By Georgia Geng
Contents:
-Overview
-Game Mechanics -PvPvE Mode
-Limited-Time Escape Mode
-Shooting System
-Supplies
-Home-base Upgrading -Trading/Flee-market
-Weapon Modification
-Quests System
-Character System
-Maps
-Art Style
Game Brief
Escape from Tarkov is a multiplayer tactical first-person shooter video game in development by Battlestate Games for Microsoft Windows. The game is set in the fictional Norvinsk region in northwestern Russia, where a war is taking place between two private military companies (United Security “USEC” and the Battle Encounter Assault Regiment “BEAR”). Players join matches called “raids” in which they fight other players and bots for loot and aim to survive and escape.
Narrative background
Escape from Tarkov is a hardcore and realistic online first-person action RPG/Simulator with MMO features and a story-driven walkthrough.
With each passing day the situation in the Norvinsk region grows more and more complicated. Incessant warfare in Tarkov has sparked massive panic; the local population has fled the city, but those who stayed are looking to improve their fortunes at the expense of others. Having accepted the new reality, savage Tarkov locals – “Scavs” flocked into well-armed gangs and started the redivision of the city. Nowadays, Tarkov is separated by unseen borders, controlled by different groups. Gain-greedy gunmen would go to any length to have their way, including the murder of civilians and direct confrontation with the two private military companies.
The players will have to experience living in the skin of one of the mercenaries who survived the initial stage of the Tarkov conflict. After choosing one of the sides – USEC or BEAR – the player’s character starts to make his way out of the city. Tarkov is sealed off by UN and Russian military, supply chains are cut, communication with operational command is lost, and in these conditions everyone has to make his own choices of what to do and how to get out of the chaos-ridden metropolis.
Game Analysis
- Overview
From a short-term interactive point of view, Escape from Tarkov is a hardcore first person shooter game.
From a mid-term growth perspective, Escape from Tarkov is a role-playing game.
From a long-term operation perspective, Escape from Tarkov is a realistic simulation game.
Keyword: Hardcore, Random, Asymmetric FPS + SLG + RPG
2) Game Mechanics PVPVE mode
The game mechanics is a Player Vs Player Vs Computer AI brawl. Players with different purposes will behave differently after entering the single game. The game doesn’t have a setting that players have to meet with each other in the game, the participation of NPCs/Scav of different skill levels will prevent players from feeling idle or void.
3) Advantages
The partaking of computer AI/Scavs ensures that players will not feel idle or bored on battlefield, especially on large maps. Lower level Scavs enhance player’s engagement experience. Even for newbie players or FPS novice players, firefights with low-end Scavs guarantee a high probability of killing which improves player’s sense of participation in the game. High-end Scav(Boss group) are challenging enemies, but high risk comes with high returns. The PVPVE mode seems chaotic but may generate unexpected “surges” of behaviors.
Similar games: PUBG Mobile, SYNCED：off planet （By Tencent Next Studio）, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands(By Ubisoft Paris)
4) Limited Time Escape Mode
Either in PUBG or Escape from Tarkov’s, the escape mode both originated from the iconic escape mission in Arma3: Survive and get to the designated place. In this mission, players are placed in a large map, where you can leverage all kinds of resources and supplies to kill impedient enemies to arrive at the exit point. The escape mode usually carries the following flag elements:
- Spawn point
- Exit point
- High level of freedom, for players to make decisions
Based on this frame, Escape from Tarkov and PUBG respectively added new ideas and limitation, and thus evolves into two different new gameplay with new features.
Escape from Tarkov game features:
—Goal-oriented: Escape from Tarkov stresses the goal of escape, successful evacuation is the priority; combat, raid and action-trade-offs are all in the service of evacuation, if players fail, their payoff in this game is zero.
—Behavior-focused: The dynamic game system of ET determines that players do not share the same goal in a single game, combat is not the only option.
