Descent controls

This is just a quick post about my recent experiences with Descent 2 and 3. While I don't think I've ever played Descent 2 all the way through, I must say that it's an interesting experience playing both games with an Xbox controller, and more or less at the same time.

Some of the key things I've noticed is that a proper controller setup makes all the difference in a game, even one as complex as Descent. At first I thought that the whole 6DoF would present an issue, but it didn't, especially with standard FPS controls. After a while it became pretty intuitive.

But one of the biggest differences that I felt was in how different the two games felt in terms of their movement. D2 (and probably D1) feel a lot more loose and floaty compared to D3 which has a damped and rigid feel; the ship doesn't drift as much. Now mind you that might have a lot to do with joystick deadzones and how they're setup in both games, but this goes back to how it affects the feel of the game. Something so simple having such a large effect.

Not that I don't mind D3's controls, if anything they feel a little more refined. At the same time, D2's controls just seem to fit the game just as well. Just goes to show how the whole package makes a game what it is :)

Yay game design!