290°

Black creator: current FPSs "f***ing boring"

OXM UK: Stuart Black, formerly Senior Designer on cult Criterion FPS Black and now Game Director of an all-new shooter at Codemasters, has told OXM that he's bored with current shooting status quo.

Yarite5191d ago

After playing so many this gen I don't think I will be touching another on for the next few years.

The few of my friends who still like them can waste there money on Battle Field 2.

Whilst I am having great fun with FFXIII and God of War 3 they will be complaining about how the online sucks in Battlefield and swearing at the TV.

BeaArthur5191d ago

How is BC2 a waste of money? And just because you have immature, childish friends that curse at their TV and complain all the time doesn't mean the rest of us do the same.

UnwanteDreamz5191d ago

They could be like me and play all of those games. GOW3 will not have an online mode and FFXIII wont have much to ofer there either.

StanLee5191d ago (Edited 5191d ago )

God dammit I couldn't agree more.

@ k-Lan

Aren't we all? It seems they all follow the same script of generic setpieces. The genre has become as stagnant and JRPGs.

yippie1234y5191d ago (Edited 5191d ago )

you hear that? codemasters hired someone with some more bright ideas...
i hope it is nothing like flash point =\

the ingredients for a good shooter are simple..
step 1 slap valve for hating on ps3
step 2 ask them kindly to make cs2
step 3 apologize for resorting to violence

Panthers5191d ago

KZ2 was my last FPS and I am not getting another one for a long time. So sick of FPSs. They are all pretty much the same, with graphics being the most important aspect.

BattleAxe5191d ago

MW2 is boring, but most FPS shooters that I've played this generation have been awesome.

-Rainbow Six Vegas 1 + 2
-Resistance 1 + 2
-Killzone 2
-Far Cry 2
-CoD 4 + WaW(Zombies)
-MoH: Airborn
-Battlefield: Bad Company

All these games were different experiences. I still own BLACK from PS2 and am looking forward to the next one.

EvilBlackCat5191d ago (Edited 5191d ago )

"There's a lot of cover-based shooters out at the moment," he told us in a recent interview. "But when a guy hunkers down behind something, you've just got to sit there and wait for him to pop his head up. Pops up, couple of bullets to his head, pops back down again.. and I'm waiting for him to pop back up again? F***ing boring. I can't be bothered hanging around like that."

----------------------------- ------------
Stuart Black! Just STFUp and thank God you dont lead a platoon in the Army, Marines etc!

Unless you give us a fps game like Bad Co. 2 or Arma 2 where you can destroy almost every single cover.

I wanna play some Gotcha against this b!tch.
----------------------------- -------------
mmm i dont see any PS3 loyalist getting mad about this.

i mean this is like the Turn 10 comment

Remember?

Remember when every ps3 loyalist fan acted like Krogans on that comment?

SilentNegotiator5191d ago

"There's a lot of cover-based shooters out at the moment," he told us in a recent interview. "But when a guy hunkers down behind something, you've just got to sit there and wait for him to pop his head up. Pops up, couple of bullets to his head, pops back down again.. and I'm waiting for him to pop back up again? F***ing boring. I can't be bothered hanging around like that."

He's right. More effort should be put into AI.

Fanb0y5191d ago

FPSs nowadays:

1) Must focus on PERFECTING their gameplay style. Story should NOT be the main focus in this genre, as it's simply not a very effective way of telling them.

2) Should be more open and less heavily scripted. There are only so many times you can play the first 'mission' of Call of Duty 4. Also, in doing so, it gives the game a lot more re playability and will keep players coming back.

3) Adding more to the re playability of a game (campaign) is AI, probably the least worked-on aspect of modern shooters. If the game's not heavily scripted, they must be dynamic and be able to perform a variety of moves at the right moments.

4) Co-op

5) MUST MUST give players certain emotions. What fpses do best are giving players a sense of reward, or growing power, preferably through some sort of 'upgrade', whether that's from a new weapon, or character add-ons. Also, giving players a sense of exploration should be a focus - keep players coming back to find things they haven't found before.

