How to make a James Bond Vgame with Replay Value

edited July 2011 in 007 Gaming Posts: 6
I believe that the best way to make an interesting Bond game with replay value is to do the following:

1) Have an original globe-throtting action adventure single player plot, taking under consideration all the elements that make a good Bond story. However, you mustn't forget that games nowadays come by the dozen, so if you want your single player to outshine others, you need to be able to give the same thrills as say, Uncharted, or Splinter Cell. And of course, you need it to be a lasting experience. Nobody plays again which doesn't have a heart and feels like a quickie.
I'm well aware that James Bond is nothing like Uncharted, but we can't deny this type of games are the ones that have kicked James Bond's ass in videogames in the last few years. Here are some of the things that Uncharted learnt from James Bond's playbook
- Incredible locations around the world
- Over the top action and stunts
- Interesting villains with world domination schemes
- Interesting girls who do more than just being eye candy
So, if you add those up in a James Bond game it might make it quite interesting. Oh, another thing, try to show more through gameplay and less through videos or briefings. Nowadays if you don't show it through gameplay, the most probable thing is that people ain't gonna care.

2) Nice gameplay and a good variety of weapons. Nothing kills a game faster than having a gameplay which doesn't feel right. You must feel agile, and able to move around the map easily, as well as having weapons with the right “kick“. No two weapons should feel the same.


3) Reward players with real stuff and not useless trophies/achievements. Add cheats in singleplayer story, that can be bought through your progress. How would this work? Imagine for a moment that if you kill 30 enemies with headshots you earn a certain amount of money which then you can use to buy this things from Q Branch. Q Branch can appear in the main menu as an option to visit, where you can decide what you want to buy. For instace, certain tweaks on gameplay can really change the mechanic. Here some ideas about this:
- Add weapon selection. Nothing makes you feel more badass than being able to shoot people with an explosive weapon and wreaking havock. Or what about being able to use the laser gun from MR? Or the golden gun? Or what about a spear gun and impaling enemies in the walls?
- Add skin selection. Once you've played the game you can unlock certain skins, and here's where you could actually play as other James Bonds without disrupting the main storyline, nor the core concept of the game. And you could also use some villain skins, and Bond girls skins, making it even more fun to see and replay the story. I would most certainly love to play as Jaws while doing the main storyline.
- Add single player tweaks that change gameplay. What if out of the sudden you could only use old weapons? Even your enemies have to use them. It changes gameplay completely. Or what having enemies with more body armor? Or making you deal half the damage to them?
- Let players find things that are related to other James Bond films hidden through the game. For instance, lets say that you can find a cat belt that belonged to Blofeld's cat. Or something less cheesy, like finding Jaw's teeth, Oddjob's hat, Rosa Klebb's shoe, Kananga's fake face, Tee Hee's claw, Gobinda's tuurbant, Octopussy's octopus, TSWLM Faberge egg, options are endless.


3) Robust competitive multiplayer. This can be really made a jewel if you use interesting multiplayer maps and features to play with. For example, you should have at least one major location from each Bond film as a multiplayer map. Who wouldn't love battling in the Golden Gate bridge? Or in Dr No's lair? Or what about Fort Knox? Or the gypsy camp? or the maze from FRWL? or the monastery from FYEO?
Now, add certain elements to the maps that make them more engaging. What if you are playing in the Volcano Lair and as the scoreboard grows, the map starts being destroyed? Or what if you are playing in Scaramanga's funhouse and it starts burning? Or the Ice Palace and it starts melting?
Also in the same multiplayer thing, make certain kill streak rewars, a la Call of Duty, where u can summon certain things from James Bond films? For example, lets suppose that a 5 kill streak allows you to call in some henchmen (or soldiers) that can battle for your cause? Or a 20 kill streak that allows you to use Goldeneye on the map, or even the earthquake device that Max Zorin intended to use? Or what about obtaining rare weapons or gadgets? Or even being more outlandish, what about obtaining a rare Baron Samedi ability where u can only die after being killed three different times? or obtaining Gustav Graves' combat suit?
Now, this is important. Give both customization and skin selection. Way too many times we've seen games who let us play through multiplayer in the skin of a soldier who his mother wouldn't even recognize. Give us faces we know, and allow us to tweak them. How about buying different suit pieces for our James Bond character? Making them wear an astrounaut suit in multiplayer?
And above all, make it rewarding. Add plenty of unlockables. Unlockable maps, weapons, skins. Make the player feel they are achieving something through gameplay. You could even add certain clips or behind the scenes footage from the films.


