Modern first person shooter mechanics

[oberhamsi]

The mechanics of a lot of modern FPS games (especially their multiplayer modes) often employ mechanics, which evolve around three common aspects, which are linked together:

* move efficiently through the world without being an easy target
* discover enemies, or generally decoding the visuals
* weapon handling and knowledge (like timings)

The "decode visual" aspect might be least obvious for shooters, so here's an example of visually very dense Battlefield 3 map:


youtu.be/628bRlLS5M0

Those three aspects - not always realized with the same mechanics - work well together and have been used in a lot of games. Not just in 3D but they worked just as well in 2D. Vertical shooters like Tyrian or Raptor just put less emphasis on movement and weapon handling:

* movement is in 2D but still tricky due to enemies & map features
* decoding the visual effects in real-time requires training
* the weapon handling is relatively simple

I think this is obvious, but here's a link to Tyrian gameplay:


youtu.be/tQdu4NsWU4Y

Or if we take a look at Quake. They are actually doing something smart, which the modern shooters ofen don't because it's harder to map to a realistic theme: Quake cranked up the movement aspect. To the point that movement became much more important than the other two aspects. Here's a quake movement tutorial:

youtu.be/dS7u2lK7dk8

An interesting mix are the "Worms" (round based) and "Soldat" (real-time multiplayer) kind of games. They are 2D but look like a 3D shooter from the side. Compared to the vertical shooters like Tyran, the visual aspect is less strong but on the other hand the movement is quiet a cognitive load for the player because there are multiple levels and not just the occasional obstacle as in vertical shooters. The more complex map features also make weapon handling more difficult.

They player is constantly busy targeting and moving in this soldat gameplay:

youtu.be/HhulGe6L9AQ

Can anyone think of more examples? There must be whole genres, which I didn't think of. I'm trying to make something feel like a modern shooter but with simple visuals. So far, I have captured the weapon handling in a small demo: http://apps.gamejs.org/cratewars/

[Julius]

Hmm, not 100% sure what you are aiming at... a action game that is as engaging as a modern 1st person shooter but simplified?
Would SteelStorm fit what you are looking for?
http://one.steel-storm.com/

[qubodup]

I'm trying to make something feel like a modern shooter but with simple visuals. So far, I have captured the weapon handling in a small demo: http://apps.gamejs.org/cratewars/

It'd be nice to not be required to run the game full-screen. Or is this the only way to capture the mouse?

The recoil and repeat-shot-delay feel nice.

The visual display of the weapon, the muzzle flash, the handling and reload animation, the weapon switching animation: these are related to the feeling of weapon handling. Do you intend to implement any of this?

Do you intend to emulate the feeling of 3d (or 2.5d) movement and turning as well?

Things to consider about the weapon:
* Reloading, ammo clip limitations, currently there is unlimited ammo.
* Weapon overheating or getting stuck (I'm not a fan of these mechanics)
* Different targeting/zoom levels (handgun sights for example)

[oberhamsi]

It'd be nice to not be required to run the game full-screen. :) Or is this the only way to capture the mouse?

Indeed, some browsers require fullscreen to capture mouse. So it's easier for me to force everyone to do it.

The visual display of the weapon, the muzzle flash, the handling and reload animation, the weapon switching animation: these are related to the feeling of weapon handling. Do you intend to implement any of this?

good points. all very obvious but I didn't see them. I'll definitely implement muzzle flash. Weapon switching: Maybe if it just takes a while to switch weapons and there are distinctive sound effects for "weapon put into holster" .. "weapon grabbed & loaded". And I make the reticle disappear of screen & back again...

Because I'm not sure what to do about weapon models/ graphics. If I can get away with just different reticles, I'd prefer that.

Do you intend to emulate the feeling of 3d (or 2.5d) movement and turning as well?

Yes, I want some kind of player movement in the game. The simplest thing would obviously be only left/right movement. I hope I can manage fwd/back at least a little bit to make it feel more 3d. Maybe just the ability to make a step foward into cover and then peaking up & down. Definitely not arbitrary movement. I can do a little bit of turning and it obviously make the whole world seem super 3d.

I could go in this direction: http://js1k.com/2010-first/demo/389

Things to consider about the weapon:
* Reloading, ammo clip limitations, currently there is unlimited ammo.
* Weapon overheating or getting stuck (I'm not a fan of these mechanics)
* Different targeting/zoom levels (handgun sights for example)

Ammo limitation.. imo it's to early for this but clip & reloading is something I should do. Currently, there's only a cooldown between bullets (e.g., long for shotgun, very short for machinepistol). And since ammo is also something I can visualize without the weapons.. I'll do it asap.

Zoom is a great idea. That way, I get 2 handling characteristics per weapon, which could behave very differently. And it would also add to the 3d effect if I make a swooping zoom effect. But I'll probably not do it now.