Great article that gets me very excitable for this game. I have been yearning for something different out of FPSs and I think this is just the thing. Slow the game down, even the playing field, and challenge people to think about and play the game differently.
I think this will be the game to bring the passion back into FPSs.
And yes, you read correctly, I used the terms excitable and yearning
Rainbow Six Siege is Bringing 'No Respawn' Back
Bringing focus to idea of teamwork.
by: Seth G. Macy
October 14, 2014
Upcoming first person shooter Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege is looking to differentiate itself from the pack of FPS games by going back to its roots and removing respawns from multi-player matches.
The no respawn rule, what the developers are calling the "One Life" rule, is returning to the game, and with it comes what Ubisoft considers the three pillars of what they want from Rainbow Six: teamwork, tactics, and tension.
While other FPS games emphasize "run and gun" tactics, where a player's reflexes are their most important skill, the team behind Rainbow Six Siege wants the three pillars to be just that: foundations upon which the weight of the game play are supported.
Early in the game's development, the no respawn rule hadn't yet been implemented, and as such, the "same guys were always at the top of the leaderboard" during inter-office play. Generally the teams with the best solo players, those most skilled in quick shots and lightning reflexes, would win the rounds.
The team found that by removing respawns from the game, "teamwork, map awareness, planning, adaptability, communication, and leadership," became as important as twitch reflexes. The top players dropped and the leaderboards began to adjust as everyone on the team relearned strategies to win by utilizing a broader skill set.
Former SOCOM developer and game designer Chris Lee said that initially, he didn't think the change would work. "I thought that only the most hard-core players would like it. It turned out that it really opened up the game to many different types of players."
One concern the team had with the no respawn rule was the impact it would have on the players who were "out." From this concern grew "Support Mode," where players killed in battle can use visibility tools such as drones, or survey the scene from a chopper, to keep an eye on enemy movement and communicate with their team members still in the game.
The team hopes to recapture feelings present in the original game. "We’re looking forward to harnessing this as a way to bring back those moments you remember from the first game, your heart pounding as you kick open that first door."