and even access to the
faction quest table, which will randomly create new quests to help increase your
reputation with the faction. A negative reputation leads to increase enemy
spawns and more hero unit spawns, making that faction harder to fight
against.
<!--l. 176--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">4.4 </span> <a
id="x1-360004.4"></a>Patterns</h4>
<!--l. 177--><p class="noindent" >This section focuses on game patterns as discussed by Ernest Adams and Joris
Dormans in <i>Game Mechanics: Advanced Game Design</i>.
<!--l. 179--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">4.4.1 </span> <a
id="x1-370004.4.1"></a>Playing Style Reinforcement</h5>
<!--l. 180--><p class="noindent" >As with many ARPGs, the player will receive tons of loot. This loot can give the
player new abilities or powerful stat boosts, or even crippling penalties. The
player can choose loot, stats, and skills that best match their chosen play
style.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiZr7cRftsvz3PwIzxIfCBjlqbrMUBqJacCE4D3uZr-mAFI7ba3rkDKRqIZ0nNHwoUKl2N34WWaVKvePjpp4a7ss4CBt9zQqVsn_qeQWlSvY0cw6yooGOzZ3QQ-Ze0I-03MsmryC-6cZqN/s1600/playingstylereinforcement.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiZr7cRftsvz3PwIzxIfCBjlqbrMUBqJacCE4D3uZr-mAFI7ba3rkDKRqIZ0nNHwoUKl2N34WWaVKvePjpp4a7ss4CBt9zQqVsn_qeQWlSvY0cw6yooGOzZ3QQ-Ze0I-03MsmryC-6cZqN/s320/playingstylereinforcement.PNG" width="320" height="206" data-original-width="932" data-original-height="601" /></a></div>
<!--l. 185--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">4.4.2 </span> <a
id="x1-380004.4.2"></a>Dynamic Friction</h5>
<!--l. 186--><p class="noindent" >Dynamic friction, like the stopping mechanism below, appears in several places in
gameplay. Anything involving leveling in <i>Grim Dawn </i>makes use of this pattern.
Experience requirements to achieve the next level increase from level to level, as do
the number of points required to unlock the next tier of abilities in the class skill
trees.
<!--l. 187--><p class="indent" > Faction-based bonuses and penalties require exponentially increasing values of
reputation in order to receive them, and the number and level of enemies
that spawn in is mostly controlled by the player’s level: most enemies will
appear at or slightly above the player’s level, while hero and boss units could
be at or 5 or more levels higher. Of course, the level of the enemies is also
limited by the area: unless the unit is part of a randomly generated quest, the
max level is determined by the area and the difficulty the player is playing
on.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcnsLOUgCrMH6_4vSEd_OR0kFqElKEe5bWl2mULwGNdy5uzEFVqeRSO2w5YYy8xbGiGFvy79nd3TOoQhGzWD7ia5yobUhYMh-osArByflKXIc_WxhYOwhzIaxjIwyw9LZrAdge7HFPzgHw/s1600/dynamicfriction.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcnsLOUgCrMH6_4vSEd_OR0kFqElKEe5bWl2mULwGNdy5uzEFVqeRSO2w5YYy8xbGiGFvy79nd3TOoQhGzWD7ia5yobUhYMh-osArByflKXIc_WxhYOwhzIaxjIwyw9LZrAdge7HFPzgHw/s320/dynamicfriction.PNG" width="320" height="63" data-original-width="907" data-original-height="179" /></a></div>
<!--l. 192--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">4.4.3 </span> <a
id="x1-390004.4.3"></a>Stopping Mechanism</h5>
<!--l. 193--><p class="noindent" >The stopping mechanism pattern is mostly seen in skill cooldowns: after using a skill
the player must wait a minimum amount of time before being able to use it again.
This time varies from skill to skill, and can be modified by skill point investment and
item bonuses.
<!--l. 194--><p class="indent" > Another place is in the skill points received per level up. After reaching
certain caps described above, the number of skill points decreases one by
one.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyaHpiEprg1FTz9WbAmUr6N_Z_miF-1c-GKOOoGxLFnhS4kts4g9tQhkFXGWAb170YVfz_9wp0-BrDxDcyum7VC5eFWA-GWqfEKLTm14jhD8oRnNzpVb3kFXcG9CtGb-udhm11V_fqfi-A/s1600/stoppingmechanism.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyaHpiEprg1FTz9WbAmUr6N_Z_miF-1c-GKOOoGxLFnhS4kts4g9tQhkFXGWAb170YVfz_9wp0-BrDxDcyum7VC5eFWA-GWqfEKLTm14jhD8oRnNzpVb3kFXcG9CtGb-udhm11V_fqfi-A/s320/stoppingmechanism.PNG" width="320" height="83" data-original-width="1058" data-original-height="275" /></a></div>
<!--l. 199--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">4.4.4 </span> <a
id="x1-400004.4.4"></a>Trade</h5>
<!--l. 200--><p class="noindent" >The player may farm items and sell them for more cash at many different
vendors.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnm0Lg_PkQ01_psuKuzZwl3fXEafgL8q3rdBfQniPoLsalIeIHnf0TPEqejQL8HMxgSKrHbqk-Fzau_venCveDUo-TeGqF0JgmYWoofaJYE0MuFb1ZxWvx2zO5o-RKOsKmbCDX7pw1GiLJ/s1600/trade.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnm0Lg_PkQ01_psuKuzZwl3fXEafgL8q3rdBfQniPoLsalIeIHnf0TPEqejQL8HMxgSKrHbqk-Fzau_venCveDUo-TeGqF0JgmYWoofaJYE0MuFb1ZxWvx2zO5o-RKOsKmbCDX7pw1GiLJ/s320/trade.PNG" width="320" height="215" data-original-width="643" data-original-height="433" /></a></div>
<!--l. 205--><p class="noindent" >
<h3 class="sectionHead"><span class="titlemark">5 </span> <a
id="x1-410005"></a>Conclusion</h3>
<!--l. 206--><p class="noindent" ><i>Grim Dawn </i>is a deep ARPG experience, with hours of gameplay in it. Although the
story elements are not the most brilliant seen in RPG history, they are not laughable
nor worthy of denigration. It allows the player to customize their character’s
equipment, stats, and skills to produce varied and diverse character types and
playstyles.
<!--l. 208--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">5.1 </span> <a
id="x1-420005.1"></a>Potent Elements</h4>
<!--l. 209--><p class="noindent" >Character customization and the lure of getting that one game changing
piece of loot are powerful draws that will bring the player back again and
again.
<!--l. 211--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">5.2 </span> <a
id="x1-430005.2"></a>Areas for Improvement</h4>
<!--l. 212--><p class="noindent" >Areas are always the same, making it somewhat more repetitive than necessary to
farm for XP, items, or blueprints.
</body></html>
David Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01601318906655915875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787818667586347471.post-90818981276838115362018-09-08T02:47:00.002-07:002018-09-08T02:47:41.540-07:00More Game Jams, Busy Octoberhey all,<br />
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<br /></div>
<div>
It has been a surprisingly busy summer. Last August, I got the idea for Particularly Wavy and spent most of the last year working on that. Because of that, I didn't really do any game jams between 2017, August and 2018, May. However, in July and August this year I did participate in several game jams. The latest one was the Brackeys Game Jam, which had the theme of light. The game I created for that jam, <a href="https://hunterdcb.itch.io/salvation-of-the-fireflies">Salvation of the Fireflies</a>, has gotten more comments than my usual projects, so I'd like to extend my work on that a little and try to polish it up.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
I've got one more coming up in a month or so, but my current focus is on two projects: a visual novel that I'm working with a very small team on, and my RPG/RTS project. For the former, we need player profile saving systems, and also systems that can interact with Fungus, which is a free plug in we are using to create the menus and dialogue. For the later, I am still hacking away at the date / time system. The goal there is to be able to create holidays, to correctly add and subtract amounts of time from a current date/time, and lastly to compute the difference between two dates/times. These actions will be necessary for making time pass correctly, waiting in game, and tracking time limits for quests.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Next month is going to be superbusy. Michi and I are planning on taking a four day hiking/camping trip to the Japanese Northern Alps, specifically Mt. Hotaka, and the very next day after we get back we're attending a performance of Mozart's The Magic Flute. The next weekend, we're going to see Frank Lloyd Wright's Imperial Hotel design near Nagoya, and the week after that we're checking out a Paul McCartney concert.<br />
<br />
It is now six months until the next GDC, and I'm determined to go in 2019, no matter what. I really regret not going in 2018, but this time I've got enough saved up already and I plan on continuing to save throughout the year to make sure this happens.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Cheers,</div>
David Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01601318906655915875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787818667586347471.post-38970752528894824792018-08-17T02:50:00.001-07:002018-08-20T18:57:55.871-07:00Calendar and Day Cycle Updates, Back into Game JamsHey all,<br />
<br />
So I am still hard at work on on my calendar and day/night cycle editor systems. I have most of the basic functionality working as I want now, and I have added a lot of sanity checks to help prevent myself or others from creating weird dates and times, such as months or time periods with negative lengths, or adding time periods with the same name (you can't have two Junes).<br />
<br />
Besides that project, I've got a couple others either out now or in the pipeline. Just this week, I completed <a href="https://hunterdcb.itch.io/disturb-the-universe">an extremely small project for the Shadow Game Jam</a>. I'm planning on updating it with some more sounds effects and some slightly improved controls and graphics, but my main "stretch goal" is to get elliptical orbits working.<br />
<br />
I also have another shadow-themed game which Michi came up with the idea for after asking me about the first game. That project is still in its extremely early stages, but I think it could be really interesting.<br />
<br />
That's all for now, but I'll make sure to keep everyone update.<br />
<br />
Cheers,David Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01601318906655915875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787818667586347471.post-60431035717688735892018-08-16T22:00:00.002-07:002021-04-08T23:35:56.471-07:00NieR: Automata Analysis<html >
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<div class="maketitle">
<h2 class="titleHead">NieR: Automata Analysis</h2>
<div class="author" ><span
class="cmr-12">David Hunter</span></div><br />
<div class="date" ><span
class="cmr-12">August 15, 2018</span></div>
</div>
<h3 class="sectionHead"><span class="titlemark">1 </span> <a
id="x1-10001"></a>Overview</h3>
<!--l. 10--><p class="noindent" ><i>NieR: Automata </i>is an action RPG developed by Platinum Games and published by
Square Enix in February 2017.
<!--l. 12--><p class="noindent" >
<h3 class="sectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2 </span> <a
id="x1-20002"></a>Formal Elements</h3>
<!--l. 13--><p class="noindent" ><i>NieR: Automata </i>is a direct sequel to <i>NieR</i>, which was released in 2010. <i>NieR </i>itself is
a spin-off of the <i>Darkengard </i>series. Much like its predecessors, <i>NieR: Automata</i>
combines
<ul class="itemize1">
<li class="itemize">flying combat reminiscent of <i>Geometry Wars </i>and more classic twin stick
shooters,
</li>
<li class="itemize">vertical and horizontal scrolling shoot ’em up gameplay similar to <i>Ikagura</i>,
<i>Aerofighter</i>, and others
</li>
<li class="itemize">platforming action a la <i>Mario Brothers</i>, <i>Castlevania </i>and <i>Metroid</i>
</li>
<li class="itemize">3<sup><span
class="cmmi-7">rd</span></sup>-person action combat in the style of <i>Bayonetta </i>or <i>Devil May Cry</i>
</li>
<li class="itemize">RPG elements including dialogue choices and leveling mechanics</li></ul>
<!--l. 22--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.1 </span> <a
id="x1-30002.1"></a>Players</h4>
<!--l. 23--><p class="noindent" ><i>NieR: Automata </i>is played from various 3<sup><span
class="cmmi-7">rd</span></sup>-person perspectives: top-down, side-view,
and over the shoulder. Throughout the first playthrough, the player will control
several different characters:
<ul class="itemize1">
<li class="itemize">2B: a female android who can fly a combat mech, and who can wield two
different weapons in melee combat
</li>
<li class="itemize">9S: a male android who can also fly a combat mech, and who wields one
weapon in melee combat. His unique ability is hacking. This allows him to
unlock doors and boxes that are blocked to 2B, and in combat allows him
to take control of, damage, or use as allies various robotic and android
enemies throughout the game
</li>
<li class="itemize">: A2: another female android with identical abilities as 2B. She can hack
under special circumstances
</li>
<li class="itemize">various robots at certain plot points</li></ul>
<!--l. 30--><p class="indent" > <i>NieR: Automata </i>shares several tropes with <i>Dark Souls</i>: although it is a single-player experience, the player may find the corpses of other players around the
game world with custom messages left by those players. Further, when the player
dies, their android consciousness can be easily downloaded into a new body, however,
any experience and custom chips (similar to skills or abilities in other RPGs)
remain in the previous body. The player must retrieve the experience and
chips from the previous body before dying again, otherwise, they will be lost
permanently.
