Cover system
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A cover system is a video game gameplay mechanic that allows a virtual avatar to hide from and avoid dangers, usually in a three-dimensional world. This method is a digital adaptation of the real-life military tactic of taking cover behind obstacles, for purposes of attaining protection from enemy ranged or area effect attacks, such as gunfire or explosions.
Definition
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In gaming, a cover system lets a player character use stationary or moving obstacles to avoid damage. To be considered a cover system, there must be some physical interaction with the source of cover and the avatar. This means moving to stand in a position behind an object, as in traditional shooter games, while strictly speaking would be classified as "taking cover", does not qualify as an actual cover system in terms of video game mechanics. Some first-person shooters such as Soldier of Fortune bridged the gap somewhat, by allowing players to lean to the sides, allowing the player's avatar to lean out from behind objects to survey the environment or open fire on the enemy, without fully exposing the entirety of the player's own body to the enemy. In addition, the player character must have the ability to move in and out of the covering objects' proximity, leaving the player with moments of vulnerability, partially exposing themselves when they wish to fire on the enemy. This excludes the exclusive use of portable shields as a cover system, though they may often be used to supplement a stationary source of cover, as seen in video games like Army of Two and Gears of War 2.
Other titles outside of first- and third-person shooters also offer implementations of a cover system.
History
Origins (1975–1998)
Brian Ashcraft of
Ryan Lambie, writing for
Namco's 1995
Modern cover system (1999–2008)
WinBack, released by Koei for the Nintendo 64 in 1999, did not allow players to run-and-gun, but instead forced them to stop and shoot, with crates and corners providing cover for the player character to pop out from and fire his weapon.[1]
In 2000, Raven released Soldier of Fortune for the PC which also featured its own lean-and-hide cover system which gave multiplayer combat far more depth. Using corners of walls, boxes, and other assorted obstacles to take cover from enemy fire was essential to successful gameplay.
In 2001's
In 2005,
The most famous among them, however, was Gears of War, released by Epic Games in November 2006. It was a third-person shooter focused entirely on cover-based combat.[24] While not the first to use a single button for moving in and out of cover, it used the mechanic more effectively with environments specifically designed with the cover system in mind. The cover system was considered revolutionary at the time and was credited for the massive success and sales of the game and its sequel, Gears of War 2.[25] Its cover system was inspired by Kill Switch,[1] whose lead designer was employed by Epic Games and was involved in the development of Gears of War.[26] In turn, Gears of War inspired a new wave of video games using the third-person, single-button cover system. According to Stuart Lindsay, some games' cover systems are criticized because the cover system is created as an afterthought rather than the game being built around that feature.[25]
Recent developments (2009–present)
After the video game cover system was popularized, several recent games have attempted to alter or further revolutionize the cover system in a unique way. One such game is the first-person shooter
A way games have changed the cover has been shifting the focus from participating in combat from behind cover to only using cover as a last resort. An example is 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand, which rewards players for assaulting enemies.[28] Uncharted 2: Among Thieves uses cover abilities by allowing the player to hang onto cover vertically and use three dimensions of cover to avoid enemy fire. Dark Void uses a 360 degree threat radius, as the player character can fly. This is accomplished through vertical cover like scaling a mountainside or standard cover like walls.
In contrast to some cover-based shooters,
The action-RPG The Last Story includes a cover system that works with both 3rd-person shooting and melee combat systems, and the turn-based tactical XCOM: Enemy Unknown features cover systems as well.
Reception
The cover system has become a large part of modern third-person shooters. Nate Ahearn of Yahoo! News felt that cover systems changed the game experience for the better and reasoned this by claiming that cover systems were so vital because they allowed the player to view the character, creating a deeper connection between the gamer and the player character. In addition, Ahearn felt that having a cover system allowed the game to slow the pace and "really lets you flex the muscle of your fancy new graphics engine", giving games with cover systems advantages over fast-paced shooters.[32]
Cover systems are not universally praised, however.
References
- ^ a b c d e Brian Ashcraft (January 20, 2010). "How Cover Shaped Gaming's Last Decade". Kotaku. Retrieved 2011-03-26.
- ISBN 0-7440-0424-1, retrieved 2011-03-27
- AllGame. Archived from the originalon 14 November 2014. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
- Computer Gamer. No. 7. United Kingdom: Argus Press. pp. 18–9.
- ^ Lambie, Ryan (15 March 2019). "Rolling Thunder: Namco's Hidden Arcade Gem". Den of Geek. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
- ^ Kalata, Kurt. "Rolling Thunder". Hardcore Gaming 101. Archived from the original on 2011-02-04. Retrieved 2011-02-04.
- ^ a b Kalata, Kurt. "Konami Run 'n Guns". Hardcore Gaming 101.
- AllGame. Archived from the originalon 14 November 2014. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
- ^ Kalata, Kurt. "Blackthorne". Hardcore Gaming 101.
- ^ a b "Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty Walkthrough: Walkthrough: Tanker, Part 2". IGN. Archived from the original on 2011-07-13.
- ^ "Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty Walkthrough: Walkthrough: Plant, Part 6". IGN. Archived from the original on 2011-07-13.
- ^ "Hands-on: The Metal Gear Solid 2 Demo". IGN. Archived from the original on 2010-09-09.
- ^ "Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty Walkthrough: Walkthrough: Tanker, Part 1". IGN. Archived from the original on 2011-07-13.
- ^ a b "Why Vanquish will make Gears Of War obsolete". Play.
- ^ "Kill.Switch & Gladius Go Gold". Voodoo Extreme. IGN. Archived from the original on 2011-07-05.
- ^ Tucker, Ricky. "kill.switch". Game Vortex. Retrieved 2009-12-12.
- ^ "CT Special Forces Fire For Effect Review". VideoGamer.com. Archived from the original on 2012-09-27.
- ^ Randolph Ramsay (2007-10-26). "Q&A: Naughty Dog on Uncharted". GameSpot AU. Archived from the original on 2011-09-20. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
- 1UP. Archived from the originalon 2012-01-21.
- ^ "Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 – Review". Game Critics.
- ^ "Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2011-01-30.
- CNET.com. 2006-05-17.
- ^ "Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter Review". GamesFirst.
- ^ "Gears of War Review". IGN. 2006-11-07. Retrieved 2009-12-12.
- ^ a b Lindsay, Stuart (2009-12-02). "Did Gears of War Innovate the Cover System". Planet Xbox 360. Retrieved 2009-12-12.
- Team Xbox. Archived from the originalon 2011-09-28.
- ^ a b "Cover System (video game concept)". Giant Bomb. Retrieved 2009-12-12.
- Shack News. 2009-02-10. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
- ^ a b "Vanquish video game review". The Telegraph. 19 October 2010.
- ^ "Vanquish an intense sci-fi shooter". Toronto Sun. Archived from the original on 2017-09-06.
- ^ "Interview: Shinji Mikami on Vanquish, evolving game dev locales and ... punching fools". Joystiq. Archived from the original on 2012-10-19.
- ^ "Cover Me! - IGN". 2014-08-29. Archived from the original on 2014-08-29. Retrieved 2023-02-14.
- ^ Croshaw, Ben (17 August 2016). "ZeroPunctuation - Quake". The Escapist. Archived from the original on 17 January 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
- ^ Croshaw, Ben (23 September 2015). "ZeroPunctuation - Gears of War: Ultimate Edition". The Escapist. Archived from the original on 28 April 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2017.