🌌☾ᏉᎬᎶᎪ☽⭐
Inkling
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2024
- Messages
- 4
- Pronouns
- He/Him But Any Is Fine
- Switch Friend Code
- SW-4725-2886-6488
Hello. I've been thinking of something lately.
Splatoon is a very fun game. There's a lot to do, and there's a lot of depth within its mechanics, but how does the game teach these to the player exactly?
It got me thinking because of this specific tweet right here, where I mythbusted an idea I had that with enough Sub Power Up, you could throw a bomb from one Brinewater snipe to another.
While it was received well, there were also a few people wondering that Sub Power Up increased the throw range the whole time, and while this might be common knowledge to many, the fact that there's still a few people out there wondering what it does in the first place got me questioning how exactly these mechanics are taught to your average Splatoon player, if at all.
I guess I'll start off with what I put down, which is a few player's not knowing what Sub Power Up does, and frankly this could be extended to many of the abilities. I think it's a generally accepted statement that the ability descriptions can either describe the ability in question or just be completely vague in terms of what it does for you. Sub Power Up is one example as it reads "Upgrades your sub weapon." How does it upgrade it? The game certainly doesn't tell you, so you're left to figure that one out for yourself, and you either will go in or do just that or be forced to look through other sources just to find what exactly it does for each sub weapon. The same problem also arises with Special Power Up, which basically has the exact same description of Sub Power Up, but now it's even harder to tell what's going on for each special since rarely are they ever really clear to you. Sure you might notice your bomb going a bit farther, or your tacticooler buff going on for longer, but you're never told, instead being forced to notice subconsciously. Other examples include Haunt, Opening Gambit, and Last Ditch Effort.
The thing is, we did in fact see this issue remedied, and it was with Main Power Up in Splatoon 2. When you checked to see the ability on your gear, Main Power Up would also change its description to reflect the main weapon you had equipped. This is such a nice thing to have since now you can decide whether the effect is worth it or not and choose if running something else is worth it instead of trial and erroring your way to a conclusion. To be frank, a lot of people aren't gonna notice a lot of these effects unless told upfront, and with a diverse system as gear, this kind of information is important to how you wanna customize your clothing for a weapon, for practicality in a general use, or even just a fashion statement like perfect/pure gear. Overall though, descriptions really do need to be updated to reflect their changes depending on what you're using, or even just explaining the thing fully, like Haunt giving Respawn Punisher on the haunted player if you splat them, Opening Gambit specifically having Run Speed, Swim Speed, Ink Resistance, and Intensify Action in addition to extending the timer by 15 seconds every kill or assist, and Last Ditch Effort giving 6 subs of Ink Saver Main, Ink Saver Sub, and Ink Recovery Up when its parameters are met.
But gear is one thing. What about the weapons you play, which are the bread and butter of the game? Well for that we have our good buddy Sheldon to tell us what they are and what they're intended to do. Unfortunately, for the guy who's nerdy about weapons, his statements can be, inaccurate to say the least. Let's use the Goo Tuber description for example, not to highlight the inaccurate part but because it's comedic.
"I debuted this weapon before, but I'm as proud as ever of the Goo Tuber, a charger with the upgraded ability to store your charge even longer! It offers high-pressure ink storage for extended periods, allowing you to stay submerged while you wait for the perfect shot! In exchange, it takes a bit longer to charge, but this baby can store a partial charge, giving you the ultimate in flexibility. For instance, while you use a Torpedo to reveal enemy positions, you can be comfortably charging away in a safe spot. Then, when you're ready to ink 'em up, zip to the most advantageous spot and snipe away! If you miss, you have Tenta Missiles in your back pocket to finish the job. If you want to take your strategy to the next level by storing charges and taking advantage of each stage's unique terrain with your mobility, this set is for you!"
My guy has clearly not seen early Splatoon 3 map design.
While this description is fine for the most part, it doesn't really go any deeper than the main gimmick. Heck it doesn't even mention that this is the only charger capable of splatting without a full charge. Same thing with the Squiffer. Relatively okay description, but it never mentions how it can charge full speed in midair. Worst offender is the Jet Squelcher because Sheldon doesn't even finish the full thing in game; he just talks about Line Marker and that's it. Nothing about Ink Vac or what the kit is "intended" for.
"The Jet Squelcher has boosted pump pressure to give it a range that rivals charger weapons! Like other weapons with extreme range, it doesn't offer much in the way of power. But when combined with the Angle Shooter sub, your enemies won't know what hit 'em."
