The Iron Dagger

I work at a creative consultancy with a vibrant young team, so it’s to be expected that a couple of my coworkers would be avid gamers. We chat so much about games and the industry that I’ve been trying to get them to take their loquaciousness to podcasting, but work and lack of incentive on their part has stood in the way so far.

Still, I enjoy these unrecorded conversations – and every so often a gem turns up.

These guys are console casuals – being foreign workers, they have neither the disposable income to invest in a gaming PC, nor the mindset to appreciate long-haul games like MMOs. So our talk revolves around titles like Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain.

It was while discussing MGS5’s multiplayer mechanics with one of them, some time ago, that an idea came to me: a co-op stealth FPS/TPS where a soldier from the future travels back in time to stop his past self from sparking a apocalyptic war. (Credit goes to my colleague for the title.)

In MGS5 (as I understand it anyway), your base can be infiltrated and raided by an opposing player. “So there’s two Snakes on the field?” I said. “What an immersion break.” He didn’t care, obviously, but there and then the seed for our game was planted.

Terminator meets MGS meets Call of Duty. Both players play the same character – separated by time, technology, and objective.

The premise

The backstory is a simple one. Years ago, the protagonist pulled off a black op that was supposed to end a small-scale conflict, but blew it up into Judgement Day instead. Upon realizing the cause, he hijacks a newly developed time machine in a bid to alter the outcome of that op – setting up the PvP action.

Player differences

To create a gameplay dichotomy, the future soldier might have a limited (and irreplaceable) supply of game-changing toys – energy-based weapons, cloaking, nanotech, mind control, combat wonder-drugs, what have you – while his past self would have the good old perks of youth: an edge in agility, endurance, and overall performance.

A fatigue mechanic could also come into play to ensure both grow more evenly matched as the duel drags out.

The maps

Speaking of duels, not everybody wants to play protracted standoffs all the time, so hostile mobs are a must. These would be guards and automated defenses, who, once alerted, would turn the op zone (which would be the maps, like military installations or fortified villas housing high-value marks) into a free-for-all.

This adds an element of unpredictability that quick-thinking players could exploit. Flush your opponent out into a hail of turret fire? Kill a guard, disguise yourself with his vest and helmet, and fool your future self into conserving his precious laser ammo when he sees you? Much possibilities.

Team deathmatch (or CTF, or…)

There could even be an alternative mode of gameplay – instead of committing suicide by killing his past self, the soldier could work with him (with himself?) to ensure the mission goes off in a way that averts the future cataclysm.

This is the PvE approach, where both players team up to complete a series of increasingly challenging goals. Failure to meet any of these goals will result in the game defaulting to deathmatch mode. (“Sorry, youngster. Was worth a shot…”)

The problem I see here is simple – how can the soldier trust his future self? All too easy for an unscrupulous player to propose an alliance, and then backstab. Maybe make alliances a toggle thing, and disable friendly fire, with re-enable countdowns? But that’s kind of a cop-out, and doesn’t account for indirect (read: deliberately triggered environmental) damage. Needs more thought.

More sides?

I’m not crazy about the idea of a third side, but if it works, why not. Say, futuristic time police attempting to stop the future soldier from either winning in PvP, or completing the objectives in PvE.

I imagine these dudes would be the badasses of the game’s multiplayer, like Left 4 Dead 2’s Tank: packing everything the future soldier has and then plenty more. They win if they kill/capture him, they lose if his past self dies – and to everything else on the map, they’re fair game. Yeah. Definitely a popular side to be on.

Problem is, having these guys sounds like it’d really unbalance things, especially if there’re more than one. Plus, from a story standpoint, even if the soldier’s past self gets offed, surely they can finish the job in his stead? Or would that screw with the laws of time too much?

Damn, even this glint-in-the-eye stage of game design is tough.

A while ago, Zernebog talked about MMO character names, and shared the thought process behind his SWTOR ones. Names being a big deal to a roleplayer like me, I thought of doing likewise.

He nailed it when he pointed out that he doesn’t do backstories and roleplay. I’ve always held that character names are such a fundamental part of the MMO experience, even those who ‘do not partake’ should have proper ones that at least try to adhere to the setting.