<!--l. 32--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.2 </span> <a
id="x1-40002.2"></a>Objectives</h4>
<!--l. 33--><p class="noindent" >The player is tasked with eliminating a machine threat on Earth. Aliens
invaded several hundred or thousand years ago, but have not been seen in
centuries. Humans retreated from Earth and (we are told) live on the Moon.
Meanwhile, alien-created machines and human-created androids engage in a
long drawn-out proxy war on Earth’s surface. Throughout the story, the
player will be forced to fight and ”kill” machines, who are claimed to be
inhuman, lacking consciousness, etc, but who repeatedly demonstrate just the
opposite.
<!--l. 34--><p class="indent" > The player may choose to engage in several side quests. These often reduce to fetch quests or kill 5 As, but showcase the game’s generally well-written
dialogue.
<!--l. 36--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.3 </span> <a
id="x1-50002.3"></a>Rules</h4>
<!--l. 37--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.3.1 </span> <a
id="x1-60002.3.1"></a>Areas</h5>
<!--l. 38--><p class="noindent" >The game is made of several discrete areas, most of which are interconnected. Some, such as the mysterious tower at the end and the Bunker, can only be reached through
a loading screen. In general, new areas are unlocked through reaching plot points.
<!--l. 39--><p class="indent" > Although not a rule of gameplay per se, camera control is altered dramatically in certain areas and during certain sections of the game. During the opening, the
camera follows 2B’s combat mech around the same as in a top-down shooter:
it is stuck in one place while the background and enemies scroll by. The
camera later changes to that of a typical third-person RPG, and still later
to side-scrolling platformer. Sometimes this is triggered by reaching some
story point, sometimes it is triggered by entering and exiting particular
areas.
<!--l. 41--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.3.2 </span> <a
id="x1-70002.3.2"></a>Combat</h5>
<!--l. 42--><p class="noindent" ><i>NieR: Automata </i>was developed by Platinum Games. That by itself should create an image about what combat is like. In more detail, 2B and A2 have light and heavy
melee attacks; both can be charged to deal more damage. Different animations are
played based on what weapons are equipped. In addition, all three main androids
have access to ranged attacked by using pods. Initially, the player only has access
to one pod which fires plasma/laser blasts, but may later gain access to a
pod with a rocket launcher and another with a lightning-like attack. Pods
may be upgraded and modified with different special abilities on cooldown
timers.
<!--l. 43--><p class="indent" > Players may jump and dodge during combat. An attack immediately following a successful dodge triggers a counterattack. Light and heavy attacks, ranged
attacks, dodges, and jumping attacks can all be strung together in balletic
combos.
<!--l. 45--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.3.3 </span> <a
id="x1-80002.3.3"></a>Stats and Leveling</h5>
<!--l. 46--><p class="noindent" >In <i>NieR: Automata</i>, XP, weapons, and chips gained by one character are shared by
all playable characters. As the player completes main and side quests, hacks and or
kills enemies, they will gain XP. Like many RPGs, <i>NieR: Automata </i>makes use of
an exponential equation to determine how much XP is needed to level up:
the equation 7<span
class="cmmi-10">.</span>98 <span
class="cmsy-10">* </span><span
class="cmmi-10">NextLevel</span><sup><span
class="cmr-7">2</span></sup><span
class="cmmi-10">.</span>6 closely matches the XP needed to reach
the next level. Unlike most RPGs, <i>NieR: Automata </i>has a limited set of
stats.
<ul class="itemize1">
<li class="itemize">HP: This is increased by level and determines how much damage the player
can receive before dying.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Melee Damage: Determines how much damage the player deals with melee
weapons.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Ranged Damage: Determines how much damage one’s pod attacks deal.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Defense: Determines how much damage is absorbed.</li></ul>
<!--l. 53--><p class="indent" > Besides the stats above, there are many ”hidden” stats that can be affected by equipping different chips. Movement speed, shock waves to weapon attacks,
speed of health regeneration, and the stats above can all be modified by
chips.
<!--l. 55--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.3.4 </span> <a
id="x1-90002.3.4"></a>Crafting and Inventory</h5>
<!--l. 56--><p class="noindent" ><i>NieR: Automata </i>features light crafting elements. In general, the playable characters’
appearances can only be slightly modified by equipping hair ribbons, wigs, or other
small cosmetic changes. New weapons may be found around the game world or
purchased from weapon vendors, and can also be upgraded by collecting the
required number of parts and spending increasing amounts of currency for each
upgrade.
<!--l. 57--><p class="indent" > Chips may also be upgraded by combining two chips of the same level, producing
one chip of the next highest level. Although this does require exponentially
increasing numbers of chips, chip drops become increasingly frequent, and
the rate at which chips drop can, of course, be modified by equipping a
chip.
<!--l. 59--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.4 </span> <a
id="x1-100002.4"></a>Procedures</h4>
<!--l. 60--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.4.1 </span> <a
id="x1-110002.4.1"></a>Leveling and Upgrading</h5>
<!--l. 61--><p class="noindent" >While completing quests and killing enemies, the player will gain XP and collect
parts and money to be used for leveling up and upgrading equipment. Leveling occurs
automatically, but upgrading chips and weapons must take place at weapon or item
vendors.
<!--l. 63--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.4.2 </span> <a
id="x1-120002.4.2"></a>Exploring</h5>
<!--l. 64--><p class="noindent" ><i>NieR: Automata </i>features several diverse environment types, including a space
station, forest, city ruins, amusement park, desert, and a few others. Many
of these environments are multi-layered, with several stories both above
ground and below ground. Although humanity no longer lives on Earth,
the environments are dotted with small android and robotic villages, as
well as fauna such as boar and moose, and of course the ubiquitous robotic
enemies.
<!--l. 65--><p class="indent" > Exploring them works similarly to exploration in some of the best RPGs, such as
<i>The Witcher 3</i>, <i>The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim</i>, or <i>Dark Souls</i>. You can discover new
side quests, powerful items or weapons, or simply notice touching environmental
details.
<!--l. 67--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.4.3 </span> <a
id="x1-130002.4.3"></a>Hacking</h5>
<!--l. 68--><p class="noindent" >When playing as 9S, and in limited circumstances as A2, the player can enter hacking
mode. This is a bullet hell style mini-game where the player must avoid incoming
bullets and environmental hazards, and at the same time destroy enemy units
and finally CPUs. There are about 50 different versions and most of these
have several stages and time limits. The player usually has three ”lives” to
succeed, after which they will exit hacking mode and return to the previous
mode.
<div class="center"
>
<!--l. 70--><p class="noindent" >
<!--l. 71--><p class="noindent" ><img
src="NierAutomataHacking.png" alt="PIC"
></div>
<!--l. 74--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.4.4 </span> <a
id="x1-140002.4.4"></a>Boss-Slaying</h5>
<!--l. 75--><p class="noindent" >As a Platinum Games title, <i>NieR: Automata </i>would not be complete without epic
boss battles, and it does not disappoint. Bosses vary from huge mechas to
single human-sized opponents, and they frequently have several stages which
change the approach necessary to pass through or defeat them. Further,
the approach is very different when playing as 9S versus 2B: since 9S has
hacking capabilities, it is often more efficient to hack the boss rather than
engage in melee combat (this is actually dramatically necessary for several
bosses).
<!--l. 77--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.5 </span> <a
id="x1-150002.5"></a>Resources</h4>
<!--l. 78--><p class="noindent" >All resources have been described in some detail earlier.
<!--l. 80--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.6 </span> <a
id="x1-160002.6"></a>Conflicts</h4>
<!--l. 81--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.6.1 </span> <a
id="x1-170002.6.1"></a>Stat Point Investment</h5>
<!--l. 82--><p class="noindent" >Through purchasing chip storage expansion packs, the player may increase
their equipable chip capacity up to 128 slots. This may seem like a lot, but
most of the GUI, including maps, health bar, XP bar, enemy data, etc, are
actually chips that take up space. Some of these can be removed to allow
more space for other chips, but removing the ”OS” chip will result in player
death.
<!--l. 84--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.7 </span> <a
id="x1-180002.7"></a>Boundaries</h4>
<!--l. 85--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.7.1 </span> <a
id="x1-190002.7.1"></a>Chip Slot Investment</h5>
<!--l. 86--><p class="noindent" >The maximum chip slot storage capacity is 128, and as you increase the level of your
chips, they begin to take up more and more slots. It becomes really tough deciding
which bonuses you want helping you all the time, and which you want to keep for
particular situations.
<!--l. 88--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.7.2 </span> <a
id="x1-200002.7.2"></a>NPCs</h5>
<!--l. 89--><p class="noindent" >Most NPCs are invulnerable to attacks from the player.
<!--l. 91--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.7.3 </span> <a
id="x1-210002.7.3"></a>Map</h5>
<!--l. 92--><p class="noindent" >The map features high levels of verticality, with tall towers and deep chasms both
having important roles in the story and action. There are extensive invisible walls to
prevent the player from accessing areas they should not.
<!--l. 94--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.7.4 </span> <a
id="x1-220002.7.4"></a>Inventory</h5>
<!--l. 95--><p class="noindent" >A limited number of most items may be gathered and held in inventory at a time,
usually about 99.
<!--l. 97--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.8 </span> <a
id="x1-230002.8"></a>Outcomes</h4>
<!--l. 98--><p class="noindent" >There are several outcomes. In fact, 26 official endings have been listed, one for each
letter of the alphabet. However, the majority of these are for failing at some point or
for ignoring a message about not leaving the combat / mission area. Only 5 outcomes
really matter:
<ul class="itemize1">
<li class="itemize">A: this outcome is received when you beat the game the first time, playing
as 2B
</li>
<li class="itemize">B: complete the game a second time, playing as 9S
</li>
<li class="itemize">C: complete the game a third time, playing initially as 2B and 9S, and
later 9S and A2. Choose A2 at the end.
</li>
<li class="itemize">D: complete the game a third time, playing initially as 2B and 9S, and
later 9S and A2. Choose 9S at the end.
</li>
<li class="itemize">E: complete the game a third time, playing initially as 2B and 9S, and
later 9S and A2. During the credits, decide to delete your play data in
order to help another player.</li></ul>
<!--l. 107--><p class="noindent" >
<h3 class="sectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3 </span> <a
id="x1-240003"></a>Dramatic Elements</h3>
<!--l. 108--><p class="noindent" ><i>NieR: Automata </i>has incredibly strong story elements.
<!--l. 110--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3.1 </span> <a
id="x1-250003.1"></a>Characters</h4>
<!--l. 111--><p class="noindent" ><i>NieR: Automata </i>has three main playable characters, but has an interesting cast of
side and supporting ones from both sides of the conflict.
<!--l. 112--><p class="indent" > First and foremost is the poster child for the game: 2B. A battle model android,
who for unexplained reasons enters combat while dressed as a blindfolded
French maid, 2B is an experienced and hardened fighter, taciturn and often
unwilling to share her emotions. She does not question things, and simply wants
to get her job done, which is eliminating as many alien machines as she
can.
<!--l. 113--><p class="indent" > Her partner, 9S, is a scanner model, who displays irreverence for authority,
questions nearly everything, and is not afraid of showing emotions. He has
a crush on 2B, but what exactly and Android crush means is not really
clear.
<!--l. 114--><p class="indent" > Later, the player mets and takes control of A2, an earlier prototype for
the B model. Like 2B, she is terse and competent, and shares 2B’s hate for
machines.
