What makes good play control "feel right"?

[Snatch1414]

These days good play control to me revolves around "context sensitivity". I hate that so many developers think they have to use every button on the controller just because it's there. The A button can shoot the gun, open the door, acknowledge the dialogue, perform a melee attack, climb the ladder, cling to the wall, etc. all based on proximity and situational awareness of the in-game avatar.

Well, you can program that kind of thing for all situations or just map another button. I think what you're saying could work if done absolutely perfect, but otherwise I'd give it about two minutes of play time before my character does something I don't want him to do.

[MrPopo]

These days good play control to me revolves around "context sensitivity". I hate that so many developers think they have to use every button on the controller just because it's there. The A button can shoot the gun, open the door, acknowledge the dialogue, perform a melee attack, climb the ladder, cling to the wall, etc. all based on proximity and situational awareness of the in-game avatar.

Look at PC games from the 80's to see the true level of just how bad "use every button" can get to. The Ultima games have a command for every letter. Nethack adds commands for every upper case letter as well.

[Exhuminator]

Look at PC games from the 80's to see the true level of just how bad "use every button" can get to.

It wasn't much better in the 90's either. I mean:

And that's only a mild example.

It was so bad with a lot of these old PC games that they came with cardboard keyboard overlays. I always remapped the controls to where the stuff that actually mattered was immediately accessible. Too bad most console games do not allow you to remap controls.

Utilitarian controls and minimal on screen displays are what "feel right" to me. The more simple the input and less obtrusive the HUD is, the more immersive and intuitive the actual game becomes.

[BogusMeatFactory]

Similarly, I find some of the complaints about the "tank controls" of Resident Evil to be controversial because they also added a feeling of helplessness that some would say is fundamental to what made the game feel scary.

I can not accept the idea of Resident Evil's controls being intentional to help encourage the atmosphere of survival horror. It may have been an indirect result of those poor controls, but you can do other things to create a helpless feeling through game design rather than hindering your character's ability to turn around.

I really want to talk about rhythm as well. I have always been a firm believer that every game really is essentially a rhythm game. Combos in games like God of War are performed in a rhythmic button combination. Fighting games are all about timing. Think about the triple jump, again in Super Mario 64. This is a great example of rhythm being executed brilliantly. Everyone here knows how good it feels to go, "Ha! Who! HUAHA!"

Even Resident Evil uses rhythm to a good effect as you know exactly how long it takes to press the fire button in succession and there is a substantial feeling of accomplishment in doing it that way. You don't think about it, but your brain is moving to the groove of a videogame's rhythm.

[Exhuminator]

I can not accept the idea of Resident Evil's controls being intentional to help encourage the atmosphere of survival horror.

They weren't intentional for that purpose. They were the result of Shinji Mikami's aping of Alone In The Dark's control scheme.

[MrEco]

I generally don't have that problem in the fixed perspective games because I find it easy to keep my bearings in those situations.

I think you might be alone in that sentiment; or you could just be a veteran of survival horror games that use tank control schemes. I'd be curious what other people who have played a lot of games using tank controls would say.

Though I like that the screen changes, I'm with BMF that there's been plenty of times where I fumble and make a slip. I think once you condition yourself a while, it tends to work out okay. But the controls for me are always cumbersome, because the way I control a character through an environment they don't control like other games that I play more frequently. It'd be like inverting thumbsticks on a shooter to me, or trying to speak another language.

I can attest that I am no survival horror veteran whatsoever. I've only played a small handful of games from that genre. The original Resident Evil was my first experience with tank controls. It took me a bit of time to get use to them, but the same can be said for learning any new games control scheme. Once I had the handle of them they worked fine, and I had no problem at all when transitioning to other games that used tank controls.

Personally I think tank controls are the best option for a game with both fixed camera angles and tight environments. Tight environments mean the camera is more restricted, and the angle switches more often. The way tank controls work means that you can always, regardless of where the camera is pointing or if it switches, know that your character will be moving in the direction you press the stick or d-pad.

I don't get the problem some people seem to have with having to "find their bearings" and such, because it always seems very simple to me. Your character is moving forward down a hallway, camera changes to a different angle... just keep pressing forward. Character continues down hallway. I don't mean to sound arrogant, and I'm not saying other people shouldn't have those problems, I just honestly don't understand how those problems arise.

Also I adamantly disagree with anyone who thinks that fixed camera's are a bad thing. A fixed camera angle, when done right and responsibly, can frame an area of a game in the perfect way so you get all the necessary information as fast as possible. It can also be used to make sure the player see's details of the environment that might otherwise be missed, helping to add to the atmosphere or personality of an area. This is even more prevalent in horror games where making a strong atmosphere is necessary to help keep things scary, but that should go without saying.

[J T]

I can not accept the idea of Resident Evil's controls being intentional to help encourage the atmosphere of survival horror.

They weren't intentional for that purpose. They were the result of Shinji Mikami's aping of Alone In The Dark's control scheme.

Exactly, and I know from interviews that the developers of Alone In The Dark intentionally made their controls that way to add to the player's feeling of helplessness. This is why they made the moustachioed main character an older gentlemen to provide a character-design rationale for why he lacked agile movement (I guess with the younger female character, they just assumed sexism would provide a similar rationale). Admittedly, these slow and stiff controls seem a bit more unusual in Resident Evil where you are not given a similar rationale for the tank controls and instead you must simply accept that you are members of an elite Special Tactics and Rescue Team... who all just happen to have a hard time maneuvering corners in hallways... and firing guns quickly... which you forgot to bring enough ammo for...

[marurun]

Hey, I think it would be pretty scary to be that dumb. Maybe they got it right after all!