Nothing kills my immersion like them Xbox Live-ish, for-the-lulz names. Oddly, in many cases, I’ve noticed that the more accomplished gear- and achievement-wise the character, the more ridiculous the name tends to be (perhaps this warrants a study). As a friend once told me, “I don’t want a ‘proper’ name. I want a ‘pro’ name. Like ‘zergsmash7331’.”

My favorite response has always been this post from an old thread on the LoTRO forums:

It says all over the screen and all over the guides, pick a NAME. Not a name and a title, nor a LOLNAME. Just choose a name and stop complaining. It’s not hard, no matter how difficult people claim it to be.

I think a certain anime character has the best rejoinder to that.

Now, on to the characters. I’ve too many for a single blog post, so here are six from two MMOs – each set of three as different in flavor as the games they’re from!

The Lord of the Rings Online

Naturally, the creation of my LoTRO characters got the most thought out of my entire MMO menagerie. Gotta love lore-heavy games – and Sindarin is such a precious language to work with!

Redwine (Man Champion)

He now roams Middle-earth in exile, carrying arms in the service of the Free Peoples, awaiting the day he returns to the Riddermark and redeems his name. Until that day, he is Eardwrecca, the outcast one.

Old English for ‘counsel-friend’, which I thought an ironic name for a Rohirrim warrior more apt at counseling with his blades than his mouth.

The fact that it is also a type of alcohol led to an in-joke that he was ‘the son of Goldwine’ (also a proper Rohirric name, anyhow).

And more than one joker asking me if I loved to drink in real life (I don’t).

The Ye Olde English continued when it came time to name his Legendaries, of course: his swords are Heregild (‘price of war’) and Wyrdgild (‘price of fate’).

Elvedui (Elf Warden)

They were there when the Havens were built, and they will be there mounting guard over the harbor when the Last Ship sets sail into the West.

Sindarin for ‘Last Elf’. The idea behind this cool cat was that he was a member of the Círdanrim (the Shipwright’s Own), an honor guard protecting the Grey Havens and keeping the roads to the Sea open for departing Elves.

To that end, his destiny was to be the last of the Elves to sail west – the rearguard of his race, if you will.

He was originally to be named Mithon, ‘Grey One’, in keeping with his color motif (Grey Warden, I know), but it was taken.

So was Eärendur, ‘Sea-Servant’ – although that became his surname. Alliteration for the win.

Annúnion (Man Guardian)

Son of the sunset, blood of the West,
no charge too heavy, nor any quest.
White Tower’s servant, ever watching,
awaiting the return of the King.

Sindarin for ‘Son of the West’ or, more literally, ‘of the Sunset’. Clear Númenorean references, apt for a Gondorian soldier loyal to the vacant throne.

His surname changed over time as his story evolved: Arantir (‘King’s Guard’), Arandili (‘of the Royalists), and Arradon (‘the Path-less’). Yes. A.A. Pity he wasn’t a Lore-master.

But I had the most fun sourcing Gondorian and Númenorean themes to name his Legendaries. His swords were called Magolwest, the ‘Oath-blade’ of the House of Andúnië, and Gilmegil, the ‘star-sword’ of Osgiliath.

Neverwinter

In contrast to LoTRO, I didn’t put much work into character development here, the state of the game’s RP being what it was. My only concessions were a name and a few lines of biography, based off the origin I chose during chargen.

But the thought process behind those names wasn’t always screwed on straight…

‘Dark Murder’. Geddit? Haw haw haw. I’m murdering myself here.

‘Mossie’ as in mosquito – because what else would you call a hobbit in a fight? And ‘Petty Hilt’ as in those not-so-petty Buster Sword knockoffs the game insists on sticking GWFs with.

There’s a lot of layers behind this one. When HRs were released as Neverwinter‘s first ranged class, I wanted mine to be a pure distance nuker – like artillery, or ‘arty’ as the military calls it. (The military short-forms every damned thing.)

Also, HRs use bows, so I thought at once of a certain Greek goddess who was also a badass archer: Artemis. Roman name: Diana. ‘Arty’ being already a short form for Artemis, I MacGyvered the two, and voila! The ‘Autumn-Born’ was bolted on for alliteration’s sake as well as a reference to the HR’s nature-oriented abilities.

Then there are Artyna’s companions…

Man-at-Arms

He’s infantry – which goes before the artillery. Just like, being a tank companion, he goes before my DPS.

