A lot of time seems to get devoted to health systems and how their presented. In a lot of games, particularly shooters, med-packs seem to have become old hat but I vastly prefer them to the oddity of regenerating health. Who regenerates from a bullet hit that quickly? However whatever type of health system you prefer what they’re trying to get across is how much damage you’ve taken. So with that basic concept in mind, why is it that so few games show injuries on your character?
There are exceptions, and showing injuries is certainly becoming more popular, but for the most part developers just try and find a way to show your health level in some fairly trivial way. Even amongst the games that do give you some visual alteration to your character model, they often miss out on what I really want and that’s real injury.
Take a shot to your shoulder? It becomes much harder to aim. A shot to the leg or taking too big of a tumble and you find it much harder to walk. The only game I can think of that implements things along these lines is Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising, although I think that may take it too far. I’m not saying I want utterly realistic damage models, I’m not really good enough to play games like that, but adding something extra to the way damage is shown and felt would surely be a bonus.
Of course I’m not saying add this to every game. Realistic damage in more arcade titles like Sonic or Mario would obviously be ridiculous, and it wouldn’t suit games like Crackdown or inFamous where you’re trying to feel superhuman. However I could see it being fantastic in survival horror games, it would really add to the feeling of hopelessness and despair.
What’s your take on this? Would you prefer a more realistic model of injuries and damage? What types of games would it suit best?
recommended4u.co.uk
I quite like that on games like Resident Evil and Dead Rising if you have been munched you start to hobble around slowly until you can heal up.
rht992
i can already tell how scary hobbling away from a zombie would be
recommended4u.co.uk
On Resident Evil yes it is pretty tense.
On Dead Rising its just really humorous as it means you are then moving at the same speed as the un-dead creating an awesome “you can’t catch me :P” situation.
rht992
i thought that would be the case a few times. the worlds dullest chase scene
cc_star
It could add to the realism, but I have an ever decreasing opinion of realism in gaming.
I think The Getaway made a good move, but was much maligned – if you lost health you had to limp to cover before the regeneration kicked in, limping away whilst being shot at or chased by fully able people isn’t the easiest thing to do anyway.
If you were to take a shot in the arm and face a reduced aiming ability then yes of course it would be more real, but I believe gaming is treading a tightrope between realism, immersiveness and and straight up escapist fun.
shields_t
The Getaway – that’s crying out for a “this gen” overhaul.
Crawling to cover beats 3 weeks recovery in A&E!
bigdon23
it would be good in a game like cod. i dont get how you shoot a guy in the back a ton of times then he/she turns around and takes you out with a single shot. i would rather play an fps where team tactics are more important than run and gunning
Nauraph
If that’s the case. You should try Hardcore gamemode with CoD
carson321
Its been a long time since I have heard anyway talk about the getaway!
Anyway, might add a bit more to this discussion, without getting onto another topic completely, damage modelling in racing games.
Played the WRC demo the other day and really liked the diff parts of the car taking damage and affecting the way I could drive, gearbox got damaged and the damn thing wouldn’t shift gear!
OInly problem was I was just having a quick blast on it, and as such, i ended up trashing the car after the first 3 corners and it was then practically impossible ot drive!
Daywalker
You must not have player DiRT then. That was the first and best racing game with realistic damage. That game is over 2 years old and its still great. Break the radiator? Engine overheats. Bust the gearbox? You lose gears. Snap the driveshaft? Hard turning and low top speed. Great game.
ico
Bugs me like mad when I’m low on health and have to shamble around slowly like some crazed bag lady. I’m all for regenerative health systems. Halo Reach (like many others) strikes a good compromise in my opinion – health packs and regenerative shields. Best of both worlds I think.
recommended4u.co.uk
I agree that Halo feels ‘just right’. It prevents you from just running out infront of fire and then hiding before repeating it again with no consequence.
Likewise, when you lose a close gunfight with someone online it is satisfying to know your killer is now very close to death himself. (Mwhaha!) ;)
jikomanzoku
Reach feels ‘just right’ within it’s genre, but the likes of Dead Space would suffer immeasurably for lack of a traditional health system, it’d break the atmosphere. Plus I loved the limp animation in that game, didn’t appear to slow you down any, you just looked fucked.
recommended4u.co.uk
I’d forgotten about how Dead Space handled it. I agree, regenerating health would kill the immersion of that game. WIll be interresting to see how they handle the health system in the online component of DS2
ico
Good point re Dead Space. It did work in the context of what the game’s about – survival horror and panic that the next necromorph that popped out of an air vent could spell certain death.
cc_star
Games based in a science fiction reality have an advantage that you can just design a mechanism such as those mentioned that just isn’t possible in games set in the real world.
3shirts
I find it funny when people bemoan the realism of regenerating health but no one mentions that being shot to within an inch of life and then finding a box of bandages and a oat bar to get you back up and running is not exactly medically sound.
moshi
Couldn’t have put it better myself
citizeninsane45
What about mixing a couple a coloured herbs?
3shirts
They might make you ‘feel’ better ;)
rht992
don’t forget some green orbs!
TSBonyman
Either way, i guess games require one of those concessions however realistic they try to be, otherwise you wouldn’t get too far! :)
Moakesice
I love Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising, one shot in that game and sometimes your dead, it did have some Bandages and that if i remember, but if you got shot in the leg you couldnt run or walk properly and if you got shot in the arm you couldnt aim properley, that a good system in my opinion
jikomanzoku
The original was even harsher, a fond memory of mine is one particular night mission during which you had to navigate by using the night sky as you were lost behind enemy lines. I fell down a small cliff and sustained leg injuries that reduced me to a crawling wreck. Took me two hours of crawling and avoiding night patrols before making safety. Great gaming moment but would I want to do it more regularly in games? probably not. The thing that made it stand out was its unique nature, I could see such injury systems rapidly getting boring if applied more readily.
Moakesice
i agree, but in the instance of OFP:DR i really enjoyed the whole game, it was good to team up with my mate over the web and play the whole campaign on co-op, but yeah i think that extreme can only work in certain games, and OFP is one of those games
jikomanzoku
Sorry, forgot to agree that its PS3 iteration pitched it just about right and that the co-op stuff was ace, was nice to limp through to completion rather than just throw respawns at a fight.
scavenga
I like realistic injury, if not for anything else than having something to add realistic insult to.
jikomanzoku
nice :)
stigdu
LOL that’s great. :)
TSBonyman
Some game injuries are very unrealistic, for instance when i play Ninja Gaiden i don’t get cut to bits – i just get a severe cramp in my hand! :p
BIGAL-1992
I suppose in survival games, such as Left 4 dead and Dead Space, you could in realitic injuries to crank up the tension, but other games and you could be in danger of annoying people.