<!--l. 115--><p class="indent" > Besides the playable characters, there are many others you will encounter
through out the game. First and foremost are the leaders of the machine
army, Adam and Eve, who, despite their names, are actually both male
and possess similar features as 9S and 2B. Their motivation, as is typical
of most villains, is ridiculous: they killed their alien masters because they
were boring, and they want to capture humans in order to dissect them and
understand their interesting behavior. The player will face them in battle
several times throughout the game. In addition to Adam and Eve, the player
will battle and destroy many different machine adversaries. Most of these
lack personality, but the bosses all seem to have some kind of psychological
damage.
<!--l. 116--><p class="indent" > Finally, there are numerous friendly NPCs throughout the game. The player will
get to know Pascal, the leader of a group of communist pacifist robots; Jean-Paul,
one of the aforementioned community’s members who enjoys waxing philosophical;
Anemone, the leader of the Android resistance, who appears to have some kind of
previous relationship with A2.
<!--l. 118--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3.2 </span> <a
id="x1-260003.2"></a>Story</h4>
<!--l. 119--><p class="noindent" >The action begins several thousand years in the future. Earth was invaded a great
time in the past by aliens, who attacked with a machine army and humans had to
evacuate Earth and take up residence on the Moon. A group of androids, called
YoRHa, combat the machines in humans’ stead. The androids launch a large attack
on Earth to eliminate several ”Goliath” class machines, although the attack is
successful, the two ”survivors” of the attack had to go kamikaze in order to destroy
the machines. Since the survivors were Androids, their consciousnesses were just
downloaded into new bodies.
<!--l. 120--><p class="indent" > Following this success, the survivors, 2B and 9S, are partnered together in order
to make contact with the resistance and eliminate more Goliath machines. In the
process, they discover that the resistance has been working together with a
group of machines that appear to be conscious and even sympathetic to
the Androids’ plight. 2B and 9S reluctantly agree to help these machines
in exchange for information about the machines still under control of the
aliens.
<!--l. 121--><p class="indent" > After more exploration and boss battles, 2B and 9S eventually encounter Adam
and Eve, and later discover that the aliens have been dead for hundreds of years.
Adam takes 9S hostage and 2B must kill Adam to rescue him. This leads to a
climactic battle against many machines, culminating in 2B and 9S killing
Eve.
<!--l. 122--><p class="indent" > If the player decides to play a second time, this playthrough allows them to
control 9S. As a scanner, he has the ability to hack any machine system, unlocking
doors, short-circuiting enemies, or getting access to the thoughts of other machines.
This allows him greater access to the background of what is going on the 2B, and he
learns much about the motivation for the machine enemies acting the way
the do. He also learns that besides the aliens being wiped out, humans are
extinct as well. The whole YoRHa program was created as an excuse to keep
going and to keep active, instead of sinking into despair and committing
suicide.
<!--l. 123--><p class="indent" > If the player decides to play a third time, the action picks up after 2B and 9S
defeat Eve. YoRHa decides to launch a massive attack on the machines, and the
player will alternatively take control of 2B and 9S during this effort. However, it is
discovered that there was a timed logic virus, which will be released at certain
points in the war, in order to reset everything and keep the machines and
androids locked in battle forever. All the YoRHa androids on the bunker base in
space become infected with this virus, and even 2B gets infected. When
she encounters A2 while trying to get as far from everyone else as possible,
she asks A2 to kill her. 9S sees only the last moments of this exchange,
and swears vengeance against A2. For the rest of the game, the player will
switch between 9S and A2, as they try to give meaning to their lives. 9S
attempts to unlock a tower that has mysteriously appeared on Earth. They
learn that android’s cores are actually machine cores, although it is not clear
who created the androids, the last humans before they died, or the alien
machines. The end is kind of a mess: there are more boss battles, and a final
confrontation between 9S and A2. The player must choose who to control for
this battle. But in either case a main character will die and a tragedy will
occur.
<!--l. 125--><p class="noindent" >
<h3 class="sectionHead"><span class="titlemark">4 </span> <a
id="x1-270004"></a>Dynamic Elements</h3>
<!--l. 126--><p class="noindent" >The game environment itself does not feature a large number of dynamic elements:
there is no change in the weather, it is always daytime, enemies do not learn your
patterns of attack, etc.
<!--l. 128--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">4.1 </span> <a
id="x1-280004.1"></a>Patterns</h4>
<!--l. 129--><p class="noindent" >This section focuses on game patterns as discussed by Ernest Adams and Joris
Dormans in <i>Game Mechanics: Advanced Game Design</i>.
<!--l. 131--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">4.1.1 </span> <a
id="x1-290004.1.1"></a>Playing Style Reinforcement</h5>
<!--l. 132--><p class="noindent" >The player can have two sets of equipment to switch between, three sets of chips, etc.
The weapons and chips equipped can be customized to fit the player’s play style:
quick weapons for dealing small amounts of damage quickly, massive weapons for all
or nothing devastating swings, chips that increase your ranged damage or your
movement speed.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiZr7cRftsvz3PwIzxIfCBjlqbrMUBqJacCE4D3uZr-mAFI7ba3rkDKRqIZ0nNHwoUKl2N34WWaVKvePjpp4a7ss4CBt9zQqVsn_qeQWlSvY0cw6yooGOzZ3QQ-Ze0I-03MsmryC-6cZqN/s1600/playingstylereinforcement.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiZr7cRftsvz3PwIzxIfCBjlqbrMUBqJacCE4D3uZr-mAFI7ba3rkDKRqIZ0nNHwoUKl2N34WWaVKvePjpp4a7ss4CBt9zQqVsn_qeQWlSvY0cw6yooGOzZ3QQ-Ze0I-03MsmryC-6cZqN/s320/playingstylereinforcement.PNG" width="320" height="206" data-original-width="932" data-original-height="601" /></a></div>
<!--l. 137--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">4.1.2 </span> <a
id="x1-300004.1.2"></a>Dynamic Friction</h5>
<!--l. 138--><p class="noindent" >The main source of dynamic friction comes from the enemy scaling and from XP
requirements. Enemy levels increase as you progress through the game, and the
amount of XP required to reach the next level also increases.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcnsLOUgCrMH6_4vSEd_OR0kFqElKEe5bWl2mULwGNdy5uzEFVqeRSO2w5YYy8xbGiGFvy79nd3TOoQhGzWD7ia5yobUhYMh-osArByflKXIc_WxhYOwhzIaxjIwyw9LZrAdge7HFPzgHw/s1600/dynamicfriction.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcnsLOUgCrMH6_4vSEd_OR0kFqElKEe5bWl2mULwGNdy5uzEFVqeRSO2w5YYy8xbGiGFvy79nd3TOoQhGzWD7ia5yobUhYMh-osArByflKXIc_WxhYOwhzIaxjIwyw9LZrAdge7HFPzgHw/s320/dynamicfriction.PNG" width="320" height="63" data-original-width="907" data-original-height="179" /></a></div>
<!--l. 143--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">4.1.3 </span> <a
id="x1-310004.1.3"></a>Engine Building</h5>
<!--l. 144--><p class="noindent" >There are very light elements of engine building, as the player may equip chips that
alter fundamental rates in the game: chips that increase item drops, or chips that
increase the XP gained.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2MkHavJws-FOBnzf3BcU4T-l-iHWLUo2HlFTHhks84Fgf33lYcIFmgZvYM4Xh5o04bZAj812bc7fFA7ukr1cAwGj7G2udGr-7DLwB3kMlyj-NPQKzlJKoQNhK7v-KrErRAHbFynUqCkUQ/s1600/enginebuilding.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2MkHavJws-FOBnzf3BcU4T-l-iHWLUo2HlFTHhks84Fgf33lYcIFmgZvYM4Xh5o04bZAj812bc7fFA7ukr1cAwGj7G2udGr-7DLwB3kMlyj-NPQKzlJKoQNhK7v-KrErRAHbFynUqCkUQ/s320/enginebuilding.PNG" width="320" height="151" data-original-width="948" data-original-height="446" /></a></div>
<!--l. 149--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">4.1.4 </span> <a
id="x1-320004.1.4"></a>Stopping Mechanism</h5>
<!--l. 150--><p class="noindent" >Several supporting abilities are on timers, but these are the only stopping
mechanisms in the game.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyaHpiEprg1FTz9WbAmUr6N_Z_miF-1c-GKOOoGxLFnhS4kts4g9tQhkFXGWAb170YVfz_9wp0-BrDxDcyum7VC5eFWA-GWqfEKLTm14jhD8oRnNzpVb3kFXcG9CtGb-udhm11V_fqfi-A/s1600/stoppingmechanism.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyaHpiEprg1FTz9WbAmUr6N_Z_miF-1c-GKOOoGxLFnhS4kts4g9tQhkFXGWAb170YVfz_9wp0-BrDxDcyum7VC5eFWA-GWqfEKLTm14jhD8oRnNzpVb3kFXcG9CtGb-udhm11V_fqfi-A/s320/stoppingmechanism.PNG" width="320" height="83" data-original-width="1058" data-original-height="275" /></a></div>
<!--l. 155--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">4.1.5 </span> <a
id="x1-330004.1.5"></a>Trade</h5>
<!--l. 156--><p class="noindent" >The player may farm items and sell them for more cash at many different
vendors.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnm0Lg_PkQ01_psuKuzZwl3fXEafgL8q3rdBfQniPoLsalIeIHnf0TPEqejQL8HMxgSKrHbqk-Fzau_venCveDUo-TeGqF0JgmYWoofaJYE0MuFb1ZxWvx2zO5o-RKOsKmbCDX7pw1GiLJ/s1600/trade.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnm0Lg_PkQ01_psuKuzZwl3fXEafgL8q3rdBfQniPoLsalIeIHnf0TPEqejQL8HMxgSKrHbqk-Fzau_venCveDUo-TeGqF0JgmYWoofaJYE0MuFb1ZxWvx2zO5o-RKOsKmbCDX7pw1GiLJ/s320/trade.PNG" width="320" height="215" data-original-width="643" data-original-height="433" /></a></div>
<!--l. 161--><p class="noindent" >
<h3 class="sectionHead"><span class="titlemark">5 </span> <a
id="x1-340005"></a>Conclusion</h3>
<!--l. 162--><p class="noindent" ><i>NieR: Automata </i>is a grab-bag of many disparate elements which have attempted to
be unified and united into a coherent whole. Overall, the elements succeed in gelling,
creating an interesting and unique experience. The story elements, although strong,
stumble at the end, failing to achieve a relatable comprehensible story arc. Instead, it
seems focused trying to cause the player as much emotional trauma as possible, thus
showing its hand and making this tactic ineffective and and the story insincere. Still,
the unification of the story elements and themes and the gameplay, such the GUI
elements being chips you can install or remove, creates a powerful immersive
experience.
<!--l. 164--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">5.1 </span> <a
id="x1-350005.1"></a>Potent Elements</h4>
<!--l. 165--><p class="noindent" >The theme and gameplay unification, along with the combat and RPG elements
stand out.
<!--l. 167--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">5.2 </span> <a
id="x1-360005.2"></a>Areas for Improvement</h4>
<!--l. 168--><p class="noindent" >The story’s structure is revealed to be manipulative and incoherent, near the end,
designed only with the intention of making the player suffer.