And what goes before autumn? Oh, yes.

Infarn Summer-Born it is. Infarn, in front. Haw haw haw.

Frost Mimic

Seems weird to give a fanged ice cube a ‘civilized’ name. You know, any kind of name you would give a… wait, ice? Winter-Born it is.

Yeah, yeah, I know it’s a tank companion, and though I live in a tropical country, I know my seasons. Closing one eye here.

Damaran Shepherd

Running out of ideas here. Already plumbed the seasons angle twice, so back to something artillery-related. Dog’s a DPS companion. Who helps the gunners take down targets?

The forward observer, of course. In military parlance, F.O. ‘Affo’. Hey, looks like a catchy name for a pup…

Like a good Puritan, I have always abjured the temptations of Lord Gabe. Steam sale or no, if a game doesn’t grab me by the jugular, or I know I won’t have time to do it justice, I simply pass. So I don’t really know what it’s like having a backlog of dozens of titles.

Last week, Murf threw out a great suggestion on dumping backlogged games: give the act finality by writing a post on why you’re dumping each one. Not something I see myself ever having to do, but a fine sentiment nonetheless – though I wonder how many variations of ‘no time’ busy gamers can come up with!

This year is no different. Of all the treats on display, I bit only two (which happened to be among the cheapest.

Valkyria Chronicles

Valkyria is something I haven’t tried before. An XCOM-like battle system, with echoes of Mass Effect, in a Nipponized anime version of World War 2? That’s four loud dings for me, and I didn’t hear wrong.

The game is proving as entertaining as it is challenging, and fans of any two out of those four should feel the same.

Unfortunately, part of the challenge is adapting to a UI obviously not optimized for PC. I had the same experience with Oblivion and Skyrim back when, but here, with the weirdly structured ‘book’-style menus, navigating through the game’s information architecture is starting to feel like playing Starcraft with a joystick!

How to Survive: Storm Warning Edition

How to Survive proved a considerably less stellar experience. I picked up the full bundle for co-op, and duoing a game after soloing through its base edition twice is something I’ve never tried before either.

On Normal, the zombies are pretty manageable all by your lonesome, so I went into co-op expecting ezmode. Which it is. (We haven’t explored the DLC content yet, though, so I’m rubbing my hands in anticipation of his reaction to those unkillable electrified zombies.)

No, our biggest threat, as we quickly discovered, turned out to be necessities. Sharing provisions to stave off both our hunger, thirst, and fatigue is proving pretty draining, even with my solo runs to stockpile meat and water-filled jerricans. And them guarana roots are fast becoming worth their weight in gold!

But I suppose that’s part of the fun. What’s not so fun is the game’s co-op mechanics.

H2S feels like multiplayer was bolted on late. One of the most obvious signs: the host player is the ‘only player’ where quests are concerned, except when it comes to turn-ins – where players share inventories.

In other words, the game treats Player 2 as a Robin to the host’s Batman. Both can work towards the objective, but only Bats gets the reward. Not a big deal, but it leaves me feeling like some corners were cut in development.

Another sign is the way the game binds both players to each other. We can’t split up by more than a screen’s length, cutscenes and quest dialog initiated by my buddy apply for me as well, and gameplay freezes until both of us have either skipped or watched through scripted content. (As I’ve already seen it all twice, I’ve taken to window shopping in the Steam store to while away that downtime.)

I get that the point is to stick together to survive, but come on. Turning us into Siamese twins? I guess the devs just didn’t want us badasses going all pincer attack on the zombies, and clearing the islands twice as fast. Or, more likely, letting us free-roam would screw with some game mechanic or other – some single-player oriented mechanic or other, I should say.

And perhaps most glaringly, players can’t heal each other. Not a big deal, since assisted suicide followed by a revive seems a viable way to deal with low-health situations, but it still feels like a cop-out. I mean, Left 4 Dead not only had this, but actually rewarded players for co-op healing…

It’s clear H2S was designed with the single-player foot firmly forward. Whoever needs help should be the one hosting; the other’s just the sidekick. Don’t forget that.

That’s it for this year’s Steam Summer Sale. Now, if only Lord Gabe were to reach down to earth and strip away the region locks, I’d be all, like:

Fallout 4 seems to be the darling of Bethesda’s day in the E3 spotlight. No surprise there. I myself nearly hyperventilated at the potential on display.