Thankfully Inkipedia allows us to see the entire thing.
"Because you'll be SO far away! Add the Ink Vac to the mix to suck up incoming offensives, and you have a loadout that's perfect for cool, calculating players who play it safe."
Even I'm learning something new typing this up. I'm not exactly sure about the playing it safe part considering Ink Vac has a lot of risks but I'd argue that the Jet Squelcher would benefit more from going in due to both of its subs encouraging it, and leaving the playing it safe part to the Custom kit.
So, thinking about it, Splatoon probably just wants to be a little lighthearted with Sheldon's descriptions, and wants you to use the weapons themselves to figure them out and learn all the ins and outs about them, which leads to a very flawed thing, which is the stats.
You know how when you look at a weapon it'll probably have Range, Damage, Fire Rate, Impact, Ink Speed, Handling, Charge Speed, Mobility, all that jazz? While in theory it probably makes sense to have all of this, but in practice it tells you nothing outside of "longer bar means better... something." You don't even get the numbers just the bar itself, making it useless without any real analytics to look through. Even with those numbers, you're still left scratching your head as to what exactly Impact, Handling, and Mobility even mean. Maybe Impact could mean how big the blast radius of a blaster is. Maybe Handling means how fast you can turn with your roller without needing to slow down and speed back up again. Maybe Mobility means how fast you can move while charging a shot. All of these assumptions sure, but the fact you even need to make these in the first place is very dumb and dare I say, badly designed. A lot of the mechanics being told in weapons and gear kinda seem to be "throw yourself in the deep end maybe you'll find out." A lot of this kinda fails to inform the player of exactly what they're doing and what something does.
So if we strip all of that away, we're left with the player. Us. What does Splatoon try to do to teach us how to move? Well, in my opinion I think this is the one place where I think Splatoon actually does a good job. It instills the player with the basic knowledge of tilting your stick to move, pressing ZL to enter swim form, and of course, firing your gun. I think even with just the tutorial itself that you get for picking your avatar for the first time is great in subconsciously instilling the player that their movement is their biggest strength. The idea of painting the floor to make it your turf silently tells you that you can move as far as said turf goes, and that turf will always be yours to control so long as it's painted. You have control over that paint because you can walk on it. You have control over that paint because you can swim on it. You can squid roll and squid surge to control what your enemy does because you have that freedom over that turf. You live and die by what you paint, and that is something I think many people don't actively realize; but you don't have to, because it comes so naturally to the player. It's almost freeform in a way. Your paint decides how you play, because it represents what you control and how far you're able to influence said control at any moment.
Honing back to Squid Rolling, this move that we used to think we'd only use sometimes and would be whatever has become something we take for granted. It's something many players just naturally do because it flows so well into the game. You don't just use it to move around; you use it as a mix up, a parry, an escape option if need be, even a denial to bombs and splash damage. This form of movement, despite its armor, feels fair because anyone can do it, and it spices up the game in a way that it feels as such, and just natural, like this was something that was always here. While I unfortunately can't say the same for Squid Surging, I think that's only because the maps don't account for its existence (though I think it'd genuinely help if Surge could be charged a bit faster maybe then it'll see reason to be used for something that launches you into a vulnerable state). Even the act of simply recovering ink is a natural thing because you can fill it while you move. This alone can also teach the player that they move slower but can fight as a kid, but move faster and cannot fight back as a squid, and that balancing when to move, when to shoot, when to swim, and whatnot is key to how good one can become at the game.
Movement is the name of the game in Splatoon, and I don't think that we'd see this game the same if it didn't have a system so lucrative, so complicated, and yet so simple all tied up in a neat package.
So, after all of this, what are my conclusions? Well, I'd say for the most part Splatoon does a pretty good job teaching a player the mechanics of the game and how to get it done, but it begins to falter once it attempts to explain something complicated, either defaulting to faulty explanations by Sheldon or giving descriptions so vague that it leaves people questioning what it does and either forces them to figure it out themselves or look it up, which isn't very good. That being said though, these are problems with very simple solutions, one solution even already being done in the form of Main Power Up. What might be a Wahoo World timer moment for many might just be mind-blowing information to some, and if someone is only now learning something, we should at least educate them and even show more of it rather than putting the funny haha clock in their face. It'd be more kind, respectful, and overall informative, because those who question something will only be a fool for 5 minutes, instead of remaining a fool forever.
