Cover system
Encyclopedia
A cover system is how a video game lets a virtual avatar
avoid dangers usually in a three-dimensional (and occasionally two-dimensional) world. This method is a digital adaptation of the real-life military tactic
of taking cover to dodge enemy gunfire or explosives. Similar gameplay elements can be traced back to as early as 1986, in Rolling Thunder
. Later games which refined the system include Bonanza Bros.
, Time Crisis
, Metal Gear Solid
, WinBack
, Splinter Cell, Kill Switch, Gears of War
, Uncharted and Vanquish
.
s, does not qualify as a cover system. In addition, the player character must have the ability to move in and out of the covers' proximity, leaving points of vulnerability to the player. This discards the exclusive use of portable shields as a cover system, though they may accompany a stationary source of cover, as seen in video games like Army of Two
, and Gears of War 2
.
and 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand
.
artificial intelligence
(AI) has been developed in video games. Fast-paced shooters have traditionally used weaker or less intelligent enemies to compromise with the player's inability to hide from them. This trend has changed with games using cover systems, with many using smarter AI to provide a challenge. Because players with cover systems are able to stay behind cover and fire at enemies without taking damage, many developers have created enemies that are able to take cover as well. This creates a need for the player to bypass the enemy's cover to attack them. This allows for puzzle elements, where developers place cover in strategic areas to allow the player to progress towards an enemy without taking damage.
genre itself, originating from Taito
's seminal 1978 arcade shooter Space Invaders
, where the player's laser cannon could take cover behind destructible
defense bunkers to avoid enemy fire. An even earlier example of the concept was Taito's 1975 shooter game
Gun Fight
, where the player character
s could take cover behind destructible objects. The first games to show a rough cover mechanic were also arcade game
s, the first of these being Rolling Thunder
, a two-dimensional run-and-gun game released in 1986 by Namco
. This game and its sequels, Rolling Thunder 2
in 1990 and Rolling Thunder 3
in 1993, allowed the player to enter doors to hide from enemies and dodge their gunfire. An early video game that was heavily influenced by Rolling Thunder was Sega
's 1987 action game
Shinobi
and its many sequels, which featured more advanced enemy AI
, where enemies could duck behind boxes to reload their weapons after firing at the protagonist Joe Musashi
, or hide behind boxes or shields to block Musashi's shuriken
s.
In 1988, Konami
's Devastators
, an early third-person shooter
, featured a cover mechanic where destructible objects, such as sandbags and debris littered across the battlefield, could be used to take cover from enemy fire. Another 2D
arcade game with a cover system was Sega
's Bonanza Bros.
, an arcade action-adventure game
released in 1990. Being a two-dimensional game, the ability to hide and take cover was used relatively simply and had only a few areas in which to take cover behind. These arcade games were the first traces of cover systems used in video games, which would later inspire the same cover concept in three-dimensional console games.
The first 3D
game with a cover mechanic was Namco's 1995 light gun shooter
arcade game Time Crisis
, which introduced a dedicated cover button, specifically an "action" foot pedal, that could be used to take cover behind in-game objects. This cover mechanic helped Time Crisis distinguish itself from rival light gun shooters, like Sega's Virtua Cop
, and took advantage of the players' hand-foot coordination to create a new arcade game experience. While Time Crisis was a first-person perspective
shooter, cover would later be largely bound to third-person shooter titles, due to cover freeing up the camera and for it being easier to judge space when the character is visible on screen. Time Crisis, however, was able to use cover effectively due to being a rail shooter, where the path is already determined and there is no camera control
.
In 1998, Konami's Metal Gear Solid
for the PlayStation
featured a cover mechanic, though its only function was to peek around walls to look out for enemies. Seeing as how the game was mostly stealth-oriented, the cover system served little combat purpose. Rather than a button, taking cover was initiated simply by continuously shifting Solid Snake
towards a wall, instantly having him take cover. Metal Gear Solid is credited with popularizing the hiding-behind-cover mechanic. Splinter Cell, an Xbox game released after Metal Gear Solid in 2002, employed a similar stealth-oriented cover system.
