Examining Titanfall 2's Time Travel Masterpiece

Introducing

time

travel

to a game that already focuses on giant robots fighting each other may seem a bit much. I mean, they're giant robots fighting each other. How much more excitement could you need, but Respawn Entertainment went ahead and did it anyway in Titanfall. 2 creating the effect of the mission and causing one of the most entertaining levels not only in the campaign in which it is presented, which by the way is absolutely fantastic, but also in the genre as a whole and in this video I am going to take a look closer. This is to try to better explain why it is such an exceptional experience from start to finish, but first to make sure everyone is up to speed, let's start with a quick summary of the story.

Up to this point, you control Jack Cooper, a frontier militia rifleman who caught in conflict with the Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation or IMC for short, Cooper had been training to become a pilot, the most decorated soldiers, each of whom were bonded to a massive robot known as a titan after being sent to attack typhon the man's imc controlled planet. Cooper, who was training, is mortally wounded and transfers control of his titan BT 7274 to Cooper. Cooper also inherits his special operation mission 217, which tasks him with finding Major Eli Anderson and helping investigate the planet after killing dozens of IMC troops and his fair share. of titans cooper and bt finally arrive at anderson's last known location, an imc research facility, and so begins effect and cause as the mission begins and its title appears on the screen a quick note about the name, it's a obvious play on the phrase cause and effect and with very good reason why I'm not going to talk more about it for now, but I will say that it's a presumption worth keeping in mind as we get a little further into the level.

I love a scary warning sign and respawning ensures that it's impossible to miss yours using fire to illuminate a part and draw your attention to what it says, much like this first mossy and seemingly very old corpse, suggesting that the place has been abandoned for some

time

and being placed right in the middle of the path leading to the next area leaves almost no chance of advancing without realizing it. Spending a little time exploring without much happening, following these two clues, in my opinion, would have really helped build tension, but effect and cause continue at a rapid pace. with the environment in the next area changing almost immediately to become a much more orderly place and thus begins the gradual expansion of a completely new mechanic used during this mission and this mission only the ability to time

travel

this flashback and the second which follows quickly after doing Some Things Clear In the past this facility was a bustling place and you were somehow able to witness that, although at least for now you can't control when these changes will occur and you have no idea if you can actually influence the past events.

You can then also radio BT to find out more about what's happening, an option offered quite frequently. These interactions serve an obvious purpose to continue building Coopers and, by extension, your relationship with BT, but BT is also used very well during this mission. A slightly less obvious reason during trips to the past it is much easier to provide exposition than in the present. Important events occur as you progress and there are many human characters available to help frame the events, but in the future everything has already happened and there are some signs of intelligent life and therefore using bt to keep the narrative pace high even in the present is a fantastic idea if the past shows you what is happening through the events that unfold then the present uses bt and audio diaries which I will describe.

It taps again with just a tick to tell you what happened, helping to ensure that the more vibrant past never becomes too narratively dominant. There's a really nice touch in this next area that I'm sure many will have missed during their first playthrough once finished. The atmosphere changes again in the theater and if you are quick it is possible to reach the stage before the area returns to its usual state, at which point the Mada general will recognize your presence. Yes, pilots, can I help you? will also be reflected in the audio log left on the scene in the present by decisively neutralizing the militia forces.

Yes I can help? If you're curious, you'll just be given confirmation that what you do in the past will affect the present, and if not, you'll have to wait a little longer, although I love the way everything plays out during these opening moments and, in fact, the rest of the mission. I want to quickly point out a small adjustment that I think might have been. In fact, as you may have already noticed, Titanfall 2 prevents you from using weapons during these first few turns. I understand why in a game where the main method of interacting with the world is shooting things, it eliminates the temptation to shoot things that I'm sure the development of these earlier stages was much easier for respawn, as they were able to focus on build tension during these opening scenes without having to worry that players might shoot everything in sight.