4) Robust cooperative multiplayer. How can you make this? Easy. Take a cue from Spec Ops in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. In this game you could play missions that were kinda related to the main storyline in order to promote certain gameplay elements, either sabotage, elimination, infiltration, etc, making it quite intresting to play with someone else.
Now, how do we do these for a Bond game? Name it “For Your Eyes Only“ and make gamers relive certain missions from Bond past. Just certain key moments. This way you can reimagine certain things about James Bond and utilize different weapon sets for a particular mission. I'm giving some examples about this:
- Hai Fat's Garden (Infiltration) Gain access to Hai Fat private quarts from TMWTGG without being detected. You and your partner play through the garden and face guards. Special reward for the player who manages to shoot Nick Nack.
- The Gyspy Camp (Elimination) Survive with your partner unti a certain number of enemies is dispatched.
- Fort Knox (Assault) - Infiltrate Fort Know and sabotage Goldfinger's plans
- Space Station (Stealth) Make Drax's space station visible to your allies without alerting other guards.
- Ice Melting (Timed Race) Escape the deadly Icarus using a high speed vehicle
Among others, the point is to revisit the main action sets from the films and make them missions that either one or two players can play. Don't be afraid to change things. After all, it's always regarding to eliminate some major James Bond villains.

5) Make Mi6 Headquarters a place you can visit and explore. Ever played Perfect Dark? It was great to walk around the Carrington Institute and do things. Imagine this but in a James Bond context. You can have a shooting gallery, some bomb defusing practice, some hand combat practice, gadget practice, and make them available for scoreboards online. This way, whenever someone tells you that they can certainly kill people with an M-16, you can say, but you haven't got a golden medal using Bond's wristwatch gun, have you?

Well, those are some ideas that I believe might make a James Bond i would actually buy and not just play. Everything's so expensive nowadays that you actually think twice about buying a game which is only going to last you a week.

Liked my ideas?
«1

Comments

  • Posts: 4,762
    I absolutely loved your ideas! That is exactly what I want out of a Bond game. I loved the whole thing about the cooperative missions, the different playable skins, and the special abilities on the multiplayer maps. Great ideas!
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 15,723
    Very good post, SanxPineda !!

    But I have one thing to add : Open-world. I would love a Red Dead Redemption-like game. How about roving around London ? Start in your apartement, eat your scramble egg and coffee, read the newspaper, go drive your Bentley around the city, go in the pub and buy a beer and smoke a cig, then go into MI6 and just move around the building !! Visit Q, chat with your secretary... That would be a killer game !!
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    First off, saying that the Uncharted series follows along the lines of the Bond films is completely wrong. Uncharted follows the Indiana Jones playbook. The exciting action and cinematic quality is inspired by cinema itself, especially action adventures. Uncharted 1 was in a jungle, and yes it was exotic, but all jungles are and the Naughty Dog team behind the game weren't getting that from Bond. In Uncharted 2 Turkey is shortly seen but you never go in the city to explore. Another location, Nepal is definitely not Bond inspired either. Much of it is battle worn. Uncharted 3 will be set in the Rub' al Kahli desert and still isn't Bond inspired. Now the villains. No villain in the Uncharted universe has wanted to take over the world. Sorry for tearing that section apart but I am a huge Uncharted fan and can't see it compared to Bond films for its appeal.
  • Posts: 4,762
    Also, instead of having the whole "press Y, press X, press whatever the button is" type of boss fights, let's have a real hand-to-hand combat like in Everything or Nothing or Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb, where it may be actually difficult to defeat the boss. I would love to use that kind of combat on those missions that SanxPineda mentioned about re-living certain Bond missions. It would be fun to use that combat to fight the classic villains.
  • OBrady, I'll have to say sthg about that. I'm both a big fan of Uncharted and Indiana Jones, and you can actually say they have taken things from their playbooks. Indiana Jones took plenty of things from James Bond playbook, even Spielberg and Lucas said it themselves. Therefore, you can realize that Uncharted, taking from Indiana Jones, also took from James Bond. Seen the trailer of Uncharted 3? Rings any bells the scene with the cargo plane? It's like James Bond on TLD on steroids. Just look at the source material.

