You *can*, but IMO, Skyrim is not looking to be that game. It's too early to tell for sure, but this new development is not promising in the least.Crazy_Man_42 said:
Except that the developer has anticipated this, and in the spirit of being "More accessible", lowered the difficulty of aiming to account for this limitation.
Even of one of my favorite games, Metroid Prime, does this with auto-targeting and camera tracking because the controls would have been quite clunky on a Gamecube controller otherwise. Metroid Prime 2 genuinely much harder than the original, mainly because the environment works to counter these advantages (enemies are much harder to get an initial lock on, and the overall game is much darker or harder to see).
Traditional gamepads have genres where they are directly superior or feel more natural than a keyboard and mouse (notably, racing games and flight simulators), but first person titles are NOT one of those.
The absolute best example of this in action is the PC version of GTA3, Vice City, or San Andreas (the console and PC versions, apart from possible controller inputs, are identical).
First, acquire a USB 12 button controller (basically, a PS2 or Xbox 360 equivalent).
Next, use the keyboard and mouse to play through a few missions. Then start those missions over and swap to the controller.
You will find the following is always true:
1) It is significantly easier to aim firearms with the mouse (even against the lock-on feature. Why? Superior camera controls. You can instantly swing around and see all your targets rather than having to press the lock button rapid until you get to all of them)
2) It is significantly easier to drive well with the controller (for obvious reasons)
There are more mathematical explanations for why it works (it involves the maximum number of vectors and inputs that the player can be expected to reasonably control at any given time) but those are a beyond the necessary explanation required here.
Next, use the keyboard and mouse to play through a few missions. Then start those missions over and swap to the controller.
You will find the following is always true:
1) It is significantly easier to aim firearms with the mouse (even against the lock-on feature. Why? Superior camera controls. You can instantly swing around and see all your targets rather than having to press the lock button rapid until you get to all of them)
2) It is significantly easier to drive well with the controller (for obvious reasons)
There are more mathematical explanations for why it works (it involves the maximum number of vectors and inputs that the player can be expected to reasonably control at any given time) but those are a beyond the necessary explanation required here.
The feeling is mutual: I was waiting for someone to use the typical "PC Master Race" jab.Irony said:
As a PC and Console gamer, I don't care what system the game is on; I just want the damn game to be *good* and *fun*. Instead, the industry keeps dragging everything down to one side: Current consoles. This isn't because consoles are always the superior technological platform for a particular title; it's because consoles are an easier market for business to control than PC.
This isn't a conspiracy theory; it's a very simple and proven case of economics. We're simply seeing the side-effect of business and the quest for more money (Which apparently can justify anything these days).
Bethesda COULD stop watering the gameplay mechanics down to the point that even Spoiled Special Bobby can understand which sword is better without having to do the difficult analytical task of comparing two numbers, but they won't because it will bring in more cash; even if the specific experience and gameplay is measurably INFERIOR to its predecessors.
Just to drive that point home: Oblivion was already so accessible that you could beat the entire fucking game AT CHARACTER LEVEL 2 without using *ANY* exploits, cheats, etc. That's because the entire game was scaled to your character (everything. Quest Rewards. Loot. Enemies and their equipment. Number of enemies per encounter. Their stats. Everything.).
Additionally, all quests had that mandatory "Follow-the-idiot-light" marker on your quest indicator, so you couldn't ever possibly get lost. And now Bethesda thinks it needs to be simplified from THAT?
*Back on Topic*: I found it hilarious that in the video, he talks about how the player doesn't have to manage stats, and that the game has great depth hidden in the background process. This creates a paradox in design: He claims that the game has "depth", but the player will never be made consciously aware of it.
The problem lies in this: The PLAYER is the focus upon which gameplay depth should rest. The player's conscious gameplay decisions is what gives depth meaning. By deliberately hiding it away from him/her, you are in fact, destroying the depth you worked so hard to create.
So even here, they're dumbing the experience down.
