Fixing Mirrors Edge
By vidiot 17 Comments
A strange, yet understandable combination of work and finals for my classes I think slowed my normal activity here. It's difficult to gauge, all I know is that I have this huge hankering to sit and write...and write....and write...
In terms of what game stuff I've been doing: Yup, still with the new computer. I need to get back to the 360 though, as I sorta left my progress in TBOGT to focus on all the crazy new stuff that I've been gaming.
I've been thinking deeply about the year in general. I'm surprised and happy about Sony's new-found momentum over the last year. There was a lot of surprises (and disappointments) this year software wise. Who would have thought that one of the best games this year would star Batman? Yes, yes, it is Batman, but well... I don't think it's controversial to state that the game could have gone either way.
I'm going on a tangent. Gotta refocus and... go on another tangent?...
Do you know that Final Fantasy XIII is being released in Japan in only a few days? And over here in only a couple months? I feel weird. It's like when Killzone 2 finally came out, and I'm all like: Wow, it actually exists and stuff.
Reflection
The good news is that no matter how overtaken I am from...Life...I'm entrenched enough online to usually keep up to date. One article in particular a few days ago caught my eye and I've been thinking about it ever since in the back of my mind. Specifically an interview with the head of EA John Riccitiello with Kotaku. There were a few things that caught my attention:
- There will be a Mirrors Edge 2
- Apparently the design of this game is in a serious work in progress.
"We're still working through things like how to best deal with Mirror's Edge 2," he said during a Wednesday morning interview in New York. "There are some things we learned about that [first] game. It was, I think, a massively innovative product. To be honest with you, I think it's a game that deserves to come back."
"Innovation doesn't mean it all works the first time," he said. "If it did everyone would do it."
And that kind of talk brought him back to Mirror's Edge and its future. He got specific about design decisions relevant to the original team at Mirror's Edge DICE and whoever is on the case — he didn't specify DICE or otherwise — who are pondering a sequel:
"I think Mirror's Edge was a fascinatingly original world.Fascinatingly original art direction. Music and sound design was great. I think the gameplay mechanic was a blast, but was intermittent and the levels didn't work. You found yourself scratching at walls at times, looking for what to do. Sometimes you had a roll going, downhill, slide, jump, slide, jump and then you just got stopped. It sort of got in the way of the fun.
"It was like we couldn't quite decide if we were building Portal or a runner. And I don't think the consumer was ready to switch it up quite that way. You could say it was a sharp and great innovation. I believe that it was. You have to figure out what to do from here if you want it to be a five million seller vs. a one-million unit seller.
"I've had several very lively debates with the dev team. And they are working on it. But there's a couple of different directions you could go.
"You could say: This thing needs to be more traditional. It's first-person game. There's a lot of successful FPS products out there that do really well. We could move in that direction.
"Or [you could say]: This was never about guns. It was about its stark originality. Maybe we can back away from some of those [older] things… and emphasize the smooth play and puzzles and move it toward, if you will, a Portal.
"And they're both valid. Innovation is a lot of times about getting so far, stepping back, assessing and then moving forward. And that's what I'm proud is happening at EA every day."
See that part there where I dropped the bold? That is the part that got my attention.
Before I talk about that specifically, I find this interview actually more telling that I initially thought. There is nothing that I admittedly disagree with, but I do find one aspect very interesting. His quote on "innovation" that I'm going to re-post.
In regards to Mirrors Edge, for me this makes my brain wander."Innovation doesn't mean it all works the first time," he said. "If it did everyone would do it."
Was Mirrors Edge innovative? Or was it trying to be innovative? Think about that quote from the scary head of EA guy for a second before you jump in.
Presenting platforming in a first person perspective, a concept that had previously been shunned due to the perspective's limitations. It seemed like a lot of what was Mirrors Edge was, at least from a game play mechanics perspective, counter to the traditional first person game. The game stressed trying to be different on to you. Certain aspects worked wonderfully. The neon color scheme of the city was just awesome, and there are some simply breathtaking moments of escape in the game.
And while mechanics have been done before, there was enough from a presentation perspective, specifically making running and jumping work (for the most part, I'll talk about it's failings in just a bit.) from a first person perspective was more than enough to be deemed "innovative" by me at least.
The problems.