So that's what I've been thinking about today. I'll see you guys again sometime soon.
Splatoon is a very fun game. There's a lot to do, and there's a lot of depth within its mechanics, but how does the game teach these to the player exactly?
It got me thinking because of this specific tweet right here, where I mythbusted an idea I had that with enough Sub Power Up, you could throw a bomb from one Brinewater snipe to another.
While it was received well, there were also a few people wondering that Sub Power Up increased the throw range the whole time, and while this might be common knowledge to many, the fact that there's still a few people out there wondering what it does in the first place got me questioning how exactly these mechanics are taught to your average Splatoon player, if at all.
I guess I'll start off with what I put down, which is a few player's not knowing what Sub Power Up does, and frankly this could be extended to many of the abilities. I think it's a generally accepted statement that the ability descriptions can either describe the ability in question or just be completely vague in terms of what it does for you. Sub Power Up is one example as it reads "Upgrades your sub weapon." How does it upgrade it? The game certainly doesn't tell you, so you're left to figure that one out for yourself, and you either will go in or do just that or be forced to look through other sources just to find what exactly it does for each sub weapon. The same problem also arises with Special Power Up, which basically has the exact same description of Sub Power Up, but now it's even harder to tell what's going on for each special since rarely are they ever really clear to you. Sure you might notice your bomb going a bit farther, or your tacticooler buff going on for longer, but you're never told, instead being forced to notice subconsciously. Other examples include Haunt, Opening Gambit, and Last Ditch Effort.
The thing is, we did in fact see this issue remedied, and it was with Main Power Up in Splatoon 2. When you checked to see the ability on your gear, Main Power Up would also change its description to reflect the main weapon you had equipped. This is such a nice thing to have since now you can decide whether the effect is worth it or not and choose if running something else is worth it instead of trial and erroring your way to a conclusion. To be frank, a lot of people aren't gonna notice a lot of these effects unless told upfront, and with a diverse system as gear, this kind of information is important to how you wanna customize your clothing for a weapon, for practicality in a general use, or even just a fashion statement like perfect/pure gear. Overall though, descriptions really do need to be updated to reflect their changes depending on what you're using, or even just explaining the thing fully, like Haunt giving Respawn Punisher on the haunted player if you splat them, Opening Gambit specifically having Run Speed, Swim Speed, Ink Resistance, and Intensify Action in addition to extending the timer by 15 seconds every kill or assist, and Last Ditch Effort giving 6 subs of Ink Saver Main, Ink Saver Sub, and Ink Recovery Up when its parameters are met.
But gear is one thing. What about the weapons you play, which are the bread and butter of the game? Well for that we have our good buddy Sheldon to tell us what they are and what they're intended to do. Unfortunately, for the guy who's nerdy about weapons, his statements can be, inaccurate to say the least. Let's use the Goo Tuber description for example, not to highlight the inaccurate part but because it's comedic.
"I debuted this weapon before, but I'm as proud as ever of the Goo Tuber, a charger with the upgraded ability to store your charge even longer! It offers high-pressure ink storage for extended periods, allowing you to stay submerged while you wait for the perfect shot! In exchange, it takes a bit longer to charge, but this baby can store a partial charge, giving you the ultimate in flexibility. For instance, while you use a Torpedo to reveal enemy positions, you can be comfortably charging away in a safe spot. Then, when you're ready to ink 'em up, zip to the most advantageous spot and snipe away! If you miss, you have Tenta Missiles in your back pocket to finish the job. If you want to take your strategy to the next level by storing charges and taking advantage of each stage's unique terrain with your mobility, this set is for you!"
My guy has clearly not seen early Splatoon 3 map design.
While this description is fine for the most part, it doesn't really go any deeper than the main gimmick. Heck it doesn't even mention that this is the only charger capable of splatting without a full charge. Same thing with the Squiffer. Relatively okay description, but it never mentions how it can charge full speed in midair. Worst offender is the Jet Squelcher because Sheldon doesn't even finish the full thing in game; he just talks about Line Marker and that's it. Nothing about Ink Vac or what the kit is "intended" for.
"The Jet Squelcher has boosted pump pressure to give it a range that rivals charger weapons! Like other weapons with extreme range, it doesn't offer much in the way of power. But when combined with the Angle Shooter sub, your enemies won't know what hit 'em."
Thankfully Inkipedia allows us to see the entire thing.
