Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
make and little exploration to do. Play consists of fighting from the beginning to
the end.
Half-Life
is the definitive example.
■
Tactical shooters
tend to simulate modern-era special forces teams. They offer
realistic weapons and situations, and must be played carefully; they cannot be won
with Rambo-style mayhem. Stealth and cover assume a large role.
Tom Clanc y's
Ghost Recon
is a good example.
■
The
survival horror
class of games uses the power of modern graphics hardware
to display disturbingly realistic blood and gore. Exploration takes on a large role in
these games. The
Silent Hill
and
Resident Evil
series are both widely admired
examples.
■
Arena games
such as
Quake III: Arena
and
Unreal Tournament
are designed pri-
marily (and sometimes exclusively) for multiplayer deathmatch or team play in a
confined area. Much of the design effort goes into balancing the weapons and pow-
erups and creating interesting places in which to play. Games such as
Battlefield
1942
are their equivalents in outdoor settings, and the latter also permit the players
to use vehicles.
An increasing number of single-player 3D shooter games are set in large, open
worlds. Such games place few limitations on the player's movement and provide a
world populated with large numbers of AI-driven NPC characters, not all of whom
are enemies. The
Godfather
and
Grand Theft Auto
series are well-known examples,
although both of them offer a great deal of non-shooter gameplay.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.:
Shadow of Chernobyl
is a more conventional shooter set in the 30 kilometer exclu-
sion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
Platform Games
Platform games, or
platformers
, are cartoonish games in which an avatar moves
through a vertically exaggerated environment, jumping on and off platforms at dif-
ferent heights, while avoiding obstacles and battling enemies. The avatar has a
supernatural jumping ability and can't be harmed by falling long distances (unless
he falls onto something dangerous or into a bottomless chasm, both common fea-
tures of platform games). Most of the player's actions consist of jumping, augmented
by various flip-moves and by bouncy objects in the environment. Platform games
use highly unrealistic physics; the avatar can usually change directions in midair.
The vast majority of 2D side-scrolling games with a humanoid avatar are platform
games;
Super Mario Bros.
is the classic example. The conflict in platform games is
often mild and suitable for children. Both Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog attacked
enemies simply by jumping on top of them. Stricken enemies disappeared without
undue anguish.
3D platform games, while popular, have never managed to achieve quite the same
level of iconic status as 2D games.
Crash Bandicoot
is one of the more successful 3D