But Mirrors Edge had a laundry list of problems, some of which the interview touched on. Simply: When you weren't running, you weren't having fun. And even when you were running, Mirrors Edge still had more of it's share of problems. Specific prescission platforming is difficult at first person.
Yes absolutely, even with bright red objects telling you where to go, there were moments of sheer frustration trying to decipher where you were supposed to go due to awkward level design trying to replicate a difficulty. Speaking of difficulty, the combat from a hand-to-hand perspective was either fun or brought you to tears and the moments that the game encouraged you to pick up a gun just bit. Who like's dieing a lot?
There were a lot of very specific problems in this game's core design initially. The heart may have been in the right place, but it's execution was faulty being hampered by problems and concepts that don't gel with the goal of this game's design. Speaking of which, what is Mirrors Edge underlying design?
Some people shoot guns. I run. . .Bitch.
Making you feel like a bad-ass parkour runner. Not the bad-ass that carries twelve guns, smokes twelve packs a day and like's to say "Fuck" every other line while kick-butting an alien. I'm talking about the bad-ass that is an entity almost similar to that of the fucking wind. A person that can run and dive over the sides of buildings with ease and decimate enemies, who are stupid enough to get in your way from point A to point B, in the same graceful fashion. Running, picking up momentum, hearing the gun shots whizzing behind you and taking out the solider with a single fast one move maneuver, without skipping a beat in regards to your speed. That's Mirrors Edge.
Does gun play belong in Mirrors Edge? Maybe. But not in the manner that one might think. Everything should be focused on speed, including the weapons regarding how you handle them mechanically. Stopping and gunning didn't work the last time, as well it wont the next time because it's counter to what the design is. Unless they change the design.
Fixing the Mirror.
Unless Mirror's Edge 2 has another game plan completely, which is what I think the big debate over where to go regarding this sequel is, for now at least we can start and acknowledge and face it's multiple problems. Through a process of gameplay mechanic adaptation, we can perhaps add some new ideas, we can also take a look at how a sequel can reinvent itself.
A quick run down:
You die too often. A combination of either poor level design, or not fine-tuning your mechanics enough, or both, regardless you saw death quite a bit in Mirrors Edge.
Make the combat flow with the general mechanics. Mirror's Edge had a bunch of punches and kicks, but nothing was more satisfying than the one button disarm. It makes sense. The effectiveness of Faith's abilities from a mechanic perspective. The rest of the combat felt...well off. There was a trophy to do a wall run/kick to the back of the head that I got, and I only did that to get that trophy. That's not a good application.
Go guns or go home? Personally for me, a Mirrors Edge without using guns would make sense. If gunplay is route they wish to take, it needs to be well thought out and addressed. Simply making this game into something akin to a full blown shooter is a bit unsettling unless it was addressed in congress with it's mechanics and themes.
The Story: Fix it. What are in these packages I'm delivering? Why are they important? Why is the government evil? The only thing I see horrible that they have done is making a really clean city. Enough with this ontological metaphorical narrative loops that go nowhere. You can stop and tell me the context and purpose of what I do. It's not that hard. Somewhere between game design and storytelling, I get the feeling sometime designers get freaked over the concept of cut-scenes over interactivity. Whatever works work, just remember your context. Valve stuck Alyx Vance with you in the Halflife episodes to tell you what the hell was going on, Gears of War 2 had a lengthy speech that hit all the necessary points. A goofy animated riot that's put down without any real indication why, against an evil government that likes cameras...Or something... Is not as effective. It wouldn't be bad also to give Faith a personality.
Time Trials: Did anyone really get into this? All the achievements associated with Time Trials except for Chapter 1 are considered "Rare" on GiantBomb. There was a few DLC maps that were released latter, did anyone really bite?
Expanding.
Who likes openworld? From the look of a bunch games recently, I take it a bunch of you do. Would Mirrors Edge benefit from open-world design? I think it could help killing the down time that might eventually appear. I've seen this suggestion a bunch, and I personally like it a bit.
So for the guys at DICE. Keep your head leveled, because somewhere within this mess is something awesome. I'm curious to see how the current design division will eventually evolve, until then we can make wild suggestions and proclamations.
If Mirror's Edge 2 doesn't have flying pigs I will be deeply disappointed.
I fucking mean it: FLYING PIGS! They shoot acid out of their eyes after drinking energy drinks. You gotta hunt them! By throwing Slim Jims at em! They die out of irony!