Assignment 1 : Bioshock 2
Bioshock 2 is a game that built on the FPS paradigm while including such elements as role-playing, mini-games, and a limited form strategic resource management (in terms of both ammo conservation and character and weapon power-up choice) to provide an exciting game play experience, with the added element of a uniquely designed and realized avatar for the player to control.
In Bioshock 2, the player assumes the role of Subject Delta, one of the diving-suit encased genetically mutated leviathans called Big Daddies that were first introduced in the precursor game, Bioshock, as a fearsome, although somewhat sympathetic, enemy to the player. The opportunity to play a Big Daddy in the Bioshock environment was one of the primary selling points of the sequel game, promising a unique experience intended to be delivered through the idiosyncratic characteristics of the Big Daddy’s nature – particularly his mass and power – translated to a first person experience for the player to control and enjoy.
As per the class text, Game Feel is defined as Real-time control of virtual objects in a simulated space, with interactions emphasized by polish. A simple analysis of the elements of game play elements present in Bioshock 2 specifically in relation to the player’s avatar will reveal that not only does it indeed present a well-realized game feel, as previously defined, but it successfully pursues unique elements of game feel that differentiate it from other FPS games of a similar genre. Therefore, I am going to focus on those elements of game play and game environment that amplify the particularly unique game feel of controlling a Big Daddy beyond the more common experience of a generic FPS.
Real-Time Mechanics and Control
In order to present the feel to the player of actively controlling and “being” such a creature as a Big Daddy, Bioshock 2 has many character mechanics available to the player related to the primary, FPS-style game play, most of which are modified in some way in order to simulate the nature of the player’s avatar.
These mechanics include :
- Ground Movement in any direction (forward, backward, turn and strafe)
- Jumping (with full movement capability while in the air)
- Crouching (with movement capability while crouched)
- Attacking using both base attacks and special moves (with certain weapons)
- Attacking using “magic” attacks
- Interacting with elements of the environment such as doors or inventory items
- Hacking locked containers and disabled robots
- Healing and powering up the player, through finding goodies in the environment.
In general, the game mechanics for movement and attack provide the continuity of control that would be expected of a First Person Shooter-style game, with perpetual input acceptance, near “instantaneous” game response, and generally no lockout period against further input, although certain situations and environments in the flow of the game impact the speed and fluidity of this cycle, almost always with an eye toward reinforcing the “I am a Big Daddy” sensation.
Ground Movement : While in an underwater environment, the player controls the Big Daddy by specifying directions of acceleration, not movement, which gives a sluggish feel that, while slowing the player’s ability to respond, realistically mimics what one would expect if one were a large blob of lead moving underwater.
Jumping : While underwater, the player’s “air” time during a jump is almost 4 seconds, nearly 4x as long as a jump in an air-based environment, and the landing is accompanied by a loud crash and substantial screen shake, more obvious even than when on land. While not physically accurate, the sensation of being a massive bipedal submarine of limited agility is accentuated by this mechanic.
Crouching : Moving while crouching is possible, but very “duck-like”, with an exaggerated wobbling and seeming instability in the movement that is unusual for a first person shooter but understandable when taking into account Subject Delta’s impaired agility due to his diving suit.
Attacking : Generally attacking is as one would expect, although the swinging melee attack with the drill is particularly slow, taking a sufficiently noticeable amount of time to execute after the mouse button is pressed and then released to appear laggy. From a “game mechanics” point of view, this is necessary since the same action – pressing the mouse button – executes both the “swing of the drill” and the “turn it on and drill into enemies” attacks, with the only differentiation being when the mouse button is released. This is not an impediment to the feel of the game, however, but rather helps to reinforce the sense of mass that is inherent in the drill itself. The weapon is huge, and as strong as Big Daddy is, realistically one would expect that it would not respond in combat like a rapier. So in effect a mechanic that is built out of necessity – that of choosing two attacks with the same keystroke, differing only duration of that keystroke – ends up actually accentuating the Big Daddy experience. The lag ends up being easily compensated for by the player with a little practice, and the weapon proves to be quite formidable in the hands of an experienced player, despite its seemingly laggy performance. One learns how to properly time the use of the tool at hand – the drill – and then one can use it as an extension of one’s intent.
There is also a charging attack that uses the drill weapon that speeds up the player substantially while locking him out of any further movements until the avatar hits a solid surface, either an enemy or other barrier, or the charge runs out of steam. The actual amount of time the player is prevented from moving is very short, since the increase in speed is substantial, but the sense of being an uncontrollably charging rhino is appropriate for Subject Delta and reinforces the desired feel.
