Fuse (New game by Insomniac)

[Cornsnake]

I think game design can happily accommodate true teamwork along with managing the potential risks of random coop. One idea that immediately comes to mind is a slider for 'cooperativity'. Each player has a range of skills or equipment that serve specific purposes, such as lock picks, scanners, jammers, smoke grenades, etc. The cooperativity slider would determine how much variety a player could yield themselves. With it all the way on 'solo', a player could equip items and skills to solve all issues. With it all the way on coop, each player is limited to a couple of options, meaning a dependence on the others. Half way, that dependence would be reduced but still there.

The fact games aren't managing a good balance that supports true coop is just because devs aren't really trying IMO. In gaming there are those who want to solo, those who want coop as in random games where you never know the capability or interest of the rest of your party members, and those who want to play with a specific group. The first two options are covered by creating a solo game and then allowing other players to join with the same mechanics. The latter bunch are really not catered for one jot, but there are definitely systems that could be employed if developers would just investigate them.

That's an interesting idea. But it makes the skilltree's, something which games rely on to give them longevity, somewhat obsolete. Mapping a lot of skills and equipment to single control scheme for the 'solo' player may be difficult. And I could see the 'co-op' players all wanting the same equipment and skills, and all not wanting some others. But perhaps these things can be designed around. I agree that developers aren't really trying with co-op. It's usually just something that's added as an afterthought.

Fuse at least seems to be primarily about co-op. It's kind of crazy how little we know about it at this point when the game is only half a year away from release. They didn't even bother to show it at this year's E3, or at GamesCom.

 

[dragonelite]

I think im one of those guys that said with the E3 trailer dam that looks like something different and original i need to have. And now saw the new footage went meh looks too generic. I will probably be playing Halo 4 or Black ops 2.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Fuse at least seems to be primarily about co-op.

I thought that until I read that article:

Price says the weapons of Fuse are designed to encourage players to cooperate without "forcing it." To illustrate this, he showed select portions of cooperative gameplay, with Dalton shielding the group and Jacob sniping through his teammate's force field. Jacob scored the kill points, with Dalton racking up assist points. In another scenario, Izzy crystallized a group of foes with her Shattergun, followed by Dalton shield blasting them. A "shatter bonus" went to Dalton, an assist bonus to Izzy.

If it's just about points, I expect the average coop experience not to bother. In my mind, coop requires players to perform particular actions, like a necessary set-up by one player and finish by another. When it's optional, I expect players to just do their own thing shooting around and then go 'ooooo' when by chance they pull off a combo. Like the Marvel Ultimate Alliance combos - there was no particular incentive to try and execute them.

 

[Bigduo209]

I'm not too happy about the change, but I genuinely question whether it will make the game experience better or worse?

Insomniac's guys have been saying that even though they changed the tone and art-style, they're still gonna retain a certain amount of personality and humor for the characters. But exactly how much personality and humor will still be there? How much will this game standout if it doesn't have that certain self-awareness, or an interesting aesthetic look to carry it's initial appeal?

Insomniac's Ratchet and Clank games are memorable for a good reason, and trying to do almost the opposite of that isn't going help. It's possible to do Overstrike's approach with some serious sci-fi mixed in. Most good sci-fi movies/shows I know of work off some sort of self-aware humor, or completely ground their world with some sense of humanity. If Fuse can still do the former properly w/o the Overstrike approach, it could probably stand a chance.

I guess it needs to be more Ratchet than Resistance to make a real impact in my eyes. Insomniac is/was known for the being the Pixar of video games, they should view at that as an advantage and not a crutch.

 

[dragonelite]

The personality and humor resonated so good with the E3 trailer style.
Just like Borderlands humor fits in with the style of borderlands.

With the more grounded Art-style the Humor will probably feel out of place.
And the player team seems like they are more of a normal elite spec ops team instead of the B company team in Battlefield Bad Company. You know the team you don't want to admit to have as a country or agency or use only on suicide missions and hope they die but they somehow survive by not keeping to the rules or use massive firepower and blow things up.

 

[milk]

I can't see how a more caricatural and comic style isn't better fitted for over the top weapons and action and mindless violence. Price's justification doesn't make sense to me.
Its always good when games have a mood that doesn't take itself to seriously, because it justifies the inevitable stupidity that game stories always have.
So there is a evil organization that is stealing this powerfull weaponized technology and its up to you to save the world from their tirany...
Do they really think that is a deep , serious and mature story? Besides being completely unoriginal, it just isn't mature at all. It could very well be the plot of saturday morning. I lie, it IS the plot of TONS of saturday morning cartoons, plus a bunch of cheap stalone action flicks and another thousand games out there, modern and old.

Still, if they kept the old vibe, there would be whinny people saying it is a Team Fortress rip-off. Its hard to win in the gaming comunity.