There is also some logic to this in the effect and cause in that the first time you can use your gun in the past is when the security robots show up and Cooper is actively in danger, but he already has his gun drawn before they enter. on stage, which does not make sense if we stick to the established logic. at the beginning of the mission, adding an animation of him drawing his gun and some dialogue like "there's no point in staying quiet now" would, in my opinion, have really helped tie everything together, providing a much clearer and more obvious reason why the player's choice. in the past it had been restricted before this moment after a couple more changes, including this one, which is downright beautiful in terms of framing effect and cause it opens briefly, although there's not much to discover beyond a couple of collectibles and, most notably, the quest.

The first audio log The audio logs only appear in the present and only in this mission and I suppose they may have been included to further remedy the problem of the past having more history than the present, but I'm not sure if they really are It is necessary to make sure that the story of Dr. Jefferson boils, the plight as the last man left in the facility after whatever catastrophic event occurred is relatively interesting, however, it is not that interesting, so I am not sure breaking Titanfall 2's established storytelling conventions to include them. required especially because they compare directly to the other ways the game's backstory unfolds throughout the mission, which I would say are much more engaging story-wise.

There's a nice line from BT at the beginning of this area that alludes to the fact that he eventually also has a strange presence in the past. I am detecting traces of my own data signature within this area. The distortions must be affecting my scans, and the bodies of imc troops, robots, and titans litter the area, though their meaning won't become clearer. Until much later, upon passing into the reception area, a brief battle with a single marauder ensues before Major Anderson's fate is revealed with the upper half of his body trapped in the ceiling. Analysis of the data on his helmet reveals that whatever he happened to the facility happened somehow. just two weeks before the border militia arrived on Typhon with Anderson sent to investigate two weeks ago we intercepted imc communications, they found something in Tyson, a massive explosion of energy was discharged at this location creating time distortions.

I want the srs on the ground to infiltrate. the facilities, then, which doesn't make any sense considering how dilapidated the facilities are and how much the bodies found in the area have decomposed. Cooper's next objective is to find the wrist-mounted device mentioned in Anderson's log and there's a nice interaction with BT here. which opens up a new path and introduces the idea of ​​Cooper being thrown into his future destinies. Well, maybe next time you can throw me, no dude, something that definitely comes up again once or twice. My scans detect a functioning uplink targeting module 428 meters northeast of my Analysis indicates that a launch is our only option here.

I can throw you across the gap as discussed above. The next change is the first to make it really obvious that you are much more than just a spectator in the past and is also where Titanfall uses these. turns to start subtly teaching you a few things you'll need to remember, and without the use of long tutorial messages that so many other games take advantage of, this guard notices Cooper and unleashes a horde of robots that can be briefly shot. before the environment returns to the present, teaching him that his presence in the past will have an effect and that he can have a direct involvement in the events that unfold by returning to the present, these robots still need to be dispatched and This encounter is fine. , it feels a bit like Resident Evil in the way that a horde of enemies lumber or even crawl towards you through the darkness, but there are so many of them to destroy that it somehow starts to outstay its welcome. your welcome when it concludes.

A series of excellent additions follow this radio message during the next turn, showing how quickly everyone in the facility became confused by his presence, which really helps tie together both the past and present, and you can also briefly glimpse a pair of doors blocked by laser doors that are no longer blocked in the present, at this point you will most likely connect the dots and learn your next lesson by realizing that the parts blocked by lasers in the past may not be in the present, but this is also taught again in a more obvious way later for those who may not have noticed this audio log on the floor nearby in the present, it also alludes to a battle against two squads on a bank from elevators dr alexander darren log 14.6 the intruder has some kind of advanced technology and is massacring our response teams Tyler and Wildlife Research said two teams were pulled from the elevators in a matter of seconds by one guy, while I'm not convinced from the rest of the audio records.