But then again, this is just me. Years ago, I would have said that shooters need to be more linear and tightly scripted following the phenomenon that was COD 4, but now I think they're getting stale.
I know N4Gers are going to hate this, but I think Halo Reach has the right idea. They're working on most, if not all, of the things I listed up there in what I look for in shooters, and most importantly, are focusing on gameplay first and building everything around it.

FragGen5191d ago (Edited 5191d ago )

Right! We need more music/rhythm games! And retarded motion control casual games! We need yet another retread of God of War crossed with Devil May Cry! We need another open world, third person sandbox game!

Seriously, though: F*ck off haters. There's lots of good games being made in lots of different genres, this is the new golden age of gaming. You can easily ignore a genre you don't dig and still have tons of options in one you do. It's not like the bad old days where you only had one or two non-shovelware releases at a time with decent budgets/production values.

WhatARump5191d ago

Any game, regardless of how bad it is, can be ridiculously fun.

Choice in games is like choice in music, there are the close minded and the open minded; fanboys vs gamers respectively

PoSTedUP5191d ago

Killlzone2 was amazing with really good AI (remember?)
cod4 was played and loved by so many people.
Haze was.. Resistance2 was cool as hell with mad aliens running at you and attacking you etc. totally not boring.
halo3 was cool.
fear2 had really good AI and would flank and do some cool things.
turok wasent for everyone but was real nice with the dinosaurs and crap.
AVP anyone? something different and cool.

i think there were great FPSs this gen, just my opinion though.
its just that we are overloaded with them. bring on the GT5!!!!

+ Show (10) more repliesLast reply 5191d ago
UnSelf5191d ago

(high fives Black creator)

now come show these devs how its done

presto7175191d ago

The original Black kicked ass

mastiffchild5191d ago

Extremely loud(God was that game loud-it was like when you go to the ads on some TV stations and they're twice as loud as the programming! That was Black compared to other shooters of the time)and brash shooter he made last time so lets just hope he can repeat the trick and invigorate the FPS with some spunk.

Sarcasm5191d ago

I'm ready for Black 2. Shooters sure are getting old though... There's still another Call of Duty, Medal of Honor, Resistance 3, Killzone 3, etc. etc.

ico925191d ago (Edited 5191d ago )

BLACK was a great game it just lacked an online it would have been a landmark shooter with that level of destructability in its online

ape0075191d ago

that have the gameplay design like goldeneye and perfect dark

you see, no game in this generation had gave me fun like these 2

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 5191d ago
Fishy Fingers5191d ago (Edited 5191d ago )

Headlines a little extreme, it's more one aspect of many current FPS that he dislikes, essentially, stop and pop and waiting for the enemies to "pop".

I can agree with him here to some extent, and I was a big fan of Black, so I'm eager to see what they've come up with to shake up the genre.

BeaArthur5191d ago

I was never huge on black, but as a shooter fan I will at least give any quality shooter a shot. It will be interesting to see how innovative his new IP is since he has now called out other developers for following the "status quo". Something tells me he won't be revolutionizing the genre as he insinuates.

wicko5191d ago

He never says FPS at all, he's talking about third person cover shooters..

I can understand what he's saying, but I think Uncharted 2 was a step in the right direction. They added a few more elements to the fighting that makes it interesting (stealth killing and climbing). Would be nice to see more features like this in cover shooters.

BeaArthur5191d ago

wicko...The cover system was a revolution in the way we played 3rd person shooters but it's getting to the point where that formula needs to evolve again. I still love the formula but it's better to update it before it gets stale. I think the best way to move forward is to work on the AI. I don't think taking cover is so much the problem as the AI always follows the same formula.

wicko5191d ago

I agree, and I think Uncharted did a good job of advancing it a little further. I'm not saying they should stop there though, I'd like to see further advancement.

