Levels in FPS games stopped being maze-like as soon as computers got powerful enough to allow for enough texture variation that maze-like levels could have worked better.
Levels in FPS games stopped being maze-like as soon as computers got powerful enough to allow for enough texture variation that maze-like levels could have worked better.
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But that defeats the maze purpose in looking all the same. I know you can hear the Doom door sound and end level stats melting.
Part of it is that early 3D games relied on techniques like raycasting and binary space partitions to make them efficient to run on hardware at the time, and those techniques works best with tight, orthogonal geometry that can easily be occluded out when sectored off.
As computers and engines became more powerful, the ability to render larger and larger spaces became possible, leading to more open world style games.
What do you mean by ‘could have worked better’?
Because there are still games like Prey 2017 and Abiotic Factor that are extremely labyrinthine but also have distinct areas and texture variety.
Have doom or Duke nukem been remastered? Or remade? I’m out of the gaming loop but spent many hours with those games when we got our first PC back in the 90s.
Fps stopped being mazelike after half life came out with its more cinematic but linear approach. It was a huge success and everyone wanted to replicate it
For shooters, open level design makes sense. After all, the purpose of a gun is to hit enemies from far away. Shooting 10 enemies in 10 seconds all sitting in 10 different corners of your screen makes you feel skilled and powerful. It is fun.
In contrast, only being able to shoot enemies 4m away from you shot gun style probably becomes old quickly. And it could never achieve the skill ceiling of an AWP.
One can optmize labyrinth shooters for horror games or tactic shooters (see Rainbox six). But not for fun shooters like Fortnite, or skill shooters like CSGO.
Post Void comes to mind for a great-looking maze-like fps. Came out in 2020. Photo sensitivity warning though
well, how much of a fan of gaming are you? do you want to me tell you about the jedi engine and it’s impact….
Remember when FPS levels were like trying to find your way out of IKEA? Now they’re more like a guided tour through an art gallery. Thanks, technology, for making my sense of direction obsolete!
Maze-like levels used to be fun until they turned into a game of hide-and-seek with walls! Thanks to modern tech, now I can get lost in high-res textures instead of dead ends!