I was thinking about the next Splinter Cell game and I think I may have struck upon a formula that will make a Splinter Cell game to appease not only the fans on the series but also new comers who haven't played every game in the series multiple time like some people I could name... *cough
While I realize any efforts made on my part to encourage Ubisoft into possible improving their franchise will never make it past this forum, I feel it is my duty to inform my fellow escapists. Onto the real reason this post was made: the next Splinter Cell game. I believe the game should be a return to form, as most fans of the series would agree Chaos Theory was the best Splinter Cell game. Therefore the next Splinter Cell game should return to the sneaky man-in-the-shadows game play of previous titles. While Conviction was... eh, unique it lacked the feel of a true Splinter Cell game and for a true reboot of the title I feel it would be necessary to make a prequel game. A young Sam Fisher performing a few Black Ops as a Navy Seal maybe and doing a little work for the CIA or another intelligence Agency. I realize Sam Fisher can't technically be working for Third Echelon until the first Splinter Cell game but the games are really about Sam Fisher and not the agency he is working for so I believe the setting could work.
I felt it necessary to start a new paragraph here so if it bothers you feel free to berate me in your post. As for the locations Sam Fisher works in it doesn't matter all that much. Obviously you could throw in a few Black Ops operations as part of Operation Desert storm or something similar depending on the time line, but really the locations don't make too much of a difference. The real thing I wanted to talk about was making the game feel like a real Splinter Cell game ie. a stealth game and not a third person shooter set in some dark rooms. For this I purpose a return to a Chaos Theoryish style of mission structure. You will be penalized for every dead body (the penalty will be less for unconscious bodies) as well as every time you are spotted, glimpsed, or set off the alarm, bonuses, however will be given for intel you collect while in the mission. At the end of the level you will be given a rating and that rating will determine how much money you are given to customize your equipment. (Also, I strongly propose the absence of any unsuppressed weapons as their presence only adds to the conclusion that you are playing a third person shooter) Equipment would be items like guns, gadgets and possibly different suits with positive and negative aspects added. (An example of that mechanic would be a Plate Carrier Vest which would provide Sam with more ammo but make him heavier and louder and cut down on the amount of ammo and gadgets he could carry) Before I get too far I would also like to say the infinite bullets is always a bad idea and although Sam Fisher shouldn't have to worry about every bullet he shoots he shouldn't have enough ammo to single-handedly arm an entire fair-sized village. Also, an upgrade system should be implemented to give players long term goals and that sense of pride that comes from fully tweaking out an MP5A4 into a true killer of a gun. Again with the upgrade system the upgrades should be something realistic. No upgrades allowing 100 round clips in a Beretta M92FS should be allowed, like some games *cough Resident Evil 5 *cough. While an extended clip may be added to your weapon the in-game model of the equipment should display the upgrade and it should only add a maximum of a 50% increase in magazine capacity. Maybe another upgrade like a customized trigger that will increase rate of fire, or a customized stock that allows for better accuracy. That should be the line of thinking the upgrades system follows.
Continuing with game play innovations the levels should be sprawling with multiple entry points and the ability to pick your infiltration and extraction points. More entry points should open up as Sam Fisher acquires more gear and this will encourage players to play the single player again to try and get the best scores on the levels. With the ability to pick your infiltration and extraction points comes the obvious balancing issues and here is where the most innovation should come into play. Based on the player's performance in previous missions the next missions will have an increased presence of enemy soldiers or less depending on the location in your previous missions, (a mission performed in Russia should not effect your next mission in, say, North Korea) and the enemy presence will consist of more than just soldiers. Cameras, dogs, motion sensors and automated turrets should also make a reappearance and give players more of an incentive to invest in upgrades that will help combat the enemy's forces. Also, as Sam Fisher progresses there should be an increased amount of options in infiltration and exfiltration choices. Options could include but are not limited to halo jump, insertion by boat (Sam Fisher is an ex-Navy Seal) and insertion by diving. They are really a myriad of options and I leave those to any development team. Alot of effort should also be put into the weapons system as the amount and efficiency of newly acquired weapons should be countered by the improved training and general competence of the enemy soldiers.
