Disregard Weapons, Acquire Tools

[Robert Rath]

Disregard Weapons, Acquire Tools

Critical Intel explains into why more games should focus less on weapons and more on the things that can do some real damage.

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[RandV80]

You can kill a man with a shovel, but you can't dig a hole with a rifle.

A knife can be a tool, and you can attach a knife on the front of a rifle, so why not a shovel? With the right socket your rifle could become a bonafide Swiss army knife!

 

[TiberiusEsuriens]

I was playing Left4Dead2 the other day and my personal objective was to run the entire level and the only weapon I was allowed to use was the frying pan. It was a really dumb yet incredibly fun run, but it made me sad when I couldn't cook food for the team with it.

The surge of survival games is enjoyable because there's a big emphasis on surviving the apocalypse, not murdering it.

 

[Zombie Badger]

I think this inability to solve problems non-violently is holding gaming back as an art form. The Last of Us' story became really annoying for me as supposedly dramatic moments (meeting friends at the dam, Ellie running away etc) were interrupted by contrived action because Naughty Dog don't know how to do anything else. The final level bored me to the point of really struggling to care enough to finish the story, as it contrived a ridiculous scenario just so the game could end with a shootout when having the characters sit down and talk things over would have been far more dramatic.

The only game I've ever seen to make its level of violence make sense within the story was Spec Ops: The Line, but that only works when only one game does it. We really need to find ways to create challenge and drive stories without being in constant mortal peril (adventure games are promising in this regard, but they're rather limited).

 

[gargantual]

Hmm. Wasnt this a quote from Burn Notice's first episode?

" Guns make you stupid. Power tools make you smart. "

or something like that...

 

[Uriel_Hayabusa]

Another compelling "Critical Intel". I actually enjoyed The Last of Us a lot but its mixture "thrilling action-game" and "intimate character-piece" was definitely awkward. I too hope that more games will try to find ways to engage players with gameplay that doesn't involve killing things.

Which actually reminds me of this Youtube-video that also tackles it, if from a different angle:

TUN: Slow Down the Violence[/youtube]

 

[weirdee]

ahem


no warrior can stop the man with a shovel

 

[Robyrt]

But why can't you just talk to the monsters?

 

[Atmos Duality]

Excellent article.
It's something to ponder, and realize that level design and environment should go beyond just where you find new weapons or cover to hide/attack from.

Deus Ex, despite having elements of an FPS, is very much a game about tool usage. Even when the contexts were fairly confined. Even some weapons could be used as tools. With full skill in Rifles, a Sniper Rifle is very useful even in a no-murder run since it can take out camera, alarm panels, some doors, turrets and a few other environmental obstacles at a distance quickly and silently).

It would be a big improvement if we had less "Canned progress" and hand-holding in level/environment design and more dynamic options that reward the player for bringing tools instead of just more death.

But why can't you just talk to the monsters?

Well, you need to reach Oracle job level 3 to unlock the Mediator job, which has Monster Talk innately.
With that, you can hurl all manner of language at them; including the ability to bore them into submission, or possibly, even to death.

Most folks just don't get that far I'm afraid. It's not a popular job.
;p

 

[Gennadios]

The basic premise of the article is that a tightly scripted story is actually not compatible with the true potential of video gaming? Yeah, I've been shouting that gaming has been apeing Hollywood when it should have been heading in the direction of Minecraft for a decade.

 

[Balkan]

The funny thing about the game is that the "Tools" upgrade mechanic does have an icon depicting something similar to a wire cutter. It's not immersion breaking if you put it in the story's context- Joel is a violent thung, basically on the run. It's not impossible that he never ran across wire cutters in the game's timespan. It's not even that big of a deal, there aren't that many fences in the game.
http://thelastofus.wikia.com/wiki/Tools?file=Screen_shot_2013-06-25_at_12.43.18_PM.png

Another compelling "Critical Intel". I actually enjoyed The Last of Us a lot but its mixture "thrilling action-game" and "intimate character-piece" was definitely awkward. I too hope that more games will try to find ways to engage players with gameplay that doesn't involve killing things.

Which actually reminds me of this Youtube-video that also tackles it, if from a different angle:

TUN: Slow Down the Violence[/youtube]

Well, violence was a major theme of the game, illustrated by the mechanics, so everything falls into place when you think about it. Also, I wouldn't say it was "thrilling" or adventurous more like intense and deadly. Isn't it great when action games try to mix up the basic mechanics? Like aiming, ammo usage and crafting?