Game Breakers

Yerp. Figure it Out, Already. by duerra · 2006-11-02 07:08 · Score: 1

I think the article has much of this spot-on, especially regarding interactive cut-scenes. I have thought for a while that cut-scenes should be more interactive, ala Jade Empire. However, this is a primary theme of Jade Empire. Games need not be so focused on this aspect, but it certainly does not have to be as linear as it is today. Inability to skip past these (or worse - having to wait for them to load even if you *can* skip past them!) is completely unacceptable.

While I am not a huge fan of "spawn points", I definitely see why they may be somewhat necessary. However, in many of these games, they are WAY too few and far between (looking at you, Metroid Prime), to the point where if you die, you end up having to replay 20 minutes to get back to the point you were at before. Other games, however, like Resident Evil IV for the GameCube, has save points/spawn points every few minutes, or after ever action sequence. This is much better.

I would still prefer to be able to save at any time that I like, but if not, please, for the love of god, don't make the "difficulty" in the game be in that you have to get through 20 minutes of gameplay otherwise you have to do it all over again. That's no longer fun, and the biggest reason why I never completed Metroid Prime.

All that said, some of the points brought up in TFA are just complaining for the sake of complaining. Complaints about being able to perform grotesque actions on your opponent in the middle of a fight is very game-specific and limited, and not any sort of common flaw. Add to that the complaint about "pits and spikes", which were largely a result of the limitations of 2D sidescroller gameplay and platformers (in a way, it's almost part of the definition of the genre, at least in the 2D realm). It doesn't make the game not-fun anymore, unless there is a need for utterly perfect execution for you to be able to complete the game.

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A community-oriented lyrics site

Re:Yerp. Figure it Out, Already. by jizziknight · 2006-11-02 07:19 · Score: 1

I don't understand why you're complaining that Metroid Prime didn't have enough spawn points. I had no problem completing the game (even on Hard difficulty) with the amount of save points it had. Perhaps you just suck at it? (Just kidding) Mostly I just got in the habit of saving when I was near a save point, whether I really needed to or not. Perhaps I'm just more patient?

At any rate, I wouldn't use Metroid Prime as an example of insufficient spawn/save points. I'd go more with something like Zelda: Majora's Mask, where there are very few save points (5 or 6 in the whole game IIRC) and saving requires you to quit (unless you go back to the first day). Oh, and starting from that save point deletes it, too, I think. That's just a pain in the ass. I liked the way OOT did it better, where you could save anywhere, but there was generally a specified spawn point for each "area".

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Everything I say is a lie. Except that... and that... and that, and that, and that, and that... and that.

Re:Yerp. Figure it Out, Already. by Southpaw018 · 2006-11-02 07:19 · Score: 3, Interesting

If you want to see how cutscenes should be done, play through Half Life 2 and HL2: Episode One. Pay attention to the commentary in EP1. They addresss how they specifically create "live" cutscenes at several commentary points.

One example is early in EP1. As you approach a T intersection from the south, they have a lone soldier firing at you far off to the right. You can easily pick him off, but then your attention is forced to the right side hallway and a realtime event: a gunship in its final throes, banging into the walls and crashing before exploding. Bam, there's your cutscene, entirely done without even removing control from the player.

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ACs are modded -6. I don't read you, I don't mod you, I don't see you. Don't like it? Don't be a coward.

Agreed by Crasty · 2006-11-02 07:20 · Score: 0

Cut scenes have become so bloated and overused, that I no longer look forward to them. Think about that.. when they first were introduced, they were awesome, but now they are not so awesome. The biggest culprit in my mind is Square-Enix. Valkyrie Profile 2 was very entertaining, but the cutscenes were miserable. They were slow, hard to watch, and every one of them began with an "artful" panning from some beautiful landscape that was meant to make you say "wow", but pretty much left me gnashing my teeth. As much as I did not want to watch them, I aslo did not want to miss any story components.

Re:Agreed by GrumpySimon · 2006-11-02 09:19 · Score: 1

it's even worse when you can't SKIP the damn things. I have vivid memories of Final Fantasy 7, solely because the really hard bits where you died often, were the ones right after REALLY long unskippable cut scenes. When you died, you got to watch that whole five minutes of CGI pan shots again... and again... and again.

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henry -- the human evolution news relay
Re:Agreed by Carnildo · 2006-11-02 12:35 · Score: 1

I'm very glad I waited on playing the later Final Fantasy games until there was a Playstation emulator available.

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"They redundantly repeated themselves over and over again incessantly without end ad infinitum" -- ibid.

Re:Yerp. Figure it Out, Already. by TheFlamingoKing · 2006-11-02 07:22 · Score: 1

... unless there is a need for utterly perfect execution for you to be able to complete the game.

Yeah. I never beat Battletoads either...

Wing Commander 3... by BlahMatt · 2006-11-02 07:25 · Score: 1

Cut-scenes were the best. Interactive. Live Acting. Hilarious.

