Top 5 Innovations in FPS

Shooters have evolved a lot from the days of Wolfenstein 3D.  Each new generation of games improves graphics, dynamic lighting, physics, and controls but you can still see the basic building blocks that make up all shooters.  While you can still see the vestigial elements from games like Wolf 3D alive and well in games like Modern Warfare 3 there have been some key innovations in the history of first persons shooters that have made a real difference in the evolution of the first person shooter.  These innovations changed the way we played game and then changed the way games were made.

In no particular order here are my top 5 picks for best innovations in FPS gameplay:

Online Multiplayer

Counter Strike Source

Multiplayer is one of the oldest additions to games.  In fact it predates shooters.  Shooters gladly adopted online systems that allowed player to connect and compete.  Death match dates to the days of Doom and the thrills of arena play were first given to us by the glory days of Counter Strike.

Online gameplay provides shooters with longer lifespans and give players an arena in which to pit their skills against one another. Despite the reputation of shooters the world of online shooters is one of quick reflexes and pinpoint accuracy. Many game play types also required a high level of teamwork to bring success on the competitive level. 

As Bioware co-founder  Ray Muzyka shared with Wired magazine the best examples are games that utilize their online to make the experience better. 

The Cover System

Uncharted

Metal Gear Solid 2, gave us the first real cover system. Snake could stick to walls and peak out to fire on enemies.  A system which has since become widely adopted by titles and can be considered an invaluable part of the shooter experience.

Run and Gun is still the bread and butter of shooters no doubt but cover systems add depth to the experience.  In the early days when the AI was less than desirable and a player was carrying around small arsenal you could afford the action hero approach.  Developers started throwing more challenging AI and level design but they also gave the player a respite: the cover system. 

Cover systems gave players a place to recover health, plan attacks and patiently pick off enemies.  They changed the way we play by making games less about random violence and more about strategy.   Using cover effectively can make players feel more like a member of seal team six than some kid in their parents basement with a mouse and a keyboard. 

Reward Systems

Microsoft brought us the achievement chasing bug in 2005, and was followed by Sony a few years later.  Since then reward systems can be found all over the digital media world: video games, online games, the gamification of non-game related fields.

Whether you call them achievements or trophies there is no denying that they are addictive.  These reward systems are challenges put to players outside of the normal objectives of a title.  They can be as simple as finishing a level or require considerable time investment.  Doesn’t really matter what they are what matter is what they have done for players.

Achievements push players to play games in new ways: Finish a level with only a sidearm? Without tripping any alarms? Unlock all customizations? User certain manoeuvre or weapon?  The game doesn’t stop when those credits roll and there is always something new to try.  Games are no longer about reaching a checkpoint it is about how many creative ways you can reach that checkpoint.

Location Based Damage Systems

No One Lives Forever 2

Boom Headshot! You know you love that feeling.  The satisfaction you can only get from putting one right in the head of your enemies.  Headshots are fun and they are a great test of player skill but they have not always been part of the gaming experience.  They first showed up in Golden Eye all the way back in 1997.

But this is not just about the headshot.  Location based damage is a system where developers assign different damage rankings to different body parts.  It is why you get bonus points or instant skills with a head shot or why you can make your targets drop their grenades in their laps.

Dead Space

Games like dead space utilize this system to create unique gameplay styles where targeting limbs is essential for survival.  There are new ways to engage enemies and achieve objectives. Location based targeting systems reward players for their skill and create fun new ways to play. 

Narrative First

Anyone here remember what the story to Doom even was?  One of the best thing to happen to shooters was when developers started hiring real writers.  Games today, like Uncharted, play more like action movies; engaging the players with deep narrative and character development.

Games slowly lost that clear level differentiation.  Levels turned into missions and it was not long before missions became chapters. A combination of cut scenes and creative loading screens and a player can now play a title from start to finish without even breaking the immersion.   This brings pros and cons, Games like Call of Duty have played with our heart strings by killing off our avatars no matter how hard we had worked to keep them alive, but overall it leaves players feeling like heroes. 

Doom Exit Level (Above)  vs. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Below)

Why is that innovative you ask?  It changed the way games were made.  Games built around stories are qualitatively different than their peers of earlier generations.  The complex stories means complex objectives and large scale set pieces.  

What do all these innovations have in common? They changed the way games are played.  The spirit of Wolfenstein 3D is still included in each new generation of shooter even as graphics have improved in leaps and bounds.  The basic building blocks that make a FPS a FPS remain a foundation, however, the structure of shooter has been altered by each one of these.  They have given us new challenges and new ways to play.

Controls of the Future, Today!

