This is an Article Designed to Bring People Outside of the Arena Shooter Scene Up to Speed. If you, Like me, Have More than 4 New Arena FPS Games Installed, then Feel Free to Bask, Grin and Gloat as you Read through this Spate of Sectarianism. I Feel like there is Quite a Bit of News Trickling Down to the Mainstream – Not Completely Accidental I’d Carefully Assume – and it Seems Some Conversations Keep Repeating Themselves. It also Seems that, a Good Portion of our Target Demographic is in a Constant State of Surprise. Nobody really Understands What’s Going on.
What is an Arena Shooter you Ask ? Oh you Poor Child, Come – Let us Help you. Briefly Piquing your Interest before we Start:
- Quake Live is on Steam, it’s Free and Active.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/282440
- Unreal Tournament 4 is in Development. You Can Play it, in Pre-Alpha. It’s also Completely Free and it’ll Stay that Way – Epic’s Making their Money Off the Asset Store of the Engine.
http://www.unrealtournament.com/blog
- Check the Sidebar over at /r/arenafps to See around 20 AFPS Titles in Development or in Early Access. Open your Eyes to the Recent News Covering a Dozen Titles and Events Covered by this Very Website.
http://www.reddit.com/r/arenafps
- Wickland, Reflex and Toxikk are among the ‘New’ Contenders right now.
So, the Tone of this Article is Quite Deliberate. Imagine it Being Read Aloud by a Certain Character. One that is Outrageous to the Point of Only Being Considered as Satire because of the Audacity of Certain Claims. Once they Don’t Agree with you, then Please Laugh it Away and I will Laugh as well, Only Claiming to Jest When it Would Otherwise be Deemed Inane. One Thing that does Bob to the Surface in a Reddit Thread or Ancient Forgotten Forum alike, Brimming with Experts and Cynics – Carefully Veiling their Surely Valid Points as Responses Presented as Short Sighted Rants Rife with Absolutes and Ultimatums. But really, has it Ever been any Different ? It’s Odd then, that an Entire Genre of Games has More than Once been Discarded. It is Not for Everyone, Sure we Can Agree on that. But, Surely it is for More than the Ones here right now. We Seek to Appeal those Who Play to Compete and Improve, those Who Take Defeat as a Challenge and Not as an Accusation. So, for All of you Nostalgics Suddenly Realizing that, the Last Decade of your Life has been Bereft of the UT or Quake Experience… You Idiots ! That Vast Emptiness Inside Wasn't the Yearning for Social Contact – it Wasn’t a Desire to Search True Love ! It was the Drive to Pound People into Red Mist with a Rocket Launcher ! To Once More Move Freely across a Map and See True Skill of Movement ! To Cry, while Lying Broken on the Floor below your Computer, Beaten by Someone Half your Age; you Used to be Good at this !
The Arena Shooter Never Died. It’s just that an Entire Generation of Gamers has Grown Up without a Major Release (Unreal Tournament 3 was Released in 2007 – Yes Feel Old, you Withered 20-Something). It is Now our Duty to Educate and Indoctrinate. To Whisk Away the Babes from the Soulless Comfort of Mainstream ‘eSport’ and Show the True Meaning of ‘Fun’. Those Who Got in during the Golden Age Knew and Loved Nothing Else. Yet Once ‘Gaming’ Became a True Entertainment Event, there were No Arena Games to Represent the Scene to the Outside World. It Wasn’t in the Budget and Quite Frankly, it Isn’t Right Now Yet either. Until Epic Digs Deep into the ‘Asset Store Purse’ it will be a Scene of Enthusiasts. Early Access, Alpha Release, Crowdfunding… All those Words that Have Lost All Sense of Meaning to the Hapless Consumer; yes these New Developers Use them. They Have to, Coming into a Scene that Hasn't Seen the Light of Day in Some Time. And Now, we See a Convergence – Everyone had the Same Idea and they’re All Coming in 2015. There's No Need to be Euphemistic. Understand that these Developers are Catering towards the Distilled Embodiment of Perfectionism and Arrogance, that is the Remaining Arena FPS Competitive Scene. There is No Denying that, this Hardcore is Out there and it will Very Likely Rip your Throat Out for Dishonouring the Server you Stepped into. This is a Reality we Must Accept. And so, any Developer Coming Out of this, with Most of their Limbs Intact is to be – if Not Worshipped – Nursed Back to Health and Supported and perhaps Aided with Psychological Counselling. The Hard Competitive Core is Present. It is there to Show Others What these Games are Capable of.