Another good example is Dark Forces: Jedi Knight.

I get that hiring actors, filming, putting it onto removable media is expensive, difficult and time consuming. But it really adds to the game, and if you are going to be spending money on a high end game, you should make it so the cut-scenes flow well with the gameplay and if you are going to have a lot of cinematics, make them interesting and interactive. Make sure you get the player interested in what's happening.

For those of you who haven't played wing commander 3, the cut-scenes were done by actors. Often, in the middle of the scene, it would pause and give you a choice (similar to KOTOR). These choices actually affected what would happen later in the game. Certain people would die, you would fly different missions etc. For more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wing_Commander_3

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To understand recursion, one must first understand recursion...

Re:Wing Commander 3... by Saige · 2006-11-02 08:00 · Score: 1

Bah. WC3 was worse than both WC1 and WC2. And part of that was the live actors.

Of course, the other part was the horrible scripted missions. I sat on that last mission for like a half hour, destroying wave after wave of Kilrathi ships, before I finally got the point that you had to let your wingmen die to continue. Like, WTF?

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"You know your god is man-made when he hates all the same people you do."
Re:Wing Commander 3... by dank+zappingly · 2006-11-02 08:52 · Score: 1

Idunno man, I was pretty young when I played it, but I thought WC3 was pretty awesome, and the fact that there was video in it completely blew my mind. Another game I can remember that was like this was Gabriel Knight 2. After the series switched over to 3d it just wasn't the same. I've always sort of liked video in my games. I think it goes back to the old adventure games I used to play where if you solved a puzzle you'd be rewarded with a cool video sequence (The one that comes immediately to mind is getting the decoder ring out of the ball of twine in Sam n Max Hit the Road). There are games that overdo it, but I still think that if they're done right, they can still be pretty awesome.
Re:Wing Commander 3... by Saige · 2006-11-03 05:21 · Score: 1

Did you ever play the first Gabriel Knight? If not, you should try and hunt it down and play it. No actual actors or video - all animated, and it was a wonderful and interesting game. Much, much better than the second - I never finished the second, since it just wasn't anywhere close to as good.

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"You know your god is man-made when he hates all the same people you do."

Re:Yerp. Figure it Out, Already. by duerra · 2006-11-02 07:26 · Score: 1

I'm sure that I suck at the game, and you are indeed probably more patient than I am (I seem to wander around endlessly before figuring things out in that game - maybe I'm just not in the right "mindset" for the game), but I'm not the only one that has been frustrated with the amount of save points in Metroid Prime: http://www.google.com/search?q=metroid+prime+save+ points

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A community-oriented lyrics site

This article takes a stab at MGS by Anonymous Coward · 2006-11-02 07:27 · Score: 0

Therefore, it sucks out loud. Guess what? You couldn't tell the story of any single Metal Gear Solid game released as a theatre length movie without botching it for time restraints.

what is up with Elder Scrolls III??? by GrumpySimon · 2006-11-02 07:29 · Score: 1

Seriously - it's a great game and all, but apparently the solution to ALL of these problems can be found in The Elder Scrolls III: Oblivion? Is it a coincidence that their (evil) intelliTXT is underlining "The Elder Scrolls III" everywhere...

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henry -- the human evolution news relay

Re:what is up with Elder Scrolls III??? by PrescriptionWarning · 2006-11-02 07:45 · Score: 1

While not a perfect 10/10 game, Oblivion is an amazing game simply because it does so much right that games over the last 10 years or more have manager to do wrong over and over and over again.

PS: if you wanna get rid of intellitext, get firefox and get adblocker plus :)
Re:what is up with Elder Scrolls III??? by despisethesun · 2006-11-02 07:58 · Score: 1

Morrowind is Elder Scrolls III. Oblivion is IV.

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This poo is cold.
Re:what is up with Elder Scrolls III??? by misleb · 2006-11-02 08:05 · Score: 1

While not a perfect 10/10 game, Oblivion is an amazing game simply because it does so much right that games over the last 10 years or more have manager to do wrong over and over and over again.

Of course then they went and created a messed up leveling/skill system.

"Hey, that's funny, every time i level, so does every other creature/person in the world. What is the point of leveling again?"

I must say that is quite strange to dread the next character level... I give 'em points for being different, if nothing else.

-matthew

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"THERE IS NO JUSTICE, THERE IS ONLY ME." -Death
Re:what is up with Elder Scrolls III??? by Anonymous Coward · 2006-11-02 08:12 · Score: 0

Well, its Elder Scrolls IV they were plugging, but that aside:

Its a great game, and it does shore up many of the issues other games in the genre suffer from. It is a good example for this reason.

