How about we all share ideas on how to make an action-themed game in Verge? Yeah let's go!

I really enjoy the adrenaline rush you can get from a lot of different games. In particular, flight, speed, and action (as in destruction and fighting) do it well for me. I'm a fan of the newer Sonic games, and neato action stuff like Zone of the Enders, as a side note. Flight anything is also really cool.

Anyway, if you want to make an action game, theoretically it'd have to be fast-paced right? It's supposed to be about action. You've got to have some movement and the ability to do ...stuff.

In particular, I'd say the sidescrolling format, or a scrolling format of some kind, would suffice. Pure overhead is more for exploration and the 2D overhead Zeldas don't quite give me the same adrenaline rush as Mega Man X2. Which is awesome, by the way.

My problem is that a lot of things I like about newer generation action based games, such as flight and rapid fast movement, often depend on the ability of 3D games to, well, move around in 3D. I can't really think of many 2D games that actually pull off a sense of 'acrobatics' like in action games like Prince of Persia: SOT, or the faster mech games, or the action games like Spider-Man, which rely almost entirely on the ability to fly around a 3D world. (And, keep in mind, I wouldn't call the 2D Prince of Persias the same kind of adrenaline action games. They're more like...skill-based platforming). Most of the action games in 2D that are sidescrolling tend to be either shooters or beat-em-ups; at least that's what comes to my mind right this second.

As a side note, anybody ever play a SNES title called 'Run Saber?'

If I was going to make an action game it would definitely have to have some sort of acrobatic element. You're not just walking from left to right, you've got to do some cool looking crap. Stuff like wall rebounding/climbing, backflips, etc. Some of these elements appear in 2D platformers, but I can't think of a 2D platformer that depended heavily on acrobatic movement.

At any rate, that's only one way of looking at an action game. Me, I love the idea of being super-fast and super-acrobatic over having tons of different guns. But the shooter genre is an equallly good way of achieving 2D fast-paced action.

Keep in mind I'm not really thinking about sports-style games or traditional 2D-fighting games. It would have some level-based element to it.

One of my problems of brainstorming design is trying to balance, in particular, exploration vs. action in an action-based 2D platformer. You can obviously only do so much in a 2D shooter...you can't really have a giant sense of vastness that depth-based 3D games can give, and if you just make the levels too darn big in 2D, that just makes it feel either labyrinthine or unfocused.

In addition, if you would enjoy very climactic boss battles, it could possibly be a flaw to design your action theme around these critical moments. Sure, the action battles may be amazing, and you'll fight these giant adversaries, with tons of weapons and/or need acrobatic moves, but then what about the actual in-level game? You can't run into a giant adversary every screen, that would get old. And you can't take the emphasis off action completely, or obviously it wouldn't be an action game (though I have pondered the idea of exploration-based 2D levels with puzzle-based gameplay, which climaxes in action-packed boss battles).

Anyway. Just some thoughts. Anyone else have any thoughts or ideas?

I would love to be able to create a platforming game that depends on acrobatics and even has a neat little 2D flight system (like NiGHTS, but 2D. Flight is so cool). But I am baffled over how I would balance the levels (enough space to justify acrobatics and flight VS actual action). So, anyway. Maybe I'm trying to think of too many things at once.

Er. Actually, yes, I have played Super Metroid. And yes, it meets those requirements. But...I'm not sure I'd want to create a complete Super Metroid clone. Still, you are right. It is a bloody awesome game.

As an aside, a combination of Super Metroid with Mega Man X would be amazing, I think.

One thing that would have to be, in a game such as this, is the ability to NOT be stuck for great lengths of time. One thing that always annoyed me about the Sonic games (well, all of them except Sonic 2) was that the fast paced action was often broken up by little platforming bits that REALLY destroyed the flow of the game. Not that I didn't like those games - I loved them and have beaten every one. But there's nothing quite as disappointing as zipping though a level at 60 MPH on foot and then suddenly being stopped because you didn't jump over a wall. Then, you spend about a minute trying to get over that wall, and by then, the whole feel of excitement and adrenaline is kind of destroyed.

If there was to be such a game like this, there would have to be enough acrobatic moves so that things like this didn't happen - for example, instead of hitting that wall and stopping, you'd latch on and be able to scale that wall at a fast pace. That would really help, I think.

Okay, that's it for my completely random gibbering.

Gradius I - V (NES/SNES/PSX/PS2). Ikaruga (DC/GC). Two of the best arcade flight shooter action game series ever. These games are bullet-intensive, and adrenaline pumping. The only flaw for each was the fact that they were extremely linear. R-Type Final was also all right, but it's a little slow to give me the thrill I got from the other two.

Another great series is Metal Slug (NGPC/XBOX/GBA/?). A very fast-paced platform/shooter game. It had amazing artwork, awesome vehicles, sweet weaponry, challenging bosses and enemies, tons of secret paths, and interesting things like turning into zombies and mummies. The only caveat was that the games are too short.

For some reason games that have tons of shit blow up and no real motive behind it are almost always very fun.

Too lazy to log in. =P
~CrazyAznGamer

Anyways, my question is, who's gonna implement those ideas into an actual game? Everybody seems to have their own little project they are working on or something is going on in their lives that requires their full attention, I think.

Now I'm thinking selfishly when I'm saying this, but I would really like to see a Super Metroid/Megaman X combo.

Samus with a Z-Sabre... hmmm...

Hey! I have a partially-done platform engine! All it needs is a bit more code, then some maps and enemies and stuff and it could be a game! Once I get a public demo finished, I'll call upon the community to help throw some challenging-yet-fun-to-explore maps together!

Quote:Originally posted by Interference22

Two more words for you, long forgotten in the mists of gaming history: Solar Jetman.


I own two copies of this cart, btw.

Rare? Wait. Is this....does this have anything to do with that hidden game in Donkey Kong 64, with the space man with jet pack and collecting pieces to reassemble your spaceship?

The Solar Jetman concept is best described as 'Lunar Lander with Levels, Enemies and Powerups'

Or, to reduce:

'Mario Lander'

Quote:Originally posted by rpgking

Question: Is there anyone alive who owns(or owned) a Super Nes and never played Super Metroid?

*Cough*

I'm not a big gamer.