Gaffers, I have thinking about how we can take
cues from Burnout Paradise and Journey as well as Demon's Souls and Dark Souls. Each of the two share a common theme. Let me show you:
Burnout Paradise & Journey: Seamless online integration and transition.
Demon's Souls and Dark Souls: Invasions.
A buzzword:
Coincidental timing
This idea can also be implemented into other games. For this to work, being connected online is a prerequisite.
Idea:
As aforementioned, assume you have a SP campaign where you get to play both the Vektan and Helgan side. Or it can be two equally deep separate campaigns. In any event,
retreading some of the same location has to exist. Now, imagine you are progressing through the story and as is par for the course facing a multitude (as always) of enemies with your AI team-mates. Here is the fun
twist- One of those adversaries is a
real player who is in his/her part of the
campaign where he/she is playing as the other side retreading the same ground. If the player of one side
dies, the mission restarts for him/her (as usual) now with either a new human player as one of the opposing forces member
if available or just another AI driven drone. For the player who
wins the fire-fight, he/she simply proceeds onward with the campaign.
The storyline would have to share the same
timeline from both sides (once again, think
Snatch) and multiple points of
intersection woven into the fabric of the campaign. I also mentioned earlier that the story should be a touch more
personalized and that it could be achieved via providing dialogue options like ME/Alpha Protocol. This way
non linearity can be attained even in terms of
locations chosen for fire fights from time to time. This means
differing points of intersections and grounds for retreading.
Rationale:
- Current AI in games is no substitute for human player. Introducing a human element in the opposing team without foreknowledge introduces an element of surprise and enriches the experience.
- Given limited non-linearity in choosing locations (eg: Player chooses to battle on Front A, over B or C), it weaves an element of replayability in the campaign itself without resorting to "item collection"
- Given no one has done it in a FPS before, it would be a tremendous way to move the series forward, not unlike the games mentioned at the beginning of the post. It will be a generational shift that is beyond graphics.
Caveats:
- Given this system relies on "coincidental timing" the net code would have to be sublime to filter things through continual monitoring for the following and etc:
- Player skill balance. This is a variable that is dependent upon the choice of the difficulty of SP campaign.
- Load times would have to be "tweaked" in clever fashion enforce the "coincidental timing" for potential match ups.
- Map design and triggers to move to next sections have to be designed with this in mind.
- Given the complexity of numerous variables, this seamless transition/invasion would be limited to a few maps.
In effect, this is a combination of single player and playing multiplayer with one player and multiple bots at the same time.
Great post i-Lo.
Personally, the direction I believe GG is heading with Shadow Fall is against the grain. My personal belief is admittedly probably wrong because it is radical for a number of reasons:
1) Remember the rumors of a fantasy-RPG developed by Guerrilla Games? Well, where is it? Also, the Shadow Fall team added 25 new staff for its development. What for, and its possible that the additional team GAF speculated about for the fantasy-RPG wasn't a new team at all but simply new additions to the Shadow Fall team.
2) Wait a minute, your probably thinking. Killzone is a FPS. Where are you getting this fantasy-RPG idea from, is another question you might be thinking. Well, first of all, the game title raises suspicions. Why not go with Killzone4? The obvious answer is because its set 30 years in the future featuring a new main character and reasonably a new supporting cast. Killzone2, however was set in the near future as well and supporting a main character and new supporting cast as well, yet it followed the number sequence. Its not hard proof but the title change can indicate a change in philosophy.
3) I'm saying they are transitioning away from the FPS either, but adding fantasy-RPG elements to Shadow Fall to deepen the gameplay. Posters have been drawing comparisons to Mass Effect with Vetka City. I've noticed the same parallels. Surely traversal is possible as well. I mean, from what we saw in the demo, it is possible those blue "highways" cars are traveling on our ways to freely move from one semi-open area to another semi-open area with numerous NPCs to talk to, story events waiting to be triggered, and secrets to find through exploration.
4) The story also is begging for this type of game to be made and what better universe is this type of game better for other than Killzone? You are a secret operative Shadow Warrior whose sole job is maintaining the peace between both factions. Obviously you are welcome on either side and probably know each sides political leaders because you are the peace keeper. Killzone always had a moral ambiguity about it especially with the ending of 2 and I think this type of game can explore this moral ambiguity even deeper. Shadow Fall could based on premise fit the description of a fantasy-RPG with shooting elements.
So, what do y'all think. It's obviously crazy town but its fun to think about. Killzone has always had so much potential to be one of the greatest FPS of all-time but for some reason it always finds a way to come up short in the writing and story department. That is why its so much fun for me to speculate over because its one of those games where I feel like I could write a compelling story for and design a game around. So what you essentially read is the game I would develop if I was the creative director.
Anyway, I'm going to keep holding my breath for this to come true because I've argued before that I'm still skeptical that this demo is actually in the final game but that its a demo showing the game and story concept.
EDIT:
5) Furthermore, based on the premise of the story, there is little wiggle room for their being any other environments other than the Vetka City and Helgan City. Why would you need to venture planet Vetka when it is clear the Wall dividing the two factions is the center piece of Shadow Falls story? Also, what is the point of designing an entire city that spans for miles in every direction with detailed geometry and textures for if you can't explore it? For pretty scenery is the obvious answer, but from what we know about the story its based on these two factions in heavy political and societal conflict divided by a Wall I want to know where else could the story take us that is relevant to this story arch?
Marvellous, mate. I will write back on this more.