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If you haven't guessed from the title, I'm going to be talking about those dreaded water levels in videogames. Those slow and boring ones which usually end up draining your excitement and turning it into boredom, as you play them reluctantly to be able to get to the next level.
So what is it about them everyone dislikes?
Well there are different variations of water levels, most of them in platform games, so I'll start off by talking about the 2D platform game.
Not all water levels on platform games are a problem. Some are quite enjoyable like on Super Mario Land on the GameBoy, where you took control of a submarine and could shoot your way through most the level. However, the problem levels are those in which you slowly swim, having to avoid the odd fish, whilst you float left, right, up and down (like Donkey Kong Land).
Some of these games have a good enough balance though. Super Mario Bros managed to keep the water levels to a similar style to the dry-land levels, thus not slowing down too much, and still making it fun and challenging instead of a long bore.
The trouble is, that's exactly what the water levels are like, slow and tedious. If your character had some kind of propellor to speed up the swimming, they might not be so bad, but they don't.
Sonic Advance managed to get the balance perfectly though. There were only two levels involving water, and each one had a land route in most places which allowed you to avoid going underwater. And when you do manage to get submerged, you can use Sonic's super speed to get back out again.
In 3D games, they aren't so much a problem, other than they can get frustratingly annoying when you run out of air.
In Super Mario 64, it wasn't too bad because you could easily swim up for air, but in it's sister-game by Rare, Banjo Kazooie, it wasn't so easy and made the game seem very slow indeed. I expect most people playing Banjo Kazzoie used the "givethebearlotsofair" cheat to get past the water levels, I know I did.
Some FPS games managed to include water too, like Turok: Dinosaur Hunter on the N64 and PC, but these mainly involved allowing you to have a soft landing when you fall off a high ledge, or to access secret areas containing weapons. Another FPS managed to get the balance right though, Halflife. You only needed to go underwater for short amounts of time, although these water areas could still be a wee bit tricky.
So why is it that some developers insist we have the boring water levels in the games? Why can't they follow suit of other developers and keep them short and sweet, instead of long and tedious? I don't really know the answer to that, but if I get really frustrated with these levels I'll just use a level skip code from an Action Replay cart. Yeah, I'll try them, over and over again, but if they're that annoying, then I'll take desperate measures.
Anyone else got opinions on water levels in games?
So what is it about them everyone dislikes?
Well there are different variations of water levels, most of them in platform games, so I'll start off by talking about the 2D platform game.
Not all water levels on platform games are a problem. Some are quite enjoyable like on Super Mario Land on the GameBoy, where you took control of a submarine and could shoot your way through most the level. However, the problem levels are those in which you slowly swim, having to avoid the odd fish, whilst you float left, right, up and down (like Donkey Kong Land).
Some of these games have a good enough balance though. Super Mario Bros managed to keep the water levels to a similar style to the dry-land levels, thus not slowing down too much, and still making it fun and challenging instead of a long bore.
The trouble is, that's exactly what the water levels are like, slow and tedious. If your character had some kind of propellor to speed up the swimming, they might not be so bad, but they don't.
Sonic Advance managed to get the balance perfectly though. There were only two levels involving water, and each one had a land route in most places which allowed you to avoid going underwater. And when you do manage to get submerged, you can use Sonic's super speed to get back out again.
In 3D games, they aren't so much a problem, other than they can get frustratingly annoying when you run out of air.
In Super Mario 64, it wasn't too bad because you could easily swim up for air, but in it's sister-game by Rare, Banjo Kazooie, it wasn't so easy and made the game seem very slow indeed. I expect most people playing Banjo Kazzoie used the "givethebearlotsofair" cheat to get past the water levels, I know I did.
Some FPS games managed to include water too, like Turok: Dinosaur Hunter on the N64 and PC, but these mainly involved allowing you to have a soft landing when you fall off a high ledge, or to access secret areas containing weapons. Another FPS managed to get the balance right though, Halflife. You only needed to go underwater for short amounts of time, although these water areas could still be a wee bit tricky.
So why is it that some developers insist we have the boring water levels in the games? Why can't they follow suit of other developers and keep them short and sweet, instead of long and tedious? I don't really know the answer to that, but if I get really frustrated with these levels I'll just use a level skip code from an Action Replay cart. Yeah, I'll try them, over and over again, but if they're that annoying, then I'll take desperate measures.
Anyone else got opinions on water levels in games?
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i hated the water levels on super mario.
but the one which i really really hate is the level where you spend 10 minutes traveling at around 2 miles an hour from start to finish underwater while these jelly fish attack you and go about 100 times faster than you!
it was soooooooooo boring!
but the one which i really really hate is the level where you spend 10 minutes traveling at around 2 miles an hour from start to finish underwater while these jelly fish attack you and go about 100 times faster than you!
it was soooooooooo boring!
Damn water levels always make me want to rush off to the loo.
But seriously, I did like the Need for Speed waterfalls in the background of the game, stopped the car a couple of times to admire them. Perhaps they could have a car game that had you actually going through the waterfalls instead, getting really wet windscreens.
That or a wet t-shirt contest....
But seriously, I did like the Need for Speed waterfalls in the background of the game, stopped the car a couple of times to admire them. Perhaps they could have a car game that had you actually going through the waterfalls instead, getting really wet windscreens.
