My Mechanics List Part 9

10 Mechanics I’d Like To See In Future Installments List

# 3 - Multiple Map Objectives

                 It’s a sad reflection on the current state of Fire Emblem when this is something I have to put in a list like this. If you look at the most recent Fire Emblem releases you realize that most all of them have 2 map objectives or less. To add insult to injury the games that came before the 3DS releases, Shadow Dragon and New Mystery of the Emblem, also lacked map objective diversity. Interestingly enough Conquest is the only 3DS Fire Emblem that actually has multiple map objectives. For all the crap I’ve given that game it at least spiced things up by giving us different objectives. Not even Echoes can say that.

                           You could argue that Revelation and New Mystery of the Emblem technically had more than 2 objectives but the problem with that argument is that over 90 % of the game is one particular objective (Seize or Kill Boss) and a small handful were something else. The reason why I harp on this is because multiple map objectives tend to make a game more interesting to play. Different map objectives require different approaches. A rout level will play differently than an escape chapter. Seize maps play differently than defense chapters. Requiring the player to play differently, and think differently, is something that strategy games should at least strive to accomplish. Multiple map objectives can also augment the story quite nicely. Escape chapters do a wonderful job of enhancing narratives where the bad guys are pursuing the good guys and the good guys are desperately trying to outmaneuver them. Thracia 776 is the master at this.  

                     Games with 2 map objectives or less, on the other hand, tend to feel repetitive in their play style. When ‘Route Enemy’ is either the only objective, or the objective of a significant portion of the maps in the game, it encourages the player to rely on beating down the enemies with superior stats. Maps with only seize as the objective can get away with this somewhat since seize still requires the player to play aggressively, but even then it’s still nice to switch things up a bit.

                        There are a couple of caveats to this. The first caveat is that some map objectives don’t play all that differently from each other in the grand scheme of things. Escape and Arrival are pretty similar while Seize and Kill Boss are also near identical. Defense chapters have a bad reputation among some hardcore players for being too easy to trivialize since playing defensively is usually considered easier than going on the attack. Another caveat is that some games have one map objective, like the Marth games for examples, and yet can play very differently between chapters. The main reason for this has to do with the fact that seize maps lend themselves to a wider variety of possibilities than rout maps and the map design of the Marth games is at least pretty good all around. These caveats are valid points but there are solutions to this.

The first maybe to increase the number of map objectives in a given Fire Emblem. I’m going to take a leaf from an earlier post of mine where I was talking about this subject when bringing up ideas I had for my game: (http://thecrusadergrant.blogspot.com/2017/01/chapter-objectives-in-dark-crusade.html)

                “Escort NPC Chapters: Here the player’s job is simple: Help get NPCs from Point A to Point B, kill everything that stands in said NPCs way and make sure the NPCs don’t die. Ideally I’d like to have the NPCs programmed to continuously move forward whether the player does or does not. This means that if the player doesn’t do a good enough job killing off the enemies in front of them, the NPCs will die which will result in a game-over. Maps like this will have enemy reinforcements stationed behind and to the sides of the player after a certain time which could potentially cause the player’s units to be squished in on all sides. So if the player plays too slowly the NPCs will eventually outpace them and walk straight toward their deaths, but if the player plays too aggressively the enemies from behind will ambush them and wreak all kinds of havoc on them.

                                 “Obtain” Chapters: These chapters involve the player obtaining important items. This can be handled in two ways: (1) Stealing them with thieves or (2) Capturing enemies and getting their stuff. A different variant of this chapter idea will involve the player getting treasure before the enemies do. The map becomes a race to see who gets the most stuff. In order to beat these chapters you’ll need to block enemy units off from key points and you’ll need to play fast.

“Destroy Building” Chapters: Like the name says these chapters are all about destroying either one building or many. Sometimes these buildings have magical properties that will translate into gameplay (ie after attacking a certain magical building your character then falls asleep). If one of these chapters involve destroying multiple buildings then they would be spread all over the map which means that in order to beat them the player will have to spread their army into different “teams” in order to accomplish this objective. If it’s a “destroy one building” chapter then I guarantee you that it will be heavily fortified and that charging head long into the thick of combat will result in a game-over.

                               “Recruit” Chapters: These chapters are more rare, but there are instances of chapters where the main goal is to recruit units over to your side. One of the scenarios that these kind of chapters take place in is that recruitable allies are on the run from the bad guys who are doggedly pursuing them. It’s your job to rescue these poor souls before it’s too late. The recruitment requirements for characters in these chapters will usually be a little more complex than merely talking to them with your main character. For example there’s a character who joins without their equipment. In order to recruit this character you need to get that character’s stuff back. Another variant of this idea involves recruiting more NPC allies than the enemy.

                              In addition to having additional map objectives there’s also…

• Multi-Objective Chapters: Usually you have to fulfill two win conditions before beating the chapter.

                            I think you get the point. Adding new map objectives can spice things up and open the door for new potential strategies and possibilities. The second solution is to make sure the map design stays fresh enough to keep the game interesting. If future games do this they will be infinitely more fun to play because the strategy and effort required to beat it will be more thought provoking than merely increasing stats or warping allies to a spot on the map.

_______________________________________

10 Mechanics That Should Be Gone In Future Games

# 3 - Ambush Spawns

Ambush spawns are the bane of a player’s existence. They are notorious for frequently coming out of nowhere and punishing the player for something the player could have prevented had the game given them more fair warning. Ambush spawns thrive on unpredictability and interestingly enough they become less threatening with each successive playthrough of a given game. Once they lose their unpredictability they stop being as threatening which deprives them of their power.

If you can’t figure out where an ambush spawn comes from, the penalties can be harsh which leads me to believe that they’re nothing but cheap difficulty. There’s a better way of enemies providing reinforcements that can be challenging, but also fair. Conquest is proof of that. Heck the Tellius games have been able to surprise me from time to time.

                      Some advocates of ambush spawns have suggested that the game give the player hints about where an ambush spawn can come from but if you have to do that why not just make enemy reinforcements appear at the end of the enemy turn? With the right timing, the right location and the right kind of units being used as reinforcements you can still provide the player a legitimate turtle disincentive without needing to screw them over. As far as I’m concerned ambush spawning needs to die.