Less is More, More is Less

So, I started playing Battlefield Heroes the other day. It's free, ya know, so that's pretty appealing. Taking the classic Battlefield gameplay and making it casual-friendly was an interesting concept, and I just had to give it a shot. And I like it, quite a bit, but I also have some problems with it... like just about anything, I suppose.

Heroes is an interesting example of two trends I think of as contradictory working in the same game- the idea of simplifying mechanics to minimize the learning curve alongside adding RPG elements for complexity and depth. And frankly, though it's an interesting game, I feel like the conflicting philosophies work against it. It's a good game, and certainly both the simple mechanics and the RPG elements make it better... but not as good as truly emphasizing on one or the other, because they sort of counteract each other.

I'll give you an example. In the previous Battlefield games, we have had 5 classes- Assault, Anti-Tank, Engineer, Medic, and Sniper. The series has had some 5 entries before Heroes, and in some of these, there were variations, but overall, that's usually the class roster. It took a few titles for DICE (the creators of the Battlefield games) to get the balance right, but by Battlefield 2 (which wasn't actually the second Battlefield game- confusing, I know), the classes were pretty balanced, and useful in most any situation. Heroes scraps this for a 3 class system- Soldiers, Gunners, and Commandos. The functions of all five older classes are implemented in some way into these newer classes. What this means, though, is that what was designed to make things simplier actually makes them more complex. All three classes have a plethora of abilities, some of which are confusingly similar to another class's (Gunner speed boost vs. Commando speed boost, for instance).

The end result of this is that you cannot tell what someone is capable of at a glance. It's nice to give people tools for any situation. It's ridiculous when you do that, but still expect people to know by silhouette what class someone is and what that means. Commandos use stealth and sniper rifles as their trademarks, but maybe this particular commando put all his points into his poison knife and speed boost, and suddenly the whole battle has changed- and not for the better. It's the same problem Call of Duty 4 struggled with- when you give people the option of using a wide variety of dynamic abilities, you need to give them some way of telling what the other guy has. The best example of this is the perk Martyrdom- one that makes it so that you drop a live grenade on death. That is the single most hated perk in the game- you NEVER know if someone has it, and so everyone gets into the habit of running the hell away from every kill they get. It's ridiculous, and completely obnoxious. Personally, I think it's a bullshit perk too, but there are obviously those who disagree.

Likewise, the game tries to make things more forgiving by making NOTHING instant kill- sniper rifle headshots, point blank shotgun shots, getting shot by a tank's main cannon, none of this does more than a third of your health. But this doesn't make the game easier- for a great many classes, it makes it way harder. So a headshot doesn't kill anymore? Gee! Why should I bother with a sniper rifle again? Because it seems to me like Commandos just became so situational as to be shit. And surprise! That's true. Commandos have to be right behind you or a mile away, or they die.

My point here isn't to bitch about balance. My point is to say this- yes, stripping away unneccessary features and content is a great idea. Hell, I love TF2 miles more than I did the original, and until the class updates, that's mostly all the game did- simplify the original. But it's really, really important to give the players to tools to judge a situation, handle it, and succeed. If they can't, you're really just kicking them in the crotch.

Fun for the Whole Family

Alright, readers, big news- you know how I said I'd be the only poster at the start of all this? Well, I lied. Actually, the situation just changed, really. You know the buddy I mentioned as helping with the spec improvement stuff? Timmy? Yeah, he's gonna start posting here now and then under the name Cheddarcheeseme2. He's a smart, entertaining, and most importantly, noticably crazy. Otherwise, he wouldn't fit in. He's a WoW player, he's a TF2 player, and he's... well, he can tell you about himself some more when he posts. He's a solid guy.

This does open up the possibility of other posters as well if I encounter willing people who are verifiably awesome, but we can cross that bridge when we come to it.

Yes, I Know the Last Verse Isn't Pentameter

The blade, it gleams with blood and spinal juice
Your final scream sounds as I pull it loose
A flick, a click, and thus ends your abuse
My balisong, to you a hangman's noose

I'm back again, but now you aim and shoot
I drop, quite dead, my corpse loaded with loot
It does not fool you long, you're quite astute
"A Dead Ringer!" you gasp, and then fall mute

I grin, and block the way back to the resupply
You grit your teeth, swallow, narrow an eye
Then draw your gun and make a sharp reply
It takes no time for the clip to run dry

I grin with confidence as I block the corridor
Then reach into my coat. "Meet the Ambassador."
With a bang, you die to its splendor.

Spy, Gentlemen

I was tempted to do a rant about the new Tier 9 sets in World of Warcraft (I don't much care for them) but there's little I could say there that hasn't been said on the official forums- one of the "Tier 9 Sucks" threads there have over twenty-five hundred posts. Rather, I'll talk about Team Fortress 2.

I play the Spy. Not that I like generalizing about a person from the way they play, but I think it's pretty fair to say that it says a lot about me that I love playing as a Spy. I don't mean that it says I'm suave or clever or any of that crap, but I think it's totally fair to say that I enjoy mind games way more than I should. Cloaking, disguises, and of course the delicious butterfly knife. Oh the knife... I could write poems about that thing. In fact, if I need a quick post later, I may.

The thing about playing the spy that is so delightful to me is the mind games. When I first got the Dead Ringer, the unlockable item that lets you feign death, I let the same sniper nail me five times in a row just to eff with him. Another time, I disguised myself as a heavy from my own team, with his boxing gloves out, and ran into the enemy base screaming battle cries. When they, naturally, immediately blew my brains out, I feigned death, and while they were marvelling at how weird the experience was, I reappeared behind them, stabbed one, and then bolted.

What's my point here? Well, partially, I wanted to share fun stories, and to chide those who haven't picked up TF2 (seriously, if you don't have the game, you're nuts), but mostly I wanted to say this- first person shooters are fun, no doubt about that. Games like Call of Duty and Killzone are, to my mind, the pinnacle of the conventional multiplayer shooter. Intuitive, fast paced, rewarding, and fun. But sometimes offering the option for atypical play is the best choice that can be made.

In Team Fortress, many players who typically resort to harassing and griefing other players just play Pyro or Spy, because that's how those classes are designed to play. Left 4 Dead allows players to play the part of special zombies who are designed specifically to appeal to disruptive players.

Certain players do not like playing by the rules. They will always be part of your community, you cannot stop them. Even Team Fortress still has them. But by providing them with a way to enhance the experience of other players with the way they normally play, you bring out the best in them... and also help regular players realize the joy of playing like a jerk.

Because really, nothing satisfies quite like the perfect backstab.