First, before I make any further remarks, my Nuka-creds. I’m a Fallout epigone: FO1 and 2 were before my time, as were all the spin-offs, and my introduction to the series was the entry people still malign as ‘an intellectual desert’.

But I played the daylights out of FO3, and thoroughly enjoyed it, at least until the buggy, wtf-worthy clusterbeep that was Mothership Zeta signaled the end. Then along came FO:NV with its shades of grey and its tear-jerkingly beautiful rendition of Zion National Park – and to this day, it’s the only Fallout title I refuse to uninstall.

Now we come to Boston, and my name is Dogmeat if it isn’t the most technologically advanced wasteland we’ve seen so far. These are the things I zoomed in on in what Bethesda showed us.

T-60 power armor

Whoa. All grown up now, are we? The classic model’s only a T-51! Wonder if that can still be found in Boston, and if we get any perks for wearing it instead of this new Iron Man suit?

Speaking of Iron Man, that shot of the player stepping into the armor from behind, Tony Stark-like, seriously caught me off guard. Never once did I imagine you put on power armor that way. Don’t you slip that helmet on, you know… like a motorcycle helmet?

Aesthetics aside, the game’s vaunted crafting system raises a concern for me. How long before searching for parts and tricking out my suit becomes filler: a time sink that doesn’t add to my enjoyment of the game? I guess I’ll know it the moment I realize I’m spending more time playing with armament options and less time out there dishing out wasteland justice.

Air power

I’m just going to say it: Holy Enclave Vertibird, Batman!

Throughout the franchise, the devs have made a big deal about flight. I’ve heard of a lone downed Vertibird you can find as a rare encounter in FO2, and in FO3, the Enclave is feared as the only fighting force in the wasteland to possess aerial capabilities. Now… it seems we’re going to have our very own chopper on call.

I’m guessing there’ll be free aim while we’re airborne, so it’ll be time to give those clunky miniguns I never used in FO3 and FO:NV the airtime (pun intended) they deserve.

And, I’m also guessing it won’t be a spammable thing. Those flares we use to summon the bird will probably be devilish expensive, or, if they’re craftable, a pain to assemble. Unless… this is somehow linked to fast travel. Elapsed time hasn’t meant a lot in FO4’s predecessors, but maybe things are different this time round. And if there are timed quests, then hell, cost or no cost, I’m covering them miles in the air!

The Institute

I haven’t had time to hyperanalyze the footage, but where is it?

When FO4 rumors first surfaced a couple years back, I seem to recall the Institute featured quite prominently. And since those rumors placed the game in Boston, which is now a reality… where are those eggheads? Footage shows their creations, synths, as enemies – but that’s it.

Would have been nice to show a shot or two of what’s become of MIT, after everything we’ve heard about it.

Well, though I don’t see anything on the year FO4 is set in, as long as it takes place after FO3 (it may, since the footage indicates it’s still 200 years after the bombs fell), we can expect to find at least two familiar faces there. Dr. Madison Li – and that heartless bastard Zimmer. I for one owe android man a lesson in humanity…

Air power (again)

Jetpacks. Come on. Can you blame me for being excited? This is, unless I’m misremembering something terribly, the first time ever in Fallout history we’re getting freed from terrestrial limitations in combat.

Death from above is now in the playbook. Think of the mobility. The expediency. The tactical advantages. I probably don’t need to fear Deathclaws any more! Wait, the damned things can pounce, can’t they… which means they can jump as well… and they can execute you now!

Okay, I think I’ll stick with the Vertibird. Aerial wasteland safari. Put my nightmares in the irradiated ground.

But that’s enough musings for now. I’ve been served a hefty dose of hype, but I’ve walked the wasteland long enough, I think, to know what I’ll be looking for in this game. To that end, I’ll sign this post off with this great quote from Belghast:

These style of open world sandbox games are not really about being told a story, but instead giving you a launch pad and a creative engine for you to wander off and tell your own story through your interaction with the world.  I love them so much because they give me the freedom to enter a world without deep narrative shackles.  They don’t care one bit if I wander off in the opposite direction the in game indicator is telling me to go, and find my own experience out in the wasteland.

Epic. Epic never changes.