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by Jerry Whorebach 10/29/2010, 1:04am PDT |
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Bad Design
You start out equally unskilled with all weapons. When you level up, you pick one weapon - shotgun, for example, or sniper rifle - and begin investing skill points in it. By the end of the game, you are Master of the Shotgun - which is important, because the difficulty of enemy encounters has increased to the point where you wouldn't stand a chance using a weapon you weren't specialized in. You, as the player, start out in a place where you have a wealth of options and no idea what to do with them, and progress to a place where you have no options but to stick with what you know. Have fun doing the same thing at level twenty that you did at level two, only for +200% damage!
Good Design
You start out skilled with only one weapon, of your choice. Each time you level up, you pick another weapon and - BAM! - you're proficient with that one, too. By the end of the game, you have an entire arsenal and know how to use it - which is important, because the difficulty of enemy encounters has increased to the point where you wouldn't stand a chance without the right tool for the job and the knowledge of how best to employ it. As the player's familiarity with the combat system increases, so too do his opportunities for meaningful choice and active participation.
Weapon over-specialization is an artifact of party-based dungeon crawlers, where the challenge came from making sure you had the right mix of characters to cover all your bases and then directing them intelligently. It has NO PLACE in a game that's essentially Doom with conversations, unless your objective is to actively hobble your players to the point where they can't tell how much your combat sucks compared to actually playing Doom. |
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How can this be anything but HORRIBLE?! by Bodybag 04/19/2007, 5:58am PDT
I'd be like, oh all they need is critical hits and dismemberments and shit. by Jhoh Cable o_O 04/19/2007, 6:27am PDT
Re: I'd be like, oh all they need is critical hits and dismemberments and shit. by Last 04/19/2007, 7:11am PDT
Re: I'd be like, oh all they need is critical hits and dismemberments and shit. by Ice Cream Jonsey 04/19/2007, 1:53pm PDT
Re: I'd be like, oh all they need is critical hits and dismemberments and shit. by The Gaijin 04/19/2007, 6:46pm PDT
Re: I'd be like, oh all they need is critical hits and dismemberments and shit. by Quentin Beck 04/19/2007, 6:50pm PDT
Awesome. Well said, sir! NT by Bill Dungsroman 04/20/2007, 12:09am PDT
Re: I'd be like, oh all they need is critical hits and dismemberments and shit. by The Gaijin 04/20/2007, 3:21pm PDT
Re: I'd be like, oh all they need is critical hits and dismemberments and shit. by Jhoh Cable o_O 04/21/2007, 6:05am PDT
FALLOUT: TICTACS was awful. by Jerry Whorebach 04/20/2007, 1:08am PDT
Long story short. by Jerry Whorebach 04/20/2007, 1:22am PDT
So wait, they made a Fallout game where you don't talk to people? NT by Jhoh Cable o_O 04/20/2007, 4:37am PDT
Clicking on some friendly NPCs gave you a few paragraphs to read, à la Diablo. NT by Jerry Whorebach 04/21/2007, 2:27am PDT
Re: FALLOUT: TICTACS was awful. by Ice Cream Jonsey 04/24/2007, 11:15pm PDT
Re: FALLOUT: TICTACS was awful. by The Happiness Engine 04/26/2007, 11:48pm PDT
Maybe this will change your mind? by Jerry Whorebach 06/05/2007, 4:56am PDT
There's more Fallout in Bethesda's teaser trailer than in all of Tictacs. by Jerry Whorebach 06/05/2007, 1:11pm PDT
and now it is, Jerry.... it is NT by helpful lurker 11/14/2008, 7:05pm PST
It's about FUCKING(!!) time. by Jerry Whorebach 11/15/2008, 2:04am PST
Re: How can this be anything but HORRIBLE?! by motherfuckerfoodeater 04/19/2007, 12:46pm PDT
Re: How can this be anything but HORRIBLE?! by laudablepuss 04/19/2007, 11:30pm PDT
Does the fact that, by far, it's the shittiest Fallout artwork ever bother you? by Motherhead 04/19/2007, 11:41pm PDT
Granted, but nothing is ever going to live up to this by Ice Cream Jonsey 04/20/2007, 12:51am PDT
The superimposed Pip Boy was what really killed it by Entropy Stew 04/20/2007, 1:32am PDT
I agree. Pip in no way embodied 50s propaganda clips NT by Flavio 04/20/2007, 3:07am PDT
Idiot by Entropy Stew 04/20/2007, 3:54am PDT
Style, not theme you fucking philistine. by Motherhead 04/20/2007, 4:00am PDT
Wow, art class. I guess you guys win. by laudablepuss 04/20/2007, 11:37am PDT
You're welcome. NT by Motherhead 04/20/2007, 12:44pm PDT
Where could the rumor of Fallout fans being the biggest faggots have come from? by Flavio 04/20/2007, 4:15pm PDT
Guy with no taste and gayest possible haircut calls me fag, mentions haircuts. by Motherhead 04/20/2007, 10:20pm PDT
It's a poster of some people playing football. by Jhoh Cable o_O 04/20/2007, 4:38am PDT
Try imagining them being eaten by post apocalypse scorpions. NT by laudablepuss 04/20/2007, 11:36am PDT
I've never played Fallout but that's a sweet poster. by Fullofkittens 04/20/2007, 12:28am PDT
If you still didn't play fallout yet, enjoy AIDS by Grumah 04/20/2007, 1:31am PDT
^^^^^^^^^^ THIS IS SARCASM UP HERE ^^^^^^^^^^^^ NT by YOU MOTHERFUCKS 04/20/2007, 12:50am PDT
Well they could still fuck up the game. NT by Jhoh Cable o_O 04/20/2007, 6:09am PDT
YOU MOTHERFUCKS is correct. by Bodybag 04/20/2007, 10:54am PDT
HIS NAME ISN'T PIPBOY! HIS NAME IS VAULT MAN! READ YOUR FUCKING MANUALS, PEOPLE! by Jerry Whorebach 04/21/2007, 2:23am PDT
"Vault Boy" NT by Leonard Boyarsky 04/21/2007, 4:52am PDT
No, "Vault Boy" is the name of Vault Man's bumbling negroid manservant. NT by (At least in my fan fiction.) 04/21/2007, 5:17am PDT
I'm just glad you guys aren't calling me Fallout Boy NT by Vault Man... phew! 04/22/2007, 5:35pm PDT
You just got that for your ringtone didnt you NT by Grumah 04/22/2007, 7:12pm PDT
Re: HIS NAME ISN'T PIPBOY! HIS NAME IS VAULT MAN! READ YOUR FUCKING MANUALS, PEO by Last 10/28/2010, 8:33am PDT
You can't lockpick a jukebox. Should also work for repair NT by Entropy Stew 10/28/2010, 11:19am PDT
I wonder if they still have time to change it? by Jerry Whorebach 10/28/2010, 11:53pm PDT
Not really related, but Alpha Protocol has a truly awful character system. by Jerry Whorebach 10/29/2010, 1:04am PDT
Poster seems to be another one of those 50s era american propaganda things by Grumah 04/20/2007, 1:41pm PDT
Fag NT by Entropy Stew 04/20/2007, 3:45pm PDT
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