FPS Poll: To health meter or not to health meter

[MikeyVassallo]

In the most recent Zero Punctuation video podcast the videogame humorist (I will call him nothing more or less) Yatzee rips on the newest Turok game. And rightfully so. Because Turok games haven't been awesome since the first one and the only reason that one was awesome is because it was the first time Dinosaurs were in an FPS (I think...). Anyhow. Because it is a given that this game is crap he decides to use the Turok game as an example of what First Person Shooters are doing "wrong".

Now, I don't really care what he says because I could take or leave a First Person Shooter. When they are really great (COD4 or Bioshock or even Halo... yes Halo) I'll play them. When they suck, I ignore them like I do recently translated Japanese hardcore turn based RPG card battle games that aren't Pokemon themed. What I did think was interesting, and this coming form somebody who is a self-proclaimed "game designer" (if you count flash games... um my sister is a game designer too), is the bashing of the move away from life meters in this genre of game.

Now, life meters are the staple of most modern videogames. it is one of those things that moved us from Mario to Zelda to Halo in the first place. It is a device that enabled gamers to enjoy a seamless transition from level to level without having to worry about how many "guys" they have left. So much so that Mario himself even got a life meter in more recent incarnations of the series. The move away from life meters and having to gather health powerups to keep them going isn't just an innovation in and of itself, but the way in which game designers have given us to maintain our health without the need of an item to collect has done more to further the cause of seamless immersion into the games themselves just as the thing it is replacing in the first place.

Confused yet? Good.

I thought this would be a neat debate. So: Do like the change from health meter to no health meter or do you agree with the humorist and think that they should bring this tried, tired yet true interface back to the FPS genre?

 

[JCD]

I'm going to have to agree with our "humorist" on this one. The health meter is a critical gear in the FPS machine. Though I'm sure that many people find it tiresome now, it is still an integral part of many FPS games and I believe it should be in EVERY first person shooter. The problem with not having it is, what the fuck else do you use?

Unless some genius developer comes up with a better way to show your characters current health as quickly and efficiently as the health bar does, not having it doesn't make a whole load of sense. It's currently the most effective way of displaying remaining health and any game that tries to be different by not having it usually turns out to be shite.

 

[NickKmet]

i take the same stance as JCD here - until they come out with something better, there's nothing that compares to the health bar.

Btw, Turok is not the first FPS to have dinosaurs in it. There's this old game for PC called Tresspasser, that takes place in the Jurrassic Park universe, on a previously unknown island named Site B. You play as some lady who crash lands there and is the only survivor, and have to find a way off the island. An interesting thing about the health system for this game - the health bar was a tattoo of a heart on the character's chest that you could look down and see. As you lost health, your tattoo heart either faded or emptied from top to bottom of color (i can't remember which). Anyway, just thought i would mention that.

 

[Bipumaster]

As long as the health bar doesn't fill itself miraculously when you're not being shot, I'm okay with it.

 

[Lord_Fornelius]

Yahtzee made a great point that health meters are superior than hiding behind a
corner "and sucking on your thumb just like in real life".

 

[crazycracker22]

Depends. Would COD4 be any good if it had a health system? No. Some games work better without it. More fastpaced games that if you make one step out of place you die. In that case it's a lot better to just regain your health while reloading instead of looting corpses for med packs, for instance. Halo 1 nailed the integration of both wait and heal and med packs, but F.E.A.R on the other hand meant unfun multiplayer and frustrating campaign with it's health bar system.

 

[mooseodeath]

i'm all for decluttering the interface on games. there's no health meter in real life, you know how healthy you feel by whether or not your stuff works properly. if your head's throbbing and your vision's blurry your not doing so well.

the wait it out thing bothers me to a small degree, personally i feel player abilities should start dropping. take a hit in the hand fire rate drops, cope a slug in the shoulder accuracy is toast. nailled in the thigh your head bob increases and speed lowers. make it feel more real and stuff the meters and guages off. condemned did a great job of that

 

[used44]

I'm all about one shot kills. R6V ftw.

I don't mind health bars though, as long as I don't have to search for and run over the top of "health packs" to refill them. Duke Nukem-like powerups should not have a place in 2008.

 

[Rekkie7]

I think sitting behind a corner and returning to full health is pretty much as realistic as walking over a healthpack and returning to full health. It really depends on how the game is paced.