to include a closer-to-modern cover system was Winback
, released by Koei for the Nintendo 64
in 1999. Unlike other third-person shooters at the time, the game did not allow players to run-and-gun, but instead forced them to stop and shoot, with crates and corners providing cover for the player character to pop out from and fire his weapon. In 2001, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
featured a more developed cover system, with Snake or Raiden
able to take cover behind walls, boxes or crates and pop out to shoot at enemies, while the improved enemy AI
allowed enemies to also take cover from the player character. The enemies would often take cover to call for backup, and during battle, they would take cover then pop out and shoot at the player or blindly throw grenades from behind their cover. Both WinBack and Metal Gear Solid 2 also featured a laser sight mechanic, where a laser sight from the gun assists with aiming, which would later become a staple of cover-based third-person shooters. In 2002, The Getaway
for the PS2 featured a similar cover mechanic.
Namco's Kill.Switch
is credited as the first game to feature the cover system as its core game mechanic, and introduced the blind fire mechanic to the cover system. It was also the earliest third-person shooter that required a button press to initiate the action of taking cover. This was the only game at the time to allow the in-game avatar to lean out and shoot, vault over cover, or blind fire during the cover sequence. This cover system was nicknamed 'Offensive Cover System' (OCS) by the developers. While this was considered a change in the shooter genre, reviewer Ricky Tucker felt that the game relied too heavily on the cover system with little other gameplay focus. He also said that the game felt "more like a prototype than a game" and didn't see any outstanding moments for the game despite the innovative cover design.
In 2005, CT Special Forces: Fire for Effect
featured a cover system inspired by Kill Switch. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, released in 2007, also began development that year, and took inspiration from Kill Switch for its cover system. In 2006, several shooters featured Kill Switch-inspired cover systems, including Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas
, a first person shooter released in November that switched to a third-person over-the-shoulder view when initiating cover, and Killzone: Liberation
, a third-person action game released in October. Other third-person shooters to feature a cover system that same year include WinBack 2: Project Poseidon
, released in April, and Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter.
The most famous among them, however, was Gears of War
, released by Epic Games
in November 2006. It was a third-person shooter focused entirely on cover-based combat. While not the first to use a single button for moving in and out of cover, it used the mechanic more effectively with environments specifically designed with the cover system in mind. The cover system was considered revolutionary at the time and was credited for the massive success and sales of the game and its sequel, Gears of War 2
. Its cover system was inspired by Kill Switch, whose lead designer was employed by Epic Games and was involved in the development of Gears of War. In turn, Gears of War inspired a new wave of video games using the third-person, single-button cover system. Games such as Grand Theft Auto IV
, Mass Effect
, Quantum of Solace
and others use similar cover systems. According to Stuart Lindsay, some games' cover systems are criticized because the cover system is created as an afterthought rather than the game being built around that feature.
the entire time. Other first-person shooters like the Rainbow Six: Vegas series
have traditionally changed to a third-person view when taking cover.
Another attempt to reinvent the cover system has been the altering of the cover itself. This has taken the form of destructible cover in games like Red Faction: Guerrilla
, where destruction is the game's entire basis. This has been universally well-received as an attempt to change the repetitive copying of the Gears of War cover system. Another way games have changed the cover has been shifting the focus from participating in combat from behind cover to only using cover as a last resort. (An example is 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand
, which rewards players for directly assaulting enemies.) Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
uses cover abilities by allowing the player to hang onto cover vertically and use three dimensions of cover to avoid enemy fire. Dark Void
uses a 360 degree threat radius, as the player character can fly. This is accomplished through vertical cover like scaling a mountainside or standard cover like walls.
Vanquish
, a 2010 third-person shooter developed by Platinum Games, is regarded as the most successful attempt at reinventing the cover system, which it has been credited for taking "to the next level." In contrast to previous cover-based shooters, Vanquish has bullets and missiles coming from all directions in a manner reminiscent of bullet hell shooters and cover is easily destroyed
. Often a single shot is enough to remove the player's cover, forcing the player character to be on the move, while the game also penalizes the player on the scoreboard for the amount of time spent in cover. Its most important innovation, however, is the slide-boost mechanic that allows the player to slide-boost into and out of cover at high speeds (sometimes in slow motion using bullet time
), acting as both a defensive escape and an offensive setup, opening up new gameplay possibilities for cover-based shooters and increasing the pace significantly. According to director Shinji Mikami
, the sliding boost mechanic was influenced by the 1970s anime
series Casshern. Vanquish has since set a new trend, with its influence seen in recent first-person shooter
s that have incorporated similar slide-boost mechanics, including Bulletstorm
, Crysis 2
, and Killzone 3
.
