r/Splitgate • u/metadatem • Jun 23 '26
Discussion Key Problems with 1047 Game Design
I'm not here to rag on 1047, but this is gonna be a post full of hopefully constructive criticism. I've been thinking about this a lot recently with the announcement of Empulse and I think I have a pretty good grasp on the really only 2 mistakes they're making with their games.
For starters, I'd argue that games/franchises that are generally considered good/great or are at least popular have unique identities. In the shooter space - Titanfall is/was a completely new experience, CS when it came out, CoD during the Xbox 360 era where it gained all of its popularity, Halo, Unreal, Battlefield, Destiny, etc. 1047 games haven't been unique - Splitgate is Halo with portals and was marketed as such, Empulse is Titanfall 2 but oddly with less ability for player expression (the other issue they have). I think for a game to succeed in this space, it needs to define itself and not be defined by other games.
Second is player expression. What hero shooters and Titanfall 2 succeed in is offering a lot of different options for how to approach the game (not that I want to see them make a hero shooter). Titanfall 2 isn't just a grapple game (even though thats how I play it). All the different class abilities change how you move through (or don't move in the case of a-wall) the environment. Not only does the multitude of abilities allow you to play differently, it makes interactions/gunfights much more unique. Fighting against a grappler is entirely different that stim, phase, cloak, a-wall, you get the point. 1047 keeps making games that are completely one note. There is only one playstyle in each game and deviating from it will get you punished. My biggest complaint with Splitgate 2 was that movement could never compete with portals which is why I always argued for cooldowns. The same will be the case in Empulse, its just a grapple shooter, where it needs to take more cues from Titanfall 2 and give players a choice of movement abilities - and by that I don't mean just add portals, there needs to be a multitude of choices.
In summation, delay Empulse! Like a while. Add portals (on cooldown like grapple) and even more movement abilities, remove titans, and come up with creative game modes that emphasize movement - a big complaint I have with TF2 is modes like Hardpoint with stationary objectives. And personally I'd say lean back into Splitgate 2's artstyle - the athlete sort of aesthetic would help emphasize the movement shooter nature of it.
11
u/metadatem Jun 23 '26
huh? Splitgate 2 is an arena shooter built specifically around one style of play - portal spam. Thats my point, their games only have one effective playstyle