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Which mechanics will be better?

Discussion in 'Game Design' started by jockerfullnel5192, May 17, 2019.

  1. jockerfullnel5192

    jockerfullnel5192

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    If you've ever played zombie survival on garry's mod then you'l know that players can control zombies and will most likely die a lot and respawn. I was thinking about either having the zombies be slightly stronger but players can destroy specific parts of their bodies to handicap them. What other mechanics can you think of?
     
  2. Antypodish

    Antypodish

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    I would ask, do you have basics playable mechanics working, before thinking about extended mechanics?
    I suggest you to play similar games and you will know, what fits, or not to your game.
     
    SparrowGS and jockerfullnel5192 like this.
  3. SparrowGS

    SparrowGS

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    Have types of zombies that gets stronger/faster if you take out a particular limb, I think Dead Space did this.
     
  4. BIGTIMEMASTER

    BIGTIMEMASTER

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    Is playing a handicapped zombie fun at all? Could be but got to be a careful balance of how much you are handicapping and what the nature of it is. Losing your best attack cuz you got arms blown off but still having three other good choices might be fine. Having to crawl on the floor slowly probably ain't.

    Shooters like this got to be fast with near instant reset on failure so the fun never stops. People hate when the fun slows down.

    If it's tactical shooter for hardcore fans that's different.
     
  5. SparrowGS

    SparrowGS

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    @BIGTIMEMASTER you could have the legs blown off thing for a boss type unit with a massive health bar and a lot of attack, as a means of getting away from him and recover, he could regenerate them after x time, maybe he get a ranged attack like spittin acid when his down to encourage this method.

    Just spitballing on the fly.
     
  6. Antypodish

    Antypodish

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    I would visualize such, as decoys, and obstructions (I mean feature).
    Player need avoid left crawling enemies, and if made hard to see, they can be part of challenge and ammunition / weapon management. Specially on smaller / constrained maps.
     
  7. BIGTIMEMASTER

    BIGTIMEMASTER

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    Yeah I think those are all good ideas. Main thing is just to make sure that if you are taking something away from a player make sure they don't jsut feel annoyingly restricted. There should always be high-speed tactical decisions to make on the fly.
     
  8. angrypenguin

    angrypenguin

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    Does anyone remember the "Last Stand" mechanics from Call of Duty 4ish? Basically, one of the perks you could gain is to drop a grenade upon death. If the person who killed you is close by and not paying attention then you had a good chance of also taking them out.

    Rather than having players stuck playing a slower, weaker, or otherwise crippled zombie, I'd think about something like that but more interactive. For instance, give player-controlled zombies a "dying lunge" - the player gets 5 seconds to make a single, powerful attack. The details of the attack could depend on the damage dealt - losing a leg means you do a short-ranged grapple, losing an arm means you do a long leap, being shot in the guts means you explode...

    This keeps the speed up and turns death into an opportunity. It also keeps human players on their toes, and potentially gets them to think a bit more about their tactics. Eg: if you're good at short ranged stuff then preference taking out their legs, so that dying lunges can't reach as far.

    It also means that dying and switching to another zombie is somewhat like reloading a special weapon. Plus, it encourages zombie players to be agressive, because they have attack options only available upon death.
     
  9. SparrowGS

    SparrowGS

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    No, that's martyrdom, the last stand is pulling out your handgun while down.
     
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  10. angrypenguin

    angrypenguin

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    Ahh yes, that's right! That makes it a better example, because it is more interactive.

    So yeah, I'd think about doing that, but with a special zombie-themed attack. :)
     
  11. Serinx

    Serinx

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    One of my favourite xbox games was "Stubbs the Zombie". He could do all sorts of things only a zombie could do - bowl his head like a bowling ball, throw a hand at an enemy and control their mind, chuck a ruptured spleen like a grenade, and then regenerate his organs and limbs for re-use.
    You could only use these abilties if you had recently eaten some brains - because everyone knows that eating brains can regenerate your limbs.
    These mechanics were all super fun and I'd love to see a recreation of sorts.
     
  12. Kurt-Dekker

    Kurt-Dekker

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    I think this quote stands alone for all time. So true!