felt that the only types of shooters today are those with cover systems and those without, noting that this was not the case in earlier gaming generations. He felt that cover systems changed the game experience for the better and that including a cover system in a game improved it. Ahearn reasoned this by claiming that cover systems were so vital because they allowed the player to view the character, creating a deeper connection between the gamer and the player character. In addition, Ahearn felt that having a cover system allowed the game to slow the pace and "really lets you flex the muscle of your fancy new graphics engine", giving games with cover systems advantages over fast-paced shooters.
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
avoid dangers usually in a three-dimensional (and occasionally two-dimensional) world. This method is a digital adaptation of the real-life military tactic
Cover (military)
In military combat, the concept of cover refers to anything which is capable of physically protecting an individual from enemy fire. This differentiates it from the similar concept of concealment, in that an object or area of concealment only affords the benefit of stealth, not actual protection...
of taking cover to dodge enemy gunfire or explosives. Similar gameplay elements can be traced back to as early as 1986, in Rolling Thunder
Rolling Thunder (arcade game)
is a side-scrolling action game produced by Namco originally released in as a coin-operated arcade game which ran on the Namco System 86 hardware. It was distributed internationally outside Japan by Atari Games. The player takes control of a secret agent who must rescue his female partner from a...
. Later games which refined the system include Bonanza Bros.
Bonanza Bros.
is a 1990 3D-style, 2D shooting platform arcade game by Sega. It is one of the earliest arcade games powered by the arcade system board, the Sega System 24.-Gameplay:Bonanza Bros...
, Time Crisis
Time Crisis
Time Crisis is a light gun shooter arcade game produced by Namco in 1995 and released in early 1996. It was later ported for the PlayStation in 1997, bundled with the G-Con 45 controller.-Gameplay:...
, Metal Gear Solid
Metal Gear (series)
is a series of stealth video games created by Hideo Kojima and developed and published by Konami. The first game, Metal Gear, was released in 1987 for the MSX2. The player takes control of a special forces operative Solid Snake who is assigned to find the eponymous superweapon "Metal Gear", a...
, WinBack
WinBack
Winback is a third-person shooter video game developed by Koei's Omega Force studio for the Nintendo 64 in 1999 and PlayStation 2 in 2001...
, Splinter Cell, Kill Switch, Gears of War
Gears of War
Gears of War is a military science fiction third-person shooter video game developed by Epic Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios...
, Uncharted and Vanquish
Vanquish (video game)
is a third-person shooter video game developed by Platinum Games and published by Sega for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 video game consoles. The game was released in October 2010, after having been in development since 2007....
.
Definition
In gaming, a cover system lets a player character use stationary or moving obstacles to avoid damage. To be considered a cover system, there must be a physical interaction with the source of cover and the avatar. This means standing behind an object, as in traditional shooter gameShooter game
Shooter games are a sub-genre of action game, which often test the player's speed and reaction time. It includes many subgenres that have the commonality of focusing "on the actions of the avatar using some sort of weapon. Usually this weapon is a gun, or some other long-range weapon". A common...
s, does not qualify as a cover system. In addition, the player character must have the ability to move in and out of the covers' proximity, leaving points of vulnerability to the player. This discards the exclusive use of portable shields as a cover system, though they may accompany a stationary source of cover, as seen in video games like Army of Two
Army of Two
Army of Two is a third person shooter video game developed and published by Electronic Arts. It was released on March 4, 2008 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles. The game is centered upon two mercenaries fighting through war, political turmoil, and a conspiracy from 1993 to 2009...
, and Gears of War 2
Gears of War 2
Gears of War 2 is a third-person shooter video game developed by Epic Games with lead design by Cliff Bleszinski, and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360. It is the second installment of the Gears of War series. The game was officially released in North America, Europe and...
.
