Extra Punctuation: An Invisible Protagonist
- Thread starter Yahtzee Croshaw
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Yahtzee's ideas are actually pretty cool. I would definitely buy a game that relied completely on stealth and subterfuge rather than falling back on a combat system or using AI thicker than the Berlin Wall.
I'm sure this has been mentioned, but I'd rather not search every page for it: A lot of the gameplay mechanics Yahtzee described are actually implemented [on harder modes] in the Metal Gear Solid series. Wet/Dirty footprints, knocked out guards causing suspicion, trying to create background noise... It's all been done (my personal favorite is accidentally giving yourself the sniffles and losing due to a sneeze) I can understand that Yahtzee wants a game where the whole point is the stealth aspect of MGS, but it's still just "Stealth Aspect of MGS: The Game"
I would put some sort of silhouette standing in some "badass" pose with guards running around in the background.HankMan said:
I had an idea for a game like that once. But in my version the invisible main character is also unable to affect the material world. He's like a spirit or an imp or a faerie. And he uses cantrip-like spells to manipulate a "hero" character to meet his destiny. So the idea was more like a puzzle game. I think the reason why I never made it, was the difficulty of doing the AI correctly. But I like the idea of an invisible protagonist.
This ... is actually ... a really, really cool idea.
I would totally like to see this game. Every point that Yahtzee mentions is inspiring. It'd be a new take on the concepts introduced in Hitman: Blood Money, but taken to a whole new level because you'd have to be careful even just walking around normally.
I would totally like to see this game. Every point that Yahtzee mentions is inspiring. It'd be a new take on the concepts introduced in Hitman: Blood Money, but taken to a whole new level because you'd have to be careful even just walking around normally.
It was the "making other characters think an NPC is mad" mechanic that interested me the most 
it would be hilarious to just start pelting them with office stationery or something, then stop when another npc runs in..
"but.. but.. i swear, the stapler just flew over and hit me in the head!!"
"shh,.. ok leroy, i think its time you went home.."
"but!.. but the stapler!.."
"shh, its ok, you've had a long day..."
it would be hilarious to just start pelting them with office stationery or something, then stop when another npc runs in..
"but.. but.. i swear, the stapler just flew over and hit me in the head!!"
"shh,.. ok leroy, i think its time you went home.."
"but!.. but the stapler!.."
"shh, its ok, you've had a long day..."
I think that is probably the biggest problem with the game inadvertantly identified. If you put the game "on rails" ie - figure out the one and only solution the dev's intended it becomes a boring "need the walkthrough" kind of game. On the other hand, if you fill the game with a million different objects you can use dialogue like that becomes impossible. do you really record different dialogue for throwing the stapler/hole punch/HP Laserjet 5000/drinks can/kitchen sink?spikeyjoey said:It was the "making other characters think an NPC is mad" mechanic that interested me the most
it would be hilarious to just start pelting them with office stationery or something, then stop when another npc runs in..
"but.. but.. i swear, the stapler just flew over and hit me in the head!!"
"shh,.. ok leroy, i think its time you went home.."
"but!.. but the stapler!.."
"shh, its ok, you've had a long day..."
I believe it was Cracked who proposed a game involving setting up elaborate Final Destination style coincidences to kill people. Like having a plane fly into a home game of the target's favorite baseball team to give him a heart attack. If the proposed game allowed something like that--no, wait, too many variables.
Also, what about turning on radios to cover up noise? Or dropping a burner cell phone that one of the mooks can either turn into lost and found (getting them out of the way), or keep (allowing you to track them via a hidden transmitter in said phone).
Incidentally, there's a scene in Hollow Man where the title character drags a guy into a pool and holds him until he drowns. His wife looks out the door and sees what looks like her husband having fallen in the pool, and rushes inside to call for help(she's old, you see). Husband dies, title character staggers out of the pool with water dripping off him and into the bushes. All that the police will have is some mysterious footprints.
Also, what about turning on radios to cover up noise? Or dropping a burner cell phone that one of the mooks can either turn into lost and found (getting them out of the way), or keep (allowing you to track them via a hidden transmitter in said phone).
Incidentally, there's a scene in Hollow Man where the title character drags a guy into a pool and holds him until he drowns. His wife looks out the door and sees what looks like her husband having fallen in the pool, and rushes inside to call for help(she's old, you see). Husband dies, title character staggers out of the pool with water dripping off him and into the bushes. All that the police will have is some mysterious footprints.
I think this would work well in a vampire game. You have to sneak into people's houses, bite them and somehow convince the victims they were going mad and they were just dreaming. If you disturbed something in their room then they'd realise somebody had been sneaking in. Not sure how it would pan out into a full game but it would work well with the mechanic yahtzee was suggesting.
So what you're saying is, you didn't see the other person post? Interesting...Prof. Monkeypox said:
OT: I think it sounds pretty cool actually. And it does raise a good point since I completed some levels of Splinter cell by just running around and being quick with the melee button. Hell even when you shoot out the lights it makes it pretty obvious.