My final improvement suggestion on the Splinter Cell game has to do with the combat. In previous games Sam Fisher had the steady aim of a caffeinated 14-year-old and even the slightest twitch would send bullets flying in all directions. I propose that the aiming system of Conviction (Actually feeling like your controlling someone that has had more time on the firing range that Dirty Harry and Vic Mackey combined) should be instituted, but with the previous rating system in play, actually resorting to your guns should feel more like a penalty rather than the proper way to play the game. There should also be clearly felt advantages and disadvantages to using a pistol or SMG. (Assault rifles, sniper rifles, DMRs, and LMGs should be avoided though as they are usually quite bulky and unsuited to the operations in which Sam Fisher participates) For instance an SMG should be louder than a pistol and should be more awkward in close combat, whereas a pistol would lack the firepower of an SMG, and lack the range of its automatic counterpart. While I'm on the the subject of weapons I beg Ubisoft to put a little variety into their selection of weapons for Sam Fisher's perusal. While the H&K MP5SSD is like an old friend to me it is time for some different guns and the game could even take the route of COD Black Ops and introduce some prototype weapons for players to fuck shit up with. Also Sam Fisher's martial arts skills should be on display and the highly entertaining and brutal melee kills kill Conviction should be on display. However, I don't want to suggest using Quick Time Events but Sam Fisher insta-killing anything within range with the push of a button is a little overpowered and some sort of system should be instituted (based on the alertness of the enemy) that makes killing/knocking unconscious an alert guard more difficult than subduing an oblivious guard.
In conclusion I believe that the above improvements will allow the Splinter Cell franchise to grow and innovate but still remained shackled to the initial concept. If you have made it to this point in my verbose monologue I believe you deserve congratulations for sticking through this thing in the tough times and I am eager to hear your comments and possible game play ideas. I am a little confused at this point as I thought I had more innovations in mind, but I will add more if I think of it. Thank you for taking the time to read this, I look forward to reading your opinions.
While I realize any efforts made on my part to encourage Ubisoft into possible improving their franchise will never make it past this forum, I feel it is my duty to inform my fellow escapists. Onto the real reason this post was made: the next Splinter Cell game. I believe the game should be a return to form, as most fans of the series would agree Chaos Theory was the best Splinter Cell game. Therefore the next Splinter Cell game should return to the sneaky man-in-the-shadows game play of previous titles. While Conviction was... eh, unique it lacked the feel of a true Splinter Cell game and for a true reboot of the title I feel it would be necessary to make a prequel game. A young Sam Fisher performing a few Black Ops as a Navy Seal maybe and doing a little work for the CIA or another intelligence Agency. I realize Sam Fisher can't technically be working for Third Echelon until the first Splinter Cell game but the games are really about Sam Fisher and not the agency he is working for so I believe the setting could work.
I felt it necessary to start a new paragraph here so if it bothers you feel free to berate me in your post. As for the locations Sam Fisher works in it doesn't matter all that much. Obviously you could throw in a few Black Ops operations as part of Operation Desert storm or something similar depending on the time line, but really the locations don't make too much of a difference. The real thing I wanted to talk about was making the game feel like a real Splinter Cell game ie. a stealth game and not a third person shooter set in some dark rooms. For this I purpose a return to a Chaos Theoryish style of mission structure. You will be penalized for every dead body (the penalty will be less for unconscious bodies) as well as every time you are spotted, glimpsed, or set off the alarm, bonuses, however will be given for intel you collect while in the mission. At the end of the level you will be given a rating and that rating will determine how much money you are given to customize your equipment. (Also, I strongly propose the absence of any unsuppressed weapons as their presence only adds to the conclusion that you are playing a third person shooter) Equipment would be items like guns, gadgets and possibly different suits with positive and negative aspects added. (An example of that mechanic would be a Plate Carrier Vest which would provide Sam with more ammo but make him heavier and louder and cut down on the amount of ammo and gadgets he could carry) Before I get too far I would also like to say the infinite bullets is always a bad idea and although Sam Fisher shouldn't have to worry about every bullet he shoots he shouldn't have enough ammo to single-handedly arm an entire fair-sized village. Also, an upgrade system should be implemented to give players long term goals and that sense of pride that comes from fully tweaking out an MP5A4 into a true killer of a gun. Again with the upgrade system the upgrades should be something realistic. No upgrades allowing 100 round clips in a Beretta M92FS should be allowed, like some games *cough Resident Evil 5 *cough. While an extended clip may be added to your weapon the in-game model of the equipment should display the upgrade and it should only add a maximum of a 50% increase in magazine capacity. Maybe another upgrade like a customized trigger that will increase rate of fire, or a customized stock that allows for better accuracy. That should be the line of thinking the upgrades system follows.