 

[Billy Idol]

I have the solution for their dilemma: Just keep it in the Resistance Universe? Would be the best thing, they already have alien technology in this universe , lots of possibilities for side stories and although familiar to gamers lots of freedom in designing the world!

People should give me money to make games! But I would probably donate all that money to the GOW team, instead of deving my super secret InsectWar: Buzzation (a Battlefield clone but instead of stupid US and RU soldiers and tanks, I'd replace them by different insects, which naturally have different abilities and strength and weaknesses).

 

[milk]

This is multiplatform, and Resistance IP belongs to Sony. They want their own IP with this.

 

[Billy Idol]

This is multiplatform, and Resistance IP belongs to Sony. They want their own IP with this.

Yeah, I know...but would have been so perfect in my opinion...at least for me.

I wonder the following: during game development, don'tthe have some test audience during development, to evaluate concepts, ideas and art style?

 

[dragonelite]

Like a lot of others are saying this feels and looks like a EA game.

 

[Billy Idol]

Like a lot of others are saying this feels and looks like a EA game.

Yeah, but that is weird, right? First second of trailer I thought: Army of Two...

 

[Sigfried1977]

Yeah, but that is weird, right? First second of trailer I thought: Army of Two...

I was thinking Dead Space3, but EA games have been blending together more and more with each passing year.

 

[Billy Idol]

I was thinking Dead Space3, but EA games have been blending together more and more with each passing year.

Yeah, thats a good one to! It's really weird. Could it be that games in general are often this close now, that when a new game doesn't feature something really unique or unexpected, people get the feeling of generic?

Example: Starhawk feels really generic to me. Art style and setting, looks of the mech and weapons/gunplay. But people don't call it out, because they have the unexpexted real time strategy elements included...imo that is why they get away with such a 'generic' looking game.

Maybe Fuse just needs one unique or one unexpected feature...

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Still, if they kept the old vibe, there would be whinny people saying it is a Team Fortress rip-off. Its hard to win in the gaming comunity.

You can't please everyone and shouldn't attempt to. If this change by Insomniac sells the game to more people than if they didn't, then they are right to make it. However, judging by the noise, they'd be better off as a 'team fortress' rip-off.

Example: Starhawk feels really generic to me. Art style and setting, looks of the mech and weapons/gunplay. But people don't call it out, because they have the unexpexted real time strategy elements included...imo that is why they get away with such a 'generic' looking game.

There's only so much you can do with mechs and spaceships to be original. If Starhawk's western vibe, like Borderlands, is generic, than there's really not much scope for originality. But considering the many, many sci-fi games made, that's to be expected. There's so much creative content being made, humanity is burning through originality faster than it's burning through the fossil fuel supplies. There aren't many new places to find originality without going bizarre. The place to look for original style will be in original games. As for people not calling out Starhawk, it wasn't shown as a completely different and rarer style in its original reveal. If Insomniac had shown Fuse as it is and never Overstrike, then it wouldn't be getting the criticism it is getting.

 

[dragonelite]

Still, if they kept the old vibe, there would be whinny people saying it is a Team Fortress rip-off. Its hard to win in the gaming comunity.

That didn't even popped into my head.
Was more like Pixar meets Borderlands(minus the trillion of loot).
I like Pixar and i like Borderlands.

 

[RenegadeRocks]

I have the solution for their dilemma: Just keep it in the Resistance Universe? Would be the best thing, they already have alien technology in this universe , lots of possibilities for side stories and although familiar to gamers lots of freedom in designing the world!

Thats the best solution and I posted it a few pages back too. But we know it ain't possible . Anyways, their co-op started out in R2 , so obviously the idea fits perfectly there.

 

[Sigfried1977]

I've never heard of anyone complaining that the game used to look too much like TF2. Not surprising considering the old art style wasn't even remotely similar to Team Fortresses in the first place.

 

[milk]

I've seen people call every game that is remotely cartoony or pixarish and yet violent a team fortress rip-off.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

The character models and humour of Overstrike are similar to TF, but then there's a very limited pool of variations that can be used for humorous content. 'Cartoony' style follows the same principles of proportion exaggeration. You can tweak the renderer from realistic to cel shaded for a little variety. You could go with a very stylised look, like bobble-heads, but then you associate yourself with party games.

All that said, there are far more gritty shooters out there than anything else, so not being a gritty shooter is much more variation, even if not completely unique because someone beat you to the punch. Anyone who'd complain that Overstrike is a TF rip-off ought to come up with something original to prove there's scope, or just shut up and quit whinging.

 

[Bigduo209]

That didn't even popped into my head.
Was more like Pixar meets Borderlands(minus the trillion of loot).
I like Pixar and i like Borderlands.

That's why liked Insomniac, they really grew into the Pixar-like territory for games with Spyro and Ratchet. Being able to craft an interesting story and characters in a fantastical setting.

I was hoping that was something they would embrace going forward, using it as a way to carve identity for their future games. Guess that's not gonna happen anymore...