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Splatoon (Nintendo 4x4 team shooter, Wii U, 2015)

ArthurSplatoon.jpg

LMAO
 
I think one of the most interesting things about Splatoon is how they arrived at a very "un-nintendo" aesthetic by following one of the most basic Nintendo philosophies. Game design first, character design afterwards. The idea of spreading color to win in a shooter led to all of this. Something completely unique in terms of gameplay. Something that, if I didn't know any better, I'd say was made by Sega or Nickelodeon in terms of aesthetics.

It sort of validates Nintendo's philosophy on game design. I'm really surprised and really excited to play this game.
 
Wow, good find. I think this is thread-worthy.

That said, it is shocking how much better Splatoon looks given that the Wii U is essentially the same generation as the 360.

That Color Wars game has a very generic art style with lifeless textures that look flat; it would look anemic if it was running on a modern PC.

Still, the Wii U does benefit somewhat from a newer GPU and more ram than a the PS360.

It sort of validates Nintendo's philosophy on game design. I'm really surprised and really excited to play this game.

Oddly enough it stuck out to me how Nintendo reiterated and emphasized their design philosophy at E3, mentioning it several times. Only this time they had some stuff like Splatoon to back it up.

I suspect the benefit to Splatoon's character design and art direction may be similar to Pikmin - by devising unique and interesting gameplay first, a unique character must be created that evokes the mechanics. For Pikmin we got a wholly original race of little plant men and micro astronauts from another planet. For Splatoon we get funky transforming squid kids in what looks to be a slightly off-kilter urban environment.
 
Wow, good find. I think this is thread-worthy.

What exactly? That once there was a game concept called Color Wars (which is nowhere to be seen other than that video, so probably wasn't presented in public before the closing of the company) or are you implying that Nintendo got the idea from them? Because the former is not thread worthy.
 
What exactly? That once there was a game concept called Color Wars (which is no where to be seen other than that video, so probably wasn't presented in public before the closing of the company) or are you implying that Nintendo got the idea from them? Because the first is not thread worthy.
I just think it's an interesting curiosity.

I doubt Nintendo lifted the idea from Color Wars (Splatoon would seem to owe far more to Super Mario Sunshine) but it's still interesting that a primitive version of the same concept had existed in 2011.
 
I just think it's an interesting curiosity.

I doubt Nintendo lifted the idea from Color Wars (Splatoon would seem to owe far more to Super Mario Sunshine) but it's still interesting that a primitive version of the same concept had existed in 2011.

well, De Blob was a 2008 game..! ;p
 
Oddly enough it stuck out to me how Nintendo reiterated and emphasized their design philosophy at E3, mentioning it several times. Only this time they had some stuff like Splatoon to back it up.

I suspect the benefit to Splatoon's character design and art direction may be similar to Pikmin - by devising unique and interesting gameplay first, a unique character must be created that evokes the mechanics. For Pikmin we got a wholly original race of little plant men and micro astronauts from another planet. For Splatoon we get funky transforming squid kids in what looks to be a slightly off-kilter urban environment.

Yup. Watching the treehouse videos on splatoon gave some really interesting insight into the character and world design, and how they are completely informed by the gameplay. The fact that they chose an urban environment simply because they felt like the ink idea was similar to vandalism or graffiti. The fact that they chose squids over octopus because squids had an arrow shape (making them appear more dynamic when they rocket jump, and allowing them to use the squid symbol on the map to show which way your teammates were pointing).

And the game just looks fun to play too. Lots of simple mechanics interacting to make something that should end up being fairly dynamic and definitely unique.
 
First Nintendo steals games, now they steal paintball. ;)
What's funny about this is that people kept saying if Nintendo were to make an FPS game it would just be a crappy paintball game.
Then they go and create some of the most interesring mechanics to be introduced in a shooter.
 
Next E3 they should step up their efforts by having a Smash and Splatoon Invitational. Or even an open tournament. Make E3 a celebration of games and gamers.

Since they're hosted on GfyCat you can actually share the leaner WebM versions here and here. Although even those are larger than I could get them (around 3MB). WebMs are definitely the best alternative.
Thanks. Edited to include webms.

We already talked about color wars a few pages back.

The Sunshine influence is definitely there. Bloopers -> Squids. Paint/nasty goop -> ink. Even the graffiti aspect is like the defiled Delfino Isle. The ink effect looks like it could be based off the Sunshine engine.
 
I have high hopes and low hopes for this game. I think it will be great, if you are into multiplayer, but it will most likely be made just like Mario Kart 8 and be devoid of a story mode or meaningful single player modes and objectives.
 
I have high hopes and low hopes for this game. I think it will be great, if you are into multiplayer, but it will most likely be made just like Mario Kart 8 and be devoid of a story mode or meaningful single player modes and objectives.