</body></html> David Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01601318906655915875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787818667586347471.post-35119422956590243022018-06-22T19:46:00.000-07:002018-06-22T19:46:18.124-07:00Custom Calendars and TimesHi all,<br />
<br />
So I've fallen off the blog wagon again, but never fear, I haven't just been checking out the latest cosplay porn videos based on Nier: Automata or Overwatch. I've put work on Particularly Wavy on hold for the moment to focus on a creation tool for the Unity Editor: a tool that lets a game designer create a custom calendar.<br />
<br />
Why would I do this? This is yet another part of my plan for creating a deeply reactive RPG/RTS smashup. I don't want to just use the default calendar system, with 365 days in the year, 12 months named their familiar names with their familiar lengths, seven days in a week, 24 hours in a day, 60 minutes in an hour, and 60 seconds in a minute. I want to set my game in a fantasy world, so it makes no sense for them to use our calendar. But, at the same time, I don't want to hard code everything for that particular game. I'd really like a tool that lets me set up the calendar how I want, and then get on with designing the rest of the game. The NPCs in the game will make plans based on this calendar, they will have needs and moods which change based on events (which happen at particular times and last for set amounts of time), quests will have time-based elements to them, such as meeting an NPC at a particular time of day, or completing a task within a time limit, and of course there will be a day/night cycle which influences NPC activity and stealth, etc, etc.<br />
<br />
I have now began working on such a time system three times, and I think the 3 time could work. The first two were based on an extremely flexible system with classes something like the diagram below. The work flow would go something like this:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Create a calendar</li>
<li>Start adding time categories. The first time category added is always primitive.</li>
<li>The secondary time categories can be changed on the fly:</li>
<ul>
<li>their base category</li>
<li>the number of base categories</li>
<li>the names</li>
</ul>
</ol>
<div>
<br /></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" height="800" id="281101257" src="https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1D0CrEupEeTFYCN8EHbKC17l6SDvy1QLoraRSRS7Rq7o/preview?authuser=0&h=800;hl=en&w=500" width="500">
</iframe>
<div>
As a small example, if you wanted to mimic Erikson's Malazan <i>Book of the Fallen</i> time system, you could first create a calender, then create a primitive time called Beat, and set the length to 1 real time second. Then, create a non-named time called Bell and set it to equal 3600 Beats, making it the same as an hour. Next, you could create a non-named time called Day, and set it equal to..., say, 24 Bells, for now, although we really don't know exactly how long it lasts. Lastly, you create a non-named time called Year and set it equal to...nobody really knows, for now let's be uncreative and set it to 365 Days. If we wanted to add months, we could to this by adding a SequentialGameTime before the Year, calling it Month, and then adding however many month names we wanted inside this category, and then setting the length to be identical, or giving each month a different number of days in it.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
However, I needed to duplicate most of the code for every class because the BaseTime class is based on Unity's ScriptableObject class, which can only be created inside the Unity Editor and not during actual gameplay. This would prevent me from making a new date or time requirement dynamically, which defeats the whole purpose of creating the time system in the first place. I was also using Unity's UnityEvents, which function something like C#'s delegates and events, but are serializable, so their listeners persist after you close the program down and relaunch it. However, although they sound nice to work with, they are actually a huge pain in the ass.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So, instead of having complete flexibility, I created a system with Second, Day, and Year built in, and then allowed the designer to create subdivisions of Day and Year in order create however many or few categories they wanted.<br />
<br />
Right now, I am at the stage of making sure that I can accurately update this system during runtime, after which I will worry about saving and loading a game time, and still later I will worry about setting times for events and conditions such as those described for NPCs and quests above. So far, it seems to be flexible enough and easy enough for me to understand what to do etc, and does not require duplicated code.<br />
<br />
I do still plan to return to Particularly Wavy in the near future, but for now this is what I'm most interested in working on.</div>
David Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01601318906655915875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787818667586347471.post-84316139777639629212018-06-22T03:19:00.000-07:002018-08-20T18:56:46.831-07:00Nioh Game Analysis<html >
<head><title>Nioh Analysis</title>
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<div class="maketitle">
<h2 class="titleHead">Nioh Analysis</h2>
<div class="author" ><span
class="cmr-12">David Hunter</span></div><br />
<div class="date" ><span
class="cmr-12">June 22, 2018</span></div>
</div>
<h3 class="sectionHead"><span class="titlemark">1 </span> <a
id="x1-10001"></a>Overview</h3>
<!--l. 10--><p class="noindent" ><i>Nioh </i>is an action RPG developed by Team Ninja and published by Koei Tecmo in
February 2017.
<!--l. 12--><p class="noindent" >
<h3 class="sectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2 </span> <a
id="x1-20002"></a>Formal Elements</h3>
<!--l. 13--><p class="noindent" ><i>Nioh </i>falls under the general group of games known as ”Souls-likes,” due
to their similarity to the <i>Souls </i>series developed by FromSoftware. These
games are primarily single player experiences, which allow the player to enter
other player’s games online in special circumstances. The player controls
a 3D avatar in a 3D world that features winding, twisted, and complexly
overlapping interconnected levels. In these levels, the player will fight a variety of
human and monstrous enemies, including bosses, most of which are based
on Japanese history or culture. In combat, stamina management is key.
Using attacks and blocking/dodging drain stamina, which can put the player
in a weakened and vulnerable state. All enemies can kill the player if the
player is not careful; every enemy does a lot of damage. If the player dies,
they will be respawned at the nearest resting point, with their unused XP
left where they died. In order to get it back, the player will have to fight
back to that point. If they die before doing so, the XP is gone forever. To
anyone who has played a <i>Souls </i>series game, <i>Lords of the Fallen</i>, <i>Salt and</i>
<i>Sanctuary</i>, <i>Ashen</i>, <i>Necropolis </i>or <i>DarkMaus</i>, these features should be instantly
recognizable.
<!--l. 15--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.1 </span> <a
id="x1-30002.1"></a>Players</h4>
<!--l. 16--><p class="noindent" >The player controls William Adams, an English navigator from real history who
sailed to Japan and served on Tokugawa Ieyasu. The player moves a 3D avatar of
William around a 3D world, interacting with NPCs, killing monsters, and finding
items and equipment. The player may discover graves of other players throughout the
world. Touching them will allow the player to engage in battle with an NPC
controlled version of that player and if won, to pick up some of their equipment and
earn Honor.
<!--l. 17--><p class="indent" > The player can even join in-game covenants based on powerful Japanese families
of 1600 that offer bonuses to particular weapon types and abilities.
<!--l. 18--><p class="indent" > The player can where different armors and change their hairstyle and beard to
achieve a look that is pleasing to the player.
<!--l. 20--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.2 </span> <a
id="x1-40002.2"></a>Objectives</h4>
<!--l. 21--><p class="noindent" >The game starts much like any game in the <i>Souls </i>series: the protagonist is thrown in
prison without armor or weapons and must escape. This area serves as the tutorial of
the game. During this mission, the player’s guardian spirit is stolen and taken away
to Japan. The rest of the game is the player’s quest to stop the thief, an man named
Edward Kelley, in his plans to use a special kind of stone called Amrita (found only
in Japan), to resurrect demons and allow England to take over the world. To achieve
this, the player will travel across many areas of Japan, foiling Edward Kelley’s
plans.
<!--l. 23--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.3 </span> <a
id="x1-50002.3"></a>Rules</h4>
<!--l. 24--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.3.1 </span> <a
id="x1-60002.3.1"></a>Areas</h5>
<!--l. 25--><p class="noindent" >Unlike the <i>Souls </i>games, there is no interconnected map for every area. Instead, there
are self-contained areas which play like levels in a more traditional game. These levels
feature the hidden items, secret paths, dark environmental story-telling, and booby
traps that you would expect in a <i>Souls </i>game. Each area is loaded from a map screen,
from which the player may also load different non-combat related areas, such as a
store to trade, dismantle, and upgrade items, a tea house for online play, and
a dojo for training. Like in the <i>Souls </i>series, saving is accomplished at a
save point where the player may also level up. This is a shrine, similar to
the bonfire of the <i>Souls </i>games. As an added twist, there are small green
spirits called Kodama hidden throughout many levels. As the player finds
them, they gather at the shrine. The player may use them to grant a special
bonus, such as increasing item drops, elixir drops, armor drops, or weapon
drops.
<!--l. 26--><p class="indent" > Although there are no minimaps as such, there is a small radar screen, which
shows nearby save points, treasures, and a few other custom markers. The player may
use special items to interact with the level in various ways, for example using a
Travel talisman to return to the most recently prayed at shrine, or using a
Harakiri sword to commit suicide, leaving the area and returning to the main
map, but also losing any Amrita the player has accumulated in the mean
time.
<!--l. 28--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.3.2 </span> <a
id="x1-70002.3.2"></a>Combat and Magic</h5>
<!--l. 29--><p class="noindent" >The player will spend a large amount of time in combat, and it features more
complicated rules than the series it owes so much to. For starters, there
are four stances for all melee weapons: high, mid, low, and sheathed. High
attacks are highly telegraphed, slow and powerful, while low attacks are
rapid, near instantaneous, and weak. Mid stance strikes a balance between
the two. The sheathed stance is mainly useful for swords and dual swords,
which have unique attacks from this stance. No matter the stance, the player
has two kinds of attacks available: fast and strong, and unlike the <i>Souls</i>
series, the player can unlock combos and special moves for each kind of
weapon. For example, by investing in the spear skill set, the player may
unlock a move where the player runs straight forward twirling the spear in
a figure eight pattern until you run out of ki, or you may invest in a leg
sweep to knock enemies off their feet, leaving them vulnerable to a ground
thrust.
<!--l. 30--><p class="indent" > The player can use these attacks and combos to deal damage to enemies, and the
player may either block enemy attacks or dodge them. Both use up Ki, which slowly
recharges, allowing the player to initiate more attacks. Besides melee attacks, the
player may also use ranged attacks and magic to kill enemies. Ranged ammo is
extremely limited, but offers the player the chance to potentially one-hit
kill distant enemies. Magic is much more limited than in the <i>Souls </i>series,
mostly consisting of a few elemental bolt or shot style attacks, protection
spells against those same elemental damage types, and a few extra status
effects.
<!--l. 31--><p class="indent" > The player may also lock onto nearby enemies, but this lock-on is disabled once
that enemy dies.
<!--l. 32--><p class="indent" > As described before, the combat is in many ways the same as the <i>Souls </i>series, but
there are twists. At the end of a series of attacks, the player’s used up Ki disperses in
the air around the player. The player may gather some of this Ki back by using a Ki
pulse, which must be timed correctly to achieve the best result. Although inspired by
<i>Gears of War</i>’s active reload mechanic, it makes Ki/stamina management
more interesting in combat. Changing between stances further deepens the
gameplay, allowing the player to adapt to better deal with the current set of
challenges.
<!--l. 33--><p class="indent" > The other main change is due to guardian spirits. As the player deals and receives
damage, a meter for their chosen guardian spirit fills. When it is maxed out, the
player may make use of it. This triggers a dynamic animation, after which the
player’s weapon’s become imbued with the power of the guardian spirit. They will
use slightly different animations, do more damage, and are usually faster than the
regular attack animations. Depending on the guardian spirit, there may be additional
benefits or triggering conditions as well. For example, the Phoenix guardian
spirit will automatically trigger if the player loses all health, allowing the
player to continue to fight and possibly win through and survive. In the
beginning, the player only has access to three guardian spirits, but with each
boss defeated, the player gains a new one. The guardian spirits generally
have an elemental damage types, plus other passive bonuses that the player
receives just by having it equipped. As an example, the Nine-Tails guardian
spirit gives a bonus to Divine/Ethereal item drop rates and lowers enemy
defense.
<!--l. 35--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.3.3 </span> <a
id="x1-80002.3.3"></a>Stats and Leveling</h5>
<!--l. 36--><p class="noindent" >There are eight stats that the player may invest in when they level up:
<ul class="itemize1">
<li class="itemize">Body: increases life, and resistance to poison and paralysis. Increases
weapon damage, mostly spears. Also unlocks samurai points.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Heart: increases Ki. Also increase weapon damage, mostly swords and
bows. Unlocks samurai points.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Stamina: Increases life and maximum equipment load. Unlocks samurai
points.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Strength: Increases Ki pulse (how much Ki is recovered) and damage with
axes, hammers, and odachi. Unlocks samurai points.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Skill: Increases Ki pulse, and damage with dual swords, tonfas and rifles.
Unlocks samurai points.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Dexterity: Increases ninjutsu power and damage with kusarigamas.
Unlocks Ninja points.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Magic: Increases power of Onmyo magic, increases resistance to Yokai
debuffs. Unlocks Onmyo points.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Spirit: Increases power of Guardian Spirit, and the speed with which the
Amrita Gauge fills.</li></ul>
<!--l. 47--><p class="indent" > But in order to level up one of these eight stats, the player will need to collect
Amrita. This can be obtained by damaging and killing enemies, by consuming
soulstones which can be found by exploring, and by completing missions.
