Devil's Advocate

[meatloaf231]

Why hello there, escapist!

Seeing all the "Why do game developers do X?" threads as of late, I thought it would be reasonable to have the other point of view explored. For instance, does someone out there really love the dark browns and greys used in shooters as of late? Or perhaps someone likes World War II, and wants more shooters in said time period. Perhaps you don't actually like X thing, but just want to explore more points of view than your own.

I will take the latter one.

World War II is not only a tried-and-true game setting, but it's probably the most accurate style of gameplay in a shooter. Let me explain that in more detail: the way most millitary shooters work, between the necessary inaccuracy of the weapons, the fast gameplay, and the exxagerated destruction, match World War II far more than any other setting. Take for example, Call of Duty 4. Do you think guns are actually that inaccurate from the start? I don't mean recoil. I mean actual accuracy. Bullets go straighter than you think. Most of the time, it's the human that causes inaccuracy, and this is simulated by making the guns ingame more inaccurate. Plus, a lot of the fighting done in World War II was done with the opposing sides a good deal closer to each other than they are in modern wars, with many more combatants.

I really used "accurate" and it's other forms far too many times right there.

Anyways, what I am getting at is this: World War II was big. Really big. Towns were completely leveled, tanks rolling around in streets, etc. We have all seen the documentaries. The sheer scale of the fighting makes it an attractive setting for any shooter. The game can easily include weapons inaccurate enough to make the game balanced, huge amounts of destruction (though mostly scripted), large scale fights, and intense, close-range combat, without being too unrealistic.

So what will you be the Devil's Advocate for? What do you see as reasonable that nobody else seems to?

 

[Raven28256]

I also enjoyed the "Vietnam Phase" we had a few years ago. Vietcong is among my favourite first-person shooters. It's a shame everything has to be a near-future genocide simulator these days.

I don't quite agree about Vietcong, but I liked that phase too. I just wish that there were more, higher quality Vietnam games to break up the monotony when it comes to most shooter settings.

I'll admit, I might rag on about how WWII is overused, but I still like playing good games about the conflict. Company of Heroes is one of my favorite RTS games. Call of Duty 2 is one of my favorite FPS games. Frankly, I want to play both Hell's Highway and Call of Duty: World at War. I just wish that these same talented developers would try another conflict. Speaking of which:

Korea. Seriously guys, why aren't there ANY games about this war? Developers are obsessed with WWII because it is so familiar with gamers. Well, the Korean War was fought with mostly WWII-era weapons and tactics. It was the last relatively large conflict America was involved in before we started progressing into the modern era with weapons like the M16 and guided missiles on aircraft. So really, a developer like Treyarch could take the World at War engine, reuse a lot of the weapons and gear, but still offer a completely new experience for gamers. It isn't WWII in terms of scale and popularity, but then again, what is?

 

[The_Deleted]

Well, the Korean War was fought with mostly WWII-era weapons and tactics.

Surely that's your answer.

 

[Novajam]

I'll advocate World War II games as well. I think what people are really tired of is playing as an American soldier. Playing as a Brit, Frenchman, Australian, or even a Russian could breathe fresh air into the genre.

Why not swap it around? Play as the Japanese, Germans or Italians.

And we've got these newfangled Blu-Ray discs now don't we? You could do the ENTIRE Second World War with all that space. Blitzkrieg to Battle for Britain to War in the Pacific to the Invasion of Italy to D-Day to Liberation of France to the Fall of Berlin.

You could even mix it up by adding things like the Warsaw Uprising, or the Hiroshima/Nagasaki Bomb, or pre-war spying.

After All, it was a World War.

 

[Dommyboy]

Need more war games involving Australia and New Zealand. We did do something after all, not much but its worth a mention like CoD: World at War might involve some more oceanic countries.

 

[LordCraigus]

I'll advocate WWII games as well, First-Person Shooters in particular since there's definitely a lot more Strategy games that have already got it right, or at least tried.

The thing is with WWII games like CoD and MoH is that alot of the missions of the campaign wouldn't feel out of place if the architecture, weapons and uniforms were changed to another time-period completely. What I'm saying is, apart from recreations of famous scenarios like the D-Day landings the campaigns don't feel greatly unique to the actual battle you're fighting.

