It is a curious factor of any combat-oriented video game that, universally, the player is forced to endure the most absurd odds and yet still survives to defeat whichever force it is that drives the game. How does one person survive 20 hours of constant combat, alone against a planet of enemies? How does one person succeed in destroying machines which are clearly designed with the ability of destroying armies, let alone a single person? How does a small squad of people fight an entire world of monsters, which attack relentlessly whenever the comforts of home are abandoned? The answer lies in the most absurd of all gaming conventions. Not the magic bag, nor the ridiculous accuracy of the crosshair. No, the reason that players always beat the computer at its own game is that ultimate concession to mistakes.
The health pack.
Call it a med kit, a healing spell, a regenerative shield or an energy orb if you like; they all provide the same basic service of compensating for player errors. The central idea is identical to that of endless arcade games, in the sense that the player is allowed to make a number of mistakes equal to the number of quarters they have with them. In fact, if someone had infallible ability than they could play through any video game without needing any health packs. In the same way a player could play Missile Command for months without needing more than a single quarter. In the real world there is no physical law that prevents a single person from killing thousands of trained and armed soldiers, it’s just absurdly unlikely that someone would do this without making a mistake (which would, of course, mean death).
The recent popularity of regenerative health bars has shifted the emphasis slightly. Regenerative health only punishes strings of errors, whereas a single misstep is quickly rendered irrelevant. This has certainly led to smoother transitions between areas, since there is no longer a need for the added distraction of finding an actual health pack. However, most game designers still seemed attached to standard health meters and they can hardly be blamed for it. After all, health pack game design has served us quite well until now. I personally do hope that we see more regenerative health bars, but that doesn’t mean that it should wholly replace the old standby.
The philosophy of game design through forgiveness may be considered “wussy” by someone who has played through Ikaruga, but in reality it is absolutely necessary component of the video game’s acceptance into popular culture. Take as an example Street Fighter 2; this arcade game was absurdly popular for a few years, but once the veterans asserted themselves it was virtually impossible for any newcomer to properly learn how to play. For a modern example we can use Counter-Strike. It takes a substantial amount of dedication to even approach the skill level of the average CS player, simply because they have been playing for so many years. The advantage that online games have is that it is always possible to find a “n00b server” which is more amenable to inexperienced players.
If single player games were always as hard to progress in as Street Fighter 2, then very few people would play them. Imagine if Half-Life was as difficult as Contra. That would be a horrible loss, since a fantastic experience would become un-available to most people. Further, all of the effort put in by the game designers would have gone to waste as only the most dedicated would be able to see their work.
I have spent my entire time here essentially praising health pack mentality, but I do want to say that it is unusual that alternatives have not arisen. For example, there is no FPS that provides a realistic but low level of difficulty. True, games such as Condemned: Criminal Origins provide realistic damage but, of course, Condemned contains health packs. It is strange that game designers are so hesitant to make single encounters more intimate and detailed rather than throwing oh so many enemies at us.