I love this one because it refers to a battle that I won't even participate in until you've progressed a little further in the level. I'm sure many of you will have forgotten this morning when you walk down the stairs to the elevators, but it's also a great aha moment! For those paying attention, when you realize you already have an idea of ​​what is about to happen, the next room is narrow with a singular door on the other side, the spotlight drawing your attention to it and ensuring that no be probable. miss their opening during the next turn and if you quickly shoot one or both guards their bodies will appear exactly where they died in the present, this is something that happens throughout effect and cause and really helps increase the feeling that even actions smaller ones in the past have consequences in the present time changes continue to increase in frequency as Cooper approaches the other half of Major Anderson's body with a loading screen signifying the end of what I would call the opening of the mission given the effect and causes technical complexity.

I don't mind that there is a loading screen here, but I'm not convinced by the image used. Anyway, you are about to discover the lower half of Major Anderson and, although most will have seen it coming, I think the image does take you away. For the impact of the revelation immediately after the discovery, it will have been expected, but of all Anyway, I'm not convinced that mocking him just seconds before he revealed himself was necessary. Cooper then grabs the wrist mounted device and a quick change demonstrates exactly what it has the power to do it and then the wonderful button appears on the screen that tells you to press lb or whatever button you are using to time travel and here it is where the fun really begins, similar to how most of the effects and callbacks up to this point were spent to ease you into the idea of ​​the past and present essentially existing simultaneously, so to speak, from here on out it's all about easing you in. the idea of ​​using the time travel mechanic to move between them during the game.

The first challenge ahead encourages you to start thinking with time travel by presenting a problem right away. I guess few people find it difficult to solve it. The floor is on fire and the path above is blocked by electrical cables. Pass it easily. All you need to do is switch to the past and walk withsecurity down the hallway. Then BT announces that he. I can now contact you both in the past and in the present, a nice nod to the previous dialogue where he mentions that he can detect his own cooper pilot data signature. I have transferred some of my AI functions to your helmet to allow communication across time shifts and Then the mission introduces another door blocked by lasers.

Some will have missed the previous clue during the wild switch previously, so here Titanfall 2 makes sure that, before you can progress, you understand that these blockages can be bypassed using the time travel mechanic, a similar challenge. . also waits on the other side of the laser grid, but this time in reverse to really drive home that idea with a locked door in the present that needs to be opened in the past with two soldiers waiting on the other side, you will most likely react instantly. and shoot them both without thinking about using the time travel mechanic, but the next area also features a buffer zone of sorts between them and the next group of enemies.

This is a sensible design as it means that once the first two have been taken out there is time for a quick breather to readjust so you can then think about taking on the guards at the other end of the room and at the same time Take advantage of the new mechanic and once the enemies have been eliminated, another layer is also added to the exploration effect and the cores previously taught you that grates and laser doors could be avoided by moving between time zones and now that that is clear, Titanfall 2 expands on that idea by showing that sometimes that won't be the case. enough and sometimes you'll also need to use the mechanics a little more creatively to overcome obstacles.

Effect and Cause continues to make you feel like the mission's top predator through the enemies' eager radio transmissions, but their movement is erratic and this is quickly followed by a fairly clever piece of level design in order to progress you need access a control panel to open a door whose path is blocked by more lasers so you can pass the lasers in the present return to the past to kill the nearby guards and then lower the door, at which point it is revealed that several turrets and enemies await you at the other end of the corridor, although fortunately they can't hit you through the glass, the lasers are the smart parts here as they force you back. to the present to leave the area, which again subtly nudges you toward solving the problem.

I'm sure many will have discovered that getting behind the turrets in the present is key, but it's a great design to have the lasers you use keep you safe. You're already in the right time zone when you start thinking about a strategy which, of course, will most likely be wall running across the flaming gap in the present to get behind them in the past. There's also an added twist in the form of a single marauder to deal with in the present along with the beefier enemy forces at the end of the corridor in the past, a small taste of the encounter that soon follows and, speaking of small tastes, even the robots that appear moments later have a purpose in The encounter that follows the human enemies that appear in the past is predictable because they all appear from places you would expect, such as elevators, while the marauders tend to come from vents and They can often appear behind you, so the robots here act as a brief reminder before that encounter that enemies in the present will not always appear directly in front of you or emerge from obvious places when approaching the elevators.

