"Human Shield" and "Blindfold": Hostage Gameplay Mechanics

[LilBambi 35]

Introduction

 

So, from some videos I've seen, Rocket is adding a lot of new features to the "hostage" dynamic such as new animations and possibly even a "handcuff" system. They are great, but I think we can take this a step further! :)

 

Human Shield

 

The first idea is the "Human Shield". It's exactly what the name states. It's a tactic that allows a player to grab another player in order to pose a threat during a hostage situation or to protect the player from enemy gunfire.

 

How It Works

 

This is how I could see it implemented in the DayZ Standalone.

 

First, the player would have to be armed with a weapon (most realistically, a pistol or knife). Then, they'd have to be behind another player. The option to initiate the human shield tactic would be chosen by scrolling the mouse wheel when it is aimed at the hostage or by pressing a particular key on the keyboard. While holding the hostage at gunpoint or by the knife, the player would only be able to move at a very slow pace in a standing position. The hostage could possibly break free, but there would be a brief animation first, which could give the player with the weapon enough time to eliminate the hostage.

 

How It Would Improve the Gameplay of DayZ Standalone

 

I believe the purpose of DayZ Standalone is to simulate the brutal, cut throat world that would exist during a zombie apocalypse. Adding a Human Shield mechanic would give players a reason to talk things out first instead of shooting on sight. It would also allow a hostage to take a hostage, giving even the most well armed civilian a good reason to watch his back.

 

Blindfolding

 

The second idea is "Blindfolding". It's a device that allows a player to "blindfold" a hostage so they cannot see where they are being dragged to.

 

How It Works

 

This is how I could see it implemented in the DayZ Standalone.

 

The player would require the "Blindfold" item in order to commence this tactic. It would have to be crafted from another item such as cloth (which could possibly be extracted from certain articles of clothing). Similar to the Human Shield, a player would have to scroll on the mouse wheel while aiming at a hostage or press a particular key on the keyboard to initiate the action on the hostage. For practicality reasons, it could be required that the hostage have his hands restrained first prior to the "blindfolding". If a hostage manages to break free of his hand restraints, he would easily be able to take off the blindfold himself. One more thing to note is that while the hostage has the blindfold on, he cannot pick up any items in the game world. Another alternative to the "blindfold" could be a "bag". It would work in the same way as the blindfold. The only difference would be aesthetics.

 

How It Would Improve the Gameplay of DayZ Standalone

 

To increase the immersion and practicality of having a hostage, I believe a blindfold (or bag) could greatly add to the experience of taking a hostage. Once a hostage is stripped of his belongings and left in the the middle of the woods, he would have a difficult time figuring out where he is again, especially if he is new to the game.

 

Conclusion

 

What do you think of these two ideas? What are their flaws? How can they be improved? Please let me know. :) Have a good day!

[AP_Norris 1018]

I like blindfolding.

Once you break free of your restraints you can pull it off and wake up in the scariest of places D: would make some funny youtube videos.

Note sure about human shield.

[dutch_miller 159]

I've always liked alternative ways of player interaction that don't end up with somebody being killed. Non-lethal weapons and things like blindfolds or restraints I have thought could add some awesome variety in the game. If a number of ideas like this are added, there will be so many possibilities aside from death when encountering other players that you will never know what to expect and I predict it will make the game infinitely more enjoyable.

 

There's even a lot of creativity that goes along with blindfolds and constraints. Think of all the possible outcomes in that scenario. Maybe you can drag them into the middle of a city. Maybe you'll be left tied up as a horde of zombies approaches you. So many possibilities, and not all of them have to result in the death of the player.

[Statik (DayZ) 2695]

I don't really like the idea of the human shield.

 

I want to say I like the idea of blindfolds, but I feel people would abuse it (i.e. blindfold people and log out)

[SalamanderAnder (DayZ) 1747]

I would like the ability to knock a player unconscious from behind. Also, the ability to drag and carry unconscious players, and to put them into a vehicle.

