Post by a Chunk on Dec 19, 2018 17:47:26 GMT
Read article at our new site: www.nextleveldesign.org/index.php?/featured-content/articles/the-basics-of-effective-fps-encounters-r10/
Using F.E.A.R. and F.E.A.R. 2 as a reference point, Steve Gaynor shares his insights into what type of spaces make for good FPS encounters. It bears noting that this article focuses on a single player FPS experience. However, some of it is also most certainly applicable to mulitplayer encounters. Here are what Steve views at the primary elements of a good FPS space:
- Varied, Clustered Cover
- Circular navigability
- Observability
1. Varied, Clustered Cover:
Variation in the forms of cover, and the spaces between them is one of the requirements.
The idea is to create meaningful points of emphasis instead of an undifferentiated field of scattered, equally-useful cover nodes.
2. Circular navigability
Players (and AI) should have the option of moving throughout an area in a circular fashion, rather than being forced to move in one of two directions.
Circular arenas should give the player a multiplicity of options while keeping him wary of possible enemy flanking maneuvers, dynamics which are conversely defused by the binary flow of a linear hallway no matter how wide or cover-strewn.
3. Observability
As a player initially approaches an area, they should have the ability to understand the space they're moving into, and be able to plan a general way of approaching it.
Assessing a space for these high-level principles should lay a strong groundwork which can be further refined-- by line of sight tuning, strategic item placement, lighting readability-- to form the basis for an excellent encounter.
Read the full article here, and share your views on it. Which parts do you disagree with? Where do you agree? What would you add to the list?