Auto mode in games, play-by-by, video capture, etc.
davyK wrote:
I think in context of a 4 player platform game that an auto-mode makes sense - it means someone can drop out for a few minutes and then join in later when it suits without spoiling it for everyone else who would normally have to pause the game and wait.
You shouldn't get credit for anything done while in auto-mode though (e.g. coins or power-ups gathered etc.) and if the AI isn't prefect (or scripted) then it all adds to the fun that an absentee player is taking on a certain amount of risk by opting out for a while.
I really don't see the point of having it in single player mode.
The concept isn't new - it is in the Lego Star Wars games.
I have that Star Wars game. I thought that only applied to the multiplayer, where another player could jump in and out, not the single player component? Several games have had that as you say. I don't recall any single player games doing it, though, for obvious reasons.
Based on the language used, it seems that Miyamoto's auto mode is the computer playing at a highly skilled - perhaps even perfect - level. I like your idea that points/etc. shouldn't count while in auto mode, though that would need to be qualified to a degree, as if you were to defeat a boss enemy to get a certain item or points or whatever to progress, then you'd need a certain something to count. Probably the only way around that is to have a marker next to your score to indicate the number of times, if any, auto mode was engaged, sort of like when Atari put a teddy bear head to indicate "child mode" in some of their 2600 games. Of course, it would be nice if games with an auto mode also tracked rich stats that indicated time played, time played in auto mode, points scored, points scored in auto mode, etc. Hopefully we'll have a robust implementation and a clear indication of when it has and hasn't been used. Certainly it will make video capture easier, though if we can have the game auto play to the "good part". ;-) It may even spur on play-by-play commentary videos. Hmm...
I think in context of a 4 player platform game that an auto-mode makes sense - it means someone can drop out for a few minutes and then join in later when it suits without spoiling it for everyone else who would normally have to pause the game and wait.
You shouldn't get credit for anything done while in auto-mode though (e.g. coins or power-ups gathered etc.) and if the AI isn't prefect (or scripted) then it all adds to the fun that an absentee player is taking on a certain amount of risk by opting out for a while.
I really don't see the point of having it in single player mode.
The concept isn't new - it is in the Lego Star Wars games.
I have that Star Wars game. I thought that only applied to the multiplayer, where another player could jump in and out, not the single player component? Several games have had that as you say. I don't recall any single player games doing it, though, for obvious reasons.
Based on the language used, it seems that Miyamoto's auto mode is the computer playing at a highly skilled - perhaps even perfect - level. I like your idea that points/etc. shouldn't count while in auto mode, though that would need to be qualified to a degree, as if you were to defeat a boss enemy to get a certain item or points or whatever to progress, then you'd need a certain something to count. Probably the only way around that is to have a marker next to your score to indicate the number of times, if any, auto mode was engaged, sort of like when Atari put a teddy bear head to indicate "child mode" in some of their 2600 games. Of course, it would be nice if games with an auto mode also tracked rich stats that indicated time played, time played in auto mode, points scored, points scored in auto mode, etc. Hopefully we'll have a robust implementation and a clear indication of when it has and hasn't been used. Certainly it will make video capture easier, though if we can have the game auto play to the "good part". ;-) It may even spur on play-by-play commentary videos. Hmm...
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Bill Loguidice, Managing Director | Armchair Arcade, Inc.
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Bill Loguidice, Managing Director
Armchair Arcade, Inc.