Mirror's Edge reboot - open world

EvaUnit02 on 12/6/2013 at 19:09

Because this deserved its own thread.
Apparently the new Mirror's Edge is not a sequel or a prequel, it's a reboot. Powered by Frostbite 3, for PC and the two relevant 8th consoles. "When it's done." (http://www.craveonline.com/gaming/articles/518229-e3-2013-mirrors-edge-2-will-be-open-world) Also it will be open world vs. being a linear experience like the first game.

It's not a bad move, actually. The first game flopped financially, despite being a critical success, hence being labelled a "cult" game. A fiction reboot gives it a second chance to possibly resonate with audiences without requiring any prior knowledge of ME 2008's plot.

Having an open world widens potential for gameplay, definitely exciting news. ME 2008 by design encourages "speed run" play style due to having linear levels, having an open world probably encourage and reward exploration by the player.

Quote:

The new Mirror’s Edge reboots the franchise for the next generation with advanced visuals and an all-new origin story for Faith. Powered by DICE’s proprietary Frostbite™ technology, the game will be heading to Xbox One®, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PlayStation®4, and PC.

“We introduced Mirror’s Edge and Faith to gamers five years ago, and we’ve waited for the right moment to reunite them,” said Sara Jansson, Senior Producer, DICE. “Thanks to the Frostbite engine and a new generation of platforms, we are now able to deliver a richer world that players will be able to explore with a new level of freedom in both movement and action.”

Jason Moyer on 12/6/2013 at 19:12

Turning a speedrunning game into an open-world faffing about game. Sounds like a pass.

henke on 12/6/2013 at 19:31

I'd prefer open world faffing about to speedrunning, so this is good news to me. :D

I'm guessing there's a good chance it'll still have time trials tho, if speedrunning and climbing a leaderboard is more your kinda thing.

Muzman on 12/6/2013 at 19:57

Open world is such a buzzword and it tells you nothing about the implementation.
If you race through the story it shows you where it happens on the city map. So maybe there'll be instanced stuff like that.

I wanted a bit of more open exploration in the first one, but not necessarily all the time. So it could be cool. It's hard to see how they'll re-create the scenarios for you to run like hell with quite the same depth as the first if it's fully sandbox city type stuff. They didn't really nail the level design balance last time. This sounds like they just made a geometrically huge increase in the stuff they have to consider if they want to come close again.

Chade on 13/6/2013 at 01:40

I look forward to finding out how they're planning to do this.

The gameplay is ME is basically just "get there fast". That doesn't really tie in well with the usual idea of open-world exploration. And what are they going to add to the world to make exploration valuable?

One thing that springs to mind is the playground level in mirror's edge. There's a level where you can go from A to B and have considerably different experiences depending on where A and B are, and you don't really appreciate the level properly until you've tried. Perhaps we'll be retreading through areas several times in different ways.

Fafhrd on 13/6/2013 at 02:18

This is a very intriguing development indeed, and clears up a little bit about how much of a reboot this really is. I feel like it'll be a soft reboot of the story, but the sort of genre switch definitely entails defining it as a full reboot.

Thirith on 13/6/2013 at 07:48

Quote Posted by Chade

One thing that springs to mind is the playground level in mirror's edge. There's a level where you can go from A to B and have considerably different experiences depending on where A and B are, and you don't really appreciate the level properly until you've tried. Perhaps we'll be retreading through areas several times in different ways.

I imagine it's going to be something like this, combined with Tony Hawk Pro Skater - you basically get a space to explore and run around in, which does sound pretty cool. At the same time I hope there are going to be A-to-B races and time trials, but I doubt they'll leave those out completely. Most open-world games I've played have had race missions.

Kolya on 13/6/2013 at 08:44

No toe shoes? I'm out! :o

Gryzemuis on 13/6/2013 at 10:40

I missed Mirror's Edge 4 years ago.
I installed it on Monday. Been playing a bit, and I am over the half-way point now.

I enjoy the game so far.
If there is something they can improve on for me, it would be removal of fighting. I play easy mode now. No idea if it makes the jumps themselves easier. Or opens an easier path. I expect it would only have an impact on the fighting. I approach all fights the same way: I just keep running. I guess it's my Thief background.

The plans for a new game with larger maps sounds very doable.
The way I envision it:
The fastest route to B is an almost straight line through the city. But the jumps are very hard. You can only make it with complex combos and perfect timing.
Or you can go via the left. But there are Blues (police) there. You need to fight them.
Or you can go via the right. There are Blues there too, but you can sneak around them. No fighting.
Or you can take a much wider path. Around the left or right. There will be many paths available. But you have to find them. The jumps themselves will be easier. But it will take a lot more time to get to B.

The downside is: not all content that is made by the developers will be used or seen by every player. Management seems to hate that. But I don't see the problem. You invest developer time (=money) to make your game more interesting.
The levels in Mirror's Edge didn't seem like they would require an awful lot of work to build. It's just tall boxes with small boxes on top. And you need to make sure you can jump from one box to another box. I think building larger levels will be worth it.

Jason Moyer on 13/6/2013 at 17:17

Quote Posted by LittleFlower

I approach all fights the same way: I just keep running.

That's what you're supposed to do.