It's finally time for the first combat encounter which really pushes you to switch between timelines mid-fight in order to be more successful and it's absolutely brilliant and since this is the point where the mechanics really come into their own I think Now is the perfect time for a quick explanation of how it actually works, essentially the past and present are two precisely aligned maps. one on top of the other and each contains art and resources that reflect the state of that particular time zone. When you press the time travel button, you are instantly teleported to the exact same position on the other map, meaning switching between the two is instantaneous.

It works very well because it means that it doesn't take any time for the game to load any of the areas, which means that everything feels fluid and responds perfectly, perfectly matching the pace of the action on the screen with everything moving so fast for so many of the encounters and rapid changes between the past and the present. required so frequently, any delay would have been incredibly jarring, something that by respawning manages to completely avoid enemies from the time zone you're in, also leaves a blue mist when you move away from them, and stays where they were when you use the time travel. mechanical again, allowing you to track where they will be much better and I have to be honest, at first I wasn't a big fan of this, I thought it made things too easy, it wasn't realistic and it took away some of the sense of achievement for achieving successfully fight any immediate threat and at the same time be aware of what was happening in the background after it has had its effect and cause a good number of times.

I still think those criticisms apply to some extent, but I think the style of play that Blue Mist is designed to encourage means that ultimately the pros outweigh the cons because the bug wears off relatively quickly, which does a lot. to encourage you to constantly switch between time zones, effectively rewarding you for using the mechanics to their fullest. helps you avoid killing all enemies in the present before doing the same in the past or vice versa and still rewards situational awareness, there will be times when you forget to switch while the fog is still present and in that point You'll be much better off if you pay attention to enemy location and don't simply rely on fog to guide you, combined with Titanfall 2's fast combat and arguably the best movement mechanic in any first-person shooter battle, it quickly becomes incredible. shows as you switch between fighting humans who are slower but can attack from long range in the past, and fast-moving but melee marauders in the present, every second of almost every fight in effect and because from here From now on it is a constant.

Balancing Act: A perpetual risk reward scenario during which you not only have to manage two separate encounters but also decide when is the right time to move from one to the other. It can be difficult to adjust at first, but once you get acclimated, you feel it. It's amazing to play as you travel back in time to defeat a couple of guards. Head to the present to scare off the marauders before finally returning to the past to kill some more guards once they've lost track of your position. It works fantastically. Well, and it's a testament to how brilliant the respawn job was, that I think they could have built an entire game just around this mechanic, from my point of view, this battle also marks the end of what I would call the second phase of the effect and causes the first to have You got used to the idea that there were two separate time zones, but without you having any control over when the changes occurred.

The second allowed you to move between the present and the past at will, but continued to teach you subtly and from this point on you enter the third and final one. part of the mission, the experimentation phase, equipped with all the knowledge you will need in terms of how the time travel mechanic can be used from here on out, it is more about facing scenarios that you have already encountered but now present a spin or a To increase the difficulty, this next section, for example, requires you to land in an area of ​​the past that is on fire in the present before returning to the past before landing, based on the idea of ​​​​avoiding dangers from a line of previous time and even help you. prepare for the more sustained and downright impressive vent drop a bit later, this stage looks an awful lot like the turret hallway shown above, except it requires quicker thinking and much quicker use of the time travel mechanic and in this area perhaps my favorite in the mission.

It requires you to constantly change time zones to jump through it and at the same time deal with the threat of enemies in the distance instead of changing just once to reach your destination and then the pace increases with the threat of enemies. enemies eliminated and the speed at which you must change and become even faster as you do it multiple times while running along walls with a clever design choice here as the last wall you come across is in the past, the same time zone you should be in. access the control panel on the other side, which helps save a little time.