De-emphasized combat
Video games with cover systems tend to encourage players to avoid direct confrontation with enemies, but rather strategically maneuver to eliminate them. This also opens opportunities for cooperative games that rely on a partner to help a player maneuver around enemies. This is evident by games like Army of Two, which focus on cover-based cooperative combat. In Army of Two, an "aggro meter" was used to bring focus to one player, while allowing the other to easily sneak around cover; this is another example of using game design built around cover systems to change gameplay. Other games prioritize using cover only when necessary, such as The ClubThe Club (video game)
The Club is a third-person shooter video game developed by Bizarre Creations and published by Sega.The story of the game centres around The Club, an underground blood sport controlled by a wealthy elite who place their bets on who will survive the gladiatorial-style combat.-Plot:The player chooses...
and 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand is a third-person shooting video game developed by Swordfish Studios and published by THQ for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game was released on February 20, 2009, in Europe and February 24, 2009, in North America and serves as the sequel to 50 Cent:...
.
Enemy design
Cover systems have changed how non-player characterNon-player character
A non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...
artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
(AI) has been developed in video games. Fast-paced shooters have traditionally used weaker or less intelligent enemies to compromise with the player's inability to hide from them. This trend has changed with games using cover systems, with many using smarter AI to provide a challenge. Because players with cover systems are able to stay behind cover and fire at enemies without taking damage, many developers have created enemies that are able to take cover as well. This creates a need for the player to bypass the enemy's cover to attack them. This allows for puzzle elements, where developers place cover in strategic areas to allow the player to progress towards an enemy without taking damage.
Origins (1975-1998)
While not yet a mechanic, the idea of taking cover in video games is nearly as old as the shoot 'em upShoot 'em up
Shoot 'em up is a subgenre of shooter video games. In a shoot 'em up, the player controls a lone character, often in a spacecraft or aircraft, shooting large numbers of enemies while dodging their attacks. The genre in turn encompasses various types or subgenres and critics differ on exactly what...
genre itself, originating from Taito
Taito
Taito may mean:*Taito Corporation, a Japanese developer of video game software and arcade hardware*Taito, Tokyo, a special ward located in Tokyo, Japan*Taito, also known as matai, paramount chiefs according to Fa'a Samoa...
's seminal 1978 arcade shooter Space Invaders
Space Invaders
is an arcade video game designed by Tomohiro Nishikado, and released in 1978. It was originally manufactured and sold by Taito in Japan, and was later licensed for production in the United States by the Midway division of Bally. Space Invaders is one of the earliest shooting games and the aim is to...
, where the player's laser cannon could take cover behind destructible
Destructible environment
In video games, the term destructible environment, or terrain deformation, refers to an environment within a game which can be wholly or partially destroyed by the player...
defense bunkers to avoid enemy fire. An even earlier example of the concept was Taito's 1975 shooter game
Shooter game
Shooter games are a sub-genre of action game, which often test the player's speed and reaction time. It includes many subgenres that have the commonality of focusing "on the actions of the avatar using some sort of weapon. Usually this weapon is a gun, or some other long-range weapon". A common...
Gun Fight
Gun Fight
Gun Fight, known as Western Gun in Japan and Europe, is a 1975 arcade shooter game designed by Tomohiro Nishikado, and released by Taito in Japan and Europe and by Midway Games in the United States. It was a historically significant game, and a success in the arcades. It was later ported to the...
, where the player character
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
s could take cover behind destructible objects. The first games to show a rough cover mechanic were also arcade game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
s, the first of these being Rolling Thunder
Rolling Thunder (arcade game)
is a side-scrolling action game produced by Namco originally released in as a coin-operated arcade game which ran on the Namco System 86 hardware. It was distributed internationally outside Japan by Atari Games. The player takes control of a secret agent who must rescue his female partner from a...
, a two-dimensional run-and-gun game released in 1986 by Namco
Namco
is a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer and publisher. Following a merger with Bandai in September 2005, the two companies' game production assets were spun off into Namco Bandai Games on March 31, 2006. Namco Ltd. was re-established to continue domestic operation of...
