Tag Archives: first-person shooter

Nov
12
2009

Justifying the Means

[This post contains spoilers as to the entirety of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's plot. I loved Modern Warfare 2 and will write about the brilliant core gameplay, mechanics, and level design in a later piece, but this is not that piece.]
“Two men took down an entire base. I ask much more from you [...]

By Trent Polack | Posted in Game Design, Gaming | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , | View Comments
Sep
30
2009

The Loneliest Space Marine

Halo 3: ODST is about a group of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers that drop into allied territory to fend off aggressive, hostile forces and complete some secret mission under the veil of a general liberation of the city of New Mombasa. Due to a series of unfortunate circumstances, all of the soldiers get off course [...]

By Trent Polack | Posted in General | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | View Comments
Jul
05
2009

Revisiting Halo 3

Bungie’s original Halo, released for the Xbox in 2001, was a landmark console game. Aside from giving Microsoft’s freshman entry into the console arena a system seller and a uniquely Xbox cultural character, Halo was the best first-person shooter to be released on a console since the days of Goldeneye and Perfect Dark. It had [...]

By Trent Polack | Posted in Game Design, Gaming, level design | Also tagged , , , , , , | View Comments
Apr
16
2009

Game Design Round Table 0: No More Health

Over the last couple of months I’ve been nurturing an idea to hold a sort of casual attempt at a game design round table where I (or another organizer) would present a topic (and some basic information and potential arguments) to a group of independent or professional game designers. Everyone involved would then be let [...]

By Trent Polack | Posted in Game Design, Gaming | Also tagged , , , , , , , | View Comments
Nov
03
2008

Mechanics 5: Vault-Tech Assisted Targeting System (V.A.T.S.)

With the development of Fallout 3, Bethesda Softworks faced a dilemma: they had to make a first-person RPG engine that was typically used for high-fantasy RPG/adventure games handle the intensity, gore, and statistical probability of the gunplay in Black Isle’s cult-legend Fallout and Fallout 2 in such a way as to not annoy either first-person [...]

By Trent Polack | Posted in Gaming, General, Mechanics | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | View Comments