Much like the <i>Souls </i>series, leveling up requires an increasing amount of
Amrita.
<!--l. 49--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.3.4 </span> <a
id="x1-90002.3.4"></a>Crafting and Inventory</h5>
<!--l. 50--><p class="noindent" >Another point of difference between the <i>Souls </i>series and <i>Nioh </i>is the crafting and
inventory systems. Although the weapons and armor pieces have similar stats
to those in the <i>Souls </i>series, items may be dismantled in <i>Nioh </i>to produce
materials which may be sold or crafted into new weapons or armor pieces. These
materials, like the items made from them, have different rarity ranks, and give
different bonuses to the items. There are also numerous sets of armor that give
different bonuses, depending on the number of items from the set the player has
equipped.
<!--l. 51--><p class="indent" > As the player uses a weapon or Divine rank piece of armor, rather than degrade,
the player increases their familiarity with it, which increases its damage
(reduction).
<!--l. 52--><p class="indent" > Besides these points, there is refashioning, reforging and soul-matching. With
refashioning, a player can take the stats of one item and simply replace the looks
with another item, for example, by taking an Oni Sakon’s Spear and reforging it to
look like a Tombikiri spear. This is mostly for cosmetic purposes. With reforging, the
player may use different materials to take different bonuses or effects on the item
and alter those for a randomly selected bonus. Depending on the rarity of
the item, you will have access to fewer or more bonus slots. Finally, with
soul matching, the player has the chance to take items they like and match
them with other similar items. For example, the player may take a level
75 Tombikiri spear with excellent bonuses, and match it to a higher level
Tombikiri with poorer bonuses, or even to any other higher level spear, such as
a Greatspear, or Great Frog Spear. This lets the player keep equipment
that they like throughout the game, and also opens up the possibility of
combining the weapons to create something that has great bonuses from both
items.
<!--l. 54--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.4 </span> <a
id="x1-100002.4"></a>Procedures</h4>
<!--l. 55--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.4.1 </span> <a
id="x1-110002.4.1"></a>Leveling and Upgrading</h5>
<!--l. 56--><p class="noindent" >Leveling proceeds much like in the <i>Souls </i>series. There are no class restrictions, so the
player may use any equipment or abilities that they meet the requirements for. The
main decisions the play must make is how to increase their stats to most benefit their
playstyle.
<!--l. 58--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.4.2 </span> <a
id="x1-120002.4.2"></a>Exploring</h5>
<!--l. 59--><p class="noindent" ><i>Nioh </i>does a fine job of making moving around a level interesting. There are many
hidden items and unlockable shortcuts, and hints about the events that happened
just before the player arrived.
<!--l. 61--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.4.3 </span> <a
id="x1-130002.4.3"></a>Boss-Slaying</h5>
<!--l. 62--><p class="noindent" >Like the lesser enemies, the bosses are each designed to be challenging to the player
in different ways. Some are extremely aggressive, some are fast, some attack slowly
but do massive damage, others use mostly magic attacks. Many of the bosses have
stages to their battle, and several actually come back to life after the player has
”killed” them. Other take advantage of the level to move in unique ways, such
as jumping off walls to launch lunging attacks on the player, flying in the
air, or being confined to particular elements in the environment, such as
water.
<!--l. 63--><p class="indent" > Their attack patterns must be learned, and there are often clues as to
what they are weak to somewhere in the environment or in dialogue with an
NPC.
<!--l. 65--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.4.4 </span> <a
id="x1-140002.4.4"></a>Crafting</h5>
<!--l. 66--><p class="noindent" >With the completion of the main game, the player may start one of several New
Game Plus modes, which unlock a new class of items: Divine items, and later
Ethereal items. These can be soul-matched with identically leveled items to produce
even stronger items of the next level up, for example two Divine Level 150 Kusanagi
Tsurugis (a type of sword) may be combined into one Divine + 1 Level 150 Kusanagi
Tsurugi. This Divine +1 weapon has its familiarity reset to zero, but the base
damage starts at the maximum of the previous Divine weapon. Another Divine + 1
weapon may be combined with the previous one to produce a +2 weapon, etc. This
creates many new opportunities to craft items, but even before this the game
allows the player to use soul matching to raise the level of their favorite
weapons, disassemble unwanted items to salvage their parts, which can then be
used to create items you do actually want. Or the player could take their
favorite items and reforge them to try to get bonuses that better match their
playstyle.
<!--l. 67--><p class="indent" > The only downside to these possibilities is it makes inventory management much
more crucial and more of a time sink. Should you offer up an item and receive some
Amrita, sell it, disassemble it, or use it and then soul match it to another? Which one
makes the most sense for the player may change with the next loot drop, or upon
more careful examination of one’s inventory.
<!--l. 69--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.5 </span> <a
id="x1-150002.5"></a>Resources</h4>
<!--l. 70--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.5.1 </span> <a
id="x1-160002.5.1"></a>Abstract</h5>
<ul class="itemize1">
<li class="itemize">Health: Losing all your health means dying and respawning back at the
nearest shrine. As mentioned before, the player will lose all currently
possessed Amrita as well.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Ki : Ki determines the player’s ability to attack, dodge, and block during
combat, and managing it is critical in every encounter. It is drained by
running, dodging, and attacking, and slowly regenerates when not engaged
in those acts. It regenerates even more slowly when blocking.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Damage Meters: There are many kinds of special damage that the player
can receive: water, lightning, fire, wind, earth and poison damage, for
example. These damages fill a special meter that only becomes visible
when the player receives them. If the meter fills up completely, a special
status effect will take effect on the player. Poison damage, for example,
will cause the player to slowly lose health until the poison meter is empty,
while frost damage will slow player movement and prevent rolling until it
is empty.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Amrita: Amrita is collected from Amrita stones, killing enemies, and
completing missions. It is used to level up your character and improve
your spirit guardian.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Weapon Familiarity: Depending on the rarity of the weapon, there is
a familiarity limit. For Divine weapons and armor, this is 999, but it
decreases with each rank below it. The higher your familiarity with a
weapon, the more bonus damage you receive.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Prestige: Prestige is awarded for completing any of a huge number of
tasks in game. Killing 50 humans with a sword awards a prestige title,
completing a level within a certain time limit awards another, and killing
a boss or group of enemies without taking damage gives another. Dealing
certain amounts of lightning, water, fire, etc elemental damage yield many
more titles. In general, melee titles give points towards Ungyo, and magic
titles give Agyo points.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Agyo Points: By using magic, the player will receive prestige titles and
unlock Agyo points. These can be spent on a pool of randomly generating
bonuses loosing dealing with magic.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Ungyo Points: Similarly, by engaging in melee combat, the player can
receive prestige titles and unlock Ungyo points, which can be spent on a
pool of randomly generating bonuses.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Honor: Honor is acquired by killing NPC versions of player characters. It
can be used to buy items, gestures, and other objects from the Teahouse.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Level: The player starts at level one, and after collecting enough Amrita,
may increase any stat. This increases the player’s level.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Proficiency: Besides familiarity with specific instances of weapons or
armor, the player gains overall proficiency with the class the weapon
belongs to. Like familiarity, this increases the player’s damage bonus with
that weapon class over time, and also serves as the criteria for unlocking
certain missions.</li></ul>
<!--l. 85--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.5.2 </span> <a
id="x1-170002.5.2"></a>Physical</h5>
<ul class="itemize1">
<li class="itemize">Weapons, Armor, Items: Depending on the player’s luck, they may receive
different drop rates of different types of items throughout the game. When
opening a container or after killing an enemy, these may spawn. These
may be left as is, equipped, sold, dismantled, reforged, or refashioned. At
shrines, they can be offered to the gods(?) in exchange for Amrita and the
chance of receiving extra items, such as soulstones, elixirs, etc.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Materials: These are received from dismantling weapons, armor, and other
items, and also by defeating certain types of enemies. They can be used
to craft new weapons, or sold.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Companions: At several points during the game, the player will travel
through a level together with one or more AI controlled companions. The
player may also summon human players to assist them through difficult
sections, much like in the <i>Souls </i>series. If the AI companion’s health reaches
zero, they will enter a dormant state, kneeling on the ground waiting for
the player to assist them, while if the human companion’s health reaches
zero, they will be returned to their own game. The same will happen if
the player is killed.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Money: Unlike the <i>Souls </i>series, <i>Nioh </i>has separated XP and currency.
The player can find money on the ground after killing enemies, breaking
containers, and receive it as a reward for completing a mission. The player
may also earn money by selling unwanted items at the Blacksmith. It can
be used to buy items, or to pay the Blacksmith for special services, such
as soul matching or reforging.
<!--l. 91--><p class="noindent" >Guardian Spirit: The player starts with three Guardian Spirits to choose
from. These may be switched at a shrine, and the player will unlock more
after completing missions and defeating bosses. After completing the base
game, the player may even equip two Guardian Spirits, and switch between
them on the fly (with a short cool down between switching). The game
also allows the player to level up their Guardian Spirits by using Amrita.
As mentioned before, when the player dies, their Guardian Spirit is left
behind to guard the Amrita the player collected before dying.</li></ul>
<!--l. 94--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.6 </span> <a
id="x1-180002.6"></a>Conflicts</h4>
<!--l. 95--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.6.1 </span> <a
id="x1-190002.6.1"></a>Stat Point Investment</h5>
<!--l. 96--><p class="noindent" >As the player invests points, it becomes apparent that around 40, the benefit of
each additional point invested starts to decrease. This effect of diminishing
returns forces the player to consider whether investing in a different stat
might better benefit them. Further, the cost for increase one’s level increases
dramatically at higher levels, further forcing the player to carefully consider each
investment.
<!--l. 98--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.7 </span> <a
id="x1-200002.7"></a>Boundaries</h4>
<!--l. 99--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.7.1 </span> <a
id="x1-210002.7.1"></a>Stat Point Investment</h5>
<!--l. 100--><p class="noindent" >There is a soft maximum level cap at 750, at which point the player will have 99 in
each of the 8 stats.
<!--l. 102--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.7.2 </span> <a
id="x1-220002.7.2"></a>NPCs</h5>
<!--l. 103--><p class="noindent" >Unlike in the <i>Souls </i>series, non-combatant NPCs may not be attacked.
<!--l. 105--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.8 </span> <a
id="x1-230002.8"></a>Outcomes</h4>
<!--l. 106--><p class="noindent" >There are no major choices which the player must make during the game that affect
its outcome. The only outcome is achieved by defeating Edward Kelley, and the final
monster which he summons.
<!--l. 108--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.9 </span> <a
id="x1-240002.9"></a>Inventory</h4>
<!--l. 109--><p class="noindent" >The player may carry 500 items, some of which stack. Beyond that, they must sell,
drop, or offer the items if they want to carry something new.
<!--l. 111--><p class="noindent" >
<h3 class="sectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3 </span> <a
id="x1-250003"></a>Dramatic Elements</h3>
<!--l. 112--><p class="noindent" >In general, the story elements are stronger than in the <i>Souls </i>series, but at the same
time there are no choices for the player to make.
<!--l. 114--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3.1 </span> <a
id="x1-260003.1"></a>Characters</h4>
<!--l. 115--><p class="noindent" >The player takes the role of William Adams, an English ”pirate” who initially
seems interested only in getting back his Guardian Spirit, Saorise. To do
so, he tracks down her kidnapper to Japan and encounters many historical
figures along the way, meeting with Hattori Hanzo, Tokugawa Ieyasu, and
many others. While somewhat interesting, these characters serve mainly as
a backdrop for the action, and as a loose narrative holding the missions
together.
<!--l. 117--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3.2 </span> <a
id="x1-270003.2"></a>Story</h4>
<!--l. 118--><p class="noindent" >William Adams tracks down Edward Kelley to Japan, and completes many
missions all over Japan in order to thwart Kelley’s plans, or those of his
allies.
<!--l. 120--><p class="noindent" >
<h3 class="sectionHead"><span class="titlemark">4 </span> <a
id="x1-280004"></a>Dynamic Elements</h3>
<!--l. 121--><p class="noindent" >Much like the <i>Souls </i>series, <i>Nioh </i>lacks many dynamic elements found in other RPGs,
such as NPC status tracking, reputation, dynamic weather, or a day-night
cycle.