. This game and its sequels, Rolling Thunder 2
Rolling Thunder 2
is an arcade game by Namco released in 1990. It is the sequel to 1986's Rolling Thunder and retains the same run and gun gameplay of its predecessor, adding cooperative gameplay for 2-Players and improved graphics. Unlike the original Rolling Thunder, which was set in the 1960s, Rolling Thunder 2...
in 1990 and Rolling Thunder 3
Rolling Thunder 3
Rolling Thunder 3 is a 1993 run and gun game by Namco released for the Genesis. It is the second sequel to Rolling Thunder, following Rolling Thunder 2. The game was made specifically for home consoles, which allowed the developers to implement more extensive gameplay features that otherwise...
in 1993, allowed the player to enter doors to hide from enemies and dodge their gunfire. An early video game that was heavily influenced by Rolling Thunder was Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
's 1987 action game
Action game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
Shinobi
Shinobi (arcade game)
is a side-scrolling action game produced by Sega originally released for the arcades in . In Shinobi, the player controls a modern day ninja named Joe Musashi who goes on a mission to rescue his kidnapped students from a group of terrorists...
and its many sequels, which featured more advanced enemy AI
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
, where enemies could duck behind boxes to reload their weapons after firing at the protagonist Joe Musashi
Joe Musashi
is a player character and main hero in Sega's Shinobi series of video games, first introduced in 1987.-Character design:When debuting in the Shinobi series, Musashi was designed with an outfit that would be described by IGN as "thoroughly traditional", whereas Sega would coordinate later characters...
, or hide behind boxes or shields to block Musashi's shuriken
Shuriken
A shuriken is a traditional Japanese concealed weapon that was generally used for throwing, and sometimes stabbing or slashing...
s.
In 1988, Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
's Devastators
Devastators
is a 1988 third-person shoot 'em up arcade game by Konami.- Plot :Set in 1989, the player takes control of a mercenary duo known as the "Devastators", who are hired by a small undeveloped country to defend their land from a fanatical Middle East dictator threatening to conquer it.- Gameplay :The...
, an early third-person shooter
Third-person shooter
Third-person shooter is a genre of 3D action games in which the player character is visible on-screen, and the gameplay consists primarily of shooting.-Definition:...
, featured a cover mechanic where destructible objects, such as sandbags and debris littered across the battlefield, could be used to take cover from enemy fire. Another 2D
2D computer graphics
2D computer graphics is the computer-based generation of digital images—mostly from two-dimensional models and by techniques specific to them...
arcade game with a cover system was Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
's Bonanza Bros.
Bonanza Bros.
is a 1990 3D-style, 2D shooting platform arcade game by Sega. It is one of the earliest arcade games powered by the arcade system board, the Sega System 24.-Gameplay:Bonanza Bros...
, an arcade action-adventure game
Action-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
released in 1990. Being a two-dimensional game, the ability to hide and take cover was used relatively simply and had only a few areas in which to take cover behind. These arcade games were the first traces of cover systems used in video games, which would later inspire the same cover concept in three-dimensional console games.
The first 3D
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
game with a cover mechanic was Namco's 1995 light gun shooter
Light gun shooter
Light gun shooter, also called light gun game or simply gun game, is a shooter video game genre in which the primary design element is aiming and shooting with a gun-shaped controller. Light gun shooters revolve around the protagonist shooting targets, either antagonists or inanimate objects...
arcade game Time Crisis
Time Crisis
Time Crisis is a light gun shooter arcade game produced by Namco in 1995 and released in early 1996. It was later ported for the PlayStation in 1997, bundled with the G-Con 45 controller.-Gameplay:...
, which introduced a dedicated cover button, specifically an "action" foot pedal, that could be used to take cover behind in-game objects. This cover mechanic helped Time Crisis distinguish itself from rival light gun shooters, like Sega's Virtua Cop
Virtua Cop
Virtua Cop is a lightgun shooter arcade game created by Sega-AM2, and headed by Yu Suzuki. Its original incarnation was an arcade game in 1994 and it was later ported to the Sega Saturn in 1995, and Microsoft Windows in 1997...
