Everyone has different ideas of how to simulate "Realism" in a game, it's never going to be like reality, because the main thing holding it back is that a workable balanced game has to be there for everyone to enjoy. There are so many games which try to be realistic, OF, ArmA, AA, RO, BF2
R, Rainbow Six, Ghost Recon, CoD4 in hardcore mode *laughs* etc. etc. but they all have their own nuances.
I love R6 Vegas on my 360, it's fantastic playing co-op terrorist hunt with a group of friends, the AI genuinely offers you a challenge, particularly on the "realistic" difficulty level, and I love the GoW cover mechanic and tag and bag system. It doesn't however seem to work as nicely on the PC, because i think on the PC everyone is expecting it to be much more in depth than it's console counterpart....and it just isn't. I remember the first ever R6 game on the PC, and it was hard as nails, it was fun, but also very frustrating with the tedious mission planner (where you basically drew paths for your AI to follow), and the missions could be very much a case of repeating them until you learn the enemy movement patterns.
Good article btw I think it raises some interesting questions about how realistic you should shoot for (excuse the pun!)...game balance is an important issue, and if your marketing your game as just that, and not a simulation, a game should be fun, priority number one. Simulations aren't meant to be fun, theya re meant to be an experience - so i think the first thing to decide as a developer is what type of interactive entertainment you are creating?
The article comments on regenerative health systems found in Halo, CoD etc. this isn't realistic but even RO has a similar system in place if you take a grazing wound. Whereas mods like Project Reality have you trying to apply a field dressing or find a medic, whilst you cough and slowly bleed to death and your view gets all distorted.
"Realistic gameplay" is in the eye of the beholder, everyone has their own ideas about what is realistic, and I think recently the term has been bandied about by developers who are trying to make it more accessible to casual gamers...i actually applaud this to an extent, as it may encourage the same gamers to try other realistic games like RO, games which they may have considered as too hardcore for them in the past.