    I love Uncharted too, and I know it's different from the James Bond films.
  • 00Beast, yes! That would be great, having some hand-to-hand combat to add some gameplay changes.

    @DaltonCraig007, I have thought of that too, but wouldn't it be a bit tricky in a way? You know, having different locales around the world make it more complicated to have a real open world feel. Maybe, just making certain parts or certain missions open-world like, located in one particular country, that would make it interesting, for sure! :D
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    A game like this would take forever to make, and a strong story and gameplay would need to be planned before the development of London/MI6/other locales are thought of. Games of this size would need great talent and also developers who LOVE Bond and would never send him down the river. There needs to be a Bond with a smart plot that is understandable not like, oh I dunno BLOOD STONE. The combat needs to be chained together. Full fights a la The Bourne Conspiracy of Batman Arkham Asylum. The game should be third person and I think it would be great to see Bond tail an asset or enemy or just drive his Aston to work. Bond should also be investigative and interact with things around him like looking at his office files or guns and even checking for bugs in a room he's staying in. Explosive chases and a Bond that takes physical damage in the form of cuts and bruises when his mission is progressed through. Like Blood Stone, but not just soil his clothes and a few cuts. I want rips, tears, gashes, blood running down his face, and Bond having to wipe it off. Basically have a Bond game be to Bond games what Batman Arkham Asylum was to Batman video games. A fresh, cunning, magnificent entry in a series of games badly made before(though Bond has had many more hits than Batman).
  • @0BradyM0Bondfanatic7 I agree with you completely. It would need a team willing to take a chance in order to make a Bond experience that is actually meant to last. Something that is very carefully planned, and very well done. I believe that the problem with the late games is that they haven't been really taken seriously. They believe we will play anything they brand with a James Bond name, and the thing is to make a game that counts and works exceedingly well.
  • I'm well aware this game would cost a lot of money, but if they want people to actually spend their hard earned salaries on their product, they need to make something that can actually give them a full cinematic experience.
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    I agree completely and can tell you dedicated a lot of time and thinking to the subject by how much you wrote. Your multi player ideas sound pretty great and I agree with your branding opinion too. I am ashamed to say I've bought a lot of games with Bond in it no matter what criticism I've heard about them. As Bond fans we're just mooches to play as such an awesome character. I mean come on, if a game let you play as a guy that is suave, gets all the women, drinks the most expensive drinks, drives the coolest cars, and gets to save the world wouldn't you latch to it? Hopefully a game like you laid out has a chance when many studios hate to innovate and want the cash NOW; and therefore rush through a game lacking creativity at the expense of one of the hugest fan bases in the world. Good topic, very good topic indeed.
  • Posts: 4,762
    @SanxPineda: I also liked the thing you said about collecting various objects like Jaws' teeth and Oddjob's hat as a means to unlock things. I could see that working very well! It should be if you collect that character's item, you unlock that character to play as in multiplayer and singleplayer.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 15,723
    All our hopes, sadly, won't be realised with Activision... I hope to god that Rockstar gets the Bond rights after Activision !! They have the dedication, will and ability to make one kick-ass Bond game !!
  • Monsieur_AubergineMonsieur_Aubergine Top of the Eiffel Tower with a fly in my soup!
    edited July 2011 Posts: 642
    LEGO - James Bond (imagine a golden interior of fort knox full of lego gold bars as you chase lego odd job around with. lol !!????
    The past history with Star Wars and Indiana Jones have been greatr successes. If Daniel Craig needs to have more fun as Bond...start with Lego! :-)
    I'm not being sarcastic by the way and fully support the need for an open world Bond adventure akin to Just Cause 2/GTA also. Heres hoping!
