Health regeneration in video games.

[Atranis]

Health regeneration makes the game too easy..in my opinion. There's no sense of punishment for your mistakes/rashness when you can just run away and hide in a corner to heal back to full health.

 

[V8 Ninja]

It really depends for me. I feel as though if you're going to have regenerating health in a game, then you have to make the regeneration less than the rate at which you're getting hit to make the game feel like a challenge.

 

[Estocavio]

It depends on the game, really.

 

[TheJwalkR]

Ya, I am not really into it. I guess it kinda works in BF:BC2 but I liked it in Battlefield 2 when you hit another sniper in the shoulder or something a second shot even much later would kill them.

 

[LifeSyndrome]

I can see your point, but in the instance of FPS games, non-regenerating health can make it very hard to get a kill streak of more than 1-2. (Counterstrike, for instance.) If the Healthpack system is done right, than it would be just as good as health regen.

 

[Call Me Arizona]

Depends on the game, usually. I think a system could be put in place to use both, perhaps regenerating health slower than it is now, but also having medkits that restore your health a lot? Just throwing an idea out there.

Generally I prefer the regeneration, as searching the hell out of all of the areas to find the measliest little health packs can be incredibly annoying, but in some games I don't mind it, generally I think it works better with medpacks if it's a slower paced game.

 

[Miller iz Life]

i personally think all the sit behind a rock and put a band aid on your boo-boos (especially ones that are 50 cal. bullets through your face) is utter BS. i like the old health meter in some respects, but its also kinda unrealistic and flawed. unfortunately ever type of video game health system is going to be flawed since you cant perfectly/ fairly mimic real life

 

[Flour]

Regenerating health made it's first bastardized appearance to reduce the amount a console player had to use both look and move controls to restore their health. Halo uses it for the same reason. As console controls always have been and always will be complete ass, unless the developer exerts extensive effort minimizing the amount a player has to rely upon them.

Funny, I remember regenerating health first appearing on PC games.
Can't remember the name of the game but it was a few years before Halo made it popular, and damage was shown as red spots on the character. Hell, it forced the player to rest(stand in one place looking at a wall or something) to regenerate health.

On-Topic: I hate regenerating health, it rewards players for being careless. Sure, health bars weren't perfect but at least it was rewarding to come out of a fight barely alive and grab a healthkit. And a good game(e.g. Half Life 2) will have the health kits in somewhat obvious places so you can't miss them.
I did like Perfect Dark Zero's regenerating system. Health regenerated but a certain amount of damage never regenerated(e.g. 80% of explosive damage would not be recovered). A lot of missions were finished with about half of the last health segment left.

 

[The Austin]

Regenerating health made it's first bastardized appearance to reduce the amount a console player had to use both look and move controls to restore their health. Halo uses it for the same reason. As console controls always have been and always will be complete ass, unless the developer exerts extensive effort minimizing the amount a player has to rely upon them.

The problem is these types of features (auto-aim, cover modes) reduce the amount a person has to play the game, by default making the game that much easier.

Do. Your. Research. Halo 1 and the NEW Halo game, Halo Reach, have health packs.

Chill. The fuck. Out.

He was referring to the other two games. Not that hard to grasp.

OP/OT/Whatever it's called: I think the change is for the better.
I'd rather just hide behind a rock than go scaving for health.

 

[Eldritch Warlord]

Oftentimes the removal of long-term consequence is desirable.

 

[Thaius]

It depends on the game. In something like Halo or Gears of War, it's a matter of getting away in time. You don't have to just wait around for a few seconds, you actually have to retreat, get out of battle and take no damage for a few seconds. It's a lot harder than one would think. Unless you played the game on easy mode, that is. I think it works rather well for certain types of games; shooters being the main genre.

 

[Nazulu]

I find it interesting, it's a change from your basic level layout since it's moments you have to live through instead of survivng through the entire stage on health packs.

 

[neosonichdghg]

I've always thought that developers are missing an obvious middle ground. Regenerating health allows a better feel for 'real injury' - if you get hit by a few bullets, you die. If you had only that much health and didn't regenerate, the game would be frustratingly difficult. In fact, there are plenty of examples of that. On the other hand, granting health pickups forces the player to conserve their life. That grants a sense of survival and long-term danger, which is also a good thing to have for immersion.

Why can't you have a stash of medical supplies, essentially a health bar or counter, that gradually heals you when you haven't been shot for a while? Basically, you make a game with regenerating health where the regeneration consumes resources. It gives the real sense of 'a few bullets will kill me', the urgency of 'low on supplies', and even a more justifiable reason that the protagonist can survive what he survives.