Just bought Super Smash Bros: Brawl? Heard all about Sonic and Solid Snake as special characters? Wanted to play using them straight away? Here’s your reward when you boot up the first character select screen for Brawl:
What’s wrong?
Oh! You were thinking you’d be able to play as Sonic and Solid Snake
straight away! Oh, you
are funny! No, you have to unlock them by dragging yourself through story mode, or at very least by playing hundreds of matches! Why would we want to just
hand them to you?
Sometimes, graduated unlocks make sense. You don’t want to be given the most powerful weapons in an RPG or adventure title straight away, as there’s no sense of challenge or accomplishment in being provided with a world-destroying arsenal against miniature grunts, but for multiplayer games such as
Rock Band,
Super Smash Bros Brawl and
Gran Turismo 4, asking that you drag yourself through the solo campaign to unlock the more exotic paraphernalia of a title is patronising. We expect it, and imagine that the designers know what’s best when they’re making these games, but oftentimes there are crucial parts of games that you’re not given access to until you’ve jumped through the developer’s preset hoops.
Wanted to play "The Who" straight away in Rock Band? 'Fraid not, buddy.
The level of control relinquished from the gamer is equally evident when you look at what settings you are allowed to change for multiplayer. You want custom weapon sets for same-screen deathmatch in
Call of Duty 4? I’m afraid I can’t let you do that. You want to select what weapons are available in
Mario Kart Wii multiplayer, and switch off the cheapest weapon in history, The Blue Shell? I’m afraid I can’t let you do that. More recently, the co-op-vs-waves-of-enemies Firefight mode in
Halo 3: ODST doesn't allow you to play alongside those not on your friends' list. Not even allowing it to be
optional but not recommended smacks of excessive control.
Even
Halo 3's Forge, lauded as one of the most flexible editing tools for a console experience, has its limits. Ever wanted what it would be to drop a Scorpion in the middle of Guardian? Well, keep wondering because Forge won’t let you do that. Would it be stupid? Maybe. Let us find out
why it would be stupid though, would you please Bungie?
No tank here for you.
None of these ideas are beyond the realm of programming ability, nor do they annihilate the challenge from gaming. It’s simply a developer’s belief that they know better what should be adjustable or immediately available in their games, and what shouldn’t.
Perhaps they’re not always right.
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For single player, you should always have to earn them. It increases the longevity of the game, and frankly, I like it.
If you select multiplayer, EVERYTHING should be unlocked; no exceptions. I hated having to beat SFIV multiple times just so I could play my friend with the secret characters, but I should have to earn them if I want to train with them solo.
All characters should be available. Weapons/costumes/colors/stages/alt. music/etc., that's unlockable material waiting to happen. That makes sense.
But asking me to play for at least 3-5 hours just to get to see every face in the character select screen...is just sadistic, really.
Fapped.
extra characters and whatnot are a reward, and i often feel very satisfied having earned them doing things i might not have bothered with otherwise.
@Jesus H Christ
I agree. The best template would be DVDs and "bonus materials". Anything that would count as a Bonus Material in a game is fine for unlockable. Anything that would count as a chapter should be there from the get-go.
@BulletMagnet
Heh, I thought that there were enough Star Wolf memes on the internet already.
@mkshiranui
As I mention, some unlockables are quite relevant. I quite agree.
@Magnalon @Everyday Legend
Quite agree.
@psycho terror2
Brawl has heaps of unlockables, all of which are satisfying to unlock. Those locks that narrow gameplay with their omission are a bone of contention. You may like them. I don't.
@Occams electric toothbrush
Blogs are ripe grounds for criticism and debate. If you find such things unwarranted, here of all places, then perhaps I'm not the one doing things wrong.
Not that I'm complaining. In fact, I agree wholeheartedly.
I think the pit game developers fall into is they advertise unlockables to build hype. If a game dev insists on using a Sonic or Solid Snake to sell Supersmash, then those items need to be available from the get go. Mercenaries in RE:4 on the other hand, was not a hyped up feature used to sell the game, and thus was a pleasant surprise when it was unlocked.
Nice write up, fapped.
Nice blog!
On the other side of the coin, Mortal Kombat Armageddon came with 58 of 62 characters playable from the very beginning.
For the genres it does negatively effect, though, it can be a real buzz kill. Thank you for a great article and enjoy your new fap.
@norm9
If you can tell me what car it is, since it's been bothering me since you mentioned it, then I'll make a cookie in your honour.
@Soulwax
There was partial inspiration in the Dara part of Gameswipe, but mainly it has always been a niggle for me that games with a multiplayer bent don't just hand you all the cool multiplayer stuff straight away. Games such as GoldenEye and TimeSplitters 2 that didn't give you all the deathmatch levels or types until you've done all their unlock procedures. It's ridiculous.
@TheCleaningGuy
I remember those!
@The-Excel
Quite Agree.
@copilotlindy
That's pretty much exactly how I think games should be. I think a happy compromise would be an option once you've built your profile asking you if you would like the characters unlocked straight away or not, that way if you're a stickler for character unlocking you're presented with the option.
@Elsa
Exactly so!
@JT IceFire
I think some developers think they are offering greater replay value by using this system, but it only ends up irritating the player.
@vApathyv
The sad truth is that a lot of shooters (GoldenEye, TS2 are just two examples) do only give you half the maps and ask you to unlock the rest. Never get round to fulfilling all the arbitrary requirements? Tough break, you don't get to see all the maps.
@Lance Icarus
Exactly! The thing is, if the single player game is good enough, it will be worth playing. There's no need to hold unlockables ransom in order to give a sense of accomplishment. The experience alone should be giving you this.
@kauza
That is a crazy one. It's not even as if you could say that all of a sudden, you are worthy of super-hard mode, since the feature can often be unlocked on Easy play through. It's another false replayability concept, which has no place in modern, discerning game development.
medical transcription certificate I am looking forward to reading new articles. Keep up the good work!