Different team with different priorities. Let's hope they deliver on both fronts.
 
I have high hopes and low hopes for this game. I think it will be great, if you are into multiplayer, but it will most likely be made just like Mario Kart 8 and be devoid of a story mode or meaningful single player modes and objectives.

Reggie's comments about shooters say otherwise. he was pretty critical about releasing a shooter without any kind of campaign mode even if the bulk of playtime would be online.
 
This was part of the reason I bought a Wii U last Tuesday/Wednesday. Hyrule Warriors, Mario Kart 8, SS & Zelda were the others.

10/10 would buy again.
 
Reggie's comments about shooters say otherwise. he was pretty critical about releasing a shooter without any kind of campaign mode even if the bulk of playtime would be online.

Reggie has absolutely zero power or influence over what Nintendo games are made. He's nothing more than a PR cheerleader. That said, I hope there is a lengthy campaign/story mode. I don't see anyone paying over $30 without one.
 
Reggie has absolutely zero power or influence over what Nintendo games are made. He's nothing more than a PR cheerleader. That said, I hope there is a lengthy campaign/story mode. I don't see anyone paying over $30 without one.

He's also not that dumb to outright contradict Nintendo's plans.

I don't think anyone goes and looks at Super Smash Brothers and Mario Kart and think they're not going to pay over $30 without a lengthy campaign/story mode. People don't evaluate multiplayer-focused games that way.
 
One thing's been bothering me for a while now...

http://youtu.be/8L54s2m1dPs?t=1m41s

This 'ink nuke' thing. Is it a special weapon? I mean, the roller and paint tornado both seem likely to be special weapons you earn by filling your special gage, but this nuke looks a bit different. For one, the video shows it being aimed indirectly via the map and for another it's just infinitely more impressive looking :P

None of this stops it from being a special weapon I guess, it just strikes me as quite different from the much longer lasting but less fear-inducing havoc the roller and 'nados offer :3
 
The faucet of ink is categorized as a special weapon in the TH interview. Right now it looks like:

Primary Weapons:
- Ink Shot (machine gun)
- Charge Shot (sniper)
- Paint Roller (close quarters)
- Rumored Shotgun. Is there an Interview where they said this? I've seen people talk about it in this thread but nothing concrete.

Super Weapons:
- Bazooka (ink tornado)
- Tactical Strike (Ink Nuke) I think Sakaguchi said you use the touch panel to direct it and the translator did not translate it. But I don't know Japanese so take that with a grain of salt. :p
- Team Support (could be referring to Tactical Strike)
- Movement Enhancement

http://youtu.be/_4JL5H7XMKY?t=19m52s
http://youtu.be/_4JL5H7XMKY?t=27m29s

I found this video which might be an after-E3 German press event? I don't know. The opposing team is pretty spammy with grenades though, which could be the result of the infinite grenade system. It's possible that tactic could be easily overcome with the right strategy, who knows! Wish I could play. :(

edit: Oh, lol. In the trailer you linked it shows the Nuke being aimed with the gamepad! How did I miss that.
 
The faucet of ink is categorized as a special weapon in the TH interview. Right now it looks like:

Primary Weapons:
- Ink Shot (machine gun)
- Charge Shot (sniper)
- Paint Roller (close quarters)
- Rumored Shotgun. Is there an Interview where they said this? I've seen people talk about it in this thread but nothing concrete.

Super Weapons:
- Bazooka (ink tornado)
- Tactical Strike (Ink Nuke) I think Sakaguchi said you use the touch panel to direct it and the translator did not translate it. But I don't know Japanese so take that with a grain of salt. :p
- Team Support (could be referring to Tactical Strike)
- Movement Enhancement

http://youtu.be/_4JL5H7XMKY?t=19m52s
http://youtu.be/_4JL5H7XMKY?t=27m29s

I found this video which might be an after-E3 German press event? I don't know. The opposing team is pretty spammy with grenades though, which could be the result of the infinite grenade system. It's possible that tactic could be easily overcome with the right strategy, who knows! Wish I could play. :(
thanks for this
 
Ooh! the roller's a standard weapon? Awesome.. I love getting up close and personal (I follow the Leon principle) :3

Nicely spotted and explained superbank :D
 
The faucet of ink is categorized as a special weapon in the TH interview. Right now it looks like:

Primary Weapons:
- Ink Shot (machine gun)
- Charge Shot (sniper)
- Paint Roller (close quarters)
- Rumored Shotgun. Is there an Interview where they said this? I've seen people talk about it in this thread but nothing concrete.