If you Think this is a Detriment, that a Game Cannot be Enjoyed with these Better Players Around, then you Might be Correct in Thinking, this Kind of game Isn’t for you. Now, for those of you Who Have Only Heard Old Men Dribble about this Thing Called ‘Quake’ or ‘Unreal’ and are Concerned about Not Standing a Chance in Hell Playing these Games… I will Offer Some Words of Comfort. I Understand that, these Games will be Difficult. There are No Levels, there is No ‘ExPee’, Except for the Synapses Connecting in your Brain that you will Carry around for the Rest of your Life. The Arena Shooter is a Permanent Alteration to your Psyche, you will be Different, Improved… But, I Digress ! You See, right now is the Perfect Time to Introduce Yourself to the Genre. There is a Nice Soft Buffer of Newer Players Taking their 1st Steps into this Cold and Dark World of ‘Actual’ Gaming. New Friends that are Easily Thrown under the Proverbial Bus to Buffer the Blow from the Old School Hardcore. Playing against People of Similar Skill, Seems to be the Cool thing to do and this is Certainly a Possibility in these New Arena Shooters – Quake Live even has an ELO System, to Help Shepherd the Newbs. The Confrontation with Better Players – Who'll Seem as Scornful Gods – will still be Inevitable if you Choose to Fight. It is then your Duty to Not be Confused in What is Expected of you. You Aren't Expected to Win. You are Expected to Learn. It Won’t be Fair, Yet One Day it will be – and Victory then is so Much Sweeter.
There are Things to Aspire to, Not just Arbitrary Numbers and ‘Achievements; No ‘Unlocks’ that Give you an Edge Based Solely on Time Spent. No. The Reward is Found in Achieving Victory. To Earn it by Skill and Not by Choice. There is No Progression, No Awards will be Given for Participation. I’ve Heard Odd Argumentation that, these Games should be Revamped to Allow for a More ‘Laid-Back’ Approach. That the ‘Always on’ Gameplay is No Longer Appreciated. We Should instead Seek to Embrace the More Casual Aspect of Gaming – Something Overwatch Seems to be Doing Quite Wonderfully. Understand that Saying ‘Quake Should Have a Support Class’ is Akin to Asking a New Type of Player to be Introduced to Football. One that would Always Get the Ball When Asked for it and the Other Players Can’t Take the Ball Away, Unless he Feels like it. Because he’s a Bit Tired so, he Doesn’t Feel like Giving it, his All but still, Wants to Have a Chance at Winning. Everything Needs to Satisfy this Illusive ‘Casual Appeal’. I’m Sorry but, Arena Shooters are Games Striving for Competitive Viability. The Whole Idea of ‘I’m Spending Time Playing this Game so, I Should be Rewarded’ is Perverse. Not Even Solitaire has that. It’s a Game ! If you Don’t Feel like Playing it, Don’t… We are Not Preschoolers, Yet Somehow I Can See Many DOTA Players Crying When they Didn’t Get their Gold Star. And they Wonder Why Kids Aren’t Inclined to Play Sports. You Don’t Get Magical Skinner Box Event Rewards in the Real World either.
Recognizing your Accomplishments in Failure is an Important Life Lesson. And Let’s Not Begin the Discussion that Brings Out Every Single Economics Expert Reddit Commenter. Catering to the Larger Market… Somehow a Developer has Failed and the Game is Dead When it Doesn’t Become the Next Riot and LoL Overnight. In a World Where Unreal Engine 4 just Became Free and Everyone and their Dog Can Become a Developer, Playing the Lottery of Internet Fame and Fortune, Shouldn't be a Priority. Instead, Bring a Game to Life that has True Competitive Viability. A Game Decided Purely by the Actions of the Player with No Random Events, with No Computer Intervention in the Results of the Game. The Goal is Not to Replace Mainstream Games with AFPS. It’s about Bringing a Viable Alternative for those Disillusioned at the Mould, Some Now Take as the Pinnacle of Mainstream Gaming. Let us Briefly Sketch What Makes the Arena Shooter so Superior. Yes, Superior. I Write the Word for it is Truth. Wail Away, Throw your Tantrum. Mechanically and Strategically, there are No Limits. There is No ‘eSports Façade’ to Help you here. We Stand with the Old Gods of Brood War and the Old Counter-Strike, with the Elder Team Fortress and Yes, Even Smash Brothers. Perhaps Even WarCraft 3 which Proved Too Complex for its Time – Even for its Developer. Why, the Common Layman Might See it as a Chaos of Colourful Explosions – Nothing More than Brainless Carnage. No Elegance here, No Graceful Order. Yet, this Couldn’t be Further from the Truth. The Moment you Step Away from Inconsequential Public Free-for-All Deathmatch the White-Noise Dims Away and a Lawful World Emerges.
