Ten maxims every FPS should follow

Bookmarked.

i agree with most of it

but the whole insant kill punish the player for his mistakes thing ... in combat yes the way he describes it is the way it should be but its my sincere believe that players should get instant killed/game over as soon as they have fucked up something unrecoverable i have played games that just keep running after you have fucked up a riddle or script and the level became unbeatable shadow of the beast 3 comes to mind here. also i never gain want to drop down an abyss and than surivie with 1 pixel of health at the bottom only to be stuck there forever.

so this rule must hold true at all times in actually all games: the player CAN STILL MAKE IT or his "game over" is assured in a split second.

Should also add that the shotgun is always the third weapon to be picked up.

First a useless weapon/melee weapon (blaster pistol from q2/q4, melee weapon in all other games), then a somewhat useless pistol (q4 broke the mold here by giving the player the rather awesome assault rifle/SMG which I used for most of the game), then the shotgun.

i skimmed thru, kinda seems like common sense stuff really.

the bit about rewarding smart thinking in HL2 is kinda silly, there's like 10 puzzles in HL2? laf, and they're usually all the same, drop some weight on something to get past.

I too agree with most of it, however I feel that some of the example are incorrect, like stating how long the gap is between starting the game and getting a weapon in HL2, theres still tons of action to be had escaping the Combine patrols as you make way to Kliener's lab.

Interesting read though.

Quote from FrieChamp

He means the gap between starting and getting the crowbar (the train ride, train station, barney, etc.)

that is all before kleiners lab

you dont get the crowbar until you leave the lab

Seems like everything thats already been said before a whole lot of times.

Furthermore depsite the fact that I agree with most of it, the author cites examples that seem to imply he has no grasp on the fact that FPS games have subgenres.

Quote

Create a world that invites, encourages, and rewards smart thinkingExample: Far Cry. The mixed terrain and objects gave the world a “real” feeling, allowing stealth or brute force to move Jack through the game.

Example: Painkiller. Despite featuring a wide array of locales and enemies (and lots of them) every level managed to be the same combination of jumping in circles as enemies appeared from every side.

Painkiller is not intended to be played like FarCry. They're two entirely different games that cater to different audiences.I really don't think I'd enjoy FPS games as much if every studio just kept making Half-Life 2 and Call of Duty over and over again.