Tuesday, April 05, 2005

'Use camo'

"Hold down right click to use camo", he said. I did as he did, and we both melted into the hallway. The guard was just across the darkened lobby, his yellow visor clearly visible over a small wall, he wasn't looking.
"Now!" We loped up the stairs, piercing searchlights threatening our every pace, never seeing.

Multiplayer gaming, in essence, is a form of communication between the players. The more potential for expression the player is allowed, in theory, greater the experience. MMO duelling by quing up preset, purely hours-spent-playing powered attacks therefore, doesn't play all that well.

As an example of that communication; the guards intimidating, intrusive, unforgiving searchlight in SC MP is a function of mouselook - the most intimate degree of control the player has. If I can see your torch's beam, I'm seeing what you want to see, judging your mental state by how quick your mouse gestures are. To the pixel.