—Behavior Journey: Players decide what actions they take to get to the evacuation point. The game system has pre-set up the supply points of different levels and guide players to meet here. For some maps (for instance, the custom checking point) , the rectangular shape of the area increased the likelihood for players spawned from both sides to meet.
PUBG Features:
—The PUBG game focuses on strengthening the goal of killing and surviving. Be the last one to survive is the primary goal, all behavior trade-offs in the game serves surviving to the end.
—The game mode defines that battling is the core of the game, the addition of the poisonous circle and airdrops mechanism is for players to meet and fight.
—The game is set up with different progression stages. High-value supplies location guide players to meet in the early stage, while the shrinking poison circle force players to meet in the late stage of the game.
Limited Time
Different from the traditional Battle Royale game in which game rhythm depends on the poison circle shrinking speed, Escape from Tarkov stipulate the exact evacuation time, and evasively informed the players about the timeline. The game sets different time spans based on different map designs, and thus guide the player’s behaviors in that map and determines some key nodes.
For example: “Armored Train” exit point at a storage station (Only open at certain limited-time)
Evacuation
The escape mode has two key factors:
—A randomly generated respawn point and corresponding evacuation point, supplemented by several random conditional evacuation points. This ensures randomness of each game, and for some maps, even determine the timing and pace of the players behavior. The diversity of evacuation conditions is also the micro-innovation of Tarkov’s time-limited escape model. These include but are not limited to:
—Arrive at the designated point
—Arrive at the designated point, meanwhile meet all the prerequisite for evacuation (get the key, pull the electronic switch, carry a required supply)
—Arrive at conditional evacuation point (may evacuate if this point is open in this game)
—Evacuate with “friendly” players
—Certain equipment(backpack, armor) are not allowed when evacuating
These prerequisites determine how players may choose to evacuate, and thus increases the variety of gameplay.
Similiar Games: PUBG, ARMA3
Shooting Experience
Tarkov’s shooting mechanics has its own characteristics. One the one hand, gun-firing is not the only core gameplay, but a means to interact with others on battlefield. On the other hand, the hardcore shooting experience combined with character’s health status gives players a superb realistic experience.
Supply System
Tarkov’s dynamic supplies system can be compared with many RPG games. On the one hand, it enriches the game content, on the other hand, it extend the game’s lifespan. Supplies system provides the material foundation for many other add-on game features later on.
The most prominent feature of Tarkov’s supply system which distinguish itself from other FPS games is its continuity. The supplies collected from one battle can be kept for long term. At the same time, Tarkov’s mission system, trading system and base-building system further utilizes these supply resources and endowed more values to the supply system, which also supports the long-term operation potentials for the game.
Supplies Categories:
—Upgrading materials: materials needed for the construction and upgrading of the homebase system
—Mission materials: materials required to be collected by missions
—Functional materials: include food and medical supplies (increase stamina, energy and HP), weaponry and attachment, accessories, equipment, daily needs etc.
Gaining Supplies:
—Collect in battles
—manufacture at home-base
—Buy on the market
The value and price of supplies are determined by the diversified ways of obtaining supplies and their rarity and increase the richness of the game content.
Similar games: RPG games
Home-base building system:
Combined with the supplies system, the home-base system enhances Tarkov’s potential for long-term operations. Different types of buildings in the home system provide different functions, including life and energy recovery, material manufacturing, firearms modification, and access to funds (mining concept). Through the home system, it gives players a reason and purpose to play Tarkov for a long time – to upgrade the building and gain revenue. At the same time, with the mission system, the upgrade of the home system needs to meet certain conditions, which extends the play cycle for the player.
Advantage: Extended game lifespan
Similar games: Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla
Trading System:
Two types of trading systems:
(1) In-game merchant NPCs
(2) A flea market formed by players from all over the world
Tarkov has created an active cross-server trading market with its enriched supplies system. The value of supplies is stressed, and combined with the trading simulation elements, Takov is built into a game with the main task of commercial trading, using shooting as a means to collect resources to support merchandising. This in turn increases player engagement, players are not necessarily in game to shoot, but may show up to trade.
