When did the whole "get knocked over" thing start in games?

[PingSpike]

It's been around forever. Remember the classic NES era side scrollers. You'd get hit and knocked backwards, usually into a bottomless pit.

LOL...that was the thing that sucked the most ass about Castlevania games, or at least it was frustrating. You've got full health and a bat touches you and you go flying backwards 6 feet into a hole. God damn it Belmont! Just slap that fucking bat to the ground you asshole!

 

[Anubis]

lol...that was the thing that sucked the most ass about castlevania games, or at least it was frustrating. You've got full health and a bat touches you and you go flying backwards 6 feet into a hole. God damn it belmont! Just slap that fucking bat to the ground you asshole!

lol

 

[fatpat268]

I hate those boss battles where you have to recognize a button that appears, mentally process the action, then push the corresponding button in a FRACTION OF A SECOND or you will lose the boss battle or take a hit that drains 90% of your health or something absurd.

...and then wait 5 minutes during a great looking cutscene only to realize that you just missed the SECOND fractional second button press and now have to start all over. ARG!

Button mashing is not fun!

Number one reason why I don't care much for God of War

 

[Martimus]

As in, your character gets knocked to the ground. For example, this happens in Unreal Tournament 3, Dead Space, etc. It seems now to be accompanied by "spam _x_ button to free yourself from monster or get up quicker".

It really annoys me since it adds nothing to the game but I suppose the developers feel it is more "genuine" than a player that doesn't fall over. What's next, tripping over logs in games? Why can't developers just focus on actual good gameplay mechanics and level design instead of worrying about stupid stuff like this?

I don't see how it "adds nothing to the game". It is a stun tactic, and it gives you extra incentive to avoid attacks that knock you down since you will be helpless for a moment, and you may lose positioning time. I see it as a tactical gameplay mechanic, and have no problem with it.

I have never played any of the games you mention with your examples, but the mechanic works fine in the Witcher, and it looks like it will work well with DNF.

 

[daishi5]

I think MechWarrior 3 introduced a knockdown system rather effectively.

Overload a mechs' gyro stabiliser systems with a lovely blast of AC/20 and watch it reel and fall over. Pew Pew some more for a tasty reactor explosion.

I remember that, but I thought it was more of a system where you needed to hit them several times in rapid succession to knock them down. It helped autocannons a lot as I recall, and I think this was back in the 90s because I have no idea what happened to my old MW3 disks.

 

[DangerAardvark]

Dragon Age was horrible about being knocked down. There were fights where you could get your ass murdered to death without being able to take a single action.

 

[KaOTiK]

I remember being knocked down to earliest memory of Double Dragon on the NES.

 

[Elcs]

I remember that, but I thought it was more of a system where you needed to hit them several times in rapid succession to knock them down. It helped autocannons a lot as I recall, and I think this was back in the 90s because I have no idea what happened to my old MW3 disks.

At close range, a salvo or two from a powerful autocannon could overload the gyros of a lighter mech and make them vulnerable to fire whilst they regained stability.

Surely you did it in your Daishi, Daishi It happened most often in urban combat where you could get upclose and personal.

 

[Mike Gayner]

I don't understand this rant. In some games it's appropriate. Eg in GTA IV or Oblivion it feels totally natural.

 

[daishi5]

At close range, a salvo or two from a powerful autocannon could overload the gyros of a lighter mech and make them vulnerable to fire whilst they regained stability.

Surely you did it in your Daishi, Daishi It happened most often in urban combat where you could get upclose and personal.

Probably, but I don't remember that game as well as I do Mechwarrior 2, and as I said, I don't know where my disks went.

 

[homercles337]

When I get shot with a shotgun I'd like to think the impact had some kind of effect, otherwise you're just a walking tank.

Except that in real life this "movie-myth" does not exist. I think Mythbusters busted this one.

 

[AFurryReptile]

Dragon Age was horrible about being knocked down. There were fights where you could get your ass murdered to death without being able to take a single action.

Truth.

Some games implement it really well, I think. Assassin's Creed 2 being one example; it feels totally natural that if you go sprinting head-first through a crowd, you might get tripped up and fall over.

 

[TheVrolok]

In order for someone to get blown backwards the shooter would have to get blown back just the same.

Not necessarily.

 

[Fallen Kell]

A classic that people forget about when talking about this, "Mike Tyson's Punchout!", was probably the first to fully use this game mechanic, as it IS the game. It is a game that has stood the test of time. It is just as fun to play now as it was back in 1987.

And Mike is waiting for you.