Re: Game idea....

[Jeff Read <bitwize@geocities.com>]

Paul Anderson wrote:

> > How much control is the player given?  What stops him from designing a
> > kill everything on screen for no energy weapon?
> >
> Why should he be stopped?  If he did that, then the game would no longer
> be challenging, and no longer enjoyable.

Exactly. In Quake, you're allowed to create mods that make you a god
among mortals. (heck, just drop to the console and type "god" :)) Such
displays of awesome power are cool at first, but quickly wear off in
terms of fun value. So, people tend to design mods which permit them to
exploit new talents but force them to use new skills (a grappling hook,
for example, or a really powerful weapon that can be only used in close
range or takes a long time to reload). Still, cheating can be fun,
especially if you're a single player and want to see something
interesting/cool (the bloody head of John Romero in Doom 2, the ability
to play Aeris after she'd died in Final Fantasy 7 (you can only do it
with a Game Shark), etc.).

In general, openness and customizability in games is a Good Thing. The
dynamics of game players' minds in the large tends to promote the
modifications which are more challenging to the player, rather than
easier.

-- 
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Jeff Read <bitwize@geocities.com>
Unix Code Artist, Anime Fan, Really Cool Guy