Happy Tuesday!
In last week’s developer blog, I talked about one particular style of game play that players might enjoy using in Beyond Equilibrium: the shoot ‘em up method. This week’s topic is the opposite of that method. Can you guess what that might be? The boring name I came up with is the sneaking method, but I think I can do better than that! How about the…Solid Snake method?
Well, I think you get the point. Contrary to how the shoot ‘em up method works, the Solid Snake method keeps the player’s location under wraps and reduces the likelihood of being detected. It involves avoiding every single environment hazard prevent detection, sneaking around enemies completely without drawing your weapon, using environment distractions, or even leading enemies into rival factions. It is purely up to your skill and knowledge of the game’s mechanics to remain in the dark, completely, for many of the game missions.
Certain levels may contain helpful obstacles in the environment to help you hide, such as protective cover (boxes, walls, tables, chairs, etc.) and help you stay in the darkness for as long as possible. These can be used to your advantage; if an enemy is patrolling an area, use these cover options to avoid detection, wait, and slip past once the danger is clear.
For some, this may seem like a really long and drawn-out way of handling things. And, depending on how the enemies and environment hazards are laid out, it might not even be a safe option for you. You could be stuck down a dead-end hallway with three gassers lined up chewing on munchie morsels, with no way of progressing without alerting them. You could be trapped between a wandering droid and a security camera, with no way of avoiding one or the other.
As I mentioned in the previous developer blog, the shoot ‘em up method is viable for almost any situation if you have the conserved ammo to come out alive and the skill to take down your enemies quickly. However, Solid Snake-ing some missions might be risky, while others might be a walk in the park; others might be next to impossible.
The Solid Snake method, at least in my perspective, is a great way to minimize the chaos involved with doing the mission. Being careless is what gets you killed; use this method if you don’t want to raise suspicion; shoot and run if you make a mistake or have to show yourself. The Solid Snake method is for the pacifist in us all.
Next week’s dev blog will be all about using the environment to your advantage! Have a look when you can!
~Jacob Giambalvo, PR Manager, Revelations Studios