, and took advantage of the players' hand-foot coordination to create a new arcade game experience. While Time Crisis was a first-person perspective
First person (video games)
In video games, first person refers to a graphical perspective rendered from the viewpoint of the player character. In many cases, this may be the viewpoint from the cockpit of a vehicle. Many different genres have made use of first-person perspectives, ranging from adventure games to flight...
shooter, cover would later be largely bound to third-person shooter titles, due to cover freeing up the camera and for it being easier to judge space when the character is visible on screen. Time Crisis, however, was able to use cover effectively due to being a rail shooter, where the path is already determined and there is no camera control
Free look
Free look describes the ability to move the mouse to rotate the player character's view in video games. It is almost always used for 3D game engines, and has been included on role-playing games, real-time strategy games, third-person shooters, first-person shooters, racing games, and flight...
.
In 1998, Konami's Metal Gear Solid
Metal Gear Solid
is a videogame by Hideo Kojima. The game was developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Japan and first published by Konami in 1998 for the PlayStation video game console. It is the sequel to Kojimas early MSX2 computer games Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake...
for the PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
featured a cover mechanic, though its only function was to peek around walls to look out for enemies. Seeing as how the game was mostly stealth-oriented, the cover system served little combat purpose. Rather than a button, taking cover was initiated simply by continuously shifting Solid Snake
Solid Snake
Metal Gear, initially released in 1987, introduces Solid Snake, the rookie recruit of the elite special-forces unit FOXHOUND. Snake is sent by team leader Big Boss into the rogue nation Outer Heaven to rescue his missing teammate Gray Fox and discover who or what the "METAL GEAR" mentioned is, and...
towards a wall, instantly having him take cover. Metal Gear Solid is credited with popularizing the hiding-behind-cover mechanic. Splinter Cell, an Xbox game released after Metal Gear Solid in 2002, employed a similar stealth-oriented cover system.
Modern cover system (1999-2008)
The first 3D third-person shooterThird-person shooter
Third-person shooter is a genre of 3D action games in which the player character is visible on-screen, and the gameplay consists primarily of shooting.-Definition:...
to include a closer-to-modern cover system was Winback
WinBack
Winback is a third-person shooter video game developed by Koei's Omega Force studio for the Nintendo 64 in 1999 and PlayStation 2 in 2001...
, released by Koei for the Nintendo 64
Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
in 1999. Unlike other third-person shooters at the time, the game did not allow players to run-and-gun, but instead forced them to stop and shoot, with crates and corners providing cover for the player character to pop out from and fire his weapon. In 2001, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
is a stealth action video game directed by Hideo Kojima, developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Japan and published by Konami for the PlayStation 2 in 2001....
featured a more developed cover system, with Snake or Raiden
Raiden (Metal Gear)
, whose real name is , is a video game character in the Metal Gear series of stealth games by Konami. Created by Hideo Kojima and designed by Yoji Shinkawa, Raiden was introduced in the series as the main playable character of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty...
able to take cover behind walls, boxes or crates and pop out to shoot at enemies, while the improved enemy AI
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
allowed enemies to also take cover from the player character. The enemies would often take cover to call for backup, and during battle, they would take cover then pop out and shoot at the player or blindly throw grenades from behind their cover. Both WinBack and Metal Gear Solid 2 also featured a laser sight mechanic, where a laser sight from the gun assists with aiming, which would later become a staple of cover-based third-person shooters. In 2002, The Getaway
The Getaway (video game)
The Getaway is a video game series focused on gang life and the police in the city of London. The series was created by Brendan McNamara and is developed by Team Soho for the PlayStation 2...
for the PS2 featured a similar cover mechanic.
Namco's Kill.Switch
Kill.switch
Kill.Switch is a third-person shooter video game developed by Namco in 2003 for PlayStation 2, Xbox and Microsoft Windows. A Game Boy Advance adaptation was released in 2004...
is credited as the first game to feature the cover system as its core game mechanic, and introduced the blind fire mechanic to the cover system. It was also the earliest third-person shooter that required a button press to initiate the action of taking cover. This was the only game at the time to allow the in-game avatar to lean out and shoot, vault over cover, or blind fire during the cover sequence. This cover system was nicknamed 'Offensive Cover System' (OCS) by the developers. While this was considered a change in the shooter genre, reviewer Ricky Tucker felt that the game relied too heavily on the cover system with little other gameplay focus. He also said that the game felt "more like a prototype than a game" and didn't see any outstanding moments for the game despite the innovative cover design.
