What would you do to spice up FPS's these days?

[Enamour]

I think the focus on technology has been a problem. We went through this whole "Better graphics" phase a couple of years back (The Dooms, Crysis, Unreal etc.) and I'm not sure we ever really recovered. Nowasdays its not graphics so much as the two extremes of "War Simulator" and "Fun FPS".

Let's not forget the audience here. People keep buying the stupid ***t and so more stupid ***t gets made. Some examples of where things have gone well.

Vampire: Bloodlines - Not a pure FPS and an extremely clunky game overall but great story and RPG elements that forced you to consider your options at every turn; cult classic.

The Deus Ex/System Shock type games - Also not pure FPS but depth. Fan favorites.

Far Cry 2 - Got a little tedious sometimes but the overall experience of being a nameless badass in a hostile environment; don't tell me it wasn't the most satisfying thing to finish it on the hardest difficulty. Plus the Heart of Darkness inspiration, depth.

Half Life - Both games brought depth through technology and an immersive story/world.

Mirrors Edge - Not an amazing execution and not my favorite game ever but something new and deserving respect.

My point here is that there's only so much you can do with point and click FPS; FPS has become gimmicky. Gimmicks become... well gimmicky really fast. There needs to be depth, sure add a gimmick but spend more money on writers and the creative team instead of saying "Let's make an FPS where you slide, leash and kick people into things. The story? The context? The motivation? The F are those things? Slide, leash and kick people! We'll make the rest up as we go."

I'm sorry to say this but this entire thread has been a succession of "Add this gimmick, drop that gimmick." They're fine and well but a good FPS they do not make without the literary and/or creative support; just like adding aliens does not make a good Sci-Fi, cowboys a good western, Ninjas... you see where I'm going with this.

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2011/5/9/ - I rest my case.

 

[Callate]

No brown, no gray, no special forces, no space marines, no nazis, no Russians, no Nazi or Russian stand-ins (Nazis... In... SPAAAAAACE...!)

Cover needs to be re-thought. It's not inherently a bad idea, but the way it's most frequently done (velcro to a wall, hope you don't get flanked, try to move your aiming reticule fast when they pop out of cover like some weird game of Whack-a-Mole) provides neither compelling gameplay nor verisimilitude. If it's going to be done, we need to provide the player with way better feedback than standard first- or third-person shooters tend to- better audio or visual cues of where enemies are while we're behind cover, a sense of when they're being surpressed by covering fire, audio signals when they're reloading, the ability to maneuver quickly to apply pressure or use/evade grenades, and so on. Mostly, cover should be a mechanic, not half the game.

Give the player better feedback when they're killed so they have some clue how to prevent it from happening on the next respawn. It's amazing how many games still don't even provide something as basic as "you're being shot at from behind and above."

Bring back a reasonable amount of weapons inventory, or if you insist on doing things otherwise, at least provide enough ammunition for the weapons they player is carrying that guns don't become as disposable as toothpicks. Yeah, yeah, you modeled eighty different real-world weapons... forcing me to use all of them is not making me impressed with your research.

Get more inventive with the weapons. Part of the reason Valve is so revered, part of the reason people were hopeful about Duke Nukem despite all evidence, was that they provided something other than: pistol, shotgun, machine gun, rocket launcher, sniper rifle. How awesome would it be to have a weapon that allowed your newly spawning team-mates to emerge from a portal right in the thick of battle? Or a laser that was designed to blind snipers? Or a magnet that deprived nearby enemies of their ammo resupply? Or a reverse-forcefield to trap enemies inside the blast radius of a grenade?... Just to throw out a few semi-random ideas.

If you're going to do regenerative health, give it to me for something other than hiding back in cover until the blood smear and the heavy breathing goes away. How about giving the player a "medic" skill that gradually improves- then you can give him situations to use it on other chracters and a reason to be more, rather than less, involved in gameplay.

 

[Extasii]

Why not a Star Wars Battlefront style game, but incorporating the armies of Warhammer 40k?

All Modes - 2 weapon limit, melee counts as one weapon, must be equipped to use (TF2 style / can use butt of rifle or something quickly, but to less effect than a melee weapon) EX. Chainswords

Single Player - Choose your army, and play a hybrid game of WH40k Dawn of War: Dark Crusade and the Galactic Conquest mode of Battlefront. Sprinkle on some character customization (Heavy Bolter, Terminator Armor, Power Fist, Rail Rifle, Battlesuit, More Dakka, etc.) and add a free-roaming/exploration mechanic that allows you to scout a planet before invasion and possibly give your race an edge in combat. Oh, and space battles.