 

 

 

 

 

I'm not sure how I feel about the human shield thing. I kind of like it, but you're getting into a whole new territory there. We'd also need fist fighting to work, and counters for grapples, ect. It would have to be balanced, non-glitchy, and fun. 

 

Personally I'd also like to see some kind of disarm maneuver for unarmed players. Basically I'm thinking this: if you are disarmed, and close enough to someone with a gun, you could press a key, or maybe use the scroll menu, to engage a disarm. This would lock the two players in a brief animation. The disarming player would have to do something like repeatedly tap a key to do the disarm more quickly. During the animation, the player being disarmed has a window to pull the trigger on the gun. (Fortunately, Arma 2 aalready renders ballistics based on the orientation of the gun and therefore the struggle animation would realistically affect the aim, so it would actually be a matter of timing on the part of the shooter to make sure they hit their assailant, just like in a real life struggle.)

Edited August 17, 2013 by SalamanderAnder

[dutch_miller 159]

I don't really like the idea of the human shield.

 

I want to say I like the idea of blindfolds, but I feel people would abuse it (i.e. blindfold people and log out)

I'm not sold on the human shield idea either.

 

I would also assume you automatically break out of the blindfolds after a few minutes, or until the person who blindfolds you leaves a certain radius or logs out.

 

 

I would like the ability to knock a player unconscious from behind. Also, the ability to drag and carry unconscious players, and to put them into a vehicle.

 

 

You can already drag and carry unconscious people, I think into cars as well. I would like to be able to knock people out, maybe with a whiskey bottle.

Edited August 17, 2013 by Dutch Miller

[enforcer1975 1111]

I don't really like the idea of the human shield.

 

I want to say I like the idea of blindfolds, but I feel people would abuse it (i.e. blindfold people and log out)

 

I would say to counter griefing logging out removes the blind fold...

 

A human shield would not really stay still since it's just a game...it's difficult to bring a lot of RL things into a "limited" game.

[LilBambi 35]

I would say to counter griefing logging out removes the blind fold...

 

A human shield would not really stay still since it's just a game...it's difficult to bring a lot of RL things into a "limited" game.

 

It's been done really well in Splinter Cell games. :)

[thisisPyro 9]

The blindfold would only work if the player was restrained or unconscious once a player is no longer restrained or unconscious they should be able to take off the blindfold

[dutch_miller 159]

It's been done really well in Splinter Cell games. :)

Arma isn't exactly Splinter Cell.

[LilBambi 35]

Arma isn't exactly Splinter Cell.

 

It isn't, but it shows that it is easily possible to do.

Edited August 17, 2013 by LilBambi

[dutch_miller 159]

It isn't, but it shows that it is easily possible to do.

Does it though? Splinter Cell is a stealth game and that kind of maneuver is a core part of the game. Arma is a completely different type of game and the engine isn't nearly smooth enough to really allow holding a human shield. 

[AP_Norris 1018]

I would like the ability to knock a player unconscious from behind. Also, the ability to drag and carry unconscious players, and to put them into a vehicle.

 

 

 

 

 

I'm not sure how I feel about the human shield thing. I kind of like it, but you're getting into a whole new territory there. We'd also need fist fighting to work, and counters for grapples, ect. It would have to be balanced, non-glitchy, and fun. 

 

Personally I'd also like to see some kind of disarm maneuver for unarmed players. Basically I'm thinking this: if you are disarmed, and close enough to someone with a gun, you could press a key, or maybe use the scroll menu, to engage a disarm. This would lock the two players in a brief animation. The disarming player would have to do something like repeatedly tap a key to do the disarm more quickly. During the animation, the player being disarmed has a window to pull the trigger on the gun. (Fortunately, Arma 2 aalready renders ballistics based on the orientation of the gun and therefore the struggle animation would realistically affect the aim, so it would actually be a matter of timing on the part of the shooter to make sure they hit their assailant, just like in a real life struggle.)