In 2005, CT Special Forces: Fire for Effect
Nemesis Strike
Nemesis Strike, also known as CT Special Forces: Fire for Effect is a third-person shooter video game by Asobo Studio for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2 and Xbox. Players play as a counter-terrorism agency...
featured a cover system inspired by Kill Switch. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, released in 2007, also began development that year, and took inspiration from Kill Switch for its cover system. In 2006, several shooters featured Kill Switch-inspired cover systems, including Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas is the fifth game in the Rainbow Six series of video games. It was released for the Xbox 360 on November 21, 2006 and Windows on December 12, 2006. The PlayStation Portable version was released on June 12, 2007, while the PlayStation 3 version was released on June...
, a first person shooter released in November that switched to a third-person over-the-shoulder view when initiating cover, and Killzone: Liberation
Killzone: Liberation
Received IGN's award for Best PSP Offline Multiplayer Game of 2006 .-External links:**...
, a third-person action game released in October. Other third-person shooters to feature a cover system that same year include WinBack 2: Project Poseidon
WinBack 2: Project Poseidon
Winback 2: Project Poseidon is the 2006 video game sequel to WinBack. Available for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, it was published by Koei but developed by a different company, Cavia, inc., from that of the original.-Plot:...
, released in April, and Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter.
The most famous among them, however, was Gears of War
Gears of War
Gears of War is a military science fiction third-person shooter video game developed by Epic Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios...
, released by Epic Games
Epic Games
Epic Games, Inc., also known as Epic and formerly Epic MegaGames, is an American video game development company based in Cary, North Carolina. Its most recent success has been the Gears of War series of games, although it is also known for its Unreal Engine technology. It is the parent company of...
in November 2006. It was a third-person shooter focused entirely on cover-based combat. While not the first to use a single button for moving in and out of cover, it used the mechanic more effectively with environments specifically designed with the cover system in mind. The cover system was considered revolutionary at the time and was credited for the massive success and sales of the game and its sequel, Gears of War 2
Gears of War 2
Gears of War 2 is a third-person shooter video game developed by Epic Games with lead design by Cliff Bleszinski, and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360. It is the second installment of the Gears of War series. The game was officially released in North America, Europe and...
. Its cover system was inspired by Kill Switch, whose lead designer was employed by Epic Games and was involved in the development of Gears of War. In turn, Gears of War inspired a new wave of video games using the third-person, single-button cover system. Games such as Grand Theft Auto IV
Grand Theft Auto IV
Grand Theft Auto IV is a 2008 open world action video game published by Rockstar Games, and developed by British games developer Rockstar North. It has been released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles, and for the Windows operating system...
, Mass Effect
Mass Effect
Mass Effect is an action role-playing game developed by BioWare for the Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows by Demiurge Studios. The Xbox 360 version was released worldwide in November 2007 published by Microsoft Game Studios...
, Quantum of Solace
Quantum of Solace (video game)
007: Quantum of Solace is a first-person shooter video game based on the films Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360...
and others use similar cover systems. According to Stuart Lindsay, some games' cover systems are criticized because the cover system is created as an afterthought rather than the game being built around that feature.
Recent developments (2009-present)
After the video game cover system was popularized, several recent games have attempted to alter or further revolutionize the cover system in a unique way. One such game is the first-person shooter Killzone 2, which utilized a complete cover system that was used in the first-person perspectiveFirst-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
the entire time. Other first-person shooters like the Rainbow Six: Vegas series
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas is the fifth game in the Rainbow Six series of video games. It was released for the Xbox 360 on November 21, 2006 and Windows on December 12, 2006. The PlayStation Portable version was released on June 12, 2007, while the PlayStation 3 version was released on June...
have traditionally changed to a third-person view when taking cover.
Another attempt to reinvent the cover system has been the altering of the cover itself. This has taken the form of destructible cover in games like Red Faction: Guerrilla
Red Faction: Guerrilla
Red Faction: Guerrilla is an open-world third-person action video game developed by Volition, Inc. and published by THQ. It was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in June 2009 and for Microsoft Windows in September 2009...