<!--l. 123--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">4.1 </span> <a
id="x1-290004.1"></a>Patterns</h4>
<!--l. 124--><p class="noindent" >This section focuses on game patterns as discussed by Ernest Adams and Joris
Dormans in <i>Game Mechanics: Advanced Game Design</i>.
<!--l. 132--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">4.1.1 </span> <a
id="x1-300004.1.1"></a>Playing Style Reinforcement</h5>
<!--l. 133--><p class="noindent" ><i>Nioh </i>contains several examples of playing style reinforcement. By increasing stats
such as Body, Heart, Strength or Skill, the player can receive Samurai Points to learn
new skills related to Swords, Spears, Odachi, Axes, or Dual Swords. These new
skills make it more beneficial and interesting to use one of those weapon
types.
<!--l. 134--><p class="indent" > Additionally, the player may join a faction which gives bonuses to their preferred
weapon, stance, or armor set. Armor sets themselves often give bonuses to particular
weapons, weapon abilities, or stances, further incentivizing the player to
make the most of weapons, armor, and stances that match how they like to
play.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiZr7cRftsvz3PwIzxIfCBjlqbrMUBqJacCE4D3uZr-mAFI7ba3rkDKRqIZ0nNHwoUKl2N34WWaVKvePjpp4a7ss4CBt9zQqVsn_qeQWlSvY0cw6yooGOzZ3QQ-Ze0I-03MsmryC-6cZqN/s1600/playingstylereinforcement.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiZr7cRftsvz3PwIzxIfCBjlqbrMUBqJacCE4D3uZr-mAFI7ba3rkDKRqIZ0nNHwoUKl2N34WWaVKvePjpp4a7ss4CBt9zQqVsn_qeQWlSvY0cw6yooGOzZ3QQ-Ze0I-03MsmryC-6cZqN/s320/playingstylereinforcement.PNG" width="320" height="206" data-original-width="932" data-original-height="601" /></a></div>
<!--l. 139--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">4.1.2 </span> <a
id="x1-310004.1.2"></a>Dynamic Friction</h5>
<!--l. 140--><p class="noindent" ><i>Nioh </i>contains many examples of dynamic friction. As the player progresses through
the game, they increase their ability to deal and withstand damage, but so do the
enemies.
<!--l. 141--><p class="indent" > With each level increase, it takes more and more Amrita to reach the next
level.
<!--l. 142--><p class="indent" > Basic skills in the Magic, Samurai, and Ninja categories only take one point to
unlock, but this amount increases as the player progresses further into the skill
trees.
<!--l. 143--><p class="indent" > Soul matching Divine rank items requires an exponentially increasing number of
higher and higher Divine items to get to the next level: +2 requires two +1’s,
which require four base Divine items, while +4 requires two +3’s, which
require four +2’s, which require eight +1’s, which require sixteen base Divine
items.
<!--l. 144--><p class="indent" > Smithing higher level items of course requires more money.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcnsLOUgCrMH6_4vSEd_OR0kFqElKEe5bWl2mULwGNdy5uzEFVqeRSO2w5YYy8xbGiGFvy79nd3TOoQhGzWD7ia5yobUhYMh-osArByflKXIc_WxhYOwhzIaxjIwyw9LZrAdge7HFPzgHw/s1600/dynamicfriction.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcnsLOUgCrMH6_4vSEd_OR0kFqElKEe5bWl2mULwGNdy5uzEFVqeRSO2w5YYy8xbGiGFvy79nd3TOoQhGzWD7ia5yobUhYMh-osArByflKXIc_WxhYOwhzIaxjIwyw9LZrAdge7HFPzgHw/s320/dynamicfriction.PNG" width="320" height="63" data-original-width="907" data-original-height="179" /></a></div>
<!--l. 149--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">4.1.3 </span> <a
id="x1-320004.1.3"></a>Engine Building</h5>
<!--l. 150--><p class="noindent" >The leveling, equipment and Guardian Spirit systems may together be taken as
an example of the engine building pattern. The player may choose certain
equipment and Guardian Spirits, and invest in particular stats to increase
the amount of money they receive, maximize Amrita rates, or increase the
amount of (rare) items they receive. It depends on the player’s goals and how
(consciously) they take advantage of synergies between the systems to achieve
them.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2MkHavJws-FOBnzf3BcU4T-l-iHWLUo2HlFTHhks84Fgf33lYcIFmgZvYM4Xh5o04bZAj812bc7fFA7ukr1cAwGj7G2udGr-7DLwB3kMlyj-NPQKzlJKoQNhK7v-KrErRAHbFynUqCkUQ/s1600/enginebuilding.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2MkHavJws-FOBnzf3BcU4T-l-iHWLUo2HlFTHhks84Fgf33lYcIFmgZvYM4Xh5o04bZAj812bc7fFA7ukr1cAwGj7G2udGr-7DLwB3kMlyj-NPQKzlJKoQNhK7v-KrErRAHbFynUqCkUQ/s320/enginebuilding.PNG" width="320" height="151" data-original-width="948" data-original-height="446" /></a></div>
<!--l. 155--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">4.1.4 </span> <a
id="x1-330004.1.4"></a>Stopping Mechanism</h5>
<!--l. 156--><p class="noindent" >Ah, the stopping mechanism. <i>Nioh </i>makes use of the stopping mechanism almost as
much as it makes use of dynamic friction. Ki is limited, preventing the player from
spamming constant attacks and abilities. The player must wait for it to
recharge.
<!--l. 157--><p class="indent" > As the player invests in stats more and more, the number of Samurai, Ninja, and
Magic points they yield decreases.
<!--l. 158--><p class="indent" > After activating one’s Guardian Spirit, and in New Game Plus mode after
switching between Guardian Spirits, there is a cool down timer during which the
player cannot activate it again.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyaHpiEprg1FTz9WbAmUr6N_Z_miF-1c-GKOOoGxLFnhS4kts4g9tQhkFXGWAb170YVfz_9wp0-BrDxDcyum7VC5eFWA-GWqfEKLTm14jhD8oRnNzpVb3kFXcG9CtGb-udhm11V_fqfi-A/s1600/stoppingmechanism.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyaHpiEprg1FTz9WbAmUr6N_Z_miF-1c-GKOOoGxLFnhS4kts4g9tQhkFXGWAb170YVfz_9wp0-BrDxDcyum7VC5eFWA-GWqfEKLTm14jhD8oRnNzpVb3kFXcG9CtGb-udhm11V_fqfi-A/s320/stoppingmechanism.PNG" width="320" height="83" data-original-width="1058" data-original-height="275" /></a></div>
<!--l. 163--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">4.1.5 </span> <a
id="x1-340004.1.5"></a>Trade</h5>
<!--l. 164--><p class="noindent" >The final pattern contained in <i>Nioh </i>is the trade pattern. The player may sell any
item in exchange for money, or offer up any item in exchange for Amrita and the
chance of getting another consumable.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbnsTVLbY4vHqprul3OwOVcjyITXrTLM2yG6XK3ESSj20DeSEd0BFDsP9miYWEluJgraXnqGVjsDdbmC919I8SdYMIlJMEreKEJAHsGxM_KusyvJFvWkqmDZ7VK8kgZj_6WIavf54yF6GE/s1600/trade.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbnsTVLbY4vHqprul3OwOVcjyITXrTLM2yG6XK3ESSj20DeSEd0BFDsP9miYWEluJgraXnqGVjsDdbmC919I8SdYMIlJMEreKEJAHsGxM_KusyvJFvWkqmDZ7VK8kgZj_6WIavf54yF6GE/s320/trade.PNG" width="320" height="215" data-original-width="643" data-original-height="433" /></a></div>
<!--l. 169--><p class="noindent" >
<h3 class="sectionHead"><span class="titlemark">5 </span> <a
id="x1-350005"></a>Conclusion</h3>
<!--l. 170--><p class="noindent" ><i>Nioh </i>is not only a strong entry into the <i>Souls</i>-like genre, but excels in certain areas
where its inspiration failed or lacked polish. The animations are much better than the
early <i>Souls </i>games, and the combat retains the same tension while giving the player
much more flexibility in how they play and use each weapon and each set of
armor.
<!--l. 172--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">5.1 </span> <a
id="x1-360005.1"></a>Potent Elements</h4>
<!--l. 173--><p class="noindent" >The combat shines out as flexible, action-driven, and highly enjoyable. The multiple
stances, Guardian Spirits, and special abilities stack together to create a complex
multi-layered experience that you will probably want to come back to again and
again.
<!--l. 175--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">5.2 </span> <a
id="x1-370005.2"></a>Areas for Improvement</h4>
<!--l. 176--><p class="noindent" >The story and the lack of choices that affect the story is <i>Nioh</i>’s weakest point.
Managing one’s inventory is also more of a chore than it should be.
</body></html> David Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01601318906655915875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787818667586347471.post-19116826613471548512018-05-15T19:06:00.000-07:002018-08-20T18:57:03.172-07:00Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Wildlands Analysis<html >
<head><title>Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands Analysis</title>
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<div class="maketitle">
<h2 class="titleHead">Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands
Analysis</h2>
<div class="author" ><span
class="cmr-12">David Hunter</span></div><br />
<div class="date" ><span
class="cmr-12">May 16, 2018</span></div>
</div>
<h3 class="sectionHead"><span class="titlemark">1 </span> <a
id="x1-10001"></a>Overview</h3>
<!--l. 11--><p class="noindent" ><i>Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands </i>is an open world 3rd person tactical shooter
game with light RPG elements. It was developed by by Ubisoft Paris and published
by Ubisoft in March, 2017.
<!--l. 13--><p class="noindent" >
<h3 class="sectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2 </span> <a
id="x1-20002"></a>Formal Elements</h3>
<!--l. 15--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.1 </span> <a
id="x1-30002.1"></a>Players</h4>
<!--l. 16--><p class="noindent" ><i>Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands </i>can be played as a single-player game or as a
multiplayer cooperative game. In either case, the player takes control of one member
of a four member military squad. The player can customize the member’s gender,
facial appearance, and clothing, although this has no effect on gameplay. The player
and the other three members of their team is deposited in a fictional version of
Bolivia.
<!--l. 18--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.2 </span> <a
id="x1-40002.2"></a>Objectives</h4>
<!--l. 19--><p class="noindent" >The player is in Bolivia to take down a cocaine cartel called Santa Blanca, which is
headed by a drug lord called El Sueño. His cartel is divided into four branches:
Security, Influence, Smuggling, and Production. Each branch has a head of
operations, subhead, and between four to six buchons, or bosses. The player
must ”gather intel,” which consists of going to a pre-tagged location and
interacting with an object or talking to a person, and then completing a
mission. The mission will consist of a very limited number of types: killing
or locating an NPC (without being detected), locating (and destroying)
some object(s), or escorting/protecting an NPC/object to a location for
a certain amount of time. After between three to six of these missions, a
mission to take out the buchon will be unlocked, which will be a mission of
one of the above types, and after enough buchons have been taken out, the
player can start a mission to take out the subhead, which will be one of the
above mission types, and then start a mission to take out the branch head,
which, you guessed it, will be one of the above mission types. After two heads
have been taken out, the player may make a move on El Sueño himself,
or the player may try to totally dismantle the cartel before moving on El
Sueño.
<!--l. 21--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.3 </span> <a
id="x1-50002.3"></a>Rules</h4>
<!--l. 22--><p class="noindent" ><i>Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands </i>features a wide ranging rule set.
<!--l. 24--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.3.1 </span> <a
id="x1-60002.3.1"></a>Equipment and Vehicles</h5>
<!--l. 25--><p class="noindent" >The player may only have three weapons at any time: two large rifles or SMGs, and a
pistol sidearm. Grenades, mines, C4, diversion lures, flashbangs, and different kinds
of drones may also be equipped, provided that the player has invested the skill points
in unlocking them. Each weapon type also has a number of modifications which the
player may change, sometimes on the fly. For example, sniper rifles come with
different lengths of barrel, different barrel attachments, different scopes, stocks,
magazines, and triggers, each of which affects the use of the rifle. Longer
barrels make the weapon more accurate at range, and increase the range, but
also make the gun slower to raise and lower. Suppressors reduce but do not
completely eliminate noise, making it easier to sneak around, but also reduce
the damage and penetration. Etc. However, enemies only come in three or
four varieties, and they all take roughly similar amounts of bullets to kill.
