The Callisto Protocol
A sci-fi survival horror game set in a space prison.
Where The Callisto Protocol comes up1 episode or test
- Ammo is limited
- Players feel fearful
- One-button insta-kill
- Slick animation
- Players feel powerful
Power undercuts fear: mechanics undermine each other
From Mark Brown, talk on Alien: Isolation
What was said about The Callisto Protocol
The Callisto Protocol's scarce ammo clashes with its powerful stealth kill. The game limits ammo to make players feel fearful, but also gives a one-button insta-kill stealth attack with a slick animation that makes them feel powerful. Mark Brown uses it as an example of mechanics that undermine each other.
The point comes from a talk about Alien: Isolation, which mentions The Callisto Protocol only in passing. Brown notes a game has hundreds of mechanics that interact, overlap and can contradict each other, so designers should check that they support the intended feeling. Quote: "these mechanics interact, overlap, and can even undermine each other."
How To Think Like A Game Designer
Limited ammo is meant to create fear, but a one-button insta-kill stealth attack with a slick animation makes you feel unstoppable, so its mechanics undermine each other.
The Callisto Protocol's scarce ammo clashes with its powerful stealth kill. The game limits ammo to make players feel fearful, but also gives a one-button insta-kill stealth attack with a slick animation that makes them feel powerful. Mark Brown uses it as an example of mechanics that undermine each other.
The point comes from a talk about Alien: Isolation, which mentions The Callisto Protocol only in passing. Brown notes a game has hundreds of mechanics that interact, overlap and can contradict each other, so designers should check that they support the intended feeling. Quote: "these mechanics interact, overlap, and can even undermine each other."
More in Games
GamesNintendo
A Zelda adventure where Princess Zelda copies objects and monsters as echoes to solve puzzles and fight.
GamesThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Nintendo's long-running action-adventure series about Link exploring Hyrule, solving puzzles and fighting Ganon.
GamesDead Space
A major video game publisher and the guest's employer.
G
29 sources · 94 tipsMind Over Magnet
A puzzle platformer where you escape a factory using a magnet and a magnetic field.
GamesFar Cry 2
An open world action game where you recruit and play any of London's citizens.
GamesGod of War
A combat-focused action adventure game from Santa Monica Studio with Norse mythology and light puzzles.
Mind Over Magnet
Mark Brown's first game, a puzzle game he made while learning Unity.
GamesDishonored
A first-person stealth action game from Arkane with supernatural powers and the Clockwork Mansion level.