, where destruction is the game's entire basis. This has been universally well-received as an attempt to change the repetitive copying of the Gears of War cover system. Another way games have changed the cover has been shifting the focus from participating in combat from behind cover to only using cover as a last resort. (An example is 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand is a third-person shooting video game developed by Swordfish Studios and published by THQ for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game was released on February 20, 2009, in Europe and February 24, 2009, in North America and serves as the sequel to 50 Cent:...
, which rewards players for directly assaulting enemies.) Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is an action-adventure platform third-person shooter video game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3. It is the sequel to the 2007 game Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. It was first shown and announced on December 1, 2008...
uses cover abilities by allowing the player to hang onto cover vertically and use three dimensions of cover to avoid enemy fire. Dark Void
Dark Void
Dark Void is a video game developed by Airtight Games using the Unreal Engine 3 and published by Capcom for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. In the game players must face an alien threat that humanity had previously banished. The game mixes on-foot and mid-air combat...
uses a 360 degree threat radius, as the player character can fly. This is accomplished through vertical cover like scaling a mountainside or standard cover like walls.
Vanquish
Vanquish (video game)
is a third-person shooter video game developed by Platinum Games and published by Sega for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 video game consoles. The game was released in October 2010, after having been in development since 2007....
, a 2010 third-person shooter developed by Platinum Games, is regarded as the most successful attempt at reinventing the cover system, which it has been credited for taking "to the next level." In contrast to previous cover-based shooters, Vanquish has bullets and missiles coming from all directions in a manner reminiscent of bullet hell shooters and cover is easily destroyed
Destructible environment
In video games, the term destructible environment, or terrain deformation, refers to an environment within a game which can be wholly or partially destroyed by the player...
. Often a single shot is enough to remove the player's cover, forcing the player character to be on the move, while the game also penalizes the player on the scoreboard for the amount of time spent in cover. Its most important innovation, however, is the slide-boost mechanic that allows the player to slide-boost into and out of cover at high speeds (sometimes in slow motion using bullet time
Bullet time
Bullet time is a special and visual effect that refers to a digitally enhanced simulation of variable-speed photography used in films, broadcast advertisements, and video games...
), acting as both a defensive escape and an offensive setup, opening up new gameplay possibilities for cover-based shooters and increasing the pace significantly. According to director Shinji Mikami
Shinji Mikami
is a Japanese video game designer best known for creating the seminal survival horror series Resident Evil. He also contributed to some of Capcom's most popular post-32-bit era franchises, including Viewtiful Joe, Devil May Cry, and Ace Attorney, where he served as an executive producer...
, the sliding boost mechanic was influenced by the 1970s anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
series Casshern. Vanquish has since set a new trend, with its influence seen in recent first-person shooter
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
s that have incorporated similar slide-boost mechanics, including Bulletstorm
Bulletstorm
Bulletstorm is a first-person shooter video game developed by People Can Fly and Epic Games, and is published by Electronic Arts for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows...
, Crysis 2
Crysis 2
Crysis 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Crytek, published by Electronic Arts and released in North America, Australia, and Europe in March 2011 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360...
, and Killzone 3
Killzone 3
Killzone 3 is a 2011 first-person shooter for the PlayStation 3, developed by Guerrilla Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. It is the fourth installment in the Killzone series, the first game in the series to be presented in 3D and the first to include motion controls using the...
.
Reception
The cover system has become a large of part of modern gaming and has changed the third-person shooter in many ways. Nate Ahearn of Yahoo! NewsYahoo! News
Yahoo! News is an Internet-based news aggregator provided by Yahoo!. It features Top Stories, U.S. National, World, Business, Entertainment, Science, Health, Weather, Most Popular, News Photos, Op/Ed, and Local news....
felt that the only types of shooters today are those with cover systems and those without, noting that this was not the case in earlier gaming generations. He felt that cover systems changed the game experience for the better and that including a cover system in a game improved it. Ahearn reasoned this by claiming that cover systems were so vital because they allowed the player to view the character, creating a deeper connection between the gamer and the player character. In addition, Ahearn felt that having a cover system allowed the game to slow the pace and "really lets you flex the muscle of your fancy new graphics engine", giving games with cover systems advantages over fast-paced shooters.