Malstrom comments on Conduit and Gamepro review

[WereKitten]

Gnizmo said:

WereKitten said:

A slider in SMG to select the inertia of Mario and another for his running speed? That might make the game more "comfortable" but it would not be the same game. Remapping buttons is one thing, but allowing changing the way the game controls entirely is just throwing arms up and saying "I won't bother defining the way this game plays, I'll let the players decide, so that if anyone complains I can always point to the customization". I work in user interfaces for a living, and in my field letting the user choose too much is a hint of a sloppy design phase. I think the same applies to games.

As to the quirky games, you missed the point. HVS standing out only because there are so few FPS games on the Wii is hardly rewarding "new ideas" as the article put it - and by saying "just another FPS" you're validating my opinion. Every small company can make themselves a name in a void, but that's not meritocracy, that's just scarcity of content.

Oh please. Giving the ability to control Mario's running speed or inertia is in no way equivalent to changing turning speed or re-mapping buttons in a FPS. The equivalent to what you suggest would be the ability to refine a guns damage, and rate of fire to whatever you please. The equivalent of completely customizable controls for a FPS in a 3D platformer would be the ability to control the camera freely. You might note that camera controls are an oft criticized portion of 3D platformers as well as the camera has not been refined very well.

I can't see how anyone could possibly hate control custimization though. Sometimes the default control scheme feels weird, or unnatural to a person. You can still design a game around a certain "feel" as you put it for the default controls. Most player won't ever touch the customizable control options if you do your job right on it as well. This isn't a matter of being "spoiled" as you put it, but rather a matter of wanting to enjoy a game. I can name a few games that were ruined by shitty control schemes. A better way to make your game unique, and have a better feel is through art style and story telling. With a good atmosphere, and engaging characters no two games would ever feel the same even if they controlled identically.

Please explain me how exactly being able to customize running speed and turning speed is different in an FPS or in a platformer. I'm not talking about remapping buttons here-  as I said myself in my previous post. I'm talking about customization that deeply affect the way the game plays and what the player is capable of doing. Being faster or more accurate in turning to fire against an enemy is in no way less important that changing the rate of fire of the weapons.

As to "wanting to enjoy a game", how again that would not apply to customizing SMG so that controlling Mario is easier for you if you're not used to inertia? My answer would be: if you want to enjoy SMG, learn to play SMG. And if you want to play KZ2 with its slower turning and inertia than other FPSs, learn to play KZ2. You on the other hand seem to have different answers depending on the game genre, simply because originating on PC we're used to have deep control customization in FPS games.

Storytelling and art style? I do agree with all my heart about their importance, but I don't think the Conduit has them in spades. And many Wii stalwart defenders attacked me several times when I named them, saying that the only thing that counts is gameplay. "Games are toys, and nothing more" and "if you want story read a book" come to mind as deep pearls of wisdom. Well, though I like good stories in some of my games, here I'm only talking about that inner pure kernel of gameplay, and I think that a game that doesn't offer much more should offer it in a refined form and with some identity.

Like SMG does with its feel and controls and not a single slider in sight.