Super Weapons:
- Bazooka (ink tornado)
- Tactical Strike (Ink Nuke) I think Sakaguchi said you use the touch panel to direct it and the translator did not translate it. But I don't know Japanese so take that with a grain of salt. :p
- Team Support (could be referring to Tactical Strike)
- Movement Enhancement

http://youtu.be/_4JL5H7XMKY?t=19m52s
http://youtu.be/_4JL5H7XMKY?t=27m29s

I found this video which might be an after-E3 German press event? I don't know. The opposing team is pretty spammy with grenades though, which could be the result of the infinite grenade system. It's possible that tactic could be easily overcome with the right strategy, who knows! Wish I could play. :(

Hmm grenades are interesting.. since infinity... but also pretty much diminish your ammo
 
Hmm grenades are interesting.. since infinity... but also pretty much diminish your ammo
Yeah, I figure when your opponent throws a grenade you can probably rush them and take them out while they refill. A grenade uses most of your ink but not all.
 
Yeah, I figure when your opponent throws a grenade you can probably rush them and take them out while they refill. A grenade uses most of your ink but not all.

There should be a Sand Shot weapon that takes your ability to shoot for a few seconds. You only get one shot though, and it has to be on the ink pack. Would that break the game?
 
I think I would like using a paint roller just because how ridiculous it would play, but I wonder how it works on walls and when there's not enough space to move around with the roller.
 
The balance for this game seems tricky. The devs not only need to account for a weapon's killing power, range, speed and all that, but what that all means in the context of painting and controlling and area.
I think I would like using a paint roller just because how ridiculous it would play, but I wonder how it works on walls and when there's not enough space to move around with the roller.

The width isn't that big, it looked to be about 3 character widths I'm sure it wasn't featured because the developers haven't worked out the minor details like collision.
 
One entertaining 'quirk' of the roller is that there might be passages that are too narrow to use it in. Will the devs just let you clip through the walls, or will this be one of the first games in a good long while, where your choice of weapon can actually be affected by the space you have to use it in?
I've not seen many games do that outside of maybe Eternal Darkness and Die by the sword :o
 
One entertaining 'quirk' of the roller is that there might be passages that are too narrow to use it in. Will the devs just let you clip through the walls, or will this be one of the first games in a good long while, where your choice of weapon can actually be affected by the space you have to use it in?
I've not seen many games do that outside of maybe Eternal Darkness and Die by the sword :o

That would be interesting.
 
Normally I'm a big fan of vehicles in shooters, but in this case I would be incredibly insistent that vehicles should only be in the game if they fit with the quirky paint theme (rollers, paintball guns, etc.), and that they should otherwise be left out. I actually have an idea of how that could be achieved:

The vehicles could be at least loosely based on the trucks that paint stripes onto roads, like so:

striping-header.jpg


I say "loosely based on" because obviously a vehicle in this game should cover more area at a time than this. For example, the paint sprayers could cover the full rear of the vehicle rather than just a single unit on one side. See the next image for something closer to an appropriate scale for a vehicle.


Conversely, the road marking-inspired vehicles could remove all ink from the areas that it covers. This would add a strategic element that differs from the current game strategy in that it would be incredibly useful for areas that are filled with the opposing team's ink, causing them to lose turf (unlike simply painting over the spot, where it was said on a Treehouse segment that the ink is still present underneath and thus adding to the opposing team's turf advantage). The potential disadvantage may be that hitting the fire button to activate the paint remover can also remove your own team's turf if you're not careful with where you activate it. This depends on if friendly fire is possible in Splatoon.

I could imagine this working in one of two ways: either it removes just the top layer of ink of whatever it's moving over, or it removes all paint below it and leaves the clean pavement below. Furthermore, their inability to climb walls and lack of maneuverability could balance them against high durability and potential devastation to a team's turf advantage:

WB_RunwayRubber_MainImage.jpg


However, as I continue to think about it, large vehicles like these trucks might not fit with the game due to the wide open, uneventful spaces they require to maneuver. Nevertheless, they could be quite imposing to see, and would be highly durable to make up for their lack of maneuverability or speed.

Thus, this would likely be a more fitting option:

feinfraesen_w35dc_markieren-und-demarkieren_880x0.jpg


This model of paint remover is smaller, more maneuverable, and has an open driver area for fast entry and exit.



Of course, paint removers don't need to be vehicles at all if the concept is acceptable but vehicles would require too much of an overhaul to game mechanics. Here are two variants of semi-handheld paint removers:

scottland_pics_005_l.jpg


road%20marking%20removal%20(HCAlance).jpg
 
The roller as an ultimate melee weapon, I like it. Reading about the weapon choices means that it's also very important how you split the responsibilities and weapon within your team. And obviously the sniper will be useful against the roller and the grenade players.
 
