I was playing Company of Heroes the other day, and I was getting quite irritated, as my infantry squads kept getting suppressed and pinned by heavy enemy fire. For those of you who have never played the game, the whole "suppression" thing was a gameplay mechanic- the more bullets that sped their way, the more their suppression meter rose, until they were eventually "suppressed". All the infantry units got down on the ground, and started crawling to wherever I told them to go. If they're not told to retreat (which makes them double-time it back to HQ, removing any suppression effects, but you can't tell them to do anything else until they make it back to HQ), or if they don't get into cover, or if you don't have them do any suppression-reducing special abilities, then they're "pinned". Basically, this means they curl up and try to hide in the dirt, they can't fire, and they can't move. This was quite irritating... until I realized something. Maybe this has potential elsewhere.
You see, in most games, I don't give a damn about incoming fire. I mean, sure, if I can I'll avoid it, but getting shot in the shoulder usually doesn't do much for me. I get a bit of red on my screen for a bit, but hey, I can just go hide behind a wall and suck my thumb for a bit, or slap on a band-aid, and it'll be all better. And even if I do end up kicking the bucket, hey, I can just load my game. So no big deal. You, as the player, have no sense of self-preservation. You'll charge straight up to two HMG squads and beat them all to death with a crowbar if you want to. While this makes for a very good hero character, it does ring as a bit batshit crazy.
Therefore, I think that maybe putting the incoming fire-based method of suppression in an FPS would be worth looking into. Or a third-person-shooter, if you don't want your cover to get in the way of your face, and whatever whatever. Basically, the character you are playing as, your avatar, is a person too, not just a robot you can control. And damn it, he doesn't WANT to go running out in front of the building with four heavy machine guns nested in it. He wants to stay right behind his nice thick brick wall, and wait for them to stop firing. It would just introduce a bit of realism into the game, which might be interesting.
I might just be stupid, but I don't think this has been done before, and it sounds interesting. Anyone know of any games that do this, and if they're any good?
You see, in most games, I don't give a damn about incoming fire. I mean, sure, if I can I'll avoid it, but getting shot in the shoulder usually doesn't do much for me. I get a bit of red on my screen for a bit, but hey, I can just go hide behind a wall and suck my thumb for a bit, or slap on a band-aid, and it'll be all better. And even if I do end up kicking the bucket, hey, I can just load my game. So no big deal. You, as the player, have no sense of self-preservation. You'll charge straight up to two HMG squads and beat them all to death with a crowbar if you want to. While this makes for a very good hero character, it does ring as a bit batshit crazy.
Therefore, I think that maybe putting the incoming fire-based method of suppression in an FPS would be worth looking into. Or a third-person-shooter, if you don't want your cover to get in the way of your face, and whatever whatever. Basically, the character you are playing as, your avatar, is a person too, not just a robot you can control. And damn it, he doesn't WANT to go running out in front of the building with four heavy machine guns nested in it. He wants to stay right behind his nice thick brick wall, and wait for them to stop firing. It would just introduce a bit of realism into the game, which might be interesting.
I might just be stupid, but I don't think this has been done before, and it sounds interesting. Anyone know of any games that do this, and if they're any good?