A fast game where your meant to go from a series of challanging battles with only short breaks in between benefits from this new system as you get less downtime.

More story based FPS games that take it slower still suit the old system.

It also really depends on the style, if your going for a game where the player will get killed with only a few hits then the recharge helps and you don't need a healthbar. Games where you can stand out in the open and take a bunch of hits suit the old system...although theres not as many games out there like that anymore.

 

[MikeyVassallo]

I'm all about one shot kills. R6V ftw.

I don't mind health bars though, as long as I don't have to search for and run over the top of "health packs" to refill them. Duke Nukem-like powerups should not have a place in 2008.

This is what I agree with. If you have a health meter you have to replenish it in some fashion. It is more realistic to take yourself out of combat to regain life/shield than to look for a "health pack" or a "plate of chicken" to do that for you. It just takes me out of the game. Also, as Rekkie said, it is a pace thing. I feel like games that utilize a method other than a health meter; Halo, COD4 etc, have a little better pacing than games that do. Also- in a lot of these games, on the difficulty that I play them on a few shots means you are dead anyhow.

Also, Nick, my mistake- Turok was the first FPS with dinosaurs that anybody other than YOU has heard about.

Edit:

WAIT! Trespasser was release for the PC in 1998. Turok The Dinosaur Hunter was released for the N64 in 1997. I do believe we have a WINNER!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turok:_Dinosaur_Hunter
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurassic_Park:_Trespasser

However Trespasser has the best health system of any game ever. You were right about that.

 

[Navy_Seal]

They need to just make the character infinite!!!!

 

[madster111]

Tits..nice.

IMO, the health systems in games like R6V, CoD4..etc are much more realistic.
think about it, in real life, if you get shot..you don't just keep going like nothing happened but now you are weaker, do you?

Game designers need to make a new system, one that Dependant on the region of body where you got hit, it affects how well you can control the character.
EG:
If you get shot in the head, you die.
if you get shot in the leg, you run/walk much slower
if you get shot in the hand, you can't aim straight cause you are using your un-natural hand..

 

[multigamer]

It hink it's depend's on the shooter like the first ghost recon. i think they were the only ones to get it right.

 

[UrbanMasque]

unless its streetfight ESQ. health meters are soooooo 90's

 

[TheZoomZoomKid]

I could not picture Unreal Tournament without a health meter and I could not picture COD4 with a health meter.

 

[Teriblthundrlzrd]

Max Pain did it best Eat some pain pills...feel NO PAIN!

 

[maca2kx]

Yep, this needed bringing back. But now it is back:

I'm going to have to agree with our "humorist" on this one. The health meter is a critical gear in the FPS machine. Though I'm sure that many people find it tiresome now, it is still an integral part of many FPS games and I believe it should be in EVERY first person shooter.

Yep, and as we all know the best way to make a game enjoyable to the majority is to implement a mechanism 'many people find tiresome'.

The problem with not having it is, what the f*** else do you use?

Already been dealt with in games like Vegas, Vegas 2 and Halo 3 (you might not like Halo 3, JCD, but I know you love Vegas).

Unless some genius developer comes up with a better way to show your characters current health as quickly and efficiently as the health bar does, not having it doesn't make a whole load of sense. It's currently the most effective way of displaying remaining health

What's quicker than looking at the screen and seeing blurred vision and red veins?

and any game that tries to be different by not having it usually turns out to be s***.

Again, Vegas.

In truth it depends on the game, but generally speaking I prefer the method employed in the Vegas games and later Halos though illustrating that health bars can still work is Bioshock, it depends on the sort of game it is.

Sam

 

[Longo_2_guns]

Unless some genius developer comes up with a better way to show your characters current health as quickly and efficiently as the health bar does, not having it doesn't make a whole load of sense. It's currently the most effective way of displaying remaining health

What's quicker than looking at the screen and seeing blurred vision and red veins?

The only thing with that, though is how do you know when you are right at your limit? When it is completely black and white?

And at the risk of sounding like a fanboy, I'm going to say Resistance almost nailed the modern health bar system. It combines both the health bar and the duck and heal ways of gameplay. But instead of making it so you heal up 100% after sitting for two seconds, yo can only heal in increments of 25%.

 

[MikeyVassallo]

Fanboy.

 

[TheNesMan]

Fanboy.