Where have all the health bars gone?

[ProfessorLayton]

The idea that regenerating health is realistic is ridiculous. It's realistic to take 20 bullets to the fact and then hiding behind a wall for a couple of seconds and being healed? Health bars aren't realistic either, but dang... Health bars are at least better than having to guess how much health. Health bars are definite and helps you know exactly when you'll need to heal up. I guess it's because regenerating health makes the game a lot easier and as that one study showed... kids these days just can't handle tough games.

 

[darthzew]

People have already said Halo Reach, but it's a good example. It's probably the best health system in a game in a very long time. It may be the best ever...

Its the exact same one from Halo:CE. Cept its more forgiving. Why is everyone acting like this is the new shit every game should have?

It's not new shit. It's just shit we've been begging to have for a very long time.

Still. You must play very little games if you think that Halo: Reach has the best health system out of shooters in the last 3 years.

Huh. You'll need to show me some kind of formula to prove that amount of games played adds value to subjective opinion before I take that argument as being valid.

 

[Bebus]

ME1 had the right idea. You had a limited shield/barrier, which could take damage, but regenerated itself if you hid/avoided fire for a while. Your health meter started taking damage once that was depleted, and was a pain in the arse to restore. You either had to equip your armour with first aid modules to slowly heal yourself over time, or deploy precious and rare medi-gel to restore large chunks of health.

About as 'realistic', if we must use that term, as games can get, save having to be laid up in hospital for a few months every time you are shot.

Shame ME2 ruined it by jumping on the 'every other game out at the moment' bandwagon and giving you the mysterious ability to regenerate your shattered face.

 

[Admiral Stukov]

The health bars seems to have been banished to the lands of the RPG and the MMO.

 

[SeanTheSheep]

Devs have scrapped a lot of them for the pretence of "realism" for the most part.
Myself, I don't see what's wrong with it, and one of the best implementations of health bars combined with screen flashes I've seen recently has been Alpha Protocol.
Firstly, you have your standard red, rectangular, red-cross health bar that is your base health. If someone gets this down, then you use a medkit, or it's gone until the next misssion.
Next, you have the Endurance meter. This is effectively your shield, and when you're being fired on, you lose health from that rather than normal health as standard from shields, as is the "take cover and wait for it to recharge" tactic if you're getting your ass kicked. A good, but not wholely original part of the Endurance meter, is that it varies depending on your gear and perks, meaning you can get over 350 endurance if you try.
Aside from your health bars, there's the common "OMGURGONADIEZ!" flashing red screen when you're on low health, and your controller vibrates to remind you of the fact, even if you have full endurance.
On top of all that, there's also the directional damage indicator, i.e. the red splodges that come up near the middle of the screen, pointing in the direction the hurty-ness is coming from.

While separated, the elements are all fairly pedestrian and dull, but they're put together so they all do their own thing, but they work well as a whole.

 

[Ken Sapp]

I know I'm not the first to say this but whether or not a game has regenerating health, if you can survive more than hit from an enemy you need to have a readily available method for judging whether you are healthy enough to keep fighting or if you are in a state where you should disengage and either find a health kit or some cover. As has been pointed out most games which have no health bar employ visual cues but these are often halfway useless as by the time they splatter your eyeballs with blood, grey your vision or what have you it is already to late. When you combine that with the fact that alot of games also use flashes of red around the edges of your screen to indicate from which direction you are being shot it is easy to miss the "Get your rear out of there now" indication for that crucial split second that would keep you from dying.

Halo reach is one of many which has done it right. It is there, it is out of the way and it is readily understandable.

And on the realism aspect, a HUD exists for the purpose of feeding us the information that if we were there in actuality we would have other means of ascertaining. Ammo count? We can't exactly feel how much our vest weighs through our controller. Health? If you were in a firefight you would be able to feel where and how bad you had been hit, excluding the effects of adrenaline and shock, through your TV or Computer screen you can't feel your wounds so we need a way to tell we are hurting.

 

[darthzew]

Huh. You'll need to show me some kind of formula to prove that amount of games played adds value to subjective opinion before I take that argument as being valid.

Your either having a bad attempt at trolling or your acting like a stupid ****. Some kind of formula? Think about it.

Your opinion on what makes a good health system is just as valid as anyone else's. I am of firm belief that Reach has the best one in a very long time. Your opinion may differ.

This is what's called a subjective opinion. There is absolutely no reason why your opinion is any more valid than mine.

 

[darthzew]

Huh. You'll need to show me some kind of formula to prove that amount of games played adds value to subjective opinion before I take that argument as being valid.

