Haze/Nectar Gameplay

## Some Questions

* How does nectar affect my **gameplay experience**?
* How do we solve the problem of the player **losing** his nectar abilities when they **change sides**?
* What are all the **different** nectar **states** about?

## Nectar Overview

* **Combat enhancer** developed by **Mantel** Corp.
* Administered to all troopers via satellite-controlled **intravenous injection**
* This makes them the **best soldiers** in the world
* However, users are also **blinded** to the **reality** and **horrors** of their situation
* Nectar deprivation causes immediate awakening to the reality of the situation, often causing **madness** and **psychosis**
* Rather than simply being a scripted and narrative elements, nectar will impart abilities based on player's performance and play style (Player Domination ↑ ↓ Nectar Abilities)

## Nectar Abilities

* Basic combat gameplay loop:
	+ Survival → Strategy → Survival → Eliminate Target → Survival
	+ Anticipate → Locate → Destroy
	+ Abilities related to each loop
		- Survival - Anticipate = Nectar Foresight
		- Strategy - Locate = Nectar Perception
		- Eliminate Target - Destroy = Nectar Focus

## Nectar Abilities

### Nectar Foresight

* The ability to **anticipate** danger
* Occurs when the player is under threat from:
	+ Imminent explosions (rockets/grenades)
	+ Incoming gunfire
	+ Enemy melee attacks

### Nectar Perception

* The ability to **locate** enemy forces
* Occurs when the player:
	+ Kills an enemy
	+ Remains static for a period of time

### Nectar Focus

* The ability to **destroy** an enemy, by focusing the player on just them
* Occurs when the player:
	+ Zooms in on a character
	+ Uses the iron sight aim on a character

## Systemic Elements

* Hold on a minute… You said the Nectar gameplay was **systemic**!
* Original proposal based on 'Dominance' of battlefield:
	+ The **greater the player's dominance** of the battlefield, the **less nectar** they are administered.
* But how do you **measure** dominance?
* Would probably measure dominance using **factors** such as:
	+ Player health
	+ Number of enemies nearby
	+ Player's shooting skill
* However...
	+ Hard to create a useful equation from **numerous variables** that bear **no relation** to one another.
	+ Very **hard to balance**
* It would be easier and more readable if we could link **each ability to a single factor**, e.g.:
	+ Player health → Nectar foresight
	+ The lower the player's health, the better their Foresight ability gets.
* This makes nectar **adaptive**.
* Adaptive? Huh?
	+ Nectar does not simply enhance *all* abilities all of the time; instead it enhances **whichever ability the player needs the most**.
* Nectar Foresight:
	+ The **lower** the player's health, the **larger and more intense** the filter indicating danger
* Nectar Perception:
	+ The **greater the number** of enemies near the player, the **more intense** the highlight on each
* Nectar Focus:
	+ The **longer** the player spends aiming at a character, the **more intense** the focus effect

## Rebel Gameplay

* First off, a couple more reminders…
* Meaning of HAZE:
	+ **“The clean, hi-tech war is a lie”**
* Player experience needs to be expansive, not reductive
	+ i.e. We should give the player **more and more new toys** as they go through the game, not **take them away**
* Boo! I've stopped using Nectar, and now my **cool abilities** are gone!
* Or are they...?
* **The player will now *keep* their Nectar abilities when they change sides!**
* What!? How!?
* 'Nectar' abilities actually have '**nothing'** to do with **nectar**
* They are just **human senses** working at their **height** in combat; a sixth sense, or combat awareness
* Nectar's combat-enhancing capabilities are all Mantel **propaganda**; all it does is **blind** people to the **reality** of their situation
* In other words… **Nectar is a lie**
* As Teare explains:
	+ “Oh, and just so you know, those 'special abilities' they said it gave us? You might have noticed you've still got them. Just thanks to good old-fashioned adrenaline. Nectar was never about making us tougher soldiers. It was about making us compliant.”
* The player can thus continue to use **Foresight**, **Perception**, and **Focus**
	+ Obviously, they are **no longer** called 'Nectar' abilities

## Nectar States

* In gameplay terms, there are **three** different 'Nectar' states:
	+ **Nectar normal** (normal state for a trooper)
	+ **Reality** (normal state for a rebel)
	+ **Nectar withdrawal** (state reached when a trooper is deprived of Nectar)

### Abilities

* Which abilities are available in each of the different states?

 Foresight
 Perception
 Focus

### General Visuals

* What visual effects are associated with each Nectar state?

### Audio

* What audio effects are associated with each Nectar state?

## Summary

* There are three core Nectar abilities:
	+ Nectar **Focus**
	+ Nectar **Foresight**
	+ Nectar **Perception**
* These **enhance** the very **core** of the FPS experience
* They are **adaptive**, altering based on a player's current situation
* However, they are not Nectar abilities at all – merely **combat abilities**
* Thus, the player can **keep them** when they change sides
* Difference of Nectar states is **strongly** supported by **gameplay**, **audio** and **visual** tools

## Appendix 1: Complete Nectar FX Grid

### Player as Rebel

*\*Depends on effect of drug. Should it make your own side appear scary or vulnerable?*

Some other ideas and thoughts

* When in severe withdrawal or later deliberately drugged by the marines, the player's perception of characters could switch between extremes to heighten the players sense of confusion – for example a character would look normal one second and then appear monstrous the next. This could apply to both friendly and enemy characters.
* Question as to whether 'reality' when the player is a rebel should be 'better' than 'reality' when the player is a marine but their nKTR is cutting out (i.e. When playing as a marine the player's high drops straight into a comedown phase rather than reality). Does it go High -> Comedown -> Reality or High -> Reality -> Comedown -> Reality ?
* I think perhaps the best idea is to have 4 stages of drug withdrawal:
	+ High (everything shiny and nice)
	+ Comedown (slightly more hellish than reality – some subtle hallucinatory effects)
	+ Withdrawal (really buggin' out – only really applicable to swamp level but applicable for when the marines drug you later too)
	+ Reality (once you come out the other side and join the rebels)
* Do we have enough time to really get the most from all this drug stuff now the player no longer uses drugs as a rebel?

## Appendix 2: Gameplay Events and General Perception Differences

Press this button for proper viewing of the tables.

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Description of effects

* DOF blur: (just an idea, needs trying) Depth of field effect where the focal point moves quickly from the far distance to right near the player (faster recovery from hit = faster movement). Alternatively could be a simple blur effect around the edges of the screen where the radius adjusts from small to large.

Other thoughts and ideas

* Can we keep the reticule steady but still jolt the camera? The camera jolts on a near miss are a nice idea but might be irritating if they affect aim

## References

* nectar\_gameplay\_v1.odp (02/06/2006)
* nectar\_effects\_grid.ods (19/01/2006)