Modern+Tactical+Stealth+Games

Entertainment > Games > Video Games > Action Based Games > Modern Organized Forces Themed Games > Stealth Focused

=Introduction= As you can see in the drill down diagram above, the modern tactical stealth game is a derivative of video games in general; what makes it unique is the stealth element. In the writings below, we will explore how the stealth element changes the overall organized forces themed action game experience.

When analyzing a game, it is often useful to identify verbs within the design of the game; in other words actions the player or the player's avatar can perform. Verbs, largely seperate one genre of game from another but are especially important to action games. To no one's surprise, an action game is filled with verbs describing physical actions; these verbs/actions are an important aspect of an action game's identity. What makes a stealth gameHideo Kojima's Metal Gear is the first modern organized forces themed stealth game. In fact, Metal Gear (image on right) is considered, by many, to be the first stealth game ever made. Metal Gear share many verbs with other action games; move, shoot, die. However, what made Metal Gear stand out from other action games is the action 'to see'. While many games at the time featured challenging opponents who were always ready to fire a barrage of bullets at the player, Metal Gear's enemy soldiers patroled routes and would only attack once the player walks into their field of view; in other words, the soldier only attacks if he sees the player. Once this happens, all soldiers become aware of the player's location and begin to attack until a) the player has eliminated all opposing soldiers or b) run away and hide (1). Metal Gear's hero character, special operative Solid Snake doesn't have super powers or bulky armor and therefore killed quite easily; it would be in the player's best interest not to confront soldiers and risk being swarmed in a (very) unfair fight. Most stealth game heros are similar in design thus the act of hiding to avoid detection is to stealth games what dodging/jumping to avoid bullets is to other action games; it is an integral portion of the game's essence (2).

=Modern Organized Forces Theme= Modern Organized Forces usually refers to themes surrounding modern military operations. Metal Gear Solid 4 for example is about a U.S. operative infiltrating a base in the middle east in the mid 2000s, Splinter Cell is about a U.S. operative infiltrating various terrorist cells in the early 2000s. What makes these games different from games like Thief (a game about a master theif in the middle ages) is in the design of the game and the limitations put on it by the themes. Crossbows and swords are your standard weapons in thief while pistols and grenades are what you will see in Metal Gear; the way these weapons can be realistically utilized changes the way the game is played dramatically; there is no way you will use a grenade and a sword the same way, even a rifle and a cross bow behave quite differently. Furthermore, a modern themed game offers possibilities for relevent messages; Metal Gear Solid for example, had a very strong pro-nuclear disarmament and pro-environmental message that was predominant in the game's texts. Splinter Cell consistently offers insight or perspective on information warfare and the dangers of a networked world.

=Advances in stealth games= Advances in any game can be divided into two categories, conceptal and technical. Conceptually, stealth games have taken leaps and bounds since Metal Gear. Metal Gear 2 for example (still a relic by today's standards) featured crawling, tapping on walls to make noisy distractions, and floors which creeked if you run over them; Metal Gear 2 introduced the action "to hear" into the stealth game genre. Metal Gear 2 also changed the way enemies "saw"; in Metal Gear, an enemy's line of sight was completely straight, in Metal Gear 2, an enemy's line of sight was a more realistic cone shaped object (3). When Metal Gear Solid was released on the playstation, the stealth genre went 3D. Although this didn't add any dramatic new concepts, the fact that things now moved on 3 axis was in itself something of a novelty. Splinter Cell modified the classic concept of "to see". While traditionally, stealth games meant staying hidden behind objects or under tables, Splinter Cell introduced a system where players could blend themselse into shadows to obscure their figure. In a pitch dark room, enemies could walk right past within inches of the player and be unaware of anything amiss even if the player is be directly in their cone of sight. Splinter Cell also made better use of 3D environemnts; while Metal Gear Solid focused primarily on hiding on the horrizontal plane, Splinter Cell had a strong vertical focus as well (see image on right). For example, players could grab onto hydro pipes on a tall ceiling and soldiers passing below would not see the player (because they didn't look up) (2). Metal Gear Solid 2 then added new enemy behaviour modes. Instead of the simple seen or not seen states, soldiers now have states in between where they either step up security after you have escaped or perform very professional 'room clearings' in an area where they suspect you may be hiding after immediately losing sight of you (4). Finally, Metal Gear Solid 3, which takes place primarily in the Jungle added the concept of camoflauge and hiding in plain sight; this is a modification of the old "to see" concept. Player's would don various BDU's and try their best to blend in to their surroundings. A successfuly camoflauged player could watch as soldiers patroled right past within inches of his body (5). In terms of technical innovations, Splinter Cell made very good use of dynamic lighting technology to implement their play on shadows. Aside from that, stealth games (and games in general) have benefited very little from the rapid development of technology.

(1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_Gear_(video_game)

(2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Clancy%27s_Splinter_Cell

(3) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_Gear_2:_Solid_Snake

(4) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_Gear_Solid_2

(5) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_Gear_Solid_3