Further, new types or levels are not unlocked as the game progresses, making
much of the variety and customization mostly mute. There are two main
decisions a player must make: loud or quiet, and CQC or distance. From
those two choices, the type of weapons a player should choose naturally
follows.
<!--l. 26--><p class="indent" > There are also many different types of vehicles:
<ul class="itemize1">
<li class="itemize">motorcycles: only seat the player, fast moving and somewhat useful for
offroading
</li>
<li class="itemize">cars, two-seaters: handle slightly differently depending on the model, and
can take different amounts of damage
</li>
<li class="itemize">cars, four-seaters: handle slightly differently depending on the model, and
can take different amounts of damage.
</li>
<li class="itemize">vans: handle slightly differently depending on the model, and can take
different amounts of damage. Some have mounted machine gun turrets.
</li>
<li class="itemize">trucks: handle slightly differently depending on the model, and can take
different amounts of damage.
</li>
<li class="itemize">helicopters: handle slightly differently depending on the model, and can
take different amounts of damage. Could be scouting, transport, attack,
or heavy attack models.
</li>
<li class="itemize">airplanes: handle slightly differently depending on the model, and can take
different amounts of damage.
</li>
<li class="itemize">boats: handle slightly differently depending on the model, and can take
different amounts of damage. Most come equipped with different machine
gun turrets.</li></ul>
<!--l. 37--><p class="noindent" >These are scattered around the map, and the player can even hijack cars passing by on
the roads. Given the size of the map, it can still be quite a hike to reach one,
especially a helicopter or airplane. The player’s AI controlled squad mates will
automatically spawn into any vehicle that the player takes control of. It is possible to
die while in a vehicle, and depending on the circumstances, your squad mates may or
may not be able to revive you.
<!--l. 39--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.3.2 </span> <a
id="x1-70002.3.2"></a>Stealth</h5>
<!--l. 40--><p class="noindent" >A great part of the game will involve sneaking around. Your basic enemy soldiers are
somewhat perceptive, but not as perceptive as in the <span
class="cmti-10">Dishonored </span>series: they will
notice dead bodies, shots fired at them or near them, but will never notice a missing
soldier on patrol, and sometimes not react to lights being shot out, etc. The player
can use a drone to mark them, and can use ”Sync shot” to take out more
than one enemy at the same time. Moving at night or staying in shadows
during the day further reduces the chances of being spotted. The player may
also adjust their stance from standing to crouching to prone, which also
reduce the chances of being seen. If the player is spotted, all nearby enemy
soldiers will be alerted and will begin to move in on the player’s location.
Depending on the circumstances, enemy reinforcements maybe called in for
support.
<!--l. 41--><p class="indent" > All is not lost, as the player can often fight their way out of the situation, or try
to break the enemies’ line of sight, hide, and wait for them to return to
”normal” behavior. Even if the player is spotted, if the player can kill the
enemy quickly and silently enough, no enemies will be alerted. Once the
player is spotted and attacked, the status will change to ”Engaged,” but
if the player can hide, then it will change to ”Hunted.” If nearby enemies
have seen or heard something, but are not sure what it is, the status will be
”suspicious.”
<!--l. 43--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.3.3 </span> <a
id="x1-80002.3.3"></a>Stats and Leveling</h5>
<!--l. 44--><p class="noindent" >The exact amount of health the player has is hidden, but you can take several shots
before dying. When you die, your squad mates will approach you and attempt to
revive you. Initially, this may happen only once during a fight, but as the player
levels up, the amount of damage you can take can be increased, as well as the
number of times you may be revived. After taking damage, your health will
slowly regenerate, as in almost every cover-based shooter since <span
class="cmti-10">Gears of</span>
<span
class="cmti-10">War</span>.
<!--l. 45--><p class="indent" > The player also has a hidden amount of stamina, which really only determines
how long the player can run before returning to walking/jogging. This also
regenerates and can be increased by leveling up the appropriate skill.
<!--l. 46--><p class="indent" > Marking enemies, killing them (while undetected)/(by headshot)/(at a distance
greater than 400m) will grant the player different amounts of XP, which
eventually raise the player’s level, granting skill points. Skill points can also be
found as ”commendations” which are scattered around the map. The player
can also pick up ”medals” which provide a small bonus to particular skills,
such as increasing damage against vehicles by 5%. Similarly to <span
class="cmti-10">The Witcher</span>
series, a larger amount of XP is granted by completing story missions, but
unlike that series, almost no effort has gone into making them interesting or
compelling for the player. Skills are arranged in six categories, which are divided
into four tiers each. Most skills have several different levels, which require
more and more skill points and resources to unlock. The first tier of skills is
available from the beginning, but the second and third only unlock after
reaching particular levels, while the fourth contains a special skill that unlocks
automatically once the player has invested in the first level of each skill in the
category.
<!--l. 47--><p class="indent" > Besides enough skill points, the player needs enough of one of four resources to
level up a skill: gasoline, medicine, food, and comms. Like skill points, these are
scattered around the map, but the player can also receive larger amounts by
completing optional side missions that might involve tagging a convoy, hacking a
radio station, defending a radio transmitter, or racing from one radio tower to
another within a certain time limit.
<!--l. 53--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.3.4 </span> <a
id="x1-90002.3.4"></a>Areas</h5>
<!--l. 54--><p class="noindent" ><i>Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands </i>takes place in a fictional Bolivia. Although
exact figures are difficult to come by, the map is anywhere between 200 km<sup><span
class="cmr-7">2</span></sup> and 600
km<sup><span
class="cmr-7">2</span></sup>, or about 20 km by 20 km to 24 km by 24 km. The game is huge, and the terrain
is varied and diverse, with no loading screens anywhere, except for the interminably
long one you will face upon starting the game, oh, and every time you die, which
on harder difficulty settings will be often. Oh, and when you fast travel,
which also might be often as you want to avoid the minutes long track from
one place to another. You can explore jungles, deserts, swamps, grasslands,
sea/lake cliffs, and numerous mountain formations. The terrain and world
are beautiful and breathtaking, and looks great, with very little pop-in,
screen tearing, or other artifacts to interfere with your enjoyment of the
scenery.
<!--l. 55--><p class="indent" > Its very size, however, is something of a backfire, as it takes forever to get
anywhere by foot, and can take over 10 minutes to <span
class="cmti-10">fly </span>from one side of the map to
the other. The vehicles, almost without exception, handle like a greased water
buffalo, floating and sliding around with little control or regard for user
input.
<!--l. 57--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.4 </span> <a
id="x1-100002.4"></a>Procedures</h4>
<!--l. 58--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.4.1 </span> <a
id="x1-110002.4.1"></a>Leveling and Upgrading</h5>
<!--l. 59--><p class="noindent" >The player will level up throughout the game, and will probably be able to unlock
every ability, which mostly make small incremental changes to player stats, although
some unlock new items for use, such as C4 or nightvision.
<!--l. 61--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.4.2 </span> <a
id="x1-120002.4.2"></a>”Exploring”</h5>
<!--l. 62--><p class="noindent" >There are a great of items scattered around the map: weapons to collect, skill points,
bonus medals, resources, and weapon mods, and also many side missions. In typical
Ubisoft style, some are marked on your map from the beginning, while others can be
unlocked by gathering intel from enemies, which are also marked on your
map. For the most part, due to the size of the map, the player will rarely
feel like they have discovered something, or if they do find something that
was not previously marked on their map, it is register as a non-event or
fluke.
<!--l. 64--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.4.3 </span> <a
id="x1-130002.4.3"></a>Completing Missions and Boss-Slaying</h5>
<!--l. 65--><p class="noindent" >As mentioned before, there are a great many missions in the game. There are 20
<span
class="cmti-10">buchons</span>, four subheads and four heads, plus the final boss of El Sueño. Each <span
class="cmti-10">buchon</span>
requires the player to complete between 3-6 missions in order to unlock it, creating
an actual total of 110 story missions. Unfortunately, they mostly fall into an
extremely small number of types, and lack enough distinguishing details to make
them interesting or distinct in the player’s mind. After completing the 3-6 missions,
the player will be able to engage in a ”boss-battle” with the <span
class="cmti-10">buchon</span>. This might
involve killing them, or reaching their location and extracting them to a rebel
outpost.
<!--l. 67--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.5 </span> <a
id="x1-140002.5"></a>Resources</h4>
<!--l. 68--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.5.1 </span> <a
id="x1-150002.5.1"></a>Abstract</h5>
<ul class="itemize1">
<li class="itemize">Health: Unknown amount, if it reaches zero you die, and must wait for
a companion to revive you. If this has already happened in the fight,
you must reload from an autosave point. While not being hit, it slowly
regenerates.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Stamina: Same story as health.
</li>
<li class="itemize">XP: Almost same story as the above. It is mostly hidden to the player
how much XP you get for everyday activities like sniping, killing enemies,
and the like. Completed missions display this clearly, for some reason, but
the player is not shown how much XP they currently have, nor how much
is needed for the next level.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Skill points: These are used for unlocking new abilities or for upgrading
existing ones.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Suspicion: Moving in front of enemies at close distances in well-lit
conditions increases suspicion, as does making noises.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Level: A marker for player progress through the game. Receiving enough
XP increases to the next level and grants skill points.</li></ul>
<!--l. 78--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.5.2 </span> <a
id="x1-160002.5.2"></a>Physical</h5>
<ul class="itemize1">
<li class="itemize">Gasoline/Medicine/Comms/Food: These are different crates that can be
found dispersed over the map, and also in large convoys that patrol the
map. Necessary for leveling up.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Intel: Items found or interacted with in the world give the player intel,
which reveals the locations of items or missions in the world.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Ammo: Can be replenished at ammo boxes, and also by walking over dead
enemies.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Weapons: Can be found all over the map. Described above.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Vehicles: Can be found all over the map, must be abandoned if damaged
too badly lest they blow up with you in them.
</li>
<li class="itemize">Escort/Allies: If an escort dies, you must restart the mission. Your
companions, on the other hand don’t matter.</li></ul>
<!--l. 88--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.6 </span> <a
id="x1-170002.6"></a>Conflicts</h4>
<!--l. 89--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.6.1 </span> <a
id="x1-180002.6.1"></a>Stat Point Investment</h5>
<!--l. 90--><p class="noindent" >Increasing a skill requires an arithmetically increasing number of points, so deciding
which skill you want could make a significant different in gameplay and of course
influences what other skills you will be able to invest in.
<!--l. 92--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.6.2 </span> <a
id="x1-190002.6.2"></a>Factions</h5>
<!--l. 93--><p class="noindent" >There are three factions in the game: Santa Blanca, the rebels, and Unidad, and
whenever one encounters another, they will open fire on each other. The player can
also use vehicles marked with the appropriate faction’s logo to gain access to certain
areas without raising alarms or suspicions.
<!--l. 95--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.6.3 </span> <a
id="x1-200002.6.3"></a>Stealth vs. Loud</h5>
<!--l. 96--><p class="noindent" >The player may choose to tackle missions by going in guns blazing or trying for a
stealth approach. Either is usually feasible, although the guns blazing approach may
not be allowed depending on the mission requirements. Given the player’s limited
health, and the ability of most outposts to call for reinforcements, it generally makes
more sense to at least scout the location and disable the alarms before going all
Rambo on them.
<!--l. 98--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.7 </span> <a
id="x1-210002.7"></a>Boundaries</h4>
<!--l. 99--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.7.1 </span> <a
id="x1-220002.7.1"></a>Stat Point Investment</h5>
<!--l. 100--><p class="noindent" >After the player has max out all abilities, there is no more progression possible.
<!--l. 102--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.7.2 </span> <a
id="x1-230002.7.2"></a>NPCs and Factions</h5>
<!--l. 103--><p class="noindent" >If you kill three civilians within a short time of each other, you will be forced to
restart the game, but other than this civilians have almost zero impact on
the game. They will not alert the cartel of your presence, you cannot ask
them for assistance or info during missions, and your efforts at destroying
the cartel have zero appreciable effect on their behavior, living situation,
etc.