Its far from perfect. The skill system, while not completely broken, requires you to invest much time and energy practicing support skills (If you want to be able to repair magic weapons/armor mid-dungeon, prepare to spend a lot of time damaging your armor so you can practice repairing it--you simply don't learn it as fast as you need to when playing a fast-leveling character. Of course, this is not what they mention when they cite the presence of 'grinding' in Oblivion, they make reference to the need to slay low-level monsters over an over. In actuality, encounters you face are scaled to your level, so you can't farm low-level monsers for experience--the lack of respawning mobs only reinforces this, and since their power is relative to yours 'low level' remains a relative and therefore constantly changing term. Of course, I know this because I played the game, something I find more and more online reviewers/editorialists fail to do.

I thought the inclusion of World of Warcraft as a game that is nearly devoid of the dreaded grinding was nothing short of laughable. You can improve your character as an alchemist, swordsman, archer, or merchant? This is actually Oblivion's system, World of Warcraft uses a run-of-the mill kill mob/get exp cycle for hours on end. There are quests that give you a bonus for killing the right creatures or finding loot, but the only way to advance is to kill stuff.

The original Dragon Warrior did require a little bit of grinding to get through, but I found that the second, third, and fourth installemnts were paced well enough that it wasn't really necessary--helpful, but not necessary. But I digress.

Oblivion was (and is) a great game. Not as perfect as they are trying to brand it, but the inclusion and misinformation regarding World of Warcraft leaves me convinced that the article was written to suck up to and promote advertisers, not to provide any meaningful editorial content--the majority of the games they are bashing are a decade old at least.
Re:what is up with Elder Scrolls III??? by PrescriptionWarning · 2006-11-02 08:22 · Score: 1

I've played through all the way once and found it to be entertaining throughout even with the leveling. I never dreaded a bandit, although I suppose I could have dreaded some of the bigger beasties more (since it seems they were leveled down) but it was a fun experience nonetheless.
Re:what is up with Elder Scrolls III??? by misleb · 2006-11-02 09:55 · Score: 1

I've played through all the way once and found it to be entertaining throughout even with the leveling. I never dreaded a bandit, although I suppose I could have dreaded some of the bigger beasties more (since it seems they were leveled down) but it was a fun experience nonetheless.

I gave up about half way though. The game seemed very uniform and homogeneous. There was little sense that there were places/quests that I should absolutely avoid until I got a better character. But maybe that is what they were trying to accomplish. Perhaps when your choices are driven by what is and what isn't doable at any given time, the game is far less open ended. In other words, your path is determined by difficulty. Like you have to do A (because it is easier) before B (which requires lvl 3+, for example), and B before C, etc.

It just seemd very unnatural for the world to adapt to my character rather than the other way around.

-matthew

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"THERE IS NO JUSTICE, THERE IS ONLY ME." -Death
Re:what is up with Elder Scrolls III??? by gknoy · 2006-11-02 11:02 · Score: 1

Perhaps when your choices are driven by what is and what isn't doable at any given time, the game is far less open ended. In other words, your path is determined by difficulty. Like you have to do A (because it is easier) before B (which requires lvl 3+, for example), and B before C, etc.

It just seemd very unnatural for the world to adapt to my character rather than the other way around.

This highlights a major difference from what we see in video games, versus what happens in reality. The world DOES adapt to what we do, though it's not open ended in the same way that Oblivion is. There are "more difficult"/dangerous areas -- I don't want to travel to Africa, or Russia, or downtown Los Angeles.

I think there are two main reasons this is so jarring in Oblivion:

1) We're accustomed to the "new areas/missions open as you level" -- similar to WoW, Fallout, etc. Something that deviates from this seriously, while still being an RPG, plays by different rules than what we have internalized.

2) There's really no such thing as "levelling" in life (unless you consider work experience or education?) where you suddnely become more capable at combat, or negotiation, or anything. Games use levels to approximate the growth in skill and power that characters have. (And to make you have a goal, i suppose.)

If Oblivion's power growth system was purely gear-based, or political, or something -- and where your skill as a player made a much bigger impact than the "levels" of your character, it would be interesting. Imagine if you could make a lvl20 character (with all the customizations, etc, that that entails), or some other arbitrary power level, and then could not level past that. Then, throw in some encounters that are harder than average, some easier, some impossible w/o friends (well, maybe not, in a single player game ;)). That might be a more "interesting" approach.

At that point, it all becomes a matter of what gear you collect, and/or how well equipped your enemies are. As long as no major plot-encounters become "impossible", you should be OK. I wonder if anyone has already implemented this for Oblivion... :-) With the mod community as healthy as it is, I bet someone already has.

The down side of this, of course, is that you LOSE the ability to keep raising your skills (or new ones) however you like. I can't decide that even though I have Mad Crazy Bow Skills, I suddenly want to go all nin-nin and be a master thief, because I will have already made that tradeoff. (Though, you know, with a good character editor ... ;))
Re:what is up with Elder Scrolls III??? by Anonymous Coward · 2006-11-02 14:39 · Score: 0

Imagine if you could make a lvl20 character (with all the customizations, etc, that that entails), or some other arbitrary power level, and then could not level past that. Then, throw in some encounters that are harder than average, some easier, some impossible w/o friends (well, maybe not, in a single player game ;