Every game is unique, each with its own set of characters, stories and, most importantly, game mechanics. But just as common elements in fiction have become tropes or clichés, after all these years game mechanics have become tropes themselves.
There are good and bad mechanics but most of the time we think of them as a whole, as a set of mechanics for a given title. Individually however, we can see their flaws more easily and truly decide if they are fantastic or terrible.
There is a third option however, and that is neither good nor bad – just annoying. These mechanics are often used and almost every time they make us groan, but we can’t completely call them good or bad because there’s at least one instance when we’ve seen them work really well.
In this series I’ll go over a few annoying game mechanics, and this issue is all about self-replenishing health. (Take a look at the previous issue on mazes here.)
Why is it annoying?
In theory, self-replenishing health adds tension to a firefight or an action sequence, forcing players to hide behind a wall or a barrel or in general keep out of harm’s way until their energy gets back to full.
The problem is it all depends on how it’s implemented. If done right, within the proper context and supporting mechanics, it’s a wonderful tool and it does its job well – especially if the action doesn’t let up and the artificial intelligence is smart enough to not give players the time to take a breather.
This is where you want to be, but it’s not likely!
When it’s done wrong however, without the proper frame and supporting mechanics, it’ll slow down the action sequences and force the player to constantly stop to recover. This makes the gameplay dull rather than exciting.
The good and the bad:
Halo 2 made this mechanic popular as well as making it work (Halo had a replenishing shield but health needed medpacks). You were given the proper context, the Spartan’s armor, and it was supported by the proper mechanic, the armor’s shield; your health was limited and you depended on your shield, and without it you couldn’t take more than a few hits before you died. The firefights put you constantly in danger and being without a shield was tense. Recovering the item didn’t mean you were out of the woods, as your health replenished slower than the shield, and it only started recovering once it was up again. Take enough damage, and you’d be right where you started.
Be ready to sit and wait for health to come back up!
Gears of War and Mass Effect on the other hand bogged down their combat with the replenishing health. You already spent quite a lot of time behind cover, sometimes sitting there for minutes at a time waiting for an opening to shoot. Combine that with low health and it adds even more time you’re out of commission, drawing the inevitable groan from players when the mechanic becomes annoying.
So what do you think? Let us know in the comments below!