<!--l. 104--><p class="indent" > As for the factions, they do not seem visibly affect by the player’s actions either.
The cartel does not become weaker, less well-supplied, or more disorganized, and
Unidad is not altered in any way either.
<!--l. 106--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">2.8 </span> <a
id="x1-240002.8"></a>Outcomes</h4>
<!--l. 107--><p class="noindent" >There are two main outcomes, depending on how much of the cartel the player
has dismantled before attempting the final mission, but this is BUGGY! I
completed every mission and still I was given the ending for players who
had not. After the mission, I even received the message ”You have only
completed 100% of the game. Continue to explore Wildlands and dismantle
100% of the cartel to see a different ending.” In the forums, it is claimed
that the missions of taking out El Sueño are included in the total, which is
stupid, as it forces the players who have already completely dismantled the
cartel to complete the last two missions twice in order to see the ending that
matches the state of the cartel. It especially makes no sense as in the first
playthrough El Sueño IS FUCKING KILLED, so how can the player take him out
again?
<!--l. 109--><p class="noindent" >
<h3 class="sectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3 </span> <a
id="x1-250003"></a>Dynamic Elements</h3>
<!--l. 111--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3.1 </span> <a
id="x1-260003.1"></a>Time</h4>
<!--l. 112--><p class="noindent" ><i>Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands </i>has a dynamic day-night cycle, which
influences the playstyle to some extent, as it is easier to be spotted in the day than
during night.
<!--l. 114--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3.2 </span> <a
id="x1-270003.2"></a>Weather</h4>
<!--l. 115--><p class="noindent" ><span
class="cmti-10">Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands </span>also has a dynamic weather system, but this
seems mostly for show/immersion, and has no known effect on gameplay.
<!--l. 117--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3.3 </span> <a
id="x1-280003.3"></a>Patterns</h4>
<!--l. 118--><p class="noindent" >This section focuses on game patterns as discussed by Ernest Adams and Joris
Dormans in <i>Game Mechanics: Advanced Game Design</i>.
<!--l. 120--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3.3.1 </span> <a
id="x1-290003.3.1"></a>Stopping Mechanism</h5>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyaHpiEprg1FTz9WbAmUr6N_Z_miF-1c-GKOOoGxLFnhS4kts4g9tQhkFXGWAb170YVfz_9wp0-BrDxDcyum7VC5eFWA-GWqfEKLTm14jhD8oRnNzpVb3kFXcG9CtGb-udhm11V_fqfi-A/s1600/stoppingmechanism.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyaHpiEprg1FTz9WbAmUr6N_Z_miF-1c-GKOOoGxLFnhS4kts4g9tQhkFXGWAb170YVfz_9wp0-BrDxDcyum7VC5eFWA-GWqfEKLTm14jhD8oRnNzpVb3kFXcG9CtGb-udhm11V_fqfi-A/s320/stoppingmechanism.PNG" width="320" height="83" data-original-width="1058" data-original-height="275" /></a></div>
<!--l. 124--><p class="noindent" >The stopping mechanism pattern occurs in several areas of gameplay. First, the
player may be revived a limited number of times each fight, preventing the player
from abusing this ability. Second, the player may only use one rebel support action at
a time, and there is a cooldown timer these, again preventing the player from using it
too often.
<!--l. 126--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3.3.2 </span> <a
id="x1-300003.3.2"></a>Dynamic Friction</h5>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcnsLOUgCrMH6_4vSEd_OR0kFqElKEe5bWl2mULwGNdy5uzEFVqeRSO2w5YYy8xbGiGFvy79nd3TOoQhGzWD7ia5yobUhYMh-osArByflKXIc_WxhYOwhzIaxjIwyw9LZrAdge7HFPzgHw/s1600/dynamicfriction.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcnsLOUgCrMH6_4vSEd_OR0kFqElKEe5bWl2mULwGNdy5uzEFVqeRSO2w5YYy8xbGiGFvy79nd3TOoQhGzWD7ia5yobUhYMh-osArByflKXIc_WxhYOwhzIaxjIwyw9LZrAdge7HFPzgHw/s320/dynamicfriction.PNG" width="320" height="63" data-original-width="907" data-original-height="179" /></a></div>
<!--l. 130--><p class="noindent" >The dynamic friction pattern also occurs in several areas of gameplay. First, in stat
point investment: the player needs increasing amounts of resources and numbers of
skill points for each level unlocked. Second, in notoriety: if the player goes loud, it is
possible that Unidad will be alerted to the player’s location, which if the player
continues to stay visible and attack loudly/aggressively, will cause more and more
Unidad patrols to be sent to attack the player.
<!--l. 132--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">3.3.3 </span> <a
id="x1-310003.3.3"></a>Play Style Reinforcement</h5>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiZr7cRftsvz3PwIzxIfCBjlqbrMUBqJacCE4D3uZr-mAFI7ba3rkDKRqIZ0nNHwoUKl2N34WWaVKvePjpp4a7ss4CBt9zQqVsn_qeQWlSvY0cw6yooGOzZ3QQ-Ze0I-03MsmryC-6cZqN/s1600/playingstylereinforcement.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiZr7cRftsvz3PwIzxIfCBjlqbrMUBqJacCE4D3uZr-mAFI7ba3rkDKRqIZ0nNHwoUKl2N34WWaVKvePjpp4a7ss4CBt9zQqVsn_qeQWlSvY0cw6yooGOzZ3QQ-Ze0I-03MsmryC-6cZqN/s320/playingstylereinforcement.PNG" width="320" height="206" data-original-width="932" data-original-height="601" /></a></div>
<!--l. 130--><p class="noindent" >The play style reinforcement pattern is present in the sense that as the player levels up, they may invest in skills and item unlocks which make it easier/more fun to play in their particular way.
<!--l. 138--><p class="noindent" >
<h3 class="sectionHead"><span class="titlemark">4 </span> <a
id="x1-320004"></a>Dramatic Elements</h3>
<!--l. 139--><p class="noindent" >This game analysis has already said some very cruel (but true) things about <i>Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands</i>, but unfortunately for this game, it only gets worse from here.
<!--l. 141--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">4.1 </span> <a
id="x1-330004.1"></a>Characters</h4>
<!--l. 142--><p class="noindent" >The characters are stupid. The less said about them the better it will be for the
reputation of Ubisoft’s writing team. All of them are one-dimensional, lacking in
personality, and come off as stereotypes or caricatures.
<!--l. 144--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">4.2 </span> <a
id="x1-340004.2"></a>Story</h4>
<!--l. 145--><p class="noindent" >The story suffers similarly. A lot of effort has clearly gone into making the audio
files, text files, and videos explaining the story and giving the player info
about the characters, their history, and their motives for doing what they are
doing, but none of it is very interesting or compelling. After watching the
first three or four videos, I stopped caring for the rest of the game. It is all
quite transparently setup for the player to explore each area of the map,
which is where the majority of development time and effort were clearly
devoted.
<!--l. 146--><p class="indent" > In brief, there is a cartel in Bolivia which is selling drugs, which is bad. There are
bad people in the cartel. You need to kill them or capture them. That is the whole
story. Explaining the rest would just further aggravate me for having to write it and
you for having to read it.
<!--l. 148--><p class="noindent" >
<h5 class="subsubsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">4.2.1 </span> <a
id="x1-350004.2.1"></a>DLCs</h5>
<!--l. 149--><p class="noindent" >There are several free DLCs, one featuring Sam Fisher from the <i>Splinter Cell</i>
franchise, and another featuring the predator from the <i>Predator </i>franchise. Somehow,
Ubisoft managed to make both of these horrible. The Sam Fisher DLC requires some
uber-sneaking skills for the first section, before plunging the player in a
punishingly difficult firefight which they must endure for several minutes before
extracting him to another location. Similarly, the Predator DLC features
a short investigation followed by a long and repetitive battle against the
Predator.
<!--l. 151--><p class="noindent" >
<h3 class="sectionHead"><span class="titlemark">5 </span> <a
id="x1-360005"></a>Conclusion</h3>
<!--l. 152--><p class="noindent" ><i>Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands </i>is a missed opportunity for Ubisoft. Although
the terrain generation is fantastic, they filled the terrain very poorly with boring
missions and activities, and made moving around it tortuously slow on foot,
excruciating by car, and simply boring by helicopter and airplane. I cannot
recommend this game to anyone except as an exercise in what <span
class="cmti-10">not </span>to do when
designing an open world game.
<!--l. 154--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">5.1 </span> <a
id="x1-370005.1"></a>Potent Elements</h4>
<!--l. 155--><p class="noindent" >The shooting elements are solidly done, and the world itself is pretty amazing to
behold.
<!--l. 157--><p class="noindent" >
<h4 class="subsectionHead"><span class="titlemark">5.2 </span> <a
id="x1-380005.2"></a>Areas for Improvement</h4>
<!--l. 158--><p class="noindent" >The rest of the game goes here. The story is bland, and the player lacks any real
sense of agency, as after totally dismantling the cartel, nothing in the world has
actually changed: the NPCs struggling to live under the cartel still go about their
random walks and live in shitty cinder block houses. They will not thank the
player, and the player has not changed their lives at all. As the player battles
the cartel, it undergoes no changes as a result of the player’s actions, so
killing those soldiers in training and their training officers does not result
in lower numbers cartel soldiers elsewhere, nor in weaker soldiers due to
lack of training. It was just an excuse to make the player explore that area
of the map, which is the real showcase. The player is not even given any
videos showing how their efforts are making a difference to the drug trade
abroad.
</body></html> David Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01601318906655915875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5787818667586347471.post-31804087856689718882018-05-09T17:46:00.000-07:002018-05-09T17:46:58.815-07:00Recursion and StackoverflowHi all,<br />
<br />
Just thought I'd share a little incident that happened while I was working on Particularly Wavy yesterday. I had a light source on the left, and two light splitters on the right. When I tried testing this level, as soon as the two light splitters were setup as in the picture below, my speakers would explode as they tried to play hundreds of sound effects at the same time. Then Unity would freeze just after giving me a stackoverflow exception error. I tried the same level several times before giving up because I had some errands to run.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIU6e_osse-T859rtwppN9cyA6Ji5aqMj6fKPpEZETeAbPiDxrwoojq2L8ltUdItPDCu-hfIK_RaAmfNcswacWybb51hx71NNTxce1mc12VhxtcRl6SjWvrTL2IRFFB_PU2GXnBco_ptsz/s1600/Untitled+drawing.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="333" data-original-width="709" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIU6e_osse-T859rtwppN9cyA6Ji5aqMj6fKPpEZETeAbPiDxrwoojq2L8ltUdItPDCu-hfIK_RaAmfNcswacWybb51hx71NNTxce1mc12VhxtcRl6SjWvrTL2IRFFB_PU2GXnBco_ptsz/s320/Untitled+drawing.png" width="320" /></a></div>
As I was walking to the train station to run those errands, I finally figured out what was happening. The way that light splitters work is when light hits one, we check if the light ray has hit this splitter before. If it has, then we just update its children, which involves using a function called Emit. If it has not hit the splitter before, we create two children: one which passes through the splitter, and a second which reflects off the surface. After creating those two children, we run Emit on them. The kicker is that we use Emit to determine what type of object we have hit, so the HitSplitter function can be called from Emit.<br />
<br />
If you haven't got what was happening, here it is: When light hits the first splitter, it creates two children, one of which passes through and hits the second splitter. This also creates two children, one of which passes through, while the other reflects back to hit the first splitter. Here, again, we create two children, one which bounces back to hit the second splitter. And I think that's enough. Basically, I had created a situation where light would bounce back and forth an infinite number of times, or as close to infinite as your computer can handle before crashing the program.<br />
<br />
The solution to this is as simple creating the problem in the first place: I was already keeping track of the "depth" of the light ray, or how many times it had bounced or split from the light source, so just checking whether this number is less than a limit, say, 20, prevents infinite recursion.<br />
<br />
In any case, I now have 75 puzzles set up and earlier this week created two new game mechanics, but they need more testing and debugging to make sure they work correctly.David Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01601318906655915875noreply@blogger.com0