I must admit to being sceptical about a sniper weapon in a game like this. Killing people might slow the team down but it's not exactly a great weapon for actually painting territory so you're likely costing your team more than you're providing. Then again, I kind of feel that way about snipers in a lot of games, like TF2 for example :3

They're not so bad in games where wiping out the other team is an actual win condition like in Counter-Strike but this isn't one of those games :P

I'm also hoping that either rollers can be used on walls or grenades can be burst against walls or the roller folk are going to stuck relying on their ranged friends to provide paths upwards and through fences :o

As for RMS's vehicle thoughts: They don't necessarily have to be manned. They could just be automated parts of the map, or even assisted-movement objective vehicles like the bomb cart in TF2's payload mode. Instead of being a sort of 'road painter' styled thing it could be more like a crop sprayer/mobile fountain that constantly gushes your colour or the like too :3
 
I must admit to being sceptical about a sniper weapon in a game like this. Killing people might slow the team down but it's not exactly a great weapon for actually painting territory so you're likely costing your team more than you're providing. Then again, I kind of feel that way about snipers in a lot of games, like TF2 for example :3
Same. Having half my team go sniper and stand at the spawn door rather than grabbing the briefcase is not a feeling I've particularly enjoyed ever.

However, as defeated inklings go sploosh and paint the surrounding area in the enemy colour, a good sniper might be really useful for harassing chokepoints. More so than in TF2, because of the effects of enemy ink on maximum movement speed versus just taking out an enemy for a few seconds.
 
I must admit to being sceptical about a sniper weapon in a game like this. Killing people might slow the team down but it's not exactly a great weapon for actually painting territory so you're likely costing your team more than you're providing. Then again, I kind of feel that way about snipers in a lot of games, like TF2 for example :3

-snip-

Who's to say turf war is the only gamemode. ;-)

Here's my brief thoughts on the sniper (without having played the game).

- Strategically place ink blots for your teammates to hop in to.
- Ink coverage area is unknown.
- Pick off the enemy team from a distance and allow your teammates to capture territory unhindered.
- Will the sniper work like a rail-gun? (take out multiple players in one shot)

I don't doubt Nintendo is working on the balancing for the game. This is likely why the other weapon types were not available for use, a current lack of balance.
 
Same. Having half my team go sniper and stand at the spawn door rather than grabbing the briefcase is not a feeling I've particularly enjoyed ever.

However, as defeated inklings go sploosh and paint the surrounding area in the enemy colour, a good sniper might be really useful for harassing chokepoints. More so than in TF2, because of the effects of enemy ink on maximum movement speed versus just taking out an enemy for a few seconds.

Heh, it'll be fairly quick for the enemy to cover up that sploosh though with their automatic paintballs and rollers though.
Not to mention, finding your targets when people are constantly vanishing from sight beneath their ink only to rapidely re-appear elsewhere will be a supreme test of observational ability. It's one thing looking for human-sized movement, quite another trying to spot ripples on flat surfaces XD

Regardless, I'm sure they'll test all these things out and adjust stuff accordingly so hopefully all the weapons will make some kind of sense and contribute to the team effort; that's a big part of what's amazing about this game's core mechanic... even the team-mates who couldn't hit the broadside of a barn are still helping simply by firing :P

Edit:
Who's to say turf war is the only gamemode. ;-)

Here's my brief thoughts on the sniper (without having played the game).

- Strategically place ink blots for your teammates to hop in to.
- Ink coverage area is unknown.
- Pick off the enemy team from a distance and allow your teammates to capture territory unhindered.
- Will the sniper work like a rail-gun? (take out multiple players in one shot)

I don't doubt Nintendo is working on the balancing for the game. This is likely why the other weapon types were not available for use, a current lack of balance.

Fair enough :3
 
This game looks like a blast and the concept is truly unique. The fact that we're getting a new console-level Nintendo IP is exciting unto itself. I'm not convinced it'll be a download-only eShop title, especially now that Nintendo has seen how much people like the idea. I'm guessing the final product will aim to be worthy of a fully priced, retail release. I hope the single player is more than just a glorified training mode. Some sort of charming co-op campaign story that uses the same mechanics could be really great. Either way, this is one of my "games of E3." (Whatever that means.)
 
I must admit to being sceptical about a sniper weapon in a game like this. Killing people might slow the team down but it's not exactly a great weapon for actually painting territory so you're likely costing your team more than you're providing. Then again, I kind of feel that way about snipers in a lot of games, like TF2 for example :3

Sniper function will be mostly defensive in this game. On the other hand we saw scenarios where there are balloons over the field, then the sniper could contribute even more to the team score. It's actually better than in most shooters, as you can just have too many snipers, it would be counterproductive, but i see a sniper being useful under certain circumstances.
 
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