[DreamerM]

It's actually called Dead Space, and it's 3rd person and a over-the-shoulder view like RE4. Were you not paying attention or did they not explain the game at all?

Bit of both, maybe, but in my defense they talked a lot about graphics and art design and what they look for in people going into their art departments. It wasn't a presentation about the game itself: I don't think the player perspective was mentioned... all I could think was it looked like Doom, though I guess it'd play more like RE4 or Gears of War, so I was off there. Ooops.

[Thaluikhain]

You're right, but I think Yahtzee's reference to healthbars was an umbrella term for any sort of numeric or visual representation of health points.

Blessed are the cheesemakers?

[Uszi]

Dead space actually looks fairly interesting IMO... And a zero gravity sequence where you actually float around and push off walls and shit would be fairly interesting.

[Ghello]

I agree, but im also a sucker for anything with survival or horror for a genre.

[Uszi]

It also might just be that the space marine in space is a convenient setting most of the time.

Using Dead Space as an example:

1). Being stuck on a space station conveniently and completely isolates you. Here on earth, you have to be much more creative, and offer much more background information for why you're trapped, and no one can get to you, and you can't communicate for them. Here:
*Setting A: Gun Toting Hero trapped 2 miles below the crust of the earth
*Setting B: Gun Toting Hero trapped in a space station.
Setting B inherently requires no explanation. Setting A, everyone asks me, "Why were you mixing shrooms and crack cocaine again? Don't you know plot writing under those conditions is irresponsible?

2). Being a Space marine is again, a handy, self-explanatory answer to the questions of:
*Where did you get all these guns your killing Aliens with?
*How do you know how to effectively use any gun you come across?
*What are you doing in Space?
Your answers are, as a Space Marine, wandering in Space, you are well trained in all manner of weaponry, and you of course patrol deep space. But I didn't even need to say that example, I'm sure all of you thought of it on your own.
What about my hypothetical?
*Where does the hero find all the guns 2 miles below the crust of the earth?
*How does the hero know how to use them?
*What were you doing 2 miles below the crust of the earth?
Obviously, you could try a similar cop out on the first two points, saying he's a marine, but then WTF was he doing 2 miles below the crust of the earth?

3. Freedom to create as far as level setup and creature design. In space you could:
*Be on a space ship
*Be on a space station
*Be on planet Zog
*ETC
Two miles below the crust of the earth you could:
*Be in a cave
Then there's the problem of creature design. In space you could be fighting:
*Space Pirates
*Aliens
*Demon Space Pirates/Aliens
*Colonial Militias
*Dinosaurs (apparently)
Two miles below the crust of the earth you could be fighting:
*Mole Men.



So, there. That's my argument on why there's more games featuring Space Marines fighting Demon Alien Space Pirates then there are games featuring Scientist-Marine Renaissance men preventing the Mole Man invasion of the surface.

... Wait. Let me pitch my Idea to EA and I'll get back to you guys.

This post has been edited by Uszi: 28 March 2008 - 07:03 AM

[n00bie51]

I don't have a problem with it, as long as it makes sense: if a character's in a regenerative suit of armor and/or has supernatural healing abilities, regeneration's just fine, just make sure it also fits in with the pace of the game.

Numerous games tend to ignore just that. Rainbow Six Vegas and Rainbow Six Vegas 2, Call of Duty 2 through Call of Duty 4, Turok, Portal, Turning Point, Gears of War, and Frontlines: Fuel of War, are all I can mention off the top of my head, and in half those games I feel like developers (Infinity Ward) simply use regenerating health as an excuse to make single-player games extremely difficult and frustrating by throwing hundreds of AI opponents (like in Call of Duty 4) so they don't have to worry about where players should pick up health packs and how many enemies should be in this region of the map and in that region of the map, etc., which is bad pacing and exactly what regenerating health should not be implemented for.