No, this is not some sales pitch I promise.  I thought for a few minute s perhaps we could look closer at new game controls that are changing the way we play with games.  These changes will inevitably change the way games play. To this end I have a great example on how gamers today are adopting systems for interaction with games that could change the landscape of gaming.  The same way the home console once did in the 80s.

The first is my PS Vita. I purchased the PS Vita a few weeks ago and have been exploring all the fun and flaws it has to offer.  It is a pretty kick ass piece of electronic. With a lot of different controls systems: 6 Axis motion controls, rear and front touch screen, analogue sticks and buttons.  The augmented reality is by far the most interesting interaction feature.  So far the uses are pretty simple but it has amazing potential and now Sony is putting it into the hands of gamers everywhere.

In a recent interview with Mick Hocking, vice president for Liverpool, Evolution and London studios, we got an idea from developers’ perspective on where games might be heading.  Combining augmented reality with stereoscopic 3D and making it accessible to users’ right in their home.  Games and apps are on the verge of blurring the lines between the real world and the digital one.

Food for thought...

Game Changer

Well it’s finally here.  The PlayStation Vita has hit the shelves and I swung by to pick mine up.  I am really excited about this.  Sure there is the issue of floundering sales in Japan.  After the first week the Vita took a serious dive and last week the older PSP sold 2000 more units.  Sony is confident that this won’t be the case in North America.  PlayStation has been running a serious promotional campaign in major cities across the US to ensure that. What they really have on their side however is a great piece of equipment.  The vita really is a game changer both for Sony and for gaming. 

New Ways to Play

I will give you three reasons why the PS Vita is the game changer that PlayStation is reporting it to be.  The first of which is the device itself.  The device is thin and surprisingly light making it easy to play with for hours on end.  It isn’t the only think that is small, the game cards are small too and the memory cards are ridiculously tiny. 

It features a beautiful 5inch OLED screen that looks stunning.  Combined with its quad core CPU and graphics chip the machine has the nicest looking portable graphics on the market.

Graphics are great but they aren’t what makes it innovative.  There are more ways to play on the PS Vita than any other system out.  Front and back touch screens, gyroscopic controls, six-access motion controls, a set of analogue sticks, and of course the regular buttons you’d expect on a PlayStation product.  

A few launch titles have been accused of gratuitously using these new features but you can’t blame developers for wanting to experiment with these new controls in all the combinations they can think of.  Games no longer have to all about thumbs, now developers can engage players in all new ways.  Take Little Deviants for example, it may not be the best game in the PS Vita line up but it illustrates the abilities of the Vita beautifully.

Uncharted: Golden Abyss is also a great example.  The touch screen can be used to navigate obstacles and solve puzzles while the back touch pad can zoom you rifle or camera. One of the coolest features I found in the new Uncharted title is how, like in other shooters, you can use the analogue sticks to aim but you can use the gyroscope in the device to adjust the aim.  It is the little things that make this device so cool.

Blurring the Lines

The feature that convinced me I needed a PS Vita? Augmented Reality.  AR has been popping up here and there but not this developed.  The PS Vita has a significant number of games in their launch titles geared to use the AR.  The Vita is even being shipped with a set of the AR cards needed to play many of these titles.  It looks like PlayStation is set to support AR.  The Vita takes AR to the next level and more importantly brings it into the homes of everyday people. 

AR lets players blur the lines between their games and their real world.  Letting players set up soccer stadiums on their desks or host fighting tournaments in the park or where else they want.  It is fun and it looks cool.

DOWNLOAD ALL THE THINGS!

The last reason the Vita is changing gaming is the way they are delivering content.  Online game sales and DLC has been around for a while now.  Steam, Xbox Live, and the SEN, formally PSN have been offering these features for years.  With the Vita PlayStation is changing their stance on the issue.  Up until now the SEN offered online games but never seemed to care to much if you picked up the physical copy or not.

An interesting thing happened when I went to the GameStop to pick up my Vita. The guy at the counter asked me if I would like any games with it.  Logical question, I mean I just bought a new system of course I want some games to go with it.  I always knew I wanted Uncharted: Golden Abyss, next to the AR that was other major selling feature for me, but a funny thing happened when he asked: I hesitated.  For a moment, however brief, the idea of downloading the game instead passed through my head.

I snapped back to reality quickly.  The $5 discount didn’t seem worth the lengthy download times and I didn’t want to spring for a big memory card just yet (or though it may be sooner than I thought).  Still this was the first time I had ever had that thought.  PlayStation pushing an online system, I don’t consider myself weak to the marketing propaganda of companies like PlayStation, but I dare say it might be working.

PS Vita Store

Now PlayStation is releasing games online and discounting them to encourage sales.  They are setting up an app store to support their new system, although it doesn’t have to much to offer right now, which means with the right nurturing they may be successful at moving to online only, or at least online mostly sales. With the right memory card a player can end the clutter in their living room and carry their game library on their Vita. No carrying bulky cartridge cases or having to leave some of your favourites behind.

They have obstacles of course, price is the main one:

• Price of both the cards and the content online.  
• Another is the somewhat unreliability of the SEN on occasion. Large downloads take a while and connection issues abound.  
• The third and last is the content itself.  It is still early but, as I mentioned before, there is not a lot up there. 

These are not impossible obstacles; in fact let’s stop calling them obstacles. We can call them challenges and hope PlayStation rises to the occasion.  Online content may very well be the future for gamers and the Vita is doing its part to make it so.

So there you have it.  The PS Vita: A Game Changer.  At least as far as I see it.  

Brave New World? Part 2

So what do we learn from all that in last weeks episode? Well it seems like the technology of next generation system is all over the place. Con: we are still far from anything conclusive. Pro: the sky is the limit. What about the software?  Surely the future of games themselves is a little clearer?

J.J. Abrams (Jim Merithew/Wired.com)

Well if you are hoping for a definitive “yes”, you would be disappointed.  Downloadable content has exploded over the last couple of years, becoming almost a standard for any genre and driving the interest in downloading entire games. What does that mean for game delivery of the future? Are we still going to swing by the local GameStop for our copies of Uncharted 4 or Mass Effect 5? Will we be paying for online pay? What will the game collection of 2015 look like really?

Downloading appears to be the future.  It makes sense; companies can save on all that packaging and shipping while the players are stuck with the costs of media, namely hard drives.  Distributing networks such as Steam or Sony’s SEN charge the same price for games as you would find in store despite the reduced cost of distribution.

Current models are skewed in favour of the publisher that is clear and there will have to be some considerations from those publishers if complete game downloads is the path of the future. The problem with this system is that players are not dumb.  In an age when you can price check a product within seconds online using a computer or your phone pricing a product the same, or in some ridiculous cases more than a physical copy is a hard sell. 

From the players perspective they are getting less for the same price.  That is even before you consider that games today are not small and media isn’t cheap.  If I downloaded everything I bought I would probably fill a hard drive or two a year. For systems such as Sony’s new Vita with proprietary memory cards a mere 16 gigs will cost you $60. Downloading games begins to look more expensive than the previous system.

This is what companies are pushing for. Let us focus on the Vita for a moment because it is a good case study for future systems of game distribution. PlayStation released games on their network for the system before they sold versions in stores. They have also announced they will not be bringing their UMD transfer system to the US.  This does two things, first it makes the Vita not backward compatible and second it sends the message that digital copies of games are better for you.  After all you could still play your copy of Killzone Liberation if you had downloaded from the online store instead of heading to GameStop.

Before the system is even available in North America they are creating an ecosystem that supports the downloading of titles over purchasing of physical copies.  A high profit margin, there is no sharing games and more importantly there is no selling the game back to GameStop for credit. There are good things about downloading you games however.  If there were some compromise on the price points online purchases are better for the environment and mean less clutter for living room.

We just hit an important and controversial issue in the game industry.  The used game industry is a large one and some say it is a destructive one; which is likely why the game industry, or more specifically the publishers and console makers are trying to dismantle it.  Online game sales are just one approach that could leave half the shelves in your local GameStop empty.

Console makers and publishers are looking for ways to reduce the used game industry, one that accounts for a large part of GameStop’s profits that the publishers get no part of.  One approach is the pay to play system that has been appearing in some big titles of late.  EA has developed an online pass system used in titles such as Battlefield 3 and Dead Space that gives first time buyers free online play but players who buy the game used can’t play online unless they pay $10 for the privilege.

EA's Online Pass Info Page

They are not alone; Sony has released several titles in the past few months, Uncharted 3 and Resistance 3, with similar system. Nintendo has pledged to setup their online system with the Wii U and is thinking about engaging a similar as well.  Gamers hate it because who likes paying for anything? It does appear, however, to be a compromise.  This way EA gets a cut of the used game industry and players can continue trading games.

It is certainly a more reasonable approach than that of the Future Xbox 720.  The system is rumoured to feature technology that will not play used games at all; A blow that could destroy the used game markets. In defence of game companies the used game market represents a great deal of potential revue lost by game publishers.  It was estimated $2 billion in lost sales last year 2011.  WOW, I would be a little upset with companies like GameStop too if I saw it that way!  