That or a wet t-shirt contest....
I like the water levels in most of todays games as it gives you a fair idea of how well the game was put together and how well the console performs as water is a hard thing to recreate in software and some of todays games do this very well and look excellent. Weather effects are similar in a way.
I can see the point that sometimes they can be rather annoying but they can be realistic, they are supposed to give you a challenge and offer something different and that is why I think they are useful in a lot of games.
In Herdy Gerdy you can't swim until you find the vest that allows you to swim and in some games the character can't swim at all which can be a bit pointless and cause a lot of the fun from the game to disappear.
I can see the point that sometimes they can be rather annoying but they can be realistic, they are supposed to give you a challenge and offer something different and that is why I think they are useful in a lot of games.
In Herdy Gerdy you can't swim until you find the vest that allows you to swim and in some games the character can't swim at all which can be a bit pointless and cause a lot of the fun from the game to disappear.
If you haven't guessed from the title, I'm going to be talking about those dreaded water levels in videogames. Those slow and boring ones which usually end up draining your excitement and turning it into boredom, as you play them reluctantly to be able to get to the next level.
So what is it about them everyone dislikes?
Well there are different variations of water levels, most of them in platform games, so I'll start off by talking about the 2D platform game.
Not all water levels on platform games are a problem. Some are quite enjoyable like on Super Mario Land on the GameBoy, where you took control of a submarine and could shoot your way through most the level. However, the problem levels are those in which you slowly swim, having to avoid the odd fish, whilst you float left, right, up and down (like Donkey Kong Land).
Some of these games have a good enough balance though. Super Mario Bros managed to keep the water levels to a similar style to the dry-land levels, thus not slowing down too much, and still making it fun and challenging instead of a long bore.
The trouble is, that's exactly what the water levels are like, slow and tedious. If your character had some kind of propellor to speed up the swimming, they might not be so bad, but they don't.
Sonic Advance managed to get the balance perfectly though. There were only two levels involving water, and each one had a land route in most places which allowed you to avoid going underwater. And when you do manage to get submerged, you can use Sonic's super speed to get back out again.
In 3D games, they aren't so much a problem, other than they can get frustratingly annoying when you run out of air.
In Super Mario 64, it wasn't too bad because you could easily swim up for air, but in it's sister-game by Rare, Banjo Kazooie, it wasn't so easy and made the game seem very slow indeed. I expect most people playing Banjo Kazzoie used the "givethebearlotsofair" cheat to get past the water levels, I know I did.
Some FPS games managed to include water too, like Turok: Dinosaur Hunter on the N64 and PC, but these mainly involved allowing you to have a soft landing when you fall off a high ledge, or to access secret areas containing weapons. Another FPS managed to get the balance right though, Halflife. You only needed to go underwater for short amounts of time, although these water areas could still be a wee bit tricky.
So why is it that some developers insist we have the boring water levels in the games? Why can't they follow suit of other developers and keep them short and sweet, instead of long and tedious? I don't really know the answer to that, but if I get really frustrated with these levels I'll just use a level skip code from an Action Replay cart. Yeah, I'll try them, over and over again, but if they're that annoying, then I'll take desperate measures.
Anyone else got opinions on water levels in games?
So what is it about them everyone dislikes?
Well there are different variations of water levels, most of them in platform games, so I'll start off by talking about the 2D platform game.
Not all water levels on platform games are a problem. Some are quite enjoyable like on Super Mario Land on the GameBoy, where you took control of a submarine and could shoot your way through most the level. However, the problem levels are those in which you slowly swim, having to avoid the odd fish, whilst you float left, right, up and down (like Donkey Kong Land).
Some of these games have a good enough balance though. Super Mario Bros managed to keep the water levels to a similar style to the dry-land levels, thus not slowing down too much, and still making it fun and challenging instead of a long bore.
The trouble is, that's exactly what the water levels are like, slow and tedious. If your character had some kind of propellor to speed up the swimming, they might not be so bad, but they don't.
Sonic Advance managed to get the balance perfectly though. There were only two levels involving water, and each one had a land route in most places which allowed you to avoid going underwater. And when you do manage to get submerged, you can use Sonic's super speed to get back out again.
In 3D games, they aren't so much a problem, other than they can get frustratingly annoying when you run out of air.
In Super Mario 64, it wasn't too bad because you could easily swim up for air, but in it's sister-game by Rare, Banjo Kazooie, it wasn't so easy and made the game seem very slow indeed. I expect most people playing Banjo Kazzoie used the "givethebearlotsofair" cheat to get past the water levels, I know I did.
Some FPS games managed to include water too, like Turok: Dinosaur Hunter on the N64 and PC, but these mainly involved allowing you to have a soft landing when you fall off a high ledge, or to access secret areas containing weapons. Another FPS managed to get the balance right though, Halflife. You only needed to go underwater for short amounts of time, although these water areas could still be a wee bit tricky.
So why is it that some developers insist we have the boring water levels in the games? Why can't they follow suit of other developers and keep them short and sweet, instead of long and tedious? I don't really know the answer to that, but if I get really frustrated with these levels I'll just use a level skip code from an Action Replay cart. Yeah, I'll try them, over and over again, but if they're that annoying, then I'll take desperate measures.
Anyone else got opinions on water levels in games?
Page: