Comments on: Going Off On A Tangent Thank you very much for this enriching article. I was not aware of the issues in tangents but it totally makes sense to me for both art and game design. I also had problems telling some of the weapons in Crysis 1 & 2 apart from each other. They all seemed to be some sort of machine guns that I mostly switched when ammo was low. Thank you very much for this enriching article. I was not aware of the issues in tangents but it totally makes sense to me for both art and game design.

I also had problems telling some of the weapons in Crysis 1 & 2 apart from each other. They all seemed to be some sort of machine guns that I mostly switched when ammo was low.

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By: snake5/2011/06/09/going-off-on-a-tangent/#comment-5437 snake5 Thu, 09 Jun 2011 23:16:06 +0000 I can see how the terms you used can describe the same thing. As I said, the term "tangents" may not be the term a designer uses. But its certainly one artists use, and can be a way to get us to wrap our heads around what does or doesn't work in games. Now to my secret shame. I've never really played the Prince of Persia trilogy. So I can't speak to the certain instance of the roll not causing a problem in that instance. But inherently, if what is intended to be the primary mode of travel is being usurped by another move, that is a problem on a few levels. It means the intent of the run is weakened, both on a pure mechanic level and a narrative level. That run should embody the entire locomotive feel of the game, as well as match the atmosphere of the world. And unless its Sonic, rolling through the environments is going to look and feel out of place, removing a certain level of immersion. Yes, the player may gain some sort of investment for gaming the system, but in the case of a linear experience, that investment will be dissonant with the intent of the game. I can totally get on board with making all weapons equal if they are not meant to be anything more than aesthetic changes. But in the case of AC, they are given stats for speed, damage and deflection. They are also assigned a cost accordingly to how high to stats are. That means they are meant to have a value that makes one more valuable than the other, yet at no point do I really feel that when switching between a dagger and sword. My gameplay never needs to adapt to use different weapons. Yes, that means those stats may not best match the combat gameplay they use, but it results in a tangent across all those weapons. Noticing that tangent can help lead you to the deeper root issue, which is the combat itself. Thanks for the comment! I love being called out on something I say as a way to make me further flesh out my thoughts, be they universally sound or not. I can see how the terms you used can describe the same thing. As I said, the term “tangents” may not be the term a designer uses. But its certainly one artists use, and can be a way to get us to wrap our heads around what does or doesn’t work in games.

Now to my secret shame. I’ve never really played the Prince of Persia trilogy. So I can’t speak to the certain instance of the roll not causing a problem in that instance. But inherently, if what is intended to be the primary mode of travel is being usurped by another move, that is a problem on a few levels. It means the intent of the run is weakened, both on a pure mechanic level and a narrative level. That run should embody the entire locomotive feel of the game, as well as match the atmosphere of the world. And unless its Sonic, rolling through the environments is going to look and feel out of place, removing a certain level of immersion. Yes, the player may gain some sort of investment for gaming the system, but in the case of a linear experience, that investment will be dissonant with the intent of the game.

I can totally get on board with making all weapons equal if they are not meant to be anything more than aesthetic changes. But in the case of AC, they are given stats for speed, damage and deflection. They are also assigned a cost accordingly to how high to stats are. That means they are meant to have a value that makes one more valuable than the other, yet at no point do I really feel that when switching between a dagger and sword. My gameplay never needs to adapt to use different weapons. Yes, that means those stats may not best match the combat gameplay they use, but it results in a tangent across all those weapons. Noticing that tangent can help lead you to the deeper root issue, which is the combat itself.

Thanks for the comment! I love being called out on something I say as a way to make me further flesh out my thoughts, be they universally sound or not.

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By: snake5/2011/06/09/going-off-on-a-tangent/#comment-5425 snake5 Thu, 09 Jun 2011 15:29:45 +0000