Change the Red Barrel Color!

[PsychicTaco115]

In some action games and many first-person shooters, explosive barrels or crates are present. Generally red and marked with some sort of warning, they will explode when shot and kill any nearby enemies. They are sometimes located conveniently near a horde of enemies.

I know red things usually mark things explode, but what if I'm tired of seeing things red explode? What if I want the freedom to shoot things that are yellow and see enemies die in a horrible explosion of flames?

Hell, this stuff is so ingrained into our minds that even if there was a change, we wouldn't know what to do! SOURCE- http://www.peoplecanfly.com/blog/2011/01/we-had-to-use-red-barrels/

So with that, if you could change the stereotypical "red barrel" to any color, what would it be and why?

I personally think it would be awesome to shoot purple canisters. I like seeing things that probably shouldn't have been there in the first place

 

[IceForce]

Well, green obviously.

Not just the barrel, but a green explosion too.

Yep, pretty much like that.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

Considering that in industry red barrels are used to store volitle, flammable, and otherwise dangerous materials, I think it is safe to say that it is simply copying what is going on in real life.

Not to mention the natural association of "red" with "Danger".

 

[Bravo Company]

Did I hear something about yellow explosive barrels? FarCry 3 has your back man.

 

[BQE]

Well hey, doesn't Borderlands 2 have all sorts of exploding barrel colors? In a game full of barrels all the exploding ones seem to stand out because they sort of glow.

Or I just mostly accidently shoot them.

 

[Smooth Operator]

That story is completely asinine and shows just how far up corporate asses their heads are stuck, yeah guess what focus groups will not yield... approval of creative ideas, so stop fucking using them!

You can do whatever shape or mechanic you want as long as you tell the player, or you can be a lazy ass who chugs along the beaten path then complains how he had to chug along the beaten path.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

Remember how DOOM had explosive barrels that were just normal gray metal? Then someone had to come along and ruin it all with RED BARRELS... Actually I do recall an interview with some game developer who did change the explosive barrel color to something else but somehow all the people in QA were so indoctrinated to red barrels that they completely ignored the boom-barrel mechanic in that no one decided to even explore shooting them. I don't remember the game or where the interview was at but I remember reading it and thinking how no matter what I always tend to shoot barrels to see if they explode no matter what color they are, also to see if they have anything in them like ammo or items... Hell I do it just to see if there's break-shit physics.
But thats me, always trying to break shit.

EDIT: Hang my head in shame for reading but absolutely ignoring the OP's reference... lol.

 

[josemlopes]

I always shoot a barrel if it stands out, either by glowing or having more color then the rest (a bright green barrel next to a bunch of dull grey and brown barrels probably mean something), the key really is making it stand out.

Well hey, doesn't Borderlands 2 have all sorts of exploding barrel colors? In a game full of barrels all the exploding ones seem to stand out because they sort of glow.

Or I just mostly accidently shoot them.

To be honest the exploding barrels in BL2 even have health bars so if you swing your aim across one you instantly know that it can explode. But even with that they are a bit more colourfull then the rest and some do indeed glow (the blue emits eletrical sparks I think)

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

Spoiler: Exploding barrels, you say?!

I'll stick with the tried and tested grey barrels thank you.

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

Remember how DOOM had explosive barrels that were just normal gray metal? Then someone had to come along and ruin it all with RED BARRELS... Actually I do recall an interview with some game developer who did change the explosive barrel color to something else but somehow all the people in QA were so indoctrinated to red barrels that they completely ignored the boom-barrel mechanic in that no one decided to even explore shooting them. I don't remember the game or where the interview was at but I remember reading it and thinking how no matter what I always tend to shoot barrels to see if they explode no matter what color they are, also to see if they have anything in them like ammo or items... Hell I do it just to see if there's break-shit physics.
But thats me, always trying to break shit.

T'was covered in <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_310/8914-Green-Barrels-Dont-Explode> this article, good sir, which also referenced the article quoted by the OP.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

**snippers**

T'was covered in <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_310/8914-Green-Barrels-Dont-Explode> this article, good sir, which also referenced the article quoted by the OP.

Thanks! I couldn't remember where to begin looking for it and lo and behold! its right under my freakin' nose... Lol-worthy at the least.

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

**snippers**

T'was covered in <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_310/8914-Green-Barrels-Dont-Explode> this article, good sir, which also referenced the article quoted by the OP.

Thanks! I couldn't remember where to begin looking for it and lo and behold! its right under my freakin' nose... Lol-worthy at the least.

It's certainly a funny old coincidence all right. Here was me thinking I was so clever finding the Escapist article, and it turns out Taco had already presented the source article!

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

**snippers**

T'was covered in <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_310/8914-Green-Barrels-Dont-Explode> this article, good sir, which also referenced the article quoted by the OP.

Thanks! I couldn't remember where to begin looking for it and lo and behold! its right under my freakin' nose... Lol-worthy at the least.

It's certainly a funny old coincidence all right. Here was me thinking I was so clever finding the Escapist article, and it turns out Taco had already presented the source article!

Ah! Curses, my reading comprehension is lacking at this hour, haven't yet made coffee. I should have picked that up the first time around but I skipped right past it.

 

[kingthrall]

rainbow barrels that explode rainbow paint all over the walls and terrain would be funny.

 

[Saltyk]

Well, there are certain short cuts that developers make. They even do this in movies and such. There is a reason that TVTropes exists and it's not necessarily a bad thing.

Also, I always seem to miss the barrels. I never notice them until after I kill all the enemies and then realize I could have saved a ton of time if I had shot the barrel in the center of where all the enemies were, first. Yeah, shooting barrels is not my first instinct. I generally go to neutralize threats, first. Then, I look around.

Anyway, while I see no problem with red barrels, I'd say yellow is probably the second most likely color. Yellow would also stand out a lot, and is often used as a warning color, as is red.

If I were going for colors for silly reasons, I'd say purple. Purple isn't a color you expect any barrel to be.

 

[RJ 17]

PLAID! All exploding barrels should be PLAID!

They'd stand out easily from their environment and...they'd be plaid! And borrowing from IceForce's idea...

Not just the barrel, but a green explosion too.

Make the explosion plaid as well! Just imagine the epic greatness of a giant plaid mushroom cloud incinerating all your enemies! >

 

[spartandude]

Colours for the barrels? We could have Red, or Green, or Blue, either way its the exact same result.

 

[kailus13]

I'd make it black with spiky bits and prongs. This is not a barrel to display over the mantelpiece or stick in the umbrella stand, this is a bareel to kill people with.

Horribly mangling the works of Douglas Adams aside, if they all explode the same, does it really matter? It's not as if they stay intact for very long.