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    Ok, I've seen two brilliant assessments back to back. Rockstar is known for great games, and dependability to deliver. @DaltonCraig has the right idea. The devs. are probably huge Bond fans, unless they live under a rock. Also @Monsier_Aubergine, I too think that Bond lego games should be made. The lego games of the past, like Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Batman have all been successful. What better way to make money then by making Lego Bond games for each era. One for Connery, and include OHMSS, one Moore, one Brosnan with TLD and LTK, and one with Craig. Traveler's Tales will have to wait until Bond 24 to add Craig, but the other games would take three or four years to make anyway. That would be so cool.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 41,011
    Not sure if anyone else has stated it, but return to the N64 roots and gives us some Instant Action, where we can battle AI Bots. My buddy and I could play TWINE on the N64 for hours just battling bots. So much fun.
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,999
    I want rips, tears, gashes, blood running down his face, and Bond having to wipe it off.
    There's a PS2 game called SOS: The Final Escape. And as you played through the game, the protagonists clothes begin to show signs of wear and tear. So gien the adancement of technology, I don't see why that couldn't be used in the next Bond game. I'd also like to see a Bond game in the vein of Syphon Filter: The player creates their own rookie agent, and by adancing through the game, the player moes up a rank and in turn unlocks new weapons. It would also be nice if we had a game which made us feel for the charaters like Cold Winter and the Uncharted games.
  • Yes, @Creasy47, that would be great. Having the bots return to the franchise could add a lot of replay value. Remember for example in Perfect DArk for N64, the fact that you could add bots and give them orders gave the ability to do some great firefights. For example, I remember playing with my friends that the worst player was some sort of “Bond“ baddie and he had some foot soldiers around protecting him... lol imagine that as a game mode. Well, we kinda have it now, with the multiple Juggernaut or Leader or whatever modes.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 41,011
    @SanxPineda You could also choose what type of bots they were in Perfect Dark, to the point of them going after the guy with the most kills or least kills, or even bots who would go after all the ammo. Very fun way to spend time.
  • Posts: 1,856
    Work @ AV
  • Posts: 4,762
    Yes, I wish they would bring back AI bots for multiplayer. The multiplayer on Nightfire is so much fun because you can play by yourself against AI bots that resemble the classic Bond villains.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 41,011
    Absolutely. I miss that.
  • Posts: 4,762
    Also, what's with the lack of split-screen multiplayer in Quantum of Solace and Bloodstone? If we're doing away with bots for the time being, at least give us some multiplayer to play with friends who come over. I mean seriously, is it a trick that is attempting to get us to pay for Xbox Live?
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    edited July 2011 Posts: 28,694
    The MP for Blood Stone was a HUGE afterthought to an already confusing game. QoS had some entertaining MP, but I'm not big on FPS. There needs to be a Bond multiplayer to serve the fans. Golden nuggets and playable characters of the past.
  • Posts: 4,762
    @0BradyM0Bondfanatic7: Yes indeed! Just like in Nightfire, where you could unlock certain villains and allies after obtaining a bronze, silver, or gold medal. That makes playing the single player all the more satisfying if you know you're working towards a reward.
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    I completely agree!
  • Posts: 4,762
    Some ideas for unlockable villains and their abilities:
    -Dr. No: instant kill attack with metal hands
    -Red Grant: instant kill with strangling watch attack
    -Rosa Klebb: instant kill poison shoe kick
    -Goldfinger: special golden revolver
    -Oddjob: the hat
    -Wint: cake bomb
    -Kidd: flaming shishkabobs
    -Tee Hee: instant kill mechanical arm attack
    -Baron Samedi: invincibility for a few seconds
    -Scaramanga: comes equipped with the Golden Gun at all times
    -Nick Nack: able to hide easily
