In a previous Extra Punctuation, there was some offhanded speculation about how you could justify a 'leveling backwards' mechanic to make a game more difficult.
It strikes me that something like this would work great for a multiplayer setting. Take something like Call of Duty -- why not allow newbie players to start off with a full utility belt, letting them carry a huge assortment of varied weapons into battle: they can use knives, grenades, pistols, rocket launchers, etc. The low-rank matches are total ridiculous anarchy.
But you award experience for skilled kills and restraint, and as the levels increase, you begin to remove equipment/ability slots, while strengthening the weapons/abilities themselves. This presents a constant challenge, and makes each new level a litmus test for mastery of the game.
By the highest rank, you're pitting teams of people who have become EXPERTS with their weapon of choice against one another in settings which are very sparse. Teams of elite players are armed with nothing but pistols and knives, and play a game of capture the flag. Two top-level snipers engage in a three-hour battle of attrition.
You could even go cross-game with it. Pit ten Level 1 noobs with goody bags of crappy weapons against a one-man Level 50 kill machine, armed with the golden pistol and diamond body armor or w/e equivalent.
Hilarity ensues.
Thoughts?
It strikes me that something like this would work great for a multiplayer setting. Take something like Call of Duty -- why not allow newbie players to start off with a full utility belt, letting them carry a huge assortment of varied weapons into battle: they can use knives, grenades, pistols, rocket launchers, etc. The low-rank matches are total ridiculous anarchy.
But you award experience for skilled kills and restraint, and as the levels increase, you begin to remove equipment/ability slots, while strengthening the weapons/abilities themselves. This presents a constant challenge, and makes each new level a litmus test for mastery of the game.
By the highest rank, you're pitting teams of people who have become EXPERTS with their weapon of choice against one another in settings which are very sparse. Teams of elite players are armed with nothing but pistols and knives, and play a game of capture the flag. Two top-level snipers engage in a three-hour battle of attrition.
You could even go cross-game with it. Pit ten Level 1 noobs with goody bags of crappy weapons against a one-man Level 50 kill machine, armed with the golden pistol and diamond body armor or w/e equivalent.
Hilarity ensues.
Thoughts?