Early on the life cycle of the PS3, I got to be honest, there weren't that many games. You had Resistance, Rachet and Clank: Tools of Destruction, and Virtua Fighter 5 with Resistance being one of the truly fresh new IPs. Along with these titles is a very much anticipated title from Factor 5 called Lair. Lair, arguably is/was a graphical accomplishment. The sheer number of polygons displayed on screen and the level of texture quality left me wanting more from the perspective of a graphics enthusiast. Te controls on the other hand, left a undesirable taste in my mouth. No disrespect to the designer of the game or the development engineers at the now financially strapped Factor 5.
The following blog is written to inspire Factor 5 in their theoretical design of Lair 2. Lair all-in-all is a showcase, buts its also a base for future games using the 'Lair' engine. The intent is to provide Factor 5 with some design, game play, and production suggestions for the hopeful sequel to Lair. Let's get right into it. Here are 3 problems and 3 solutions to one aspect of Lair, the controls.
As much as Lair touted motion controls, it was overused in my humble opinion. There were certain motion commands that although intuitive in principle, lacked execution. I think one of them most intuitive things for Lair to is when you're trying to pry the head of a rhino off. You shake the controller up and down violently until the head is completely torn off. This is where motion controls work. it should be used as a complimentary method of input and not the core control element in a game. Although I do believe that dragons in flight should be controlled by motion sensors while gliding, when the heat turns up, this is where motion controls can fail.
The Developer walkthrough of Lair on Gametrailers.com gives us a visual of the controls with developer commentary.
The Developer walkthrough of Lair on Gametrailers.com gives us a visual of the controls with developer commentary.
Problem: 180 turn versus Speed Burst. The gesture upwards to do a 180 turn. It was far too similar to a thrust forward of the controller to do a speed burst.
Solution: Keep the upward motion to do a 180 turn and use a press combination of L2 + R2 to do speed burst. Likewise , if its more intuitive to keep the burst using a forward motion and a 180 turn a combination of L2 + R2 ... that can be done. Bottom line, until motion controls can effectively differentiate between an upward and downward motion without getting confused, remove one from the mix.
Problem: The targeting system is quite simple in Lair. Hold L1 to target the enemy. That's it. The problem however is what happens after the enemy is targeted. This is where the controls get clunky and without a systematic approach. Credit to Factor 5, for a game with high graphic fidelity, there are tons of stuff going on. What is needed is 'orderly chaos'.
Solution: Implement a Combo Target System -> Using L1 is fine to lock onto targets. Hitting the circle button (O) will get you closer to your locked target. Depending on the proximity of your dragon and your enemy the simple action button would trigger the necessary 'action' for each enemy type. Let's say you've locked on to enemy 1 and is going in for the kill. Hit the action button. This triggers your dragon to ram into the opposing dragon. Now enemy 2 is right next to enemy 1. The targeting system will re target to your next kill. You'll need to motion the analogue stick (L3) in the direction of the next enemy after the re target. Say enemy 2 is right below enemy 1. Hit down on L3 and then hit the action button again for a 2 hit combo. Now if enemy 3 is close to enemy 2 .. the same action would repeat. Depending on the number of enemies and if they require the same action to be killed, you can have N number of dragon kill combos. The camera system of course will need some rework to accommodate a combo target system so that you can see the next enemy onscreen.
Problem: Limited battle system during in flight battles between dragons. It becomes quite repetitive and easy to defeat the biggest of enemy dragons. The battle system feels very 2D. You face the dragon and fight.
Solution: Keep the battle in 3D space and not limit it to face to face dragon battles. The fight between 2 dragon's should be a spectacle. It should be intense. This is where Factor 5 should use button triggered action sequences a la God of War. With the addition of motion controls as a complimentary form of input, the action could be wonderfully scripted yet dynamic. Along with this type of action sequence, I propose a rage meter during in flight fights. There is nothing more ferocious than the roar of a dragon. Create space between you and the opposing dragon. Belt out a load roar through the vocal chords of the dragon and put the fear of the dragon into the opposing dragon rider. The higher the rage meter, the more damage inflicted on the opposing dragon. Higher rage would also mean more intricate button combination to lay out some major damage. Bottom line, guarantee a dynamic fight every time you go into battle mode with a dragon with a combination of intense flight sequences, fight mode (with rage meter), and quick time events to keep the user engaged into the fight.
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