And yes, AI is in definite need of revision, it is pretty sad what passes as AI nowadays..

BeaArthur5191d ago

wicko...I actually think that Uncharted 2's multiplayer was pretty impressive for how basic it is. Well at least I did before the most recent update. Still a blast to play but I wish they hadn't scaled down the health, another example of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 5191d ago
blair_enigma5191d ago

with fps! im not getting another fps again. i want story, rpg or adventure not mindless killing. OR ANOTHER FPS.

Hakimy5191d ago

while I agree that we have many FPS which is killing the gaming industry and makes it more boring,maybe his next name should have been from another genre,not another FPS.unless his next is going to revolutionize the FPS genre somehow,he is just doing the same thing that fans complain about :P

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90°

8 Games that need sequels

GF365: "Here are eight games that need sequels. These games are ones that players would love to experience another time, bigger and better."

Read Full Story >>
gamefreaks365.com
Leeroyw372d ago

Bloodborne is a game I still restart and play every few months. I would welcome just a re release in 60fps with a visual upgrade. It's a perfect game. If I was king for a day I would include the randomizer mods because then it would be a kind of rogue like and I could play it forever.

gleepot371d ago

Sure, ill take a sequel to all of these.

70°

All Guns Blazing: A deep dive into the production of Criterion’s Black, and its cancelled sequel

thatHITBOX: We reveal behind the scenes info on the production of Criterion's Black, including plans for its cancelled sequel.

Read Full Story >>
thathitbox.com
XiNatsuDragnel589d ago

Black 2 needs to come out fr. Battlefield needs a break my dude.

RaidenBlack589d ago

agreed
a solid guns blazing casual single player experience

JTGA588d ago

Hundred percent. Criterion deserve another shot at this.

moriarty1889589d ago

Would love to see a Black 2. This game was incredible when it came out. Played it a lot and enjoyed it immensely.

Relientk77589d ago

Black is an awesome shooter. It sucks we never got a sequel.

fan_of_gaming589d ago

Great article, really insightful into the development process.

JTGA588d ago

Dude, thank you so much for this. Really appreciate the positivity!

banger88588d ago

Bodycount was sort of a spiritual successor to Black, but nowhere near as good. I liked Black, but it was hard. I never managed to beat it.

JTGA588d ago

Yeah I agree. Bodycount being deemed a "spiritual successor" always felt like an attempt to capitalise on the goodwill towards Black.

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150°

The Burnout team’s mold-breaking FPS deserves a better legacy

Polygon: Game designers face a great challenge: How can they demonstrate that a player’s basic actions are meaningful?

The developers of a game have to reinforce why each action is important, especially if I’m going to be repeating it thousands of times across the campaign. This is true whether I’m picking a flower or pulling the trigger of a gun.

It’s worth revisiting Black.

UltraNova1872d ago

So glad someone took the time to revisit this absolute gem of FPS...this game blew my face off back in the day. The enemy behavior, sound design, particle effects and general atmosphere was something short of a revelation at the time. This is perhaps my second favorite FPS title of all time and a close 2nd to Killzone 2.

Omnisonne1871d ago

I still remember the distinct metallic sound when shooting someones helmet off in Black, also the atmospheric lighting (something very new back then). So glad I picked it up when it released.

isarai1872d ago

To this day that game is more satisfying than most FPSs out there. Still blown away by the way it handled explosions and they their effectiveness is actually affected by rather they are indoors or outdoors (more lethal in enclosed spaces) and that if it's thrown into a small room with doors/windows the pressure wave will actually cause all windows and doors in that room to break and the explosion would actually expand out those openings

Omnisonne1871d ago

Damn I totally forgot about the destruction, tons of little details that made the game just really fun to play.

RosweeSon1872d ago

Deserves a sequel where many yearly churns don’t.

UltraNova1871d ago

Thanks to EA the team that made this gem was dissolved, so unless most of them team up under a new wing (or form their own studio) to make a spiritual successor to Black you should forget about a sequel.

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