Crusader - game and level design :)

JC Denton

Member
Hey guys! J

This place has been so quiet for so long, so I felt the need to write something. So,

I was playing No Remorse (again) last week and I realized how I never thought about the environments that I’ve been fighting in. If you think about it, in both No Remorse and No Regret, all those factories, mines, office spaces, etc. are completely weird and make no sense at all. J The levels are basically giant mazes, full of hazards, weird security systems, moving walls and floors, hidden lethal traps…All these feel completely out of place when you think about it. I mean, a giant rocket-firing turret in the middle of an office or factory floor and places where you can get killed by just doing your everyday stuff (fall through the floor or get incinerated in the middle of the hall) are just some examples.

In my opinion, it is completely clear that developers weren’t going for realism, but for creating challenging and interesting arenas to fight in. On the other hand, the fact that you don’t really notice all this while playing is a perfect testament to how good the level designers were (well, for the most part, at least).

The other thing I tend to notice is that almost none of the research was done regarding future technology. It is something like 200+ years into the future and just look at all those big computer cases (towers), non-widescreen displays with large speakers attached, CRT monitors and TVs in the walls, bulky security cameras, huge mainframe-looking machines with tape drives (like on IBM System/360 from the late 1960’s), big-ass security stations with green/black&white CRT displays, mentioning of “
T-300 lines”… Obviously, designers just looked at current trends in the 90’s and made them “bigger”, never considering the trend of streamlining things and making them more portable, smaller and slicker. This is actually a real shame as, for example, CRT/LCD computer monitors were already on the market and fiber-optic communication was a reality at the time of the making… Also “avtp:\\maxis@resistnet.osi.com”. Really? “avtp”” with a backslash (\) instead of slash (/) and “@” in the link? Also “resistnet”?? :D

OK, I understand I’m overthinking all this (especially this last part with the link), but the fact remains that almost zero research was done.

What do you, guys, think?
 
I always took those "modern" aesthetics as part of the '80s Action Movie tribute. It wasn't what Origin saw in the future, but what Robocop and Terminator had looked toward.

Heh, resistnet. "We can't shut them down, sir! We can't find them anywhere!"
 
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