Multiplayer - Select your race, and get added to a game in which your race is paired up against up to 2 other races in either a King of the Hill, a 1-Flag (capture the super-weapon or alien tech), Deathmatch, Space Battle, or Big Team Multi-Objective modes. Same customization options as in single-player. Add perks such as Signal-Jam (block enemy comms.), Signal Tap (spy on enemy comms), Extra Supplies, etc.

Also, if the species allows, make the single player up to 7 or 8 troops in a squad (Imp Guard, Tyranids), rather than 3 or 4 (Space Marines)

 

[Ddgafd]

Add giant (f)robots. Who doesn't love giant robots?

 

[FightThePower]

I'd invent loads of completely ridiculous weapons with amazing sound effects that satisfyingly tear enemies to shreds. None of that M4 Carbine bullshit; I'd actually ban all Assault Rifle-like weapons from being in the game.

And I'd also make it ridiculously colourful,

 

[Zeema]

u carry 5 guns
Jetpacks
500 weapons
Lots of Catapults
lay able spike traps

 

[Kahunaburger]

Jetpack

jetpacks

jetpacks

jetpack

Jetpacks

The people have spoken.

 

[HeySeansOnline]

Mechsuits, the story is that some generic super power has taken over and erected a colosseum over a destroyed city to play fights between armored mechs for the peoples attraction. You play a Spartacus ripoff who plays to the crowd while dreaming of rebellion. Soon enough money is generated that other battle arenas are built, under water, in canyons, etc. All lined with trap, equipment, and other stuff to make the battles more exciting.

Basically its like Halo or CoD, but scaled up. And with extra weaponry and a more techy hud. As for size, enough to effectively scale a building in short order.

Did I mention the mechs would have jetpacks.

 

[Infernai]

Two words: FUCK REALISM!

Hell, even have a game idea to go along with it. You will play as a female Ronin demonic god that tried to conquer the world, however during the final battle with a chosen one of sorts she is defeated and sent flying into the future, landing her in twenty first century earth. Her powers practically crippled, she sets out to do what she couldn't before and conquer the world. In order to do this though, she must unseal her several lieutenants that were sealed after she was sent into the future. However, she has to contend with not just the local military and police but also street gangs, Cults to even an order of mystic warriors tasked with bringing her down. It will sort of start off as a slightly wacky version of a gritty realistic shooter (minus regenerating health, you get a healthbar this time lads and can regain health by devouring the souls of enemies, it gradually increases when you find 'shrines' in the game which also increase the magic bar), however with the release of every lieutenant shits gonna turn more and more unrealistic with things from giant dragons, demons to things like Imps and Giant snakes appearing (Which, are no longer under the control of you or the lieutenants due to the crippled power, but still attack other enemies for you..just be prepared to fight them)...the Marines you're stuck fighting will respond as any normal person would and promptly shit themselves.

The gameplay will sort of be like jedi Academy: Your Default weapon will be your katana, and when wielding it the view will switch to third person and will basically allow you to have some crazy hack and slash fun. You can gather one other melee weapon to use for dual wielding if you wish, such as knives, signs, baseball bats, or even other swords if you can find them (they don't have durability before you ask so...go nuts!). Two weapon limit? Not really. Aside from your katana you can carry two small arms (Pistols, Uzi's, Sub machine guns), Two Medium Weapons (The small shotguns and assault weapons [Think P-90's]), Two Rifles (Machine-guns to snipers), Two Large weapons (Think Rocket launchers and grenade launchers), two Magitech weapons (This is the good stuff, think things like a gun that shoots flaming exploding skulls at people which explode into a dozen fireballs that rain down on enemies too a gun that shoots lightning). You don't get any grenades though, instead...you get magic (and who wants an exploding piece of shrapnel when you can hurl fireballs anyway!).

Magic functions sort of like the force, with a variety of different spells at your disposal: Things from telekinisis, high jump, elemental powers..bullet time. There will even be a flight spell that will function similiar to what the jetpack in Duke Nukem 3D did, which allows you to grow wings and fly around the map until the magic bar is depleted and unleash hell from above.