Continuing with game play innovations the levels should be sprawling with multiple entry points and the ability to pick your infiltration and extraction points. More entry points should open up as Sam Fisher acquires more gear and this will encourage players to play the single player again to try and get the best scores on the levels. With the ability to pick your infiltration and extraction points comes the obvious balancing issues and here is where the most innovation should come into play. Based on the player's performance in previous missions the next missions will have an increased presence of enemy soldiers or less depending on the location in your previous missions, (a mission performed in Russia should not effect your next mission in, say, North Korea) and the enemy presence will consist of more than just soldiers. Cameras, dogs, motion sensors and automated turrets should also make a reappearance and give players more of an incentive to invest in upgrades that will help combat the enemy's forces. Also, as Sam Fisher progresses there should be an increased amount of options in infiltration and exfiltration choices. Options could include but are not limited to halo jump, insertion by boat (Sam Fisher is an ex-Navy Seal) and insertion by diving. They are really a myriad of options and I leave those to any development team. Alot of effort should also be put into the weapons system as the amount and efficiency of newly acquired weapons should be countered by the improved training and general competence of the enemy soldiers.
My final improvement suggestion on the Splinter Cell game has to do with the combat. In previous games Sam Fisher had the steady aim of a caffeinated 14-year-old and even the slightest twitch would send bullets flying in all directions. I propose that the aiming system of Conviction (Actually feeling like your controlling someone that has had more time on the firing range that Dirty Harry and Vic Mackey combined) should be instituted, but with the previous rating system in play, actually resorting to your guns should feel more like a penalty rather than the proper way to play the game. There should also be clearly felt advantages and disadvantages to using a pistol or SMG. (Assault rifles, sniper rifles, DMRs, and LMGs should be avoided though as they are usually quite bulky and unsuited to the operations in which Sam Fisher participates) For instance an SMG should be louder than a pistol and should be more awkward in close combat, whereas a pistol would lack the firepower of an SMG, and lack the range of its automatic counterpart. While I'm on the the subject of weapons I beg Ubisoft to put a little variety into their selection of weapons for Sam Fisher's perusal. While the H&K MP5SSD is like an old friend to me it is time for some different guns and the game could even take the route of COD Black Ops and introduce some prototype weapons for players to fuck shit up with. Also Sam Fisher's martial arts skills should be on display and the highly entertaining and brutal melee kills kill Conviction should be on display. However, I don't want to suggest using Quick Time Events but Sam Fisher insta-killing anything within range with the push of a button is a little overpowered and some sort of system should be instituted (based on the alertness of the enemy) that makes killing/knocking unconscious an alert guard more difficult than subduing an oblivious guard.
In conclusion I believe that the above improvements will allow the Splinter Cell franchise to grow and innovate but still remained shackled to the initial concept. If you have made it to this point in my verbose monologue I believe you deserve congratulations for sticking through this thing in the tough times and I am eager to hear your comments and possible game play ideas. I am a little confused at this point as I thought I had more innovations in mind, but I will add more if I think of it. Thank you for taking the time to read this, I look forward to reading your opinions.