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Watch this archer do amazing things, and then rethink the bow in games

Our previous article about bows in video games looked at the weapon as a means of destruction shaped by its own mechanic. You have to stand still to fire, it takes time to nock the arrow and pull back and you're left relatively vulnerable while you set up your shot. It's a low-tech sniper rifle with the added benefit of being nearly silent.

But what if those assumptions were wrong?

The video embedded above shows a man who claims to have studied "ancient manuscripts" and images of classical archery to come up with his technique, which admittedly is pretty badass.

He can fire many arrows in rapid succession, and he can do so while moving. The video is well made and edited, although I'd love to see what his work looks like in person, without the possibility of edits and quick cuts.

That being said, the idea of a mobile, rapid-fire method of using a bow offensively opens up a ton of cool new ideas for game design, and it would be neat to see this style of archery used in a game.

The use of bows in games has been so narrowly defined for so long that shaking up the formula could go a long way to making the weapon feel fresh and hey, you have at least one person available for motion capture.

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