Some developers, such as Saints Row developer Jameson Dural, are praising this claiming it could save the industry. Now if the industry is really in trouble is also highly debatable and brushes up against other issues like piracy. I mean in 2014, Digi Capital estimates the video game industry will earn $44 billion revenue.  All of a sudden $2 billion seems a bit trivial.

Plenty of people have come out opposing standard industry excuses such as lost sales.  A few developers on the consumer side. Halo developer, Matthew Karch, and Witcher 2 developer, Adam Badowski, have both expressed concerns about the fairness of a system that doesn’t allow players to try games. As a great piece of literature once said, DON'T PANIC.  Nothing is set in stone we are still far from a new Xbox.  

Could controls over games drive users to downloading titles? or could downloading you games help relieve industry concerns over used games.  After all you can't trade in DLC.  Personally I am not crazy about downloading games.  My bandwidth is allocated else where and there is something comforting about having a physical copy of an object (even if I don't own it any more than the downloaded content).  I would not be opposed to it though, really the pricing issue is the biggest obstacle to downloading full titles.

The moral of this story? Game companies, console makers and publishers alike need to develop systems that make it easier for users to get their content not more difficult.  They can't treat players like criminals and they certainly can't take advantage of them, at least not so obviously.

SONY: What is Going on Over There?

Last week was a bit crazy for poor Sony.  They started the new month with by announcing a brand new CEO, Kazuo Hirai, who formally headed up Sony’s Consumer Products & Services Division. This reshuffling of Sony's board of directors will see Hirai moving up to CEO April 1.  Sony has been responsible for a great deal of innovation in its lifetime but of late the tech giant has been experiencing difficult markets.  Competition from companies such as Samsung and Apple has hampered the company’s growth. 

Kazuo Harai (by Ko Sasaki for The Wall Street Journal)

A leadership change may be just what Sony needs.  Last week poor Sony also announced a massive $2.1billion loss in the third quarter.  This seems even more incredible since last year they posted almost a billion dollar net profit the year before.  I am not an economist but that sounds like a $3 billion loss to me.   Sony blamed flooding in Thailand as well as loses in the Products and Services division which lost half of that (Hmmm maybe Hirai isn’t the best choice?).

I kid of course, Hirai was instrumental in the success of the PS3 in North America and you can’t help but like him when he presents at E3.  Hirai is looking to make changes to the corporate structure and do some serious cost cutting. What that means is a little unclear right now but Sony needs to make some bold moves if they want to maintain their legacy of innovation and reputation of being an exceptional electronics manufacturer.  The good news is that Hirai recognises this which is half the battle:

“The foundations are now firmly in place for the new management team and me to fully leverage Sony’s diverse electronics product portfolio, in conjunction with our rich entertainment assets and growing array of networked services, to engage with our customers around the world in new and exciting ways.”

For those of you concerned for about to be former CEO Howard Stringer, don't worry he is just moving to a different chair on the board.  I for one am looking forward to the changes Hirai might bring about.  There is hope on the horizon for Sony and I really hope that translates into cool new gadgets for all of us.

In slightly unrelated news but still on the topic of “Sony: What is Going on Over There?” there is the news of the PSN, or PlayStation Network getting a makeover.  In an effort to streamline user accounts across Sony, PlayStation is rebranding their user network accounts to the “Sony Online Entertainment” accounts.  It will incorporate the PlayStation Network, Video Unlimited, and Music Unlimited into one system.

The change shouldn't affect users at all really but that doesn’t stop the panic in the gaming community. The PSN has been giving users some issues of late with extended maintenance sessions.  Hopefully the SEN will resolve some of these issues.  The PSN has been criticized for connection issues and a lack of features in comparison to Xbox.  It is free people, remember that! But even I think that is not an excuse for bad service. This rebranding is an opportunity to turn that around and get support from the player back.

Brave New World? Part 1

ROCKSTAR IS HIRING!  Yes, that is right the sandbox developer is looking for Environment Artists for “a next gen console”. This is very exciting news and not just because the job market looks a bit like a post apocalyptic shooter.

I am not sure when it happened, when did the PS3 or 360 stop being “next gen”?  I only got into console gaming at the end of the PS2 lifespan so I watched the frenzy over the new systems from a neutral standpoint more or less.  Microsoft and Sony fought to build new branding for their new systems. Fan sites blew up with discussion over which system had better specs or better launch titles. HD-DVD (you guys remember that right?) was beating out Bluray.  The world of video games was wide open with it was not just about adding more pixels it was about dynamic lighting and intelligent enemy AI, it was about where we could go.

