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  1. Games
  2. Action
  3. Battlefield Hardline

Visceral Games' 10 rules to making a good online shooter

News
By GamesRadar Staff published 1 August 2015

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

1 Have a vision

1 Have a vision

We have a high-level goal for each mode for Hotwire, for instance, our vision was high-speed pursuit. We wanted to capture the thrill of films such as Gone in 60 Seconds. Every time we made changes we went back to see if it was pushing us in the direction we wanted the mode to go in.

Page 1 of 10
Page 1 of 10
2 Pick a form

2 Pick a form

Traditional, symmetrical modes are preferable its much easier for the players to get their head around the rules, as everyones doing the same thing no matter what side theyre on. But sometimes asymmetrical gameplay can capture a theme more faithfully. When I think about cops and robbers, I think of Heat and Die Hard, and asymmetrical modes can deliver that fantasy so much better.

Page 2 of 10
Page 2 of 10
3 Crowdsource ideas

3 Crowdsource ideas

If you break down what Hotwire actually is, its Conquest with moving capture points. That idea came from a collaborative design meeting where we invited everyone. This idea came up, and we thought, Lets try it!.

Page 3 of 10
Page 3 of 10
4 Break the rules

4 Break the rules

We went through ten iterations of Hotwire. We were convinced at first asymmetrical was the way to go because why would a cop want to steal a car? But actually the symmetrical version worked a lot better, because all everyone wanted to do was steal cars and drive around. We decided it made most sense to rewrite the fantasy to fit the games form; now the police are repossessing the cars.

Page 4 of 10
Page 4 of 10
5 Feedback is crucial

5 Feedback is crucial

We originally had a mechanic in Heist where youd slow down once you picked up the bag we wanted to giveyour teammates a chance to catch up with you, and the idea was that youd feel really cool. But in playtesting, players hated it they found it frustrating and we learned that people were actively avoiding the bag.

Page 5 of 10
Page 5 of 10
6 Plan maps carefully

6 Plan maps carefully

Our maps have to be fun both on foot and in a vehicle. Thats challenging, but working with DICE on BF3taught us a lot about how maps should be paced out. Infantry arent going to want to run 300m to capture Point F. So we build into our maps what we call infantry honeypots a cluster of capture points within 100m that are easily within the reach of on-foot soldiers. Theyre surrounded by more sparse areas for vehicles.

Page 6 of 10
Page 6 of 10
7 Create strategic openings

7 Create strategic openings

At the edge of these honeypots, theres opportunity for tactical warfare. Infantry can use these as ambush points, but if the defending team arent properly organised, you can just storm in with a tank.

Page 7 of 10
Page 7 of 10
8 Dont force design...

8 Dont force design...

Hotwire works best in maps with long, straight roads, and large, expansive areas. Because of that, it cant support all of the maps. Were not going to try to force a mode to play nice with a map that doesnt work.

Page 8 of 10
Page 8 of 10
9 ...or the player

9 ...or the player

We thought, Why dont we let players get to choose what they want to play with first? Wouldnt that encourage them to explore more instead of making them do something they didnt want to do?. Thats the origin of our flexible progression system, which lets you hone in on the things you want to do.

Page 9 of 10
Page 9 of 10
10 Beta is best

10 Beta is best

Public betas give us all the data we could want to make sure weve got the weapon balancing right. Its a chance to see how our creations work in real-world situations.

Page 10 of 10
Page 10 of 10
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GamesRadar+ was first founded in 1999, and since then has been dedicated to delivering video game-related news, reviews, previews, features, and more. Since late 2014, the website has been the online home of Total Film, SFX, Edge, and PLAY magazines, with comics site Newsarama joining the fold in 2020. Our aim as the global GamesRadar Staff team is to take you closer to the games, movies, TV shows, and comics that you love. We want to upgrade your downtime, and help you make the most of your time, money, and skills. We always aim to entertain, inform, and inspire through our mix of content - which includes news, reviews, features, tips, buying guides, and videos.

With its new Criminal Activity DLC adding even more reasons to bomb around the cash-strewn maps of Battlefield Hardline, there's never been a better time to get your swag on and shoot some like-minded crims. Developer Visceral Games has also been tweaking the cops 'n' robbers shooter ever since its launch five months ago - including patching team deathmatch into a more even playing field and finally nerfing the power of that comedy couch - with the aim to support a title that's doing something a little different in a crowded genre.

But what does it take to build a successful multiplayer shooter in 2015? In a previous issue of Official Xbox Magazine, lead multiplayer designer Thad Sasser offers his ten red hot tops for creating an online shooter with legs.

The latest issue of Official Xbox Magazine, which features 140 feature-filled pages and Star Wars Battlefront on the cover, is out now. Download it here or subscribe to future issues.

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