[MUD-Dev2] Combat Systems (was: Reasons for Play)

[Adam Martin]

On 19/03/07, John Buehler <johnbue at msn.com> wrote:
> Here's a sincere question for anyone who has been involved with developing
> a > published game in the action genre: why are combat systems the way
> they are? Is it inertia from the past, failure to find a new sweet spot,
> simple > enjoyment of things the way they are, difficulty in producing
> anything much more involved than exists today, something else?

"There were so many other big problems to solve that were less risky
to mess around with" :)

The better combat systems are coming, definitely, if the early movies
+ dev interviews of games in production at the moment are anything to
go by.

> The systems that spring to mind for me invariably cannot be done in a
> massive setting because of the computational demands and/or the inability
> to trust the client.  Are developers in the game outfits toying with new
> combat systems, or do they like to spend their play time on other areas
> of game development?

Out of interest, have you looked at the info on Tabula Rasa? There was
a recent spate of interviews and IIRC some new footage at GDC the
other week.

Adam Martin