190 Micro-Games During First-Person Shooters

A game mechanic that recreates the intense focus and concentration required before shooting a target.

Games like Uncharted or Gears of War are always action-packed, turned-up-to-11 experiences. But it’s been a stretch for me to suspend my disbelief enough that people are getting shot dozens of times before falling down, and my character is essentially invincible if I’m strategic enough to find a place to hide and recover periodically. In all honesty, in the middle of a firefight, a bullet lodged or pierced through any part of somebody is likely going to put them down for the count.

So the question is, how do you balance the blood-pumping twitch action that these shooters have invented with the realism that modern gaming is evolving toward?

The mechanic could be a smartly designed micro-game played before each shot is taken to determine its accuracy. Examples of this are the “reload bonus” mechanism invented by Gears of War, or some Ratchet & Clank games include a charge-up circular dial that has narrow bands of green that must be activated in quick succession.

Maybe all shots fired from the gun “off the hip” are extremely inaccurate and have very low chances of hitting its mark. However, if the player holds a focus trigger, the gun stabilizes, and if aimed at key parts of the target will launch a micro-game as mentioned above. The micro-game would have to be difficult to master, but not impossible. It needs to feel like the player is entirely responsible for its outcome; if they fail they feel like they can do better next time, and if they succeed they feel triumphant and satisfied.

[ Today I Was Playing: Shadow of Mordor and Hand of Fate and watching Rocket League on Twitch ]

#experimental-game, #first-person-game, #shooter-game