So as I was writing out the scripts for my Mechanic Analysis videos and I realized I was going through a lot of content, roughly an hour worth of talking! So to break it down I decided to break it into 5 separate videos that each address:
1. Controls and Combat Design
2. Camera Design
3. Level Design
4. Enemy Design
5. Encounter Design
I tried to keep the format entertaining and dense as I believe all good media should respect the consumer's time, so don't feel bad if you have to rewind or rewatch! Let me know what you think and I'll try to incorporate feedback.
Enjoy the video below:
1. Controls and Combat Design
2. Camera Design
3. Level Design
4. Enemy Design
5. Encounter Design
I tried to keep the format entertaining and dense as I believe all good media should respect the consumer's time, so don't feel bad if you have to rewind or rewatch! Let me know what you think and I'll try to incorporate feedback.
Enjoy the video below:
EDIT: So I'm considering doing one more 10 minute video on Dark Souls Combat Systems. Originally I was going to compress some combat concepts into the Encounter Design video. How the players approach different situations, how the composition and lay out of enemies within the terrain influence play, and detailing the interactions between player mechanics and enemy mechanics are a few of the topics I've already written on for the Encounters video.
However after watching my brother play Dark Souls for the first time, I saw combat dynamics different from my experience. Having only seen the combat through my own lens, I originally felt Slash, Strike, and Thrust weapons functioned too similarly to actually offer a difference in play or approaches. Viewing how my brother's perception and solutions to a situation differed from my own opened my eyes. Suiting his starting equipment, a one handed spear with a shield, he chose less aggressive and less mobile approaches, choosing to outrange enemies or stand toe to toe while shielding and stabbing over the shield. I started with a longsword and played quite differently. With any weapon I chose, my approach was often to run past enemies, dodging attacks, and attacking their sides or backs. I have also strictly seen this behavior in other players, but was unsure of their starting classes.
There are obvious mechanical differences such as hitbox size, placement, and active frames, as well as starting and ending lag. However there are additional differences. Thurst weapons' mechanical ability to attack while remaining guarded and strike weapons' stunning offer slight variation in melee combat, but in my experience it did not particularly impact how I played in PvE. The enemy design or encounter design never encouraged it. Playing Dark Souls III recently and seeing how it properly executes on utilizing encounter design to encourage different weapon use is note worthy. I've begun a separate script talking about that. However seeing the effects on an individual's perception within Dark Souls, piqued my interest.
As an aside on player perception, James Portnow, a past professor of Digipen and writer of Extra Credits recently did an episode on "Enclothed Cognition" talking about how cosmetics may influence play. Regardless of whether or not weapons provide enough mechanical difference, it is interesting to explore how the mental concept of "how a spear works" may change a player's play style.
The curious can find the video here.
In the future I will likely dedicate Controls its own ~10 minute video, and then Combat a separate ~10 minute video, bringing the video format to 6 individual sections. I still have to iron out the kinks on how to conceptualize and present my analysis as I'm still unfamiliar with video presentations. Also as always, I'm grateful for any thoughts and feedback, so contact me if you got anything. Thanks for reading!