Weapon Design Philosophy
Some more thoughts about Counter-Strike GO. I was thinking about how the personality of the faction, the team you’re on, is built into the weapon list.
Sure, you’re thinking, the CT’s have suppressed weapons and the T’s don’t. Yes, that’s correct!
I think there’s more though. Some of the fundamental differences between the two as established in the game play. The CT’s have a subtle philosophy of being more precise and careful with their bullets. For example, if you miss your target and hit a hostage, it costs you money (they used to die). They have a “silent and sustained” style of play, where landing repeated hits on target from surprise is the most effective tactic.
The terrorists have the “loud and powerful” style of play. The headshot power of the AK is a perfect example. While it rapidly gets much less controllable with fire than the M4s, one headshot kills a fully armored target. Reaction fire to a prepared M4s firer puts you at a disadvantage unless you can get that HS — because the M4S isn’t going to 1-shot headshot you.
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This same concept extends to the scoped assault rifles, the Sig and the Aug. The Aug will not one-shot hs, but the Sig will. The Sig also blooms much more rapidly and is harder to control in full auto.
If I extended this model forward to something that doesn’t exist in game, I’d categorize the R8 revolver and the Desert Eagle as T and CT, respectively. The “pause before shot” aspect of the l-click on the revolver that simulates a single-action hammer make it so preparing your shot is much more important; it’s a one-shot headshot too. The Deagle is also a one-shot hs, but it’s much easier to rapid fire and getting 2–3 hits on center of mass is nearly as effective as the 1shs.
The T’s get rewarded for setting up an accurate first shot; the CT’s get rewarded more for sustained accuracy than the T’s.
It’s a philosophy that doesn’t apply to all weapons or play, it’s more of a flavor or influence. There are weapons from most playstyles in both factions (T’s lacking a fully auto pistol like the CZ-75 is about the only non-equivalent playstyle I can think of). I think that this kind of design thinking goes a long way to inform the character of the game, the player experience, and it’s something many people who have a vague grasp of the real world situations of this type go “yeah that matches my mental model, I like it”.
These kinds of depths of gameplay create a simple system that is easy to understand (it could be made more accessible) with a lot of play time to master the intricacies of individual weapons.
This extends PLAYER ENGAGEMENT!
Do you have a favorite weapon/playstyle in a shooter game? Comments welcome!
