Spooger
05-21-2005, 04:35 AM
Now that most of us have seen portals, and even a few examples of how they can be used, I just have to wonder this: will players be presented with a choice?
Portals seem like they provide the perfect oppertunity to become 'lost' - something that might actually be interesting, and even exciting. Of course, you'll always end up in the same place which would be the end of the level, but inbetween that, it would be pretty thrilling to occasionally have a choice of two portals. That's, two ways to experience a level, but with great level designers and a lot of imagination could provide the player with almost interconnecting possibilities. Imagine seeing another path as you walk around, only to realize that theres another path (above you, or to your site - wherever, Prey has so many possibilities when it comes to routes and area maximization) which upon a next playthrough you realize you never reached because of your decision earlier on.
I realize this isn't exactly practical. It's not practical for developers to, in essense, create environments, enemies, and extensions of their world that some gamers may never see or experience. On the other hand, Prey's utilization of gravity, environment, and gameplay modes makes this a feature that would be hard to overlook!
The E3 demo for Prey showed us linear progression at its best. There were puzzles, there were intense fights, beautiful graphics, and new ways to experience a FPS overall. Now what if - just what if - when 2 monsters portaled in, both of their portals stayed, and led to different sections of crossing paths? The developers might be in tears when they finally finished such complex design, but I don't think a gamer could ever be happier to see it implemented (at least once) in a level.
Portals seem like they provide the perfect oppertunity to become 'lost' - something that might actually be interesting, and even exciting. Of course, you'll always end up in the same place which would be the end of the level, but inbetween that, it would be pretty thrilling to occasionally have a choice of two portals. That's, two ways to experience a level, but with great level designers and a lot of imagination could provide the player with almost interconnecting possibilities. Imagine seeing another path as you walk around, only to realize that theres another path (above you, or to your site - wherever, Prey has so many possibilities when it comes to routes and area maximization) which upon a next playthrough you realize you never reached because of your decision earlier on.
I realize this isn't exactly practical. It's not practical for developers to, in essense, create environments, enemies, and extensions of their world that some gamers may never see or experience. On the other hand, Prey's utilization of gravity, environment, and gameplay modes makes this a feature that would be hard to overlook!
The E3 demo for Prey showed us linear progression at its best. There were puzzles, there were intense fights, beautiful graphics, and new ways to experience a FPS overall. Now what if - just what if - when 2 monsters portaled in, both of their portals stayed, and led to different sections of crossing paths? The developers might be in tears when they finally finished such complex design, but I don't think a gamer could ever be happier to see it implemented (at least once) in a level.