"Because you'll be SO far away! Add the Ink Vac to the mix to suck up incoming offensives, and you have a loadout that's perfect for cool, calculating players who play it safe."
Even I'm learning something new typing this up. I'm not exactly sure about the playing it safe part considering Ink Vac has a lot of risks but I'd argue that the Jet Squelcher would benefit more from going in due to both of its subs encouraging it, and leaving the playing it safe part to the Custom kit.
So, thinking about it, Splatoon probably just wants to be a little lighthearted with Sheldon's descriptions, and wants you to use the weapons themselves to figure them out and learn all the ins and outs about them, which leads to a very flawed thing, which is the stats.
You know how when you look at a weapon it'll probably have Range, Damage, Fire Rate, Impact, Ink Speed, Handling, Charge Speed, Mobility, all that jazz? While in theory it probably makes sense to have all of this, but in practice it tells you nothing outside of "longer bar means better... something." You don't even get the numbers just the bar itself, making it useless without any real analytics to look through. Even with those numbers, you're still left scratching your head as to what exactly Impact, Handling, and Mobility even mean. Maybe Impact could mean how big the blast radius of a blaster is. Maybe Handling means how fast you can turn with your roller without needing to slow down and speed back up again. Maybe Mobility means how fast you can move while charging a shot. All of these assumptions sure, but the fact you even need to make these in the first place is very dumb and dare I say, badly designed. A lot of the mechanics being told in weapons and gear kinda seem to be "throw yourself in the deep end maybe you'll find out." A lot of this kinda fails to inform the player of exactly what they're doing and what something does.
So if we strip all of that away, we're left with the player. Us. What does Splatoon try to do to teach us how to move? Well, in my opinion I think this is the one place where I think Splatoon actually does a good job. It instills the player with the basic knowledge of tilting your stick to move, pressing ZL to enter swim form, and of course, firing your gun. I think even with just the tutorial itself that you get for picking your avatar for the first time is great in subconsciously instilling the player that their movement is their biggest strength. The idea of painting the floor to make it your turf silently tells you that you can move as far as said turf goes, and that turf will always be yours to control so long as it's painted. You have control over that paint because you can walk on it. You have control over that paint because you can swim on it. You can squid roll and squid surge to control what your enemy does because you have that freedom over that turf. You live and die by what you paint, and that is something I think many people don't actively realize; but you don't have to, because it comes so naturally to the player. It's almost freeform in a way. Your paint decides how you play, because it represents what you control and how far you're able to influence said control at any moment.
Honing back to Squid Rolling, this move that we used to think we'd only use sometimes and would be whatever has become something we take for granted. It's something many players just naturally do because it flows so well into the game. You don't just use it to move around; you use it as a mix up, a parry, an escape option if need be, even a denial to bombs and splash damage. This form of movement, despite its armor, feels fair because anyone can do it, and it spices up the game in a way that it feels as such, and just natural, like this was something that was always here. While I unfortunately can't say the same for Squid Surging, I think that's only because the maps don't account for its existence (though I think it'd genuinely help if Surge could be charged a bit faster maybe then it'll see reason to be used for something that launches you into a vulnerable state). Even the act of simply recovering ink is a natural thing because you can fill it while you move. This alone can also teach the player that they move slower but can fight as a kid, but move faster and cannot fight back as a squid, and that balancing when to move, when to shoot, when to swim, and whatnot is key to how good one can become at the game.
Movement is the name of the game in Splatoon, and I don't think that we'd see this game the same if it didn't have a system so lucrative, so complicated, and yet so simple all tied up in a neat package.
So, after all of this, what are my conclusions? Well, I'd say for the most part Splatoon does a pretty good job teaching a player the mechanics of the game and how to get it done, but it begins to falter once it attempts to explain something complicated, either defaulting to faulty explanations by Sheldon or giving descriptions so vague that it leaves people questioning what it does and either forces them to figure it out themselves or look it up, which isn't very good. That being said though, these are problems with very simple solutions, one solution even already being done in the form of Main Power Up. What might be a Wahoo World timer moment for many might just be mind-blowing information to some, and if someone is only now learning something, we should at least educate them and even show more of it rather than putting the funny haha clock in their face. It'd be more kind, respectful, and overall informative, because those who question something will only be a fool for 5 minutes, instead of remaining a fool forever.
So that's what I've been thinking about today. I'll see you guys again sometime soon.
