Opinions about health meters

[jetcitywoman]

While waiting for Avernum to be released, I've been playing a pretty awesome adventure game on my iPad. One of the things that bugs me about the ipad game is that it doesn't use health meters on the characters. Although I wonder if I'm just spoiled by Spiderweb games, or if I'm a wuss. (I'm a play-on-normal-difficulty player.) But I find it annoying with the other game that I can blast away at the bosses and I really don't know how close I am to killing him. Sure, he flashes red briefly when I do damage, but I still don't know if it's going to take 2 more shots or 200. With the health meters like the ones in Spiderweb games, I can tell really quickly if I'm out-matched and should come back after getting stronger. What do you guys think?

[Randomizer]

I didn't notice the health meters for several years of playing Spiderweb games. So I always had to guess how close I was to finally killing things. Now I just get frustrated at how the monster still has that tiny sliver of health that won't go away.

 

I grew up on games without health meters so I sort of kept track of how much damage it took to kill common monsters. Playing Ultima III it was how many rounds will it take and whether I should run or fight.

[jetcitywoman]

Well, what if you're fighting unique monsters - bosses? Then you really have no idea how much it will take. I'm finding that with this game I'm having to go to their forum and look for hints alot. It's a non-linear game, so I shouldn't have to do that, just go get stronger and come back. But, well, I guess I am kind of wussy because I don't know how much stronger I need to be it's just much easier to go fish for hints.

[Ceiling Durkheim]

It depends on the genre for me. In RPGs, I definitely agree. Strategy games even more so. In other genres (e.g. survival horror), not so much. On the one hand, life bars generally make gameplay more fun and user-friendly. On the other, they can kill suspense, and potentially get in the way of the visual environment.

[jetcitywoman]

True. Jeff's are nicely unobtrusive. Not sure I agree about the suspense, though. On really big nasties wondering what it's going to take to knock that last sliver of color off the bar is suspenseful for me. But pounding the keyboard nonstop on a major baddie without a health bar is purely frustrating for me. That's really what I look for in the forum hints: first how do I know I'm doing damage, and secondly how do I know when I'm getting close. They did code in behavior changes on the baddies when you get close to killing them. But sometimes the behavior change is that he gets even meaner and wipes the floor with me. So that's not so much as a clue as pure sadism.

[ĐªгŦĦ Єяŋϊε]

in exile i always used scry monster to see how much health they had left.

it was a waste of spell points but it relieved the tension

[VCH]

I prefer to not have health bars—and no grid.

[MMXPERT-seraph of thermodynamics]

http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=4&p=001742

http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=4&p=001744

[Erebus the Black]

The futility of health bars

[Callie]

I like it when the health bars can be turned off. Also, being able to see hp by looking at the NPC is nice too.

[Seasons of Destiny]

Erasmus. Health bars are kind of (I don't know, what's the word?) POINTLESS in that game! I decided to, for laughs, try it out. I got to the Maze Minotaur (boss), and I don't understand what happened... His fireballs at first do nothing, but randomly just one-hit kill me. It's also disappointing how I nearly kill him, and then I'm randomly felled by a fireball. I mean, why even put in the blasted health bars if they instantly drop to zero by being hit once?

 

Oh, and also I guess I could consider that I don't like health bars/grids all that much (I only use health bars when I want to know when the thing I'm smacking is going to drop over dead).

[Erebus the Black]

Originally Posted By: Seasons of Destiny

Erasmus. I got to the Maze Minotaur (boss), and I don't understand what happened... His fireballs at first do nothing, but randomly just one-hit kill me. It's also disappointing how I nearly kill him, and then I'm randomly felled by a fireball. I mean, why even put in the blasted health bars if they instantly drop to zero by being hit once?

I was also baffled by this at first, it appears that this only happens when you are hit while attacking as a sort of counter attack, eventually you will reach a town where you can buy a buckler which negates this effect and in the desert (2nd row) there will be a shrine where you can increase your con\vit.
For now just keep lengthening your weapon until you can attack it from a moderate distance where you can still dodge the fireballs.
Have you found the katana salesman?(he's in the first map/zone) That should also make the combat easier.
You haven't reached the futile point yet

[Seasons of Destiny]

Man, if that isn't the futile point, then I'll probably dread the actual point (and yes, I got the katana)...

 

You just gotta love games that are laughably frustrating

 

Oh yes! Sweet success (Minotaur is down!)

 

[VCH]

Visible movement grids are much worse than visible health bars. I admit that both grid and bar can be useful at times, but usually they just get in the way—until you become habituated to them that is.