Your either having a bad attempt at trolling or your acting like a stupid ****. Some kind of formula? Think about it.

Your opinion on what makes a good health system is just as valid as anyone else's. I am of firm belief that Reach has the best one in a very long time. Your opinion may differ.

This is what's called a subjective opinion. There is absolutely no reason why your opinion is any more valid than mine.

No, the stupid **** is the one who has little experience in gaming (at least in recent ones) but thinks his opinion is just as valid as a guy whos played way more. Thats what makes my opinion more valid in this situation.

I can make the presumption you havent played many recent shooters is simple - you think Halo: Reach has the best health system. I am willing to bet if you looked a little harder you would find at least 3 games with ones that you like more. Im not hating just because its Halo, btw: im somewhat of a Halo fan myself. But the health system is just meh.

I'm done. All you can seem to do is patronize and insult me and play high and mighty. Not once have you attempted to give a rebuttal argument, for example, naming a different game you consider to be better.

You have absolutely no idea what games I've played recently. Instead, you've made assumptions. Perhaps I've played every single game you've played, but I preferred Reach's system. That's what an opinion is.

With that said, I refuse to argue with you any further.

 

[Something Amyss]

I can agree, seems like what works in one genre could destroy another. An RPG in which you had regenerating health could potentially break the game.

I'm actually beginning to think most modern shooters aren't for me. Not that they're bad games, because obviously people like them - they're just not to my tastes, as they say.

However, there's no reason why they couldn't combine regenerating health, a health bar and a first aid kit system for some games. I'm thinking specifically about Saint's Row 2. Hell of a fun game, and I still thought that the combat was hectic and challenging even with all the advantages you had.

Yeah, Saints Row 2 was pretty awesome in a lot of respects. I also think whoever said Assassin's Creed 2 had it right with their option isn't far off, though it's certainly a less action oriented game. Still, an individual square could be recovered unless broken, and it's a better idea than most. It also worked within the adventure/parkour style that AC2 had going. You weren't in firefights most of the time, though you could be.

I like the hybrid systems. they probably won't enter widespread use in the mainstream shooters, but like you, I'm more or less moving on from them anyway. I don't want to sound demeaning when I say I'm outgrowing them, but I really have developed to the point where these titles "do it" for me. I still play a few (Last shooter I enjoyed was Army of Two: The 40th Day, and even that was kinda blah in many ways), but I'm craving something else. And I hope this doesn't creep elsewhere. Though games are moving to recharges for other thigns, too, and that worries me. For some genres it's okay, but I could see this being bad if it gets out of the shooter genre.

 

[G-Force]

To the trash bin, where they belong.

There is nothing entertaining about having to go find a stupid fucking box with a + on it every time your bar gets low.

It destroys the pacing and generally isn't a fun element.

And most fuckng morons hate it because it "isn't realistic" and other things along the lines of "It's bad because it's new and popular"

Seriously, also people. SHUT THE FUCK UP ABOUT REALISM. IT'S NOT MEANT TO BE REALISTIC IN ANY WAY.

A major reason why people hate regenerating health is that players are no longer punished for playing horribly. If you were to finish an encounter with just 1 HP left with more than half the level left to go then you were screwed and either had to redo the previous fight so that you took less damage or made absolutely sure you did not get hit the next time the enemy rolls in. With regenerating health as long as you don't die you're allowed to make as many dumb moves as you can knowing full well that you'll be fully prepared for the next fight.

 

[Hisshiss]

Its just some "thing" game companies seem to love to do now, and I have to agree with you, its just damn irritating. The most recent title thats doing this that has me pissed is fable 3, they are literally doing it to any game they friggin can.

 

[irishdude]

you what game has the best health bar every. dead space and if ya played it you know what i mean

 

[bloob]

Regenerating health allows the developer to have more large scale battles in a level, where the player will definatly take damage. Before if a developer wanted to do this they would have to place health packs in certain points forcing the player down a set route, or placing so many across the map that it would make it too easy for players, regenerating health allows for the player to have more freedom.

Another reason is that that a large part of what makes a game fun is the player taking risks to overcome a challenge, regenerating health allows players to do that more often without worrying that they won't be able to complete the next section because they are comming into it with too low health.

 

[markisb]

Blame halo. halo was the first game to use health regeneration.

 

[G-Force]

Most popular games with regenerating health are more difficult than games such as Half-Life 2 on the highest difficulties.

I'm able to beat CoD MW/MW2/WAR on the highest difficulty setting yet you give me a game like Quake, Doom, Wolfenstein or Duke Nukem and those games will stomp a mudhole in me. For every game with regenerating health I can point you in the direction of a game with a health bar that is much more difficult.