That's an awesome list man!
Also, welcome to the Hype!
I'm about to make a SUPER ignorant statement but oh well, Rocksteady kind of has the same mentality I do in terms of designing a super hero game. Personally, I don't understand how it's so hard for Beenox to make something truly spectacular? Like Rocksteady said while developing their Batman games "They have so much cannon to draw from and inspire them, the ground work has pretty much been laid for them."
That's how I feel a Spider-Man game should be approached. There are so many stories to draw inspiration from that I'm surprised Beenox feels they need to make their own unique/original story. I feel like it would resonate better with Spider-Man fans if they just simply designed encounters around various comic book panels etc.
Well, Beenox hasn't been given the freedom, resources, time and trust that Rocksteady has. Activision is basically the ****tiest publisher out there, IMO even more so than EA. And as you've read, it seems Activision basically demands the devs to strive for cheap and mediocre games.
IMO, I'm all for unique and original stories as long as they're true to the characters and comics. I don't want a game that copies a specific comic book story, I can go read that comic book instead. Also, most comic book stories wouldn't fit for a game, as those aren't written with games in mind. Inspiration, yes. But that's about it.
Doesn't mean I like Beenox's stories. I don't, even though the one for EoT seems very interesting but with an underuse of villains.
A gameplay mechanic that I'd love to see implemented in a Spider-Man game is the idea of choice. To me, that's a HUGE element of Spider-Man as a character. He is constantly forced to make tough decisions and I think that'd be something cool to see in a Spider-Man game.
For instance, lets say you're fighting Shocker in the populated streets of Times Square. You dodge one of his vibro-shocks and it ends up hitting a bystander. They're hurt. Shocker uses that as a distraction to slip away. What do you, Spider-Man, choose to do? Do you take care of the pedestrian or do you go after Shocker? Do you try and do Spider-Man's drive to please everyone? Do you take care of the pedestrian and websling like crazy back to the fight to try and track down Shocker?
That, I feel, would drastically increase the replay value of the title. Another thing, I'd like a Spider-Man game that isn't so linear. Where all of the encounters are not intertwined/steam lined like episodes.
To me, it would feel almost out of character for Spidey to ignore a civilian in danger, so I'm not a fan of being given that choice at all. It's definitely better than the totally out of character good/evil choices in WoS, but even if it's more grey I think such choices risk making Spidey feel out of character. I think freedom of choice is cool in some games, but overall I'd say it's very overrated. I'd much rather have a more focused story.
That's also why I prefer more steam lined episodes - to make the game feel more focused. The main story, that is. With side missions and lots to do in the city, the whole thing would feel less intertwined while having a clear story.
The Lizard is my favorite villain in Spider-Man's rogues gallery. I think it'd be awesome if they created a free roam sewer space below New York. Instead of dropping down a single manhole and triggering an event, I'd love to BE Spider-Man. Crawling through various sewer pipes and exploring the system for The Lizard. Maybe even creating a Spider web like in ASM and trying to track him down.
As a big fan of Lizard, I completely agree!
Another thing that would be awesome if for fans to use their knowledge of the various villains to track them down. Lets say the Lizard escapes you. Using your fan knowledge of The Lizard, where are the likely places he'd be at?
1. Connor's Lab
2. The Reptile exhibit at the Bronx Zoo
3. The Connor's family home
It'd be fun to have various locations you, as a fan, can swing to try and track him down.
You have to keep the general gamers in mind, not just the hardcore Spidey fans. If you're just left there with no clue where to go, with the devs just expecting you to know already, then that would be a bad game design in similar ways as to what reviewers have said about Killzone Shadow Fall, though much worse since you've got a whole city. Sure, you could have Connor's Lab or home on the map and have been there Before in the game, but it's still not clear enough to know you're supposed to go there. It's much better IMO to have Spidey monologue that he has to make sure Lizard isn't hurting the family, and make sure you know you have to get there quickly.
I feel that's why the Arkham games are so successful. They're designed in a way where they are kind of connected but they're different stories within a large story. With various Spider-Man games, it always feels as though a story is written to connect each and every character together and justify their purpose within the story. I think that's something that needs to be broken and treat each villain as an individual arc.
Yeah I agree about this. I too would like several games to make an overarching story.
