Suggestion: Encourage People To Be Ninjas

[TinyLesbianRobot]

Okay, this is a game about science ninjas in space.  Yet, when I'm online, I see an awful lot of people standing and shooting.  Where's the wallrunning?  The backflipping?  The iconic scene where someone slides into a room with dual pistols, leaving a trail of bodies behind them in a matter of moments?  As it stands, people only do more than they have to when they... have to.  I've never once seen someone wallrunning unless they needed it to clear a gap.

I believe that there should be an incentive to encourage this playstyle.  An incentive to be awesome.

What I'm proposing is this: a bonus, either to experience or to the chances an item will drop, when the player makes a really cool kill.  Here's a complete list of actions that I believe should incur this bonus:

 

1: If a player makes a kill while sliding, wallrunning, sprinting, or shortly after leaping out of a wallrun, then they get a bonus.

2: If a player kills more than one enemy with a single projectile (when using Bolto, Boltor, Akbolto, or Paris) then they get a bonus.  This could also apply to the Glaive, and give the weapon a bit more purpose.

3: If a player kills a large number of enemies in quick succession, then they should get a steadily growing bonus based on the number of enemies in the 'chain'.

4: There's already an XP bonus for using powers, but perhaps that bonus could grow if the power is used effectively, granting steadily growing rewards for each enemy killed by a single power use.

If a player is spamming an easily executed move just for bonuses, then the amount of bonus given would rapidly deteriorate.  Nobody likes those people who can't seem to do anything other than slide melee attacks.

Any thoughts on this suggestion?  If you have an idea for another action that should trigger this bonus, then shout it out and I'll add it to the list.

EDIT: There should also be clear visual feedback - the player needs to know this is happening or nothing will change.  Perhaps a little translucent lotus icon could appear beneath the reticule, and if you're building up a chain, a number counting the chained enemies would appear next to it.

Edited May 4, 2013 by WingedAnomaly

[K0sh]

I've came here to play TPS and for me Ninja stuff is just addition I'm not really going to use. Well I do if I run out of ammo :)

[TinyLesbianRobot]

I've came here to play TPS and for me Ninja stuff is just addition I'm not really going to use. Well I do if I run out of ammo :)

Would you really say no to a tidy XP bonus if you put in one-hundred-ten percent?

[UltimaHiryuu]

I wouldn't mind a "skill kill" experience bonus.

 

I do actually slide quite a bit. That's largely due to me playing a lot of games lately, that have sliding in them. I don't do it all the time though. That sort of experience bonus would probably make me do it more.

 

From time to time I shoot at enemies when I'm jumping. The animation can actually be pretty cool looking. Especially with akimbo pistols.

[Amistyrja]

An exp/affinity bonus would be nice. Just a small one though.

[Tetsmeha]

I think bullet storm did something like this.

 

But to prevent someone from just spamming the same move (E.g. sliding while getting a kill) the game gives you an extremely tiny bonus from doing the same kill.

[Blasio]

I can agree with the op. Most players just using primary weapon and thats it, and at the summary usually I ended up using 12-20 ability while the others 0-1. And I love stylish kills :) Im not sure what would be the right way to encourage people doing the ninja way but I think it would be important, one of my friend left the game before I joined and said to me its basicly just constantly shooting and nothing more. Now I know he was wrong :)

[TinyLesbianRobot]

I think bullet storm did something like this.

 

But to prevent someone from just spamming the same move (E.g. sliding while getting a kill) the game gives you an extremely tiny bonus from doing the same kill.

I wasn't actually thinking of Bulletstorm when I came up with this (actually thinking of Devil May Cry) but I can see what you're saying.  It probably shouldn't be as centralized as the Skillshot system, as fun as the Skillshot system is, because the focus of the game would shift.  Rather than specifically named combos that players strive to execute, you'd have simple, ubiquitous bonuses for doing cool stuff.  Players don't try to do any specific cool thing because all the bonuses are the same, you just do whatever cool thing fits the scenario.

Love the idea of diminishing rewards for spam, though.  Adding that to the post.

Edited May 4, 2013 by WingedAnomaly