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 PIXEL DUST Cut to the Core Weds, 30 Aug 2006
At the Leipzig game convention Peter Molyneux delivered a bitch-slap to the way hand-to-hand combat is handed in PC games. Or at least he delivered a presentation to that effect. For someone like me, who loves PC games but is more or less forced to look to consoles for a regular dose of chop-sockey, this is music to my ears.
One of the key points that Molyneux points to is that the uber successful console fighting games like Street Fighter, Tekken, Virtual Fighter and Mortal Combat have been a bit too successful in shaping our views of clanging sword and fisticuff mechanics. They give us things like health bars, special energy metres and combo moves. It's all true, these slick round-after-round fighting games have poured us into a single perception mould. Molyneux thinks we should throw off the shackles and try some different things. He showed Kill Bill as an example of the deadly, and stylised dance, we could see in a fighting game. He talked about game mechanics with context sensitive controls where fighting was more about timing and using the environment than memorising complicated combos.
It's inspired stuff and I'm pretty confident in that because I've been inspired by it before. Bushido Blade (on the Playstation) was the game. Think of it like the Counter-Strike of these games (but without the mind-numbing popularity). It took a risk with the usual pacing of these games and made everything turn on a dime.
It was like a dance. One stroke could be all it takes. You'd stand and watch and look for an opening, and then a sword would fall. If it connects it can finish the match, if it misses by a whisper, then chances are the return strike would end it. Sometimes the attack wouldn't be all that final, sometimes it would just put an arm or leg out of action, setting you up for the next exchange or, sometimes, helping to lure your foe into recklessness. Ah, it was a good game. Very Kill Bill, but, like, feudal. Of course the sequel appeared ... with health bars and power-up moves. I guess the tension and finality of a single button press wasn't for everyone. Then again, if we have "boom-headshot" one-hit kills in shooters, why not in hand-to-hand games? Maybe it is a matter of precision. Maybe it's because we haven't mastered the controls. In Molyneux's mind it's a single button, well timed and well directed. I'm still thinking motion sensors. I guess I'm not alone, because someone asked Molyneux his thoughts on the things. Keep in mind that his Black & White was one of the few games that supported the P5 Virtual Controller (which was a glove-thing that let you pick up villagers and toss rocks with normal grasping motions). The Lionhead Big-wig, and champion of innovation surprisingly poo-pooed the idea. He said even waving your empty hands around you still get tired pretty quickly and that he looks pretty silly when he sees himself jumping around in a mirror which kind of breaks your mojo. Come on Pete, you're in the Dance Dance Revolution and EyeToy age. That's a lot of motion and a lot of looking silly. If you make something fun people aren't afraid to do a little flailing. Keyboards or kinetics aside, melee combat is something that needs a major rethink in PC games. Games like Bushido Blade and Die by Sword (this one was actually on the PC) have shown us what is possible without ever really having the backing to make it anywhere beyond cult status, leaving us with vaguely controlled combos (Path of Neo) or limited set of slashing animations (Oblivion). It's got to be time for a little more. |