If the big developers simply put in more research to the WWII game they're making no doubt you'd get a much different and unique experience. It's sort of annoying to see a lot of people say they're fed up with the same old scenarios, same old settings, same old weapons etc. when, like me, you know there's so much untapped potential in the genre that unfortunately the big WWII titles just don't offer, and thus most gamers don't know better.

I keep saying this (and will continue to do so) but I'd love to see an FPS set entirely on the Eastern Front. For the biggest and most decisive front of the War there's no doubt it hasn't got anywhere near as much recognition in the west as it deserves (and not just in games). A game that breaks the boundaries of what most people think of a WWII game. Even something like a singleplayer version of Red Orchestra would do the job.

You could even mix it up by adding things like the Warsaw Uprising.

Definitely agree that could be a very interesting scenario for a game as well. Or any sort of resistance or partisan warfare scenario in fact.

 

[Baby Tea]

I'll advocate for the wash of browns and greys in todays games. And forgive me in advance for any spelling errors and grammatically incorrect sentences, as I'm currently in a hospital bed recovering from intestinal surgery. Typing can be difficult with 2 IV's in your arm and stitches in your belly!

Whenever I hear people complain that a game is awash with a brown and grey color scheme, I usually look at the game and smile: GTA 4, CoD:4, RS:V (1 or 2), GRAW (1 or 2), Assassin's Creed, GoW, etc. I smile because the setting that these games are in CALL for this type o color scheme. If you want a war conflict or depressing future scenario with bright, vivid and vibrant colors: Go play a JRPG. You're in a desert conflict? You aren't going to wear pink camo, or jump around with sparklers. You're walking the 'mean' streets on a gang neighbourhood? Probably the only color you'll see is the color you're frontin' (G!)!

I mean come on. Not only are the majority of real life urban areas pretty drab, but the colors invoke the feelings hopelessness and dystopia that most developers want for their war games (go figure). If the game is called 'The Bright Colorful Game of Vivid Color', then I can see your complaint. If not, suck it up! It's an artistic choice.

 

[Raven28256]

Well, the Korean War was fought with mostly WWII-era weapons and tactics.

Surely that's your answer.

Personally, I think that would be a plus for game developers. Like I said, they could make a game with a lot of the same weapons and such, but in a new setting to give gamers a breath of fresh air.

 

[GreenHerring]

First off, let me say right out that this is probably the among the greatest threads it has ever been my pleasure to view.

Right, now that's out of the way. I personally am not fond of WWII shooters, and am among the (far too) vocal masses regretting Call of Duty's regression thereof. I do actually enjoy browns and greys in games, though. To me, that makes it all the more absorbing. When I play Halo I am constantly reminded that I am, in fact, staring at a rapidly changing screen with a chunk of plastic in my hands. COD4 has actually submerged me in the temporary hallucination of being in the SAS (or Marines, let's not be bigoted), even if it is nearly impossible to spot the enemies.

 

[Dr Spaceman]

I'm beginning to think that it's not necessarily the SETTING of WWII, but the fact that when a lot of games are being made around one particular idea, then of course a lot of them are going to be bad. However, I think we can definitely all recognize that several great games have been made with WWII as the backdrop.

Company of Heroes is a spectacular example of a game that took a familiar idea (WWII RTS), but cranked it to 11 and kicked everyone's ass.

 

[hem dazon 90]

i want an easter uprising/ irish home rule game

 

[TsunamiWombat]

I wanna play a WW2 game as an Irish commando, and march into battle with the bagpipes.And i'm pretty sure that did happen a few times. Or was that a John Wayne movie?

Playing as the Germans actually sounds interesting. If people have trouble rationalizing being a Nazi, you can be a consicentious dissenter who eventually deserts to help the British prevent some super secret German commando invasion during operation Sea Lion.

 

[LewsTherin]

I'll advocate JRPG's. Remember when it was just weird hair and over-expressive protagonists? Turn based combat and random encounters? Cottages that could fit in a backpack?

Good times, good times.