Tank controls

[Dan]

^ A gamer fully immersing himself in the game of Tomb Raider.

Tank controls were all the rage back in the 90s(probably) and no I'm not talking about games where you control literal tanks, I'm talking games like old skool Resident Evil and classic Tomb Raider.

My question to you the forum dweller, were tank controls really appropriate for many games? I always enjoyed the precision needed for games like Tomb Raider, making that jump at the right time was very satisfying, on that same note having to pick up a medipack that's right next to you and maneuvering like a ****ing tank to pick it up is frustrating as all hell. Could you imagine doing that in real life!? (I think I know what I'm going to start doing now to freak people out)

Some video games that were pure mascot platformers like Croc used tank controls for some reason...

 

[CynicalSquid]

Tank Controls only work in games that have fixed cameras, like Dino Crisis, early Silent Hill, and early Resident Evil games. Tank controls in games where you can control the camera in some way just feel clunky.

 

[YIGAhim]

I assume by tank controls you mean where it is hard to maneuver and get what you want (I'm not familiar with Tomb Raider of any of that) based off of what you explained.

My answer? Probably not. There's really no need for ultra precision for simple things

 

[CynicalSquid]

I assume by tank controls you mean where it is hard to maneuver and get what you want (I'm not familiar with Tomb Raider of any of that) based off of what you explained.

My answer? Probably not. There's really no need for ultra precision for simple things

Tank controls are when no matter where your character is facing pressing up on the analog stick or d-pad will move the character forward. For example, if your character is facing the camera, you press up on the analog/d-stick, and the game has tank controls the character will move towards the camera and not away from the camera (which would be "normal controls")

EDIT:
Also Left and right just pivot the character and down makes the character move backwards typically

 

[DeletedUser9]

I'm not familiar with that many games that had tank controls. I've seen Tomb Raider but never played it much. I have however played lots of classic Resident Evil, and I've long defended the tank controls in the early Resident Evil games. Thing is I don't really have to defend the controls of the first game; Resident Evil 4, as much as I think it's overrated, is a beloved game by many, and has the exact same controls for the most part. I'll still say a few words though:

Tank controls are good fits when you don't want to give the player a lot of quick responsiveness to situations. People talk all the time about how it's "bad game design to limit the player" but that could not be further from the truth in my experience. Some of my favorite games are ones that impose well-designed limits. In the Resident Evil series you usually can move exactly as much as you need to, but the tank controls induce a little panic here and there, but more importantly make it so that your movements need to be considered. Simply tapping in a direction to quickly dodge an enemy would basically ruin the game. This was a series that forced you to think about your movements, in the same way it forces you to think about health and ammo, inventory management, and how to navigate forward. It was an awesome fit.

Tank controls are inherently limiting, but all control setups -- even the particularly "free" ones -- have some kind of limitation, so the question becomes whether or not the limitations fit your game. Decades of success suggest that they fit the Resident Evil series just fine.

 

[Castle]

It's appropriate if you're intentionally trying to limit the character's movement. Resi4, for instance, the tank controls work well to instill tension in players. Because Leon is so slow and methodical while a hoard of Los Plagas are charging him from all sides, it heightens the sense of fear and tension in players. It forces them to be careful and precise in their positioning, movement and aiming to create a more tactical shooter rather than a twitchy run and gun.

The tank controls in Tomb Raider actually allowed for more precision jumps and methodical placement. I think they also helped to connect players to Laura more since the third person perspective matched her movements 1:1 it felt like the third person camera was less disconnected from her.

It's a bit of a shame that tank controls are arguably a thing of the past in today's modern samey strictly conventional game design market. There's certainly a place for them in games that put them to good use. Done poorly or out of place however and tank controls can utterly wreck a game. A third person sort of walking simulator or shooter (The Order, MAss Effect, Gears of War) would still make good use of them.

While tank controls are often mandatory in certain games due to the nature of gameplay, I personally prefer third person games where the character and camera operate independently of each other. Tomb Raider 2013, Dragon's Dogma, Horizon: Zero Dawn and Batman: Arkham are good examples. Because I enjoy admiring interesting environments so much, this control setup is ideal since I can reposition the camera without having to position the character. Tank controls pretty much stick the camera at a fixed position behind the characters back and stay there with seldom an option to unlock the camera at all. This makes for bland viewing, and doesn't even lend itself to appreciating your character since you're stuck glaring at their back side the whole time.