Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Roles, Movement Systems, Objects, and Behavior Patterns with Three Characters.

The three characters I have decided to discuss are; Master Chief (Halo 1- 3), Solid Snake (Metal Gear Solid 1 – 4) and Altair (Assassin's Creed). These are three strong characters that I play as on a fairly regular basis.

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Some of Master Chiefs roles in Halo would consist of:

Leader: Lead other troops into battle, they will not start a battle until you are ready to do so.
Warrior: You fight to the death or until the level is finished

Master Chief has four main movement sets to be discussed:

Run: You have the ability to break out into a full sprint
Walk: This is the default movement, and what you do before you run
Punch: You can perform this action while walking or running (less realistic while running)
Climb: You have the ability to climb latter's but your jump is so high you can almost jump anywhere in this game

Master Chief comes with the ability to carry objects that can be used later or to help defeat different enemies, listed below are a couple of items that are objects in the game:

Assault Rifle: This is your default weapon that you start with
Plasma Grenades: These are the default grenades that you start the game with

Some of the behavior patterns associated with Master Chief are:

Invisibility: If you acquire the correct item, you can become invisible for a short period of time
Working in a Group: You are assigned soldiers you can lead into battle, but only when you engage the enemy
Strafing: You can move side to side while firing your weapon, to avoid enemy fire.

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The roles taken on my Solid Snake in metal gear solid are:

Spy: You can attempt to finish the level without detection or sounding alarms.
Soldier: The object of the game is to fight your way throw, to the end of the board, you can pick sides and help them or you can hurt both sides

Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid is better with movement then Master Chief is, here are some movement sets from Metal Gear Solid:

Walk: When you walk you are harder to notice then when running or shooting.
Run: When you run if you are near an enemy they will hear you and it will make it harder to get away
Crawl: When you crawl one of the larger game play mechanics kick in. Your clothing change into the color of what ever you are crawling in to help you blend in better.
Jump: You do have the ability to jump, but it is not very high, it is used to try and pull yourself up to the next ledge or story level.
Climb: You can climb latter's and boxes to try and better your vantage point.

When you start Metal Gear Solid you are not given any objects to help you, but as time goes on you acquire many objects, here are some of the objects you can acquire:

Solid Eye (a MAJOR Mechanic): This is a unique way for Solid to turn on a off the HUD, it will also help you tell who is good and bad as well as find different objects.
Mark IV (a MAJOR Mechanic): This is a useful robot you are given to pick up objects in hard to reach areas as well as stun your enemy with out you having to move and put yourself in harms way.
Guns: You are able to buy or find guns around the level that have been dropped by dead NPC's.
Boxes / Barrels: A box can be a perfect way to move around a level unnoticed you can also get inside of a barrel and move around

The behavior patterns found in MGS, by Snake are:

attacking alone: There is only one part of the game that you work in a team environment, all other times you are solo.
invisibility: you are not truly invisible, but there is a meter in your HUD that shows how well hidden you are.
distance: you can decide how you want to play this game, getting close to the enemy or keeping your distance.

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In assassin's creed, you play as Altair, some of the roles assumed by your character are:

Assassin: You must assassinate enemies and help the innocent all while trying to stay undetected.
Student: As you progress level to level you learn different and better moves, as well as acquire bigger and better weapons.

Assassin's Creed has one of the best movement systems ever created compared to other next gen video games:

Walk: When walking you draw less attraction to yourself as in most games
Sneak: You go into a type of prayer stance allowing you to blend with your surroundings.
Run / Sprint: If you run into someone while you are in sprint mode you will trip and lose your balance, also if you hit a wall at full force it will damage you and make you lose your balance
Climb (a MAJOR Mechanic): You can climb almost anything in the game, if you can't climb it you can find your way around
Dive: aka “Leap of Faith” you get to the highest point and get a better vantage point, then dive from thousands of feet up into a hay cart allowing you to hide if need be
Hide: In rooms, hay carts, rooftop terraces as well as many other

Altair caries a couple of objects from the beginning but also acquires some as you progress:

Assassination Knife: This is your default knife you start the game with, can be brought out when needed without detection
Sword: You carry a sword on your back at all times, you can switch between this sword and you assassination knife with one button.

Altair has a huge library of behavior patterns, I will attempt to name a few here:

solo attack: you never fight with a group in assassin's creed, this is a strictly solo playing game.
blocking: when you are fighting enemy's you can use your knifes and swords to attack or to defend.
invisibility: when you hide in roof top terraces or hay carts no one can see or find you, this makes you some what invisible. The other instance of invisibility, is when you go into your prayer stance, you can walk right past guards if you are in a group of monks praying.

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