http://www.mk5.org/tabmok99/yamp-stryker.jpg
Printable View
*Gives Mech multiple high/low fives*Quote:
Originally Posted by MechDeus
YAAAAAYYY!!!
I'd definitely have you tested for dislexia.Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew
Oh my bad, I just don't care about him very much.Quote:
Originally Posted by Brisco Bold
I asked a developer I know (professionally, as in he makes money off of it) and according to him we all have it wrong.
Jeremiah: gameplay doesnt really pertain to FF
Andrew: They all use the same basic battle system, is that accurate?
Jeremiah: well
Jeremiah: battle system is just 1 system
Andrew: What about something that has a strong story, but also good controls and stuff? How would that differ?
Jeremiah: each ff had a different leveling system
Jeremiah: some had jobs some had espers... and materia.... and FFx had that weird board
Jeremiah: but the battling is pretty much the same
Jeremiah: maybe a nuance is different
Andrew: the way you prepared for a battle is different for each, but the battles are the same.
Jeremiah: but not overall
Jeremiah: ya battling is turnbased menu driven
Andrew: Yeah, I said largely to leave open for a small change
Jeremiah: nothing new there
Jeremiah: and LAME
Jeremiah: hehe
Andrew: So what is gameplay, exactly? I know you don't have a given explanation, but what would you say it is?
Andrew: I'm asking you because you have experience. Paying experience
Jeremiah: gameplay in general?
Andrew: Yeah
Jeremiah: or for FF?
Andrew: General def
Jeremiah: gameplay is the sum of all in-game systems......... like the GUI, the AI, the Shooting or Building......
Jeremiah: put them all together and ya got the sum of all in game systems............ i.e. gameplay
Jeremiah: art style and story are not gameplay...... u dont play those
Jeremiah: but.... with FF....... u kinda do hehe
Jeremiah: cause no one buys FF for it's battle system
Jeremiah: or leveling system
Andrew: hmm
Andrew: They're 'apart' of it, but not the driving force.
Andrew: Okay.
Andrew: Here's a definition I was given:
Andrew: the set of actions taken by the gamer, the reactions produced by the software and the consequences of said actions and reactions upon the game flow and game environment.
Andrew: Is that correct?
Jeremiah: O_o
Jeremiah: game play is just the end result of all the in-game systems that come together to create your experience....... it's not any actions done by the gamer......... you don't dictate the actions......O_o
Jeremiah: and i dunno what game flow is hehe
Jeremiah: game flow to me is like....... how well the story and levels progress hehe
Jeremiah: and game environemtn is art...... art is not a game system
Jeremiah: Art is Art...... Sound is Sound....... Design is Systems
Jeremiah: Sum of all Systems is Gameplay
Andrew: ok
Jeremiah: Art and Sound are not part of it.... cause think of it this way..... u could slap a million different art styles or music or sfx on any give game........ and still have the same gameplay
It was over AIM and I changed his AIM name for his protection. Its interesting to talk to him. He's worked on various Xbox online games, Anarchy Online, Eternia and Fate (which was cancelled for the Xbox). Just so you know some of the stuff he's done. He also works on cell phone games with his new company the 5th cell. www.5thcell.com
dyslexia? I'd have you tested for something lodged in your... yeah, lets keep this civil.Quote:
Originally Posted by StriderKyo
I think we're overlooking FFIV.Quote:
Originally Posted by MechDeus
As the first (only) in the series to use the *true* Active Time battle or whatever they called it, I think the FFIV battle engine is the best one they have used - battle was not pure turn based or even the modified (FFVI+) Active Time.
In my mind, the modified Active Time seen in every FF since IV consists of a speed rating for all characters/enemies and a little bar that fills up so you can judge when it's your turn to attack. But all attacks happen immediently following the selected action - choose fight you fight, choose cast magic spell 6 you cast spell 6. There's nothing active about every attack, skill and spell taking the same amount of time to use. First spell you learn in the game -choose and cast. Most powerful spell in the game - choose and cast.
That sucks :D
FFIV implemented some strange system in which spells (in the greatest degree) and some physical attacks were not instant actions. There seems to be some system that provides for bonuses on often used spells and gives penalties on lesser used ones. For example...
Rydia had a few attacks that I always use - Nuke and Bahamut. These two spells were instant in casting eventually, though in the begining they took awhile to cast. Rosa was always casting Cure 4 and the rare instance when I wanted to piss off a Behemoth I'd cast White and it would take much, much longer than Cure 4. Cast White repeatedly and the speed would incease as a result. Kain's jump attack was not as fast as a standard sword in the invocation, and even slower in the completion - sometimes taking a full round or more of other character's actions before he landed.
No other FF game employed this ingenious system. It gives a real "active time" feeling to the battles and requires more strategy then equipping XFight and a Genji Glove to your fastest character and having at it.
And FFIV also limited the skills and characters you could use in battle - Rosa was the white mage, Kain the Dragoon, Edge the Ninja. Sure giving you options of different characters with different skills is neat, but when every character has access to every main ability (black magic, white magic, red/blue etc magic, attack, summon, etc) it negates the advantages of different characters (note- Limit breaks and crap are no excuse and do not sufficiently establish differences between characters :p) because every character is basically the same OR could be the same with a little bit of equiping.
I also fail to fathom why the number of characters in battle was ever reduced from five. There is no explanition for this barring an inability of the PS to display enough polys for the characters and the enemies. Or sucky gameplay, heh.
Yeah.
I overlooked it because I still haven't played through it. Been meaning to for years, but just never got to it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Six
They probably felt that lowering the number would make the games harder, as you would have less people to fall back on for resurrection as characters get killed off in battle.Quote:
I also fail to fathom why the number of characters in battle was ever reduced from five.
It also may be that they thought people were just used to the 3 man system (which I think were done for system requirement limitations) and didn't want to alienate the huge userbase they made with FF7 without warming them up first.
With 5 people, the enemies were harder and it was much more difficult to keep everybody alive.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew
Quote:
Originally Posted by StriderKyo, five pages ago
kinesthetics?
Interface is typically under art.
Oh and, what I was talking about is apart of it. It's just not the big picture. He did, however, agree that the battle system was largely the same. (which is what I was refering to when I said battle engine)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew
Quote:
Originally Posted by Game Designer Guy
IIRC, it was 4 (I-III) ->5 (IV) ->4 (V-VI) ->3 (VII-VIII) ->4 (IX) ->3 (X)Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew