Safety's Off

To kick off the reimagining of Safety’s Off, we’ll start with a new section called Genre Bending, where we discuss the game design practice of incorporating multiple different elements of genres that often aren’t integrated with one another. Without a doubt, the genre bending trend of including RPG elements in shooters is growing increasingly popular, with games such as Call of Duty 4 and Gears of War 2 featuring aspects of “XP” gains based on in-game accomplishments such as killing enemies or completing objectives. Typically, experience is awarded in RPGs for winning battles or defeating bosses, and it is this aspect of the typically slower-paced genre that is arguably the most addicting. Certain developers are taking notice of this kind of gameplay and infusing the concept with games that are of a completely different genre. How can developers further stretch the boundaries of typical RPG elements finding their way into shooters?

The answer isn’t as straightforward as some might think, considering that both RPGs and shooters often attract two very different types of gamers. It would be all too easy to copy and paste the best each genre has to offer into the other, yet the results would likely be nothing short of disastrous. Developers need to ignore the obvious gameplay elements of each genre and instead focus on the presentation and gimmicks that RPGs thrive off of, such as the XP system. Call of Duty 4 is, so far, the only game to truly capture the addictive essence of leveling up in a shooter, and the sales don’t lie; people love it. It would seem all too obvious that every game should feature some sort of incentive to play aside from basic, fundamental enjoyment, but there is much more to be considered for this particular aspect of genre bending.

 A good start.

One of the things that shooter developers still haven’t crossed over from RPGs is the general sense of improvement in a game which a player has spent many, many hours in. While the subject of balance and fairness comes up almost instantly when this subject is presented, there are ways to make this work. The general idea that rewarding players with better weapons and armor gives them a leg up on the competition is true, but why shouldn’t a player’s dedicated time investment yield some sort of advantage over newcomers or at the very least, a deep-rooted connection and satisfaction with the time spent? Balance is important, but it shouldn’t take a whole lot of brainstorming to come up with a solution to create a level playing field for everyone while maintaining a persistent upgrade system. For example, let’s pretend that Call of Duty 4 allows players to upgrade their weaponry like in Resident Evil 4 and 5. The XP earned goes to both their individual skill level as well as an XP “bank” for spending on weapon upgrades. The skill level remains, but the XP in the bank depletes with each upgrade bought. Now, supplement this with a matchmaking system that matches players up with other similarly skilled gamers and suddenly you have a game with unique user upgrades and a level playing field, because every player has earned close to the same amount of XP to use on their weapons. The balance therefore must be dictated by the developer in making each upgrade available at any particular level worthwhile and useful, so that players don’t feel screwed for not choosing things like increased power over a faster reload speed for example.

While flaws may certainly arise from a system such as the one mentioned previously (slow matchmaking times from lack of players at a certain level, etc.) the foundation is there to be fleshed out, and with a little more brainstorming, these issues could be ironed out to create a smooth, balanced system where everyone feels as if they are in control of their play style’s particular needs as well as providing an addicting experience reminiscent of an RPG’s “just one more battle” mentality. The possibilities are there, all it takes is a little out-of-the-box thinking to make them work.

- Adriaan Noordzij

Agree? Think there are other issues not presented? Sound off in the comments!