Quote Originally Posted by Splash! View Post
The points here are about how it makes it easier to design such games (except for #4 which is the only valid reason for certain types of game). Also, the control thing isn't that big of a deal. Even earlier FPS games had quick switching to alternate between two specific weapons. It shouldn't be that hard to come up with a seamless interface to speed up the access of weapons without having to restrict the player to just two. Again, it is fine for designers to do things that make their job easier but they shouldn't be dressing it as something that is fundamentally better, because it doesn't actually improve the player experience and in many ways limits it.
Well, overcoming the limits/challanges is what makes the games fun. Restricting number of weapons makes designing easier and allows for more precise control of difficulty level. Same as with regenerating hp - designers had to design a level in such way that it wouldn't be too easy for someone with full hp, and that it would be passable for someone with 10hp left.

remember that most fps games are made for multiplayer too - you can't have bigass windows with 10 weapons to chose from in form of big circle menu.

try designing control scheme that fits gamepad and allows for most fps actions and lets player chose more than 4 weapons, seamlessly without any additional interface. And remember that most games aren't just run'n'gun - player has some special abilities at his disposal. Good luck.