There are still debates on which version of a multiplatform game is better (no PC gaming! no one cares about your x number of cores and 4gigs of video memory) and what system is providing a better online system but next gen has fallen out of the debate all together.   At one point it must have stopped, now when you ask a person what console they game on it is assumed the answer will be PS3 or 360. It doesn’t seem that it was too long ago either which makes it even crazier that in the last month of so the description is slowly working back into the conversation.

Most notable is the leaked patent for the new Xbox which indicates DVR is being added and that Microsoft will be showing the Xbox 720 (I really hope they pick a new name because this naming scheme is not really sustainable and makes no sense) at this year’s E3. They are talking 6x as powerful and throwing launch windows of 2013-2014 around like it isn’t a big deal.  I was a given that the day these systems launched the R&D teams began work  on the next systems but the idea that we are getting close to seeing all new consoles on our mantels was not even in my head until I saw the words Xbox720 on Twitter. 

This is an amazing opportunity for gamers and developers alike.  Just like 5 years ago the potencial for innovation is blowing up again.  Of course the technical side is simple, what super powerful CPUs or brand new graphics cards can they stuff into the chassis?  But what of the implications? To me more cores or RAM isn’t innovative in and of itself.  What I find interesting is what that power can do.   

Take the Uncharted Franchise, when it launched it was lauded for its high quality renders, dynamic lightening and the smart water.  NaughtDog's team didn't stop there however, they kept pushing the the limits of the PS3 trying to eak every last ounce of rendering power from it. 4 years later you can see the  progress: 

Evolution of Nathan Drake (NaughyDog)

(these guys are also looking for folks who want to work on next gen games btw)

Games are pushing closer and closer to the real world. Crafting deep narrative and building immersive environments by manipulating technology in new ways.  High resolution renders, real time shadows, real world psychics, and things are only just getting interesting.  Right now 3D processing & motion control are just getting off the ground (the nerd inside me envisions Holodecks becoming more possible every day).

Developers are building new interfaces for games which do everything from using cameras to track lighted markers, similar to motion capture technology, sensor bars that detect transmitters or even voice control.  A variety controllers are struggling to be the standard for the next generation of  console interaction. Such as the Leonar3Do software which allows users to paint models in a 3D space. Giving game modellers the same freedom as sculptors might have working on a 'real' object. 

The Xbox Kinect still has a ways to go but it is looking to provide the most potential.  Like something right out of a Science fiction movie where users can manipulate menus and information onscreen with gestures, no peripherals required and with a reasonable degree of accuracy.  It starts in gaming, with titles like Ghost Recon but who is to day this can’t expand to your home entertainment system, personal PC and maybe even business in the future.  Gaming is a fantastic way for technology to integrate into society, you can work out the bugs and get people used to interacting with technology in certain ways casually and at younger ages which helps them make the jump into mainstream.

Minority Report (2002)

Ghost Recon: Future Soldier (2012)

It is safe to say that it is all conjecture at this point.  Sony has already said they will not be presenting a new system at the Industry Expo E3 this year and as of the last reports we are still years from seeing these systems in our homes. It is fun imagining though, how progress in computational power and design can come together to foster innovation. 

Doom (1990)

Future Doom?

Big developers are beginning to stock their offices with 'next gen' projects once again so a whole revolution in gaming could be right around the corner. It won't be long before the world of Augmented reality is brought right into our homes with the PlayStation Vita or WiiU which should both be available before the end of the year.  Game systems that can interact with our world the way we interact with theirs. We are moving toward increasingly immersive gaming experiences and graphics are just one part of it.  The industry is poised on new age of innovation. we are setting the groundwork for games we don't just play but games we can play in. 

It Begins!

Are you ever at online, or in a store, or at a friend’s house and find yourself totally lost. New gadgets, news it is all coming at us so fast sometimes it is bit tricky to stay on top of innovations.  Sometimes it makes you feel like you missing a lot and it leaves you thinking… “What just happened”.

This project is to help me, maybe you, but mostly me experience less of that. This blog projects purpose is three fold:  1) To help me stay on top of innovation, specifically in the video game industry.  I want to follow tech sites to stay on top of industry. 2) I want to better understand the concepts of innovation by posting interesting news, from the industry and my thoughts. 3) I want to develop my blogging skills.  What makes a good blog? How can I write better or build a following.

This Blog is a project of mine where I will blog about innovation in the video game industry, cool news and my interpretations of what it means/why it is significant to the industry.  It is a combination of innovation in games themselves, the technology and the business of game development.

Now understandably you probably want to know how I define innovation right?  At this stage innovation, which can be so subjective in nature, must be technology or behaviour that is (relatively) new and it is really important that it changes the way we think about/use a product or service.  For me it can be just an idea that has a lot of potential to in game function or piece of technology.