Some Lessons Other Shooters can Learn from Tarkov
There is no doubt that in 2022, Tarkov has etched its name into the world of the shooter genre. It goes above and beyond what a lot of other games try to do in making a game feel engaging and having the highs feel like cloud nine, and the lows feel worse than losing 100 games of anything else in a row. No other game, at least for me personally, has gotten my heart rate through the roof as consistently as Tarkov. I emphasize consistently because there are other games like Jump King that do it, but not for long enough to make you remember that crazy last raid where you just barely made it out before you ran out of food or water. A lot of companies play it safe; I get it. If it isn’t broken, then don’t fix it. Whatever is going to pull in money. They are against taking risks and trying to stir the pot and become innovative. Makes sense. However, the new COD coming with the new DMZ mode, which to our knowledge is going to be some form of infil/exfil mode, that might be taking inspiration from Tarkov, sounds promising. We don’t know much about the gameplay loop but, if you’re going to do it, make sure you take the right points from what you may be inspired by. To my knowledge, this will be the first time a big studio tries to replicate the gameplay hook of Tarkov. And no, Battlefield 2042’s new mode, doesn’t count. Because while there is plenty good to try and gain some insight or inspiration from in regards to Tarkov, there is plenty bad that you want to stay away from. I wanted to take some time and try my best to explain some of the aspects of Tarkov that, to me, make it so enticing and addicting once you get the bug. And, if this mode is well produced, and has an overall positive response from the community, I would implore Nikita and the boys over at BSG to take notes themselves. They have their vision and ways of getting things done. But some outside perspective every once in a while, isn’t a bad thing. Now, as a preface, I should probably mention I’m not a developer, nor am I some form of director in a position to call the shots. I know this will most likely never happen, even if someone from those companies happens to see this (which again I know isn’t the case, but just to clarify).