Hacking, Healing and Powerups : When the player encounters a locked door, enemy camera or bot, or vending machine he is given the opportunity to hack the device, either up close or from a distance. While this mechanic is in play the game world continues but the player is locked out from responding until the hacking attempt actually fails or is successful. This is, by design, a very brief period of time, with a major element of the challenge of the hacking game being the speed at which it must be completed (lining up a rapidly moving arrow with a small area of green or blue squares, avoiding white and red squares, on a dial). Still, depending on the situation in the game or poor timing on the part of the player, the player could be locked from interaction with the rest of the game world during an attack from enemies.
Most other non-combat actions the player takes have no impact on the player’s ability to respond to game events. One exception to this is when the player finds special “tonics” that provide skills and abilities to the player. These are events are, at least in the early part of the game, used to provide cinematic story telling, which locks the player out from any actions in the world until they are done. Visual cues exist to inform the player that the flow has shifted from “game play” to “story time”, mainly in the form of widescreen “black bars” being introduced to the screen and the disappearance of the HUD.
Overall these elements of control and mechanics not only serve as real-time control for the player to control his avatar, but also serve to reinforce the game feel of being a Big Daddy.
Spatial Simulation
Bioshock 2 takes place in an underwater city, with multiple levels and floors both outside and inside the protective dome that surrounds the city and encases it in air. These various environments guide, impede, or restrict the free movement of the player, depending on their nature, while providing a believable environment where such a character as our hero could be found. Passing from the underwater environment to the air environment is accomplished by passing through a series of doors, with a room that will serve as a staging area, where the water of outside is pumped away. The transition itself does not lock out the player from movement, but does restrict the area of the map that is accessible to the player – until the process is done, the player is trapped in the transition room. This area also serves to transition the control mechanic from one movement model – the underwater acceleration-based one – to another – the air-based movement based one.
The environment itself will sometimes change, with floors collapsing, or previously inaccessible areas becoming available after certain events occur in sequence or actions taken by the player, such as breaking away barriers. Again, not only does the environment play a crucial role in the ongoing correction cycle of both the movement mechanics and the combat mechanics (line of sight and hard cover, for instance) but the player’s interaction with the environment also serves to remind the player about Subject Delta’s particular nature. Walking into some things sends them tumbling away from the player, while walking on certain floors can cause them to collapse and send the player into a lower level.
Polish
In order to amplify the feel of walking around multiple environments encased in a 500 pound suit of armor, Bioshock 2 employs multiple polish elements which bring home the Big Daddy game-play experience. Every footstep makes an audible smashing sound, and in response to jumping, the avatar grunts as if from the effort. Leaping off a ledge causes the screen to slightly shake upon landing, as well as the particle effects of the ground chipping around the player’s feet.
In combat, the player’s mass and power are evident in numerous ways that are accentuated with polish elements. All the weapons in the game are large – too large for a normal human to be expected to control. The primary base weapon available to the player is a huge drill that itself is nearly the size of a man, that encases the player’s arm and spews blood and gore as it digs into enemies.
The sense of being enclosed within the suit and cut off from the environment is also reinforced with polish elements. The corners of the HUD are clipped by a graphic representing the round view-window the player’s avatar is looking out of. Walking through falling water leaves first waves and then trails and then finally trailing drops of water in front of the players view for a short period of time, representing the water on the front of the diving helmet’s window dripping away. The underwater environment itself is filled with detritus floating at eye level, murky and poorly lit and silent except for the avatar’s own movements and a low, deep rumbling, help differentiate the environment and reinforce its particular game feel.
The simulation of the free space of the city of Rapture and its surrounding areas includes areas and scripted scenes that the player can only see/hear or otherwise passively participate in, which, combined with the polish elements evident in the accuracy and artistry of these scenes, contribute to the game feel and uniqueness of the experience.
Fish, luminous jellyfish, sharks, whales and even giant squid swim across the player’s view, visible both from windows and in the water environment around the player (when he is in it). The player may approach a particular vantage point overlooking a large part of the city, and the in-game music will change and become more majestic and prominent in the sound track.
The game begins with the player seeing a reflection of himself, and early in the game, within the first 10 minutes of playing, the player also encounters two scripted scenes of Big Daddies in action, including another Big Daddy handily defeating a handful of enemies, helping to subconsciously reinforce the identity of the player – “Hey, that’s what I am – I’m a badass!” – and reinforcing by demonstration the player’s sense of his own power and mass.
These overlapping polish and spatial simulation elements contribute to the “unique physical reality” of both the environment the game takes place in, and the nature of the player’s avatar and his ability to identify with it. Combined with the game’s unique real time control mechanics, which enable the player to become immersed in the role of an avatar very different from himself through modified mechanics that include intentional lag and sluggishness sufficient to illustrate the nature of the avatar but insufficient to impede the sense of immediate, continuous control expected in such a game, and these elements all serve to give Bioshock 2 very definite, and unique, game feel.
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