Oh, and as you get to this area, you may also notice that the further you go, the harsher the punishment for failing will be, with fewer failures or other items on offer to save you. fail, it's not groundbreaking game design by any means, but it's cool to see a design philosophy that is so often used to increase difficulty in platformers also appear in Titanfall 2. It'll no doubt catch your eye too. attention to it, just like the gameplay. begins to escalate in this final third, as does the story with the cause of Major Anderson's fate seemingly revealed to be the malfunction of his wrist-mounted device.

Anderson's inclusion of effect and cause is a wise choice, just as BT helps explain what's happening. Anderson also reflects his journey through the facility while providing exposition beyond what many would understand by simply moving through each area. Meanwhile, the IMC prepared to launch what they call their folding weapon powered by a device of non-human origin known as the Ark, a test that was hastily completed due to Cooper's presence at the facility. I really like the visual representation of how the folding gun works shown here. I'm someone who sometimes has a hard time visualizing how devices like these work in games.

When you just talk about them, it's really nice that they catered to less imaginative people like me too. The last effect and cause section brings BT back to the fore and you'll soon realize that I can also use the time travel mechanic to bring him back in time. This is the most frantic encounter of the entire mission and adding BT to the mix is ​​a brilliant final flourish. Coming into this encounter, I assumed he would be forced to stay in the present. and adds a final layer to what is already a stunningly varied 45 minutes. It also explains exactly why there are so many corpses, destroyed robots, and titan pieces scattered around the area towards the beginning of this mission.

Because of you, there is little time to sit. and think about that, however, when the ark starts to overload as you get closer, everything freezes and the reason it reappeared chose the name effect and the cause becomes clear, your presence pushed the imc to fire the folding gun sooner than they would have liked and somewhat clearly. went wrong, by the way, and everyone else in the surrounding area is frozen in place with Cooper's now-broken wrist-mounted device seemingly preventing something similar from happening to him. You caused the gun to fire early which caused this malfunction which caused time fluctuations which then allowed you to travel back in time to cause the malfunction or to put it in simpler terms you use the effect of the malfunction to become the cause of it.

Two more things to note here first. This is an absolutely beautiful scene visually and is probably the most lasting image I have when thinking about Titanfall 2. And second, there is even an opportunity to slightly alter the events here too, as you have to progress towards the arc in the past and that's where the most heated battle takes place, I imagine. He will also have been in that time zone most of the time when the freeze occurs, so he appears in that scene, but if for some reason you leave him in the present, he doesn't appear, another lovely touch to conclude a pack of levels up. the edge. lovely touches and after a quicker platforming section to reach the arkhan, scan it, the mission concludes with Cooper removing the wrist mounted device for good, so what more is there to say about the effect and above all, take off my hat to reappear to pass the time?

Developing such an amazing unique mechanic, a feature like time travel, can't have been easy to develop and would have been time-consuming, so I bet any otherThe developer would have liked to base an entire game around her, but her reappearance showed something incredible. moderation and used it for just one mission in the process, creating one of the best levels seen in a first-person shooter for quite some time. The mechanics themselves are pretty fantastic, but the way everything is designed so well takes it to even greater heights. Often when I cover a single mission like the one I have in this video with effect and because I'll conclude by saying something like you should at least play this level even if you don't play the rest of the game, but while I may have highlighted effects and callouts in this video.

The way it's built is symptomatic of how many brilliant ideas and design considerations go into Titanfall 2 as a whole. Your campaign is an incredible experience from start to finish and the effect on my mind is icing on the cake. Thank you so much for taking the time to watch the video, I know it's long so I really appreciate it. If you enjoyed it, please consider letting me know what you think. you think, like and maybe even subscribe as all of this really helps the channel grow. and I hope to see you all soon