An Arena FPS is Always a Game between the Hunter and the Hunted. Even Gametypes Other than Duel are about Finding and Pressing an Advantage. You Start with Nothing, Know the Map to Find the Weapons you Need. Search for Armour and Health to Allow you to Become More Aggressive without Increased Risk. Control of the Map Comes to those Who Remember When Items were Picked Up, Timing their Constant Circling of the Map with those Item’s Moment of Spawning. As a Player’s Armour and Health Increases, so does his Control over the Map. And I See a Frown on Some of you. No, this is Not a Game Mechanic. This ‘Control’ is Not Measured in Points or Arbitrary Illustration on the Map. This is Not ‘Creep’ Extending over an Expansion. This Control is Literal. It is the Player’s Presence on the Map. His Advantage over his Opponent Made Manifest. The Other Player Forced to Take the Back Channels of the Map, Taking Lesser Items. Slowly Performing Hit and Runs and Attempting to Steal a Major Item – for Any Direct Encounter would Mean Death. Because, that’s Where the Control Stems from. Because the Advantaged Player Knows the Item Respawn Time – by Heart and Not Some Visual Timer on the Screen – he Knows When to Show Up Where. And because the Item has been Taken by him, he’ll be Able to More Firmly Stand his Ground.
Maybe the Downtrodden Manages to Know these Timings, Sneak in a Look. A Bite with the Railgun, a Nibble with the Lightning Gun. A Rocket Where it Wasn't Expected. The Advantage Wanes, the Armour Stack Dwindles. The Balance Shifts and an Engagement is Sought at the Next Convergence. The Conflict is Measured in Dozens of Checks of Accuracy and Position. Movement Skill Tested Every Moment, Map Knowledge Paramount to Victory. This is Where The Arena Shooter’s Skill Ceiling Becomes Apparent. Other Games currently Have their Pivotal Moments Happen in Short Engagements. The Right Location at the Right Time. Exploiting a Split Second Window to Gain Victory. These Windows are Few and Far Between. Skill Only Giving Way to a Drudging Grind Momentarily. Here, there is No Moment to Simply Press Down ‘Move’, here there is No Repose. No Intricate Mechanics, a Simple Flow of Gameplay and a Handful of Things to Explain. Purity of Essence Create a Hundred Opportunities, a Hundred Windows and a Hundred Mistakes. Even at the Highest Level, No Player will Take Each Opening. Perfection is an Illusion, Only Perpetuated in the Minds of those Who Have Lost. A Demon Growing Inside, Replacing Perception of the One they are Fighting. Is this Universal ? Yes but, Not Many Other Games Can Flirt with being Called a True Sport. Laugh ? Silly then, to Compare it ? A Different Kind of Endurance is being Tested, a Different Kind of Dexterity. Snooker at the Crucible, Darts at the Lakeside. There you will Find Equals.
So then, to those Perpetuating that All of this is Lost and Faded Glory - Quiet Yourself, Fools. This is our Renaissance. These Games Come from Nothing. How Can a Game be Dead if, it Hasn’t been Born Yet ? A Decade Worth of Neglect. Skills Lost in the Sands of Time, a Challenge for Anyone Who Dares to Think themselves Worthy. With this I’m Calling Everyone Out. This is Going to Happen and Shame to All those Who Denied it. If you so Quaintly Dare Call Yourself a ‘Gamer’ but, Have Never Felt the Grace and Power of Projectile Fire as it Smears you Across the Arena Wall, Well then, you are Simply Incomplete as a Person. People Perpetuating the Fallacy that ‘Gaming has Moved on’ Have Never Truly Played this Genre. The Numbers Aren't there Yet, this is Why Awareness Needs to be Raised. We Aren't Aiming for the Mainstream Audience. It Never had that. When these Games were Being Played, there was a Much Smaller Percentage of People Playing Games.
The Demographic Playing Games right now, was Doing Other Things Back in ‘98. The Scene Grew by Word of Mouth. Small Communities on IRC and Forums Slowly Recruiting Friends. The World has Changed and Once we Show What is Out There, we will See the Genre Prosper. At What Point Can you Keep Justifying Yourself as a Casual Gamer ? How Many Hours Spent Playing without any Commitment ? How Long before it Really is just Mindless Entertainment, Simple Wasted Hours ? When is ‘Casual Gaming’ Nothing More than a Hobby without Satisfactory Return on Investment ? Arena Shooters Ask More of the Player but, it Eases in Casual Competition and Once Eyes are Open, it Flows Automatically in Serious Competition. The Scene is still Small Enough and it is Easy to Make your Mark. And so Concludes this Religious Pamphlet. Perhaps Nothing More than a Reminder to Some. Hopefully an Introduction to Some. Heresy to Others. And so at least, a Conversation has been Started.
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