One genre that I’ve never been a huge fan of is the Stealth genre, I’m not much for hiding in the shadows. The only series I do play is the Metal Gear Solid series which I will be getting into detail about later on.
Before we actually had a stealth genre, it seemed to be a prerequisite in every action game. A level that if the enemy sees the player the entire level will have to be start over, forcing the player to learn patrol patterns and halts progression for awhile. Another “feature” is the removal of all weapons you have so even if you did want to pick off enemies you couldn’t. After the release of Metal Gear Solid the genre took off and we started to see games created with just stealth elements.
Splinter Cell is most likely to be the second recognizable stealth series, and I’m not a fan of it. To me Splinter Cell represents the worst aspects of stealth game play. You the player are forced to follow a specific path thru the levels and have to remember that an enemy will walk by corridor 3 every 5 minutes. The entire game is about shooting lights and getting spotted means you will be easily gunned down by the opposing forces. From impressions I’ve read these aspects have been toned down in the later iterations, but it’s not a game I like to play. I have similar complaints about old school adventure games where your left to not deduce the logic of the game world, but the crazy logic the designer came up with. Still from looking at the genre I can see how hard it is to create a stealth game.
There are certain factors that need to be taken into account when creating a stealth game that I can see from my own thoughts on creating stealth games. One idea I have is a stealth game where the player has access to all kinds of abilities, cloaking, enhanced strength and agility, and a few others and has to use it to fight super natural creatures. A defining moment has the player sneaking thru a town while a werewolf is stalking them. The problem is how powerful should the player be? Linking to the title of this entry, it’s hard to find a need to be stealthy when you have a rocket launcher in your hands. Take the Hulk (not counting being Bruce Banner), would the Hulk at any point need to stick to shadows and stay out of sight? Then there is the factor of the character itself, should the main character be able to survive an encounter? If the player can just fight and win every fight there goes being stealthy as well. This is one of those reasons that I can’t get into alot of the games in the genre, if I’m supposed to be some kind of bad ass super spy why can’t I survive one fire fight?
Going back to my comment on the Metal Gear series I’m going to go into detail why I like them more then other stealth games. There are of course the interesting characters and cut scenes (Psycho Mantis and The End were awesome), but game play is that right balance between stealth and firepower. Snake is a bad ass and can survive and win most fire fights (with the new camera introduced made it easier), the challenge is that ammo is hard to find and enemies will keep coming. Unlike other stealth games when it feels like one encounter and I’m screwed for the remainder of the level.
Recently Assassin’s Creed has taken the stealth idea in a different direction. Altair is a bad ass and in a one on one fight will win every time, but when surrounded there is no hope. Also I love the idea of blending in crowds as a stealth tactic. I haven’t played it yet (no job = not splurging on alot of video games), but it sounds right up my alley. Also from watching it in action gave me inspiration for my own take on an open world game with stealth.
I don’t like to create game ideas based on licenses, which I’ll probably create an entry about later on, but one license I would like to work on is the setting of Robin Hood. The game loosely follows the myth of Robin Hood, after a brief tutorial during the crusades you arrive back in England and are given an open world to explore. You basically create the myth of Robin Hood, if you want to be a killer and go after the guards and such you can do that. If you want to only wound and steal from the rich and give to the poor that’s possible too. You can of course hide in the crowds and perform Errol Flynn inspired feats of agility. I want the player to be able to sneak into castles at night to try to steal from the coffers, disguises can work and the player can shoot a rope arrow onto almost any surface to create a path. In terms of power the player can fight probably 2 characters at once, any more and you must flee unless you can pick them off with your bow and arrows. I think this could be an amazing game and a great step in the right direction for stealth game play.
In my opinion the idea of a “stealth” game is over and done with. Just having that one element feels bored and uninspired to me. Instead I want games with a strong stealth element but with more options. Take Assassin’s Creed and my Robin Hood idea, both games have a strong stealth element but it’s not just the only option available. MGS 4 is also looking to be another interesting take on the stealth genre, and it sure as hell beats shooting out lamps to get thru a level.
Josh