    -Jaws: deflects bullets if shot at the face; instant kill with teeth; super health
    -Drax: comes equipped with laser gun at all times
    -Gobinda: comes equipped with sword at all times
    -May Day: extra punch damage
    -Sanchez: comes with machete at all times
    -Xenia Onatopp: instant kill thigh attack
    -Stamper: super health; extra punch damage
    -Renard: super health
    -Gustav Graves: electrocuting battle suit
  • SharkShark Banned
    Posts: 348
    Pretty much agree with the original post. A sort of Bond-meets-GTA, Or like a third person Far Cry 2. You'd have a choice of playing as all 6 Bond actors (voiced by impersonators) in each era. Hire taxis, meet contacts, pickup broads, travel on planes and sleep in hotels (both being like the sleep function in FC2, where you set your alarm).
  • Posts: 1,894
    First off, saying that the Uncharted series follows along the lines of the Bond films is completely wrong. Uncharted follows the Indiana Jones playbook.
    The reason why UNCHARTED works is because it's a mix of shooting, puzzle-solving and exploring. True, some parts of the game are linear and go on forever - like the ice cave in AMONG THIEVES - but it's got a balance about it.
    Now the villains. No villain in the Uncharted universe has wanted to take over the world.
    No, Lazarevic just wanted the entire Cintamani Stone - when Schafer pointed out that the likes of Genghis Khan possessed a sliver of it. The implication is that Lazarevic could have ruled the world if he wanted to.
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    We can nit pick Uncharted all day, but lets get back on topic. I like @Shark's points. A game where you plan out what Bond does and have complete control over what you do would be fantastic. The only downside is a developer and the workers encompassing it would have to be huge Bond fans and understand the character. I hate to bring it up again but RockSteady did that for Batman. The dev team had a love for the character and cared about the history of him. A lot of the people who have worked on Batman AA and Batman AC have gotten Batman tattoos. Now that is love. So if we got a dev team obsessed with Bond, we would not only get great substance and knowledge put into the game, but also a bunch of hidden goodies and easter eggs giving shine to the past films and novels. A game where you wake up, go through routine, drive from Chelsea to Regent's Park, choose what women you pick up, choosing weaponry and getting to walk through MI6. Training defensively, combat with hands, legs, and guns, Getting the chance to do a mission your way, rely on assets of your choice and walk around in any number of the exotic locales the game could offer. A game with mechanics of this magnitude would take a very long time to do right, and that is one of my only worries about the possibility of it. Which is why I would love to see Rockstar get their hands on it. They are already doing Agent, and have seen the Bond films(unless they live on Jupiter). Anyone that is a fan of Rockstar Games knows that they take a long time on their games. But look at their success. They are a collective talent that see that it takes time to polish a game and they completely invest their time into it. They have a great track record. GTA, Red Dead, Bully, and LA Noire just to name a few. If Rockstar wouldn't have stepped in, LA Noire wouldn't have ever been released. Short story shorter, Rockstar can balance gameplay, drama, story, characters, and fun to the T. They have done it all, and should do a Bond game. It would be great to see them handle a literary/cinematic character like Bond and get out of their comfort zone. The results could be earth-shattering. Just sayin'. ;-)
  • Posts: 4,762
    Some cooperative multiplayer missions to be unlocked and played:

    -SPECTRE Volcano Lair: Play as 007 and Tiger Tanaka; defeat Blofeld's forces and stop the Bird 1 rocket from intercepting the US rocket

    -Piz Gloria: Play as 007 and Marc Ange Draco; defeat Blofeld's forces and destroy the communications center

    -Liparus: Play as 007 and Commander Carter; defeat Stromberg's forces, infiltrate the control room, and stop the submarines from destroying New York and Moscow

    -Space Station: Play as 007 and Colonel Scott; defeat Drax's forces

    -Afghan Airbase: Play as 007 and Kamran Shaw; defeat Koskov's forces and hijack the cargo plane

    -Stealth Ship: Play as 007 and Wai Lin; defeat Carver's forces and stop the missile launch
Sign In or Register to comment.