How would you have improved Mirror's Edge?
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I just could not get used to the controls, so many buttons doing so many different things, plus its all trial and error, which i hate.
Faster running speeds with guns
Level editor
Less linearity (alternative routes to the same objective)
More characters
Level editor
Less linearity (alternative routes to the same objective)
More characters
The only flaw I felt it had? Length. It was dreadfully short. Add at least 7 more levels and there you go. A perfect game.
Make the parkour better, replace combat with stealth is my two cents. Also add some bystanders.
Well, kicks to the balls seems pretty in character, but yeah, it doesn't really make sense to having her kill tons of people. Maybe have the player solve those types of problems as stealth sections or puzzles.Serving UpSmiles said:
Can the combat all together, get more into the story and explain the world. It looked interesting.
A more immersive environment?
I don't know what that's supposed to mean, but I want it.
Anyways, I would really love some street levels and lower buildings, maybe in an area that isn't all sparkly white and smokey orange.
I don't know what that's supposed to mean, but I want it.
Anyways, I would really love some street levels and lower buildings, maybe in an area that isn't all sparkly white and smokey orange.
I would have not made the game at all. I expected it to stink when I tried it out because first person platforming has never worked before, and I was not surprised to see that once again it did not work. The ugly "everything is white except the red thing you need to go to next" color scheme didn't do anything to help, because you still couldn't get any accurate measurement of where you are on one platform to judge how far you'll jump when going to the next. The only way to "improve" this game is to change the camera to third person, but then it's not really Mirror's Edge anymore, is it? Mirror's Edge is a bad first person platformer, not a good third person platformer.
And it can stop hiding behind "I'm a parkour game!" No, you're not. You're a platforming game; using a fancy word for "fast platforming" doesn't mean you're not a platforming game, just like slapping a fancy title like "first person adventure" on Metroid Prime doesn't save it from being a first person shooter with dreadful controls.
And it can stop hiding behind "I'm a parkour game!" No, you're not. You're a platforming game; using a fancy word for "fast platforming" doesn't mean you're not a platforming game, just like slapping a fancy title like "first person adventure" on Metroid Prime doesn't save it from being a first person shooter with dreadful controls.
Not really. I actually found things easier once I solely relied on steering to direct me, at least in terms of keeping flow and having enough speed to do the right maneuvers.similar.squirrel said:
And besides, one other big genre depends on a button to move forward: Racing.
I think its main flaw was that there wasn't enough variety in the gameplay. By that, I mean the game pretty much went like this:
Run on the rooftops to destination.
HOLY-CRAP-YOU-ARE-BEING-SHOT-AT-GOGOGO
Run in a building to destination.
HOLY-CRAP-YOU-ARE-BEING-SHOT-AT-GOGOGO
Run on the rooftops to destination.
HOLY-CRAP-YOU-ARE-BEING-SHOT-AT-GOGOGO
...and so on. Really, it only had two tricks up its sleeve; go from point A to point B, and then go from point B to point C while being shot at.
I would've loved to see some kind of timed events, like you have 5 minutes to complete as many objectives as possible and the less you complete, the more difficult things will be in the future. You could do something like 2 minutes to escape off the rooftop of a collapsing building, and shorter escape routes require more precision acrobatics. Or maybe you're in a shopping mall doing a complex operation, and when you get the signal, you have X seconds to complete the objective. There could be 10 objectives in total, and learning how to get into position for the next objective without alerting the general populace would reward you with more time to complete. Hell, even a simple race would be fine.
Anyway, I'm getting long-winded on that, but I think that was the game's biggest fault. I actually do like some of the indoor sections because they provide a good contrast to the high-paced tempo of rooftop running.
Oh, and get rid of this stupid 'runner vision' crap. Don't create a wide open map and then funnel everyone through the same path. Instead, create a few paths that the player could go and let the player roam freely. Players don't want to think "I went the right way," we want to think "I found a way."
Run on the rooftops to destination.
HOLY-CRAP-YOU-ARE-BEING-SHOT-AT-GOGOGO
Run in a building to destination.
HOLY-CRAP-YOU-ARE-BEING-SHOT-AT-GOGOGO
Run on the rooftops to destination.
HOLY-CRAP-YOU-ARE-BEING-SHOT-AT-GOGOGO
...and so on. Really, it only had two tricks up its sleeve; go from point A to point B, and then go from point B to point C while being shot at.
I would've loved to see some kind of timed events, like you have 5 minutes to complete as many objectives as possible and the less you complete, the more difficult things will be in the future. You could do something like 2 minutes to escape off the rooftop of a collapsing building, and shorter escape routes require more precision acrobatics. Or maybe you're in a shopping mall doing a complex operation, and when you get the signal, you have X seconds to complete the objective. There could be 10 objectives in total, and learning how to get into position for the next objective without alerting the general populace would reward you with more time to complete. Hell, even a simple race would be fine.
Anyway, I'm getting long-winded on that, but I think that was the game's biggest fault. I actually do like some of the indoor sections because they provide a good contrast to the high-paced tempo of rooftop running.
Oh, and get rid of this stupid 'runner vision' crap. Don't create a wide open map and then funnel everyone through the same path. Instead, create a few paths that the player could go and let the player roam freely. Players don't want to think "I went the right way," we want to think "I found a way."
I loved it from start to finish, it's one of my favorite games 
I don't know what to say, run faster maybe? More open world maps.
I don't know what to say, run faster maybe? More open world maps.
I suppose it's fundamentally flawed in that a first-person perspective will *always* break flow where precision acrobatics are concerned ~ after all, a face-full of wall in between jumps isn't the best definition of "smooth". It's been mentioned that a third person camera might help, but I guess that'd kill the entire premise of the game.
