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Regenerating health sucks and makes no sense in games.
- Thread starter kiphalfton
- Start date
- Opinion
rofif
Banned
And picking up arbitrary health packs is even worse. You can be at 1, click and you ar 100.
It makes no sense and makes you hunt.
With regenerating health you at least have to *rest* which also makes no sense but you can't get shot another time like you can after just popping medkit
It makes no sense and makes you hunt.
With regenerating health you at least have to *rest* which also makes no sense but you can't get shot another time like you can after just popping medkit
NinjaBoiX
Member
I think it’s fine.
The medkit system isn’t really an less incongruous really, you still just magically bring yourself back from the brink of death to fully healthy in a matter of seconds.
I’m not sure the busywork of specifically finding these magical little boxes really helps with the illusion tbh, and gameplay wise it’s just another collectible to have scattered around the place.
I’m perfectly happy with the system and can’t really think of a more elegant solution in most situations.
The medkit system isn’t really an less incongruous really, you still just magically bring yourself back from the brink of death to fully healthy in a matter of seconds.
I’m not sure the busywork of specifically finding these magical little boxes really helps with the illusion tbh, and gameplay wise it’s just another collectible to have scattered around the place.
I’m perfectly happy with the system and can’t really think of a more elegant solution in most situations.
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kyliethicc
Member
Nathan Drake's Regenerative Health Was Actually His 'Luck Running Out'
Action man
www.pushsquare.com
"That's right: the desaturated screen and red outline actually signified Drake's luck running low, rather than his health."
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DavidGzz
Member
I like it in fast paced games where you can die in a couple of shots like in Call of Duty. I wouldn't want to have to look for health kits on the ground. But I wouldn't want it in a Dark Souls game unless you earned it by finding a regen ring. Even then, it's much slower than in other games.
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01011001
Banned
having always regenerating health leads to gameplay that consists of waiting behind cover and doing nothing every couple of seconds
it's bad for gameplay in many titles and makes the combat often braindead (see CoD)
a more elegant solution (one which I already named a few posts back) is if enemies drop health.
this can be contextualised in many ways.
in my example, Control, it's simply blue little pallets that enemies drop. this works here because the game is supernatural themed.
in other thematical genres like a military shooter, the enemy could drop Kevlar plates which you can use to repair your west (CoD Warzone already works this way basically)
In hack n slays it's already used in the form of health orbs that enemies drop when killed (like in Control basically)
this way you don't have to seach for health items, you get them from the enemy you just killed, but that also means you can't just sit behind cover all day and you have to actually think about how you get there and refill your health.
this makes combat way more dynamic and combats the staleness of CoD campaign like shootouts that basically are glorified Duck Hunt
S
SpongebobSquaredance
Unconfirmed Member
it's very often implemented poorly in a way that throws away any form or tactical or thoughtful incentive from the player. why think about your next move or try your best to learn the game's mechanics when your health remplenishes anyway? it is basically a cheat code. just run through the level and duck and you win. being powerful is fun, but it can get stale quickly if the game doesn't challenge you or uses it's mechanics in a meaningful way. it's unrealistic and it obviously doesn't make any sense to include something that is so game-y for games that try to be realistic.
there are games though that did it well. in Halo you only regenerate your armor, which enhances the mobility of the player without making the game a cakewalk. it also makes much more sense.
there are also games with systems were your regenerate low amounts of health, while for high damage you need to get a get a media kit. those type of systems are usually much better.
there are games though that did it well. in Halo you only regenerate your armor, which enhances the mobility of the player without making the game a cakewalk. it also makes much more sense.
there are also games with systems were your regenerate low amounts of health, while for high damage you need to get a get a media kit. those type of systems are usually much better.
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Gankthenew
Member
Without this setting, people who play well will lose a lot of sense of accomplishment
Tangential, but I don't get why almost all games have both you AND the enemies be bullet sponges. Instead of having the player being able to take, say, 9 shots, and enemies 3 shots, why not just reduce the ratio to one shot deaths for enemies (ie more realistic, visceral, dramatic etc) and, say, 3 shots to kill the player?
It's just a stupid video game convention really, isn't it?
It's just a stupid video game convention really, isn't it?
Bartski
Gold Member
Videogame health as such makes no sense.
It just happens to be a game design trope that saw no significant innovation since Commodore 64. It's just there and we accept it.
Claiming there are no other much better ways to do it is just lacking imagination. One of such areas is enemy attack accuracy that is already a big part of game difficulty tuning.
There is a great GDC video on youtube about DOOM 2016 enemy behaviour that dives deep into it.
Also I was just about to paste this link:
It just happens to be a game design trope that saw no significant innovation since Commodore 64. It's just there and we accept it.
Claiming there are no other much better ways to do it is just lacking imagination. One of such areas is enemy attack accuracy that is already a big part of game difficulty tuning.
There is a great GDC video on youtube about DOOM 2016 enemy behaviour that dives deep into it.
Also I was just about to paste this link:
Nathan Drake's Regenerative Health Was Actually His 'Luck Running Out'
Action man
"That's right: the desaturated screen and red outline actually signified Drake's luck running low, rather than his health."
ZoukGalaxy
Gold Member
Nah, that's awesome, love it.
I have been enough traumatized in my childhood by hard NES/ATARI games.
I have been enough traumatized in my childhood by hard NES/ATARI games.
StreetsofBeige
Gold Member
Nathan Drake's Regenerative Health Was Actually His 'Luck Running Out'
Action man
"That's right: the desaturated screen and red outline actually signified Drake's luck running low, rather than his health."
Well, that's one way to try explaining it (as silly as it is) to be different from health.
Another way of saying it is it's not health or luck, but Drake's confidence. When he gets blasted with enough bullets, his self esteem drops and he gives up.
fart town usa
Gold Member
I think it's alright for certain games. Devil's Third has regenerating health and it seems fine. I only bring that game up cause I played it the other day and reminded me that regenerating health is a thing. Haven't played a game with that mechanic in a long time. However, regenerating health was definitely overused during the PS3/360 gen.
fart town usa
Gold Member
Nathan Drake's Regenerative Health Was Actually His 'Luck Running Out'
Action man
"That's right: the desaturated screen and red outline actually signified Drake's luck running low, rather than his health."
That's actually a genius way to frame that kind of health system.