So...yeah, that's how i'd spice it up. What do you all think...is it a good idea?

 

[instantbenz]

dbz fps? maybe? no? terrible idea isn't it ... yeah okay. suppose that one just stays in my dreams then.

 

[Xman490]

Perhaps it's time to take this particular genre (or at least chest-high walls) to bed, then smother it to death.
Too harsh? Well, I can't come up with anything because explosions, RPG elements, great mobility, and humor have already been used.

 

[Vykrel]

Human Head Studios already did what i wanted, for the most part. look up Prey 2 gameplay

 

[charlest92]

Make the FPS genre better you say? Hows about a little less realism. Walls only hold out for so long, and most of the time that is only a few bullets since the impact breaks chunks off of walls make of brick or concrete. The inability of your enemy to see you is what will keep you from getting shot most of the time since entire cities are not make from military bunker quality reinforced concrete. Because in real life if you get shot in the chest once you may not die but you will most certainly have bruised ribs, and if you get hit by a couple of shots whos up for broken ribs possibly punctured organs and internal bleeding. And thats just if the kevlar holds up if it fails who knows what happens then? YOU DIE!!!! huh, suprised? yea, you should be, bullets are designed to kill. Not to make your vision blurry and red, and your heartbeat doesn't speed up it stops completely. The battlefield consists of essentially 3 types of bodies the completely fine, the recently crippled, and the dead. if in your realistic shooter you do not only have these 3 types then you might as well give people the BFG 9000.

 

[Jimmybobjr]

Take it back to the fun.

Revove realism, remove real events. no more historical. no more hypothetical. No more "Lol Russians invade America" (Or koreans, or Europeans, or Africans Etc)

Take it back to the days of Doom. You have a gun. It shoots lasers that explode. There are aliens. Shoot them.

Halo is about halfway there. Halo seems to try and focus on story and presentation. "OH LOOK THE ALIENS INVADED EARTH THOSE BASTARDS. LOOK WHAT THEY DO THEY MULITATED YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY. YOU ARE A RIGHTOUS FORE OF GOOD, DEFEND YOUR HOMES" I dont need that, it just gets in the way. All you need to say is "Gun. Aliens. Press Left mouse button to shoot."

That what i would do, anyway.

EDIT:
I forgot to mention, it doesnt have to be aliens. it could be humans. just dont make it friggin realistic or anything. If i get to shoot millions of humans with a gun that shoots exploding lasers of awesome, its good.

 

[Squilookle]

I'd 'spice things up' by bringing everything good back that has been forgotten in recent shooters.

Things like:
*decent open level design in both multiplayer and singleplayer. Levels specifically designed to cater for different playstyles, with a balance between risk and reward for areas that older shooters just understood. And singleplayer levels that are layed out like actual facilities, not just a series of rooms blatantly constructed to ferry the player through.

*Bigger arsenals. To hell with 2 weapons. And classes too. Everyone gets everything, is on equal ground, and if you die, it is your fault and yours alone.

*Multiplayer (or an instant action mode) should always have bots, playable in all modes, capable of taking on humans and winning. If Unreal Tournament could do it in 1999, Perfect Dark on consoles, and UT2004 with vehicles, repairing, multiple command point situational awareness AND talking trash at the same time, then so can your game.

*AI needs to be able to make up it's own mind what a sitation calls for, and if they are human, it's OK if they get it wrong. Think Operation Flashpoint. Dependable ways to outsmart them isn't a bad thing- I'm sure entire careers have been made in real life from killing different people by the same tried and tested method.

*Compounding objectives, with decent rewards. Only the most die hard players bother to finish a game on hard if it's just the same content harder. Do what Goldeneye showed us, and give extra objectives and areas available only on higher difficulty. Then, on completing higher difficuly, unlock new levels to play. Not just weapons or other minor things. Whole levels. And they need to be fresh levels, not rehashed/revisited locales. I'm looking at you, Perfect Dark.

*Cheats. The spice of life and the key to massive longevity. Preferrably singleplayer only, but fun multiplayer ones should be allowed too. There is NO reason they can't be in there, even and especially in serious games. And on that note:

*Less serious, more 'fun'. I'm sick of saving America from super serious terrorists, aliens, or saving the world as an american in WW2 with all that horrible patriotic music. It's a game guys, not a bloody soap opera. Proper sims like ARMA and the like definitely have their place, this point does not refer to those, just all the others.