Maybe modify the time-slowing mechanic so you can preserve some of your momentum while looking around, planning your immediate path? Possibly a "momentum gauge" that fills as you perform stunts perfectly and which can be expended by choice instead of when the player stops moving? How about a third-person camera, but only when ledges are concerned?
[sub]That being said, it's still a game that "failed" far better than other titles succeeded. [/sub]
Maybe modify the time-slowing mechanic so you can preserve some of your momentum while looking around, planning your immediate path? Possibly a "momentum gauge" that fills as you perform stunts perfectly and which can be expended by choice instead of when the player stops moving? How about a third-person camera, but only when ledges are concerned?
[sub]That being said, it's still a game that "failed" far better than other titles succeeded. [/sub]
Personally, I think the combat worked fine. Jumping off a ledge, rolling to break your fall and wall running across a gap to jump off the wall and kick a soldier in the face before he knows what's happening is incredibly fun, and it doesn't break flow at all either. The problem I have with the combat is how they allow Faith to use guns.
When I played Mirror's Edge, I was going for the 'Don't shoot anyone' achievement, meaning that all of my methods of getting past soldiers and through levels was either a surprise kick/punch to the face or just running past them. I had no difficulty playing the game (Apart from one of the final sections, where the level design seemed more build like a CoD map than a Mirror's Edge map). A friend of mine was playing it with the use of guns, so he would normally be getting a gun, then taking everyone out when faced with soldiers. Because of this he was often asking me how I got past certain sections of the game, as the free-running options that I used weren't apparent to him since he was trying to use firepower to get through.
When you put a gun in somebody's hand, that puts them in a certain mindset: Shoot everybody that looks at you funny.
If you give them free-running abilities, and the only combat available is punches & kicks, then they start to see all sorts of new options for getting around problems that they would have never thought about if they had a gun.
This is also why I get the feeling stealth wouldn't work in a game like Mirror's Edge. Mirror's Edge is all about the flow, and when you introduce stealth elements to a game, people tend to take a more slow, stealthy approach, and this would break flow faster than a brick to the face.
One other thing I would like to see added is a bit more choice in pathways. While there are different ways to navigate around in Mirror's Edge, I would like to see these choices be a bit more varied than choosing whether to use box A or box B to climb onto a ledge. Maybe something more like going one way will get you shot at, but the jumps needed to get through are fast and easy to pull off, or go another way where the jumps are more difficult and complex but you aren't getting shot at as much (Or not at all)
Aside from that, the main thing I would like to see is another Mirror's Edge game. I really enjoyed the first one, and it's nice to have a game based around free-running rather than shooting.
When I played Mirror's Edge, I was going for the 'Don't shoot anyone' achievement, meaning that all of my methods of getting past soldiers and through levels was either a surprise kick/punch to the face or just running past them. I had no difficulty playing the game (Apart from one of the final sections, where the level design seemed more build like a CoD map than a Mirror's Edge map). A friend of mine was playing it with the use of guns, so he would normally be getting a gun, then taking everyone out when faced with soldiers. Because of this he was often asking me how I got past certain sections of the game, as the free-running options that I used weren't apparent to him since he was trying to use firepower to get through.
When you put a gun in somebody's hand, that puts them in a certain mindset: Shoot everybody that looks at you funny.
If you give them free-running abilities, and the only combat available is punches & kicks, then they start to see all sorts of new options for getting around problems that they would have never thought about if they had a gun.
This is also why I get the feeling stealth wouldn't work in a game like Mirror's Edge. Mirror's Edge is all about the flow, and when you introduce stealth elements to a game, people tend to take a more slow, stealthy approach, and this would break flow faster than a brick to the face.
One other thing I would like to see added is a bit more choice in pathways. While there are different ways to navigate around in Mirror's Edge, I would like to see these choices be a bit more varied than choosing whether to use box A or box B to climb onto a ledge. Maybe something more like going one way will get you shot at, but the jumps needed to get through are fast and easy to pull off, or go another way where the jumps are more difficult and complex but you aren't getting shot at as much (Or not at all)
Aside from that, the main thing I would like to see is another Mirror's Edge game. I really enjoyed the first one, and it's nice to have a game based around free-running rather than shooting.
I'd make it 3rd person and three times as long, with stealth parts and a better story.
A 1st person parkour game doesn't really work when you don't know where you're feet are, especially when you're hauling arse and need to be precise.
A 1st person parkour game doesn't really work when you don't know where you're feet are, especially when you're hauling arse and need to be precise.
I personally think less or just about no combat would have been better, since it slowed down the game way too much. I also agree that there could have been less in-door sections, or at least, make them really large, like the sewer level.
The only reason I'd justify slowing the game down AND deal with enemies, would be some interaction with your surroundings, as in, manipulating things to get a makeshift ramp, or just do stuff like, say, kick a box and let it fall upon the enemy. Traps and sorts, not really to waste much time on, just to create a quick hindrance for your enemies.
Nonetheless, I liked the first game and I'd love to see a slightly more refined sequel.
The only reason I'd justify slowing the game down AND deal with enemies, would be some interaction with your surroundings, as in, manipulating things to get a makeshift ramp, or just do stuff like, say, kick a box and let it fall upon the enemy. Traps and sorts, not really to waste much time on, just to create a quick hindrance for your enemies.
Nonetheless, I liked the first game and I'd love to see a slightly more refined sequel.
The first person was perfect in Mirrors Edge. The game felt amazing, flowed very well.
But yeah, the guns ruined it. Disarming / running from guards was much better. And a slight bit more free roam would have been great.
I know I'll be counting the days till a sequel though.
But yeah, the guns ruined it. Disarming / running from guards was much better. And a slight bit more free roam would have been great.
I know I'll be counting the days till a sequel though.