Customization

Customization is probably the single most important aspect of a game for me.  Nothing irks me more than being told how to play the game.  I personally find it insulting when a game assumes I don't know how to make a tank character.  Therefore they take it upon themselves to say, "here are three tank classes you can choose from, have fun".  I am then consigned to heavy armor wearing, shield wielding generic tank.  There is no room left for creativity.  There is nothing that fascinates me more than when a player alters the utility of an ability or item and does something totally unique with it.  Similarly, nothing upsets me more when the game does a hotfix because an item/ability was being used for unintended purposes.

I generally believe player want more customization and I believe they can be trusted with it.  Most players, before they even start playing the game, have an idea of who they want to be.  Then, with most games, you look at the classes and try to determine which is closest to what you want to do.  The counter argument for more customization is that players will find a way to break the game.  (I generally find people who argue this point are more upset about the fact that I don't love their favorite game rather than actually being opposed to the idea of greater customization).  I get satisfaction from a game when there is depth to it, when there is theory to be crafted.  I personally have never found a "best build" but I am satisfied when I strategize and see everything come together.

Here are my ideas on customization.

Armor is armor.  There is heavy, medium and light.  If it ain't broke don't fix it.  Any player can wear any armor they want.  Its a play style choice.  Heavy offers the most protection, allowing you to live longer.  However it slows you down, making you less mobile.  Light provides the greatest mobility but leaves the player exposed and is more easily killed.  The player picks what appeals to them.  There isn't better or worst armor, only different.  There are different kinds of heavy armor, you can choose armor that sacrifices a little protection for and increase in mobility, that sort of thing.  This eliminates the problem with being under geared (the most stupid concept, in my opinion).  Players no longer have to grind hour on end just to get the needed gear to actually participate.

Weapons will help to define the players role.  Currently, there are 5 weapons: automatic rifle, marksman rifle, shotgun, pistol, and heavy weapon.  A player can have any combination on these weapons (In another post I will discuss equipment slots and how they'll work).  There are no class restriction to say what weapons you can and can't use.  Players will simply choose weapons they are most comfortable with.  Similar to armor, there aren't better or worst weapons.  Just depends on how you want to play the game.  Weapons with high attack power will naturally have a slower rate of fire or weapons with a high rate of fire will have less accuracy, etc.  There would be a wide array of different weapons which can be obtained at any time (I will also soon discuss obtaining new gear).  This helps resolve the issue of being under geared.  New player will be using the same weapons as veteran players allowing them to deal just as much damage as the veterans.

Utilities are like abilities.  Utilities are also the greatest means for customization.  Utilities are equipped to an equipment slot (again I'll talk about this system soon).  Some examples of utilities would be: wrist mounted flame thrower, jet pack, stealth generator, sentry turret, thermal vision, shield generator, deploy-able barriers, grappling hook, flare, etc.  A player can choose any combination of the plethora of different utilities.  There is no order in which these can be obtained.  That way players can progress in a manner that is most rewarding to them.  These utilities are the primary mean by which veteran players gain an advantage over new players.