Advantages: Increase player engagement, increase supplies values, stress the attributes of in-game merchandising
Similar game: EVE Online
Weapon Modification System:
Tarkov has built a unique gun modication system that reinforces its “hardcore FPS” characteristic. Gun accessories can goes to details such as the tiniest part of a real weapon, and thus giving hardcore FPS players or military fans enough space to customize their own firearms. Common FPS players may still use the default gun assembling template and only make some basic modifications. Weapon modification can bring different shooting experience.
Advantages: Weapon modification modules increases customization freedom
Disadvantages: higher threshold for players to learn
Similar games: Rainbow Six: Siege
Quests System
Tarkov’s quests are released by Merchants (NPC) in the game. Quest levels determine the levels of resources that merchants can open up to players to buy more quality items at lower prices, and upgrade the home system.
Quests type
The quests can be divided into the following categories:
(1) Kill targets as required
(2) Find supplies: Submit specified supplies
(3) Drop supplies: Drop supplies to the designated location
(4) Exploration mission: Go to the designated location
Different types of quests provide different experiences for the players. And as the game progresses, the quest difficulty rises straight up, and then discourage a considerable number of players. But what drives players to complete the quest are higher merchant levels, home-base upgrading, and huge rewards.
Every quest gives players a main objective in each game.
Pros: Gives players have an objective in a single battle
Disadvantages: The task difficulty rises quickly
Similar games: Most RPGs have a quest system
Character System:
The character system is divided into the following parts:
(1) HP system
(2) Skill system
(3) Equipment system
The HP system includes the player’s health, status etc, and the Health points is not only calculated as a simple number, but give different numeric values to different body
weights and injury parts. Injuries in different spots have different negative effects, and affect the overall shooting ability.
The skill system includes the player’s endurance, strength etc. but adding up skill metrics will not affect the core gameplay – the gunfight.
The equipment system consists of what the player decides to bring into the battle, so Tarkov is an asymmetric game. However, it’s up to the players to weight over if bringing extravagant supplies to a battle could generate an economic beneficial result.
Advantages: RPG elements extend the play cycle of the game.
Disadvantages: The HP system is too hardcore and its health status has an impact on the shooting ability, which often creates a negative experience for the player
Similar games: Most RPGs have character systems
Map system
In the current game version (0.12.7), maps can be basically divided into three types: large, medium and small, and the map pool also correspond to the spawn of different supplies, which gives each map a purpose.
Map classification
The small map “Factory” is designed for 6 people fight, the evacuation time is 20 minutes, battle is the main goal of this map.
Medium-sized map “Custom” is a more balanced map. Some early missions are assigned on this map, and the player’s motivation in this map is diversified. Also limited by the size of the map, players will often encounter each other, so fight and supply-collection behaviors are relatively balanced on this map.
Big map “Shoreline”is mainly for supplies collection. The huge open space makes players’ spawn points more scattered. Lower-level players may collect resources on the edging areas of the map while hard-core players may seek battles in the supplies-dense area.
Pros: Different maps focus on providing choices for different types of players
Similar game: This is My War
Aesthetic Style
Art Style
Takov adopts a very realistic art style, supplemented by a light-wastelands element, to create a close-to-real Eastern European city, which is full of allegorical details, such as graffiti, slogans, abandoned supplies, etc.
Modeling
Takov’s modeling and animation is extremely detailed, such as checking ammunition, checking the magazine etc, which are not often seen in many other FPS games. Detailed portrayal of these actions make the player feel like operating a real gun. Even for the use of food and supplies, depictions are extremely vivid.
AUDIO
Tarkov’s sound effects use real-time recording, which is extremely important for creating vibe. Whether it’s shooting gunfire or the sound of the weather, it creates an extremely realistic atmosphere for the player, so realistic that many players see it as a “horror game”.
Escape from Tarkov – Battle for Concordia (Streets of Tarkov teaser #3)