*A 3rd person option. Thank UC2, Mount and Blade, and Battlefront for this, but sometimes you just want a fresh perspective, and these games have shown it can work flawlessly. I'd say ALL shooters should have this. Flight sims should allow crosshairs in 3rd person view, for those that want it.

as for stuff that needs to go, most have already been said but what the hell:

*No regen health. I can understand that it was created to give everyone an equal health chance in duels, but pulling off a win with low health is always incredible, and tactics in general change according to health, leading to more diversity/unpredictability. While we're at it, give the health bar a number like left 4 dead, so you know EXACTLY how close you got to dying.

*No sprinting. I can't understand the appeal of it at all. Why anyone would want to be restricted to running only 10 metres before tiring, and not even being able to sidestep while sprinting!? What the hell? is beyond me. Running all the time, no fatigue.

*No Ironsights. It's lazy, constricting and not even realistic. In real life you can open the other eye to see around the barrel, but not in games. If I want 1/6th of my screen blocked, I'll shove a dictionary in front of my monitor, thanks. Crosshairs always did, and always will work perfectly fine.

*No DLC whatsoever In the old days, you made your game, and only released it when it was done. Finished. IT. Bringing that back would make publishers think twice about releasing half-assed unfinished games, then charging extra money for the content that should have been there in the first place. Expansion packs are still OK, provided they actually have a decent amount of new content. Four new maps is pathetic. Utterly pathetic.

*Cover mechanics. Lose them. There's nothing wrong with having, finding and using cover, but if you're behind it, why should you be able to see over it? Remove mechanics for cover, and force players to risk their neck by peeking out. THEN they'll discover the true meaning of 'cover'.

Basically what this guy is saying-

revert everything back to the run&gun era.
lot,s of guns and no two weapon bullshit
no mandatory covers
no regenerating health/armor
health packs/armor packs
armor takes part of the damage nor all of it (like HL1/2)
a bit of humor
zombies
PS
focus on SP instead of fucking MP

 

[Joshica Huracane]

Add some colour. Thats all. It would do wonders for making a new product stand out...

 

[gizunt]

The ability to duel wield any weapon(or at least any one handed weapon) you want and aim each one to a different direction.
I know this is really hard to implant in a game correctly but you could at least make use of stuff like this in bullet time.

 

[Volkade]

I always thought it would be awesome to have visual effect killstreaks.

3 kills, you can change to make it look like it has the posterize filter from photoshop.

5 kills you can sepia everything.

10 kills cell shading.

15 kills full on cartoon complete with onomatopoeia text for the guns when being fired.

Essentially just something to make people work to break seriousness. Where the rewards for doing well is being able to make the game progressively sillier.

[EDIT]
Oh and for multiplayer, more 4-player split screen. Also if you can do that, then why can't youd do it system link. I'm looking at you CoD. Whatever you can do on one console, you should be able to do with multiple.

Map editors with retexuring options or make your own textures and import them. Since they're just textures you'd be the only one who can see them so it shouldn't break the game.

 

[Lazy Kitty]

The ability to carry lots and lots of weapons.
Give grenades and melee weapons a separate slot again instead of this push-button-to-use-without-switching-to-it stuff.

Lots of pop culture references and easter eggs (real easter eggs, the game kind of easter eggs. Some only accessible through glitches or cheats.)

Real boss fights. (Including giant robots)

A Health Bar.

No recharging health.

Floating power ups, weapons and ammo, some which are really hard to get to.

A scoring system enhanced by combos (score multipliers) and other stuff. (Headshot, Double Kill, Multikill, Killing Spree, Godlike... You know what I mean.)

One-liners which some will consider epic and spam forums with while others find them extremely lame.

Modding support.

Epic single player campaign which takes at least 100 hours to complete.
Multiplayer will only be a fun little add-on and won't be nearly as important as singleplayer.

Jetpacks.

No more taking cover behind chest high walls.

Destructable environments.

A sandbox covering an entire planet. (Full of stuff to shoot at.)

The ability to hack nuclear missiles (and other kinds of missiles) and launch them at whatever target pleases you.