Long term stealth, perhaps even with your success on mission A determining the preliminary threat level on mission B. Although it'd make sense to save that for a "hard-core" mode because other wise difficulty would increase exponentially and you'd be screwed by mission E.
this sounds like the basis for a kick ass Kinect game.
- there's something weird about Kinect already, were you feel strangely disembodied.
- and I'd wager we'll soon find that the best Kinect games are those where you just act like your real-wold body IS the avatar and the tv is just a window into the setting (this way you don't have to worry about matching up some cartoony in-game hand to your real world hand.)
Call it "Somebody's waching me"
- there's something weird about Kinect already, were you feel strangely disembodied.
- and I'd wager we'll soon find that the best Kinect games are those where you just act like your real-wold body IS the avatar and the tv is just a window into the setting (this way you don't have to worry about matching up some cartoony in-game hand to your real world hand.)
Call it "Somebody's waching me"
If anyone was curious, there's already a game where you can play as someone permanently invisible. It's called The Hidden: Source. Although I'm pretty sure it's not what Yahtzee is looking for. Still a very awesome game.
I enjoyed playing Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory and Double Agent like this...
True, in my first couple playthroughs, I would use the occasional gunshot or knife-stab to take out a guard.. But in my later play-throughs, I made it a point of honor not to be spotted, and not take out a single guard... I even stopped shooting out lights (thank god for the EMP attachment to your pistol)... I actually got through the entire game without taking out a single guard... It was awesome!
This was even harder in Double Agent as a few of the missions were based in broad daylight, and even one in a blazing snowstorm... Only problem in Double Agent was that some of the missions required you to take out everyone... But it was a mission objective, so I digress...
That's what made Chaos Theory and Double Agent my favorite Splinter Cell games... You had a lot more freedom in how you wanted to do the missions, they were a lot less linear in their level design (compared to the original and Pandora Tomorrow), and you didn't EVER actually have to take out anyone... IIRC, I might be wrong, haven't played the games for a couple years...
Suffice to say I miss the series as it was before Conviction (which is NOT a Splinter Cell game.. I'm not saying it's a bad game, but Splinter Cell it is not)...
Best regards
True, in my first couple playthroughs, I would use the occasional gunshot or knife-stab to take out a guard.. But in my later play-throughs, I made it a point of honor not to be spotted, and not take out a single guard... I even stopped shooting out lights (thank god for the EMP attachment to your pistol)... I actually got through the entire game without taking out a single guard... It was awesome!
This was even harder in Double Agent as a few of the missions were based in broad daylight, and even one in a blazing snowstorm... Only problem in Double Agent was that some of the missions required you to take out everyone... But it was a mission objective, so I digress...
That's what made Chaos Theory and Double Agent my favorite Splinter Cell games... You had a lot more freedom in how you wanted to do the missions, they were a lot less linear in their level design (compared to the original and Pandora Tomorrow), and you didn't EVER actually have to take out anyone... IIRC, I might be wrong, haven't played the games for a couple years...
Suffice to say I miss the series as it was before Conviction (which is NOT a Splinter Cell game.. I'm not saying it's a bad game, but Splinter Cell it is not)...
Best regards
That's his first game idea that I actually think could work.
When he pitched his "depowering RPG" idea it irked me because it was something that had already been done. It was called Oblivion and everyone hated enemies leveling with you and ultimately surpassing you in power if you weren't optimized in your build. It was stupid, artificial and simply killed all sense of progression in the game.
But the permanent invisibility? That's genius! Heck, halfway there I was thinking "It be even more awesome if you could use this power to make people mad" and he actually went and said pretty much that! Plus the voyeuristic factor is just gold.
The problem is production. This game would be extremely expensive and difficult to make. In other games sometimes you have mooks trash-talk, and the like, but they usually only have a couple of lines before you ruin their day. This game would need every NPC character to have full conversations with every other NPC characters to keep it from feeling artificial or unfinished. Which is just too bad.
Unless someone actually adopts my idea of locking 2 or more voice actors in a room and simply recording them all day. I don't see what's the problem everyone see with this idea...
When he pitched his "depowering RPG" idea it irked me because it was something that had already been done. It was called Oblivion and everyone hated enemies leveling with you and ultimately surpassing you in power if you weren't optimized in your build. It was stupid, artificial and simply killed all sense of progression in the game.
But the permanent invisibility? That's genius! Heck, halfway there I was thinking "It be even more awesome if you could use this power to make people mad" and he actually went and said pretty much that! Plus the voyeuristic factor is just gold.
The problem is production. This game would be extremely expensive and difficult to make. In other games sometimes you have mooks trash-talk, and the like, but they usually only have a couple of lines before you ruin their day. This game would need every NPC character to have full conversations with every other NPC characters to keep it from feeling artificial or unfinished. Which is just too bad.
Unless someone actually adopts my idea of locking 2 or more voice actors in a room and simply recording them all day. I don't see what's the problem everyone see with this idea...