Gawd bless arma, I love the glitch where you end up shooting the gun on your back XD

[dutch_miller 159]

 

 

Personally I'd also like to see some kind of disarm maneuver for unarmed players. Basically I'm thinking this: if you are disarmed, and close enough to someone with a gun, you could press a key, or maybe use the scroll menu, to engage a disarm. This would lock the two players in a brief animation. The disarming player would have to do something like repeatedly tap a key to do the disarm more quickly. During the animation, the player being disarmed has a window to pull the trigger on the gun. (Fortunately, Arma 2 aalready renders ballistics based on the orientation of the gun and therefore the struggle animation would realistically affect the aim, so it would actually be a matter of timing on the part of the shooter to make sure they hit their assailant, just like in a real life struggle.)

 

 

Whoever could create a smooth, effective, and stable system that works the way it's supposed to for this in Arma would be a fucking genius.

[AP_Norris 1018]

Whoever could create a smooth, effective, and stable system that works the way it's supposed to for this in Arma would be a fucking genius.

Nobel peace prize winner kind of genius :|

[SalamanderAnder (DayZ) 1747]

Whoever could create a smooth, effective, and stable system that works the way it's supposed to for this in Arma would be a fucking genius.

 

It's funny, I'm never quite sure what is or isn't inside the capabilities of the VR engine. I thought the same thing when rocket proposed the idea of "spray painting items and guns." 

 

I was like, "yeah, right, in your dreams Dean Hall. Arma 2 can't support that..." And what do you know, they have already implemented a drawing mechanic.

 

But really, the hardest part about my idea would be the animation trees. I think it's feasible. I also think human shields are technically feasible, but I don't know if I'd want it implemented anyway.

Edited August 18, 2013 by SalamanderAnder

[joe_mcentire 2074]

very very nice idea. however is it worth the effort, that's what i am asking myself...

[TheRedScare 353]

The OP is discussing this idea for the SA, you are all discussing it for the mod.

[AP_Norris 1018]

The OP is discussing this idea for the SA, you are all discussing it for the mod.

I am always discussing the standalone.

[SFRGaming 718]

The human shield has been proved mediocre and a terrible idea. The whole concept behind it is you have a valuable person with your gun to his head. When you get shot, your muscles tense for a short second and cause you to pull the trigger resulting in your "hostage" being killed. The person in front of you isnt what protects you, it's the possibility of them dying with you.

[AP_Norris 1018]

The human shield has been proved mediocre and a terrible idea. The whole concept behind it is you have a valuable person with your gun to his head. When you get shot, your muscles tense for a short second and cause you to pull the trigger resulting in your "hostage" being killed. The person in front of you isnt what protects you, it's the possibility of them dying with you.

Is that like in the shows hank redemption where bogs says Andy has to swallow what he gives him to swallow and then Andy says that anything you put in my mouth your gonna lose but then bogs is like you don't understand I'm a put all 7 inches of this steel through your ears and then Andy's like that sudden brain injury may cause the victims jaw to suddenly clamp down so hard that some victims had had to have their jaws prayed open with a crowbar?

:)

Say it all in one breath 4 me plauwx.

Edited November 3, 2013 by AP_Norris

[SFRGaming 718]

Is that like in the shows hank redemption where bogs says Andy has to swallow what he gives him to swallow and then Andy says that anything you put in my mouth your gonna lose but then bogs is like you don't understand I'm a put all 7 inches of this steel through your ears and then Andy's like that sudden brain injury may cause the victims jaw to suddenly clamp down so hard that some victims had had to have their jaws prayed open with a crowbar?

:)

Say it all in one breath 4 me plauwx.

Just said it WITHOUT breathing. And yes, exactly.

[halander1 0]

+1 Baby cant hate it

[DayzForumer 284]

To be honest, most of the people who play DayZ will either disconnect, combat log or just plan not have the time to wait until they take the blindfold of you.

[Fruit_loop87 21]

I like the human shield it my help you when you encounter a group of people to hold one of their friends at gun point and ask them to drop their guns and take off with the person and drop them off up the road to get away safely, but most people don't care about their lives in dayz what is sad because their friends will just kill both of you and just get their gear, but overall I really like it just adds to the drama and what people can do to you instead of kos now they can get what they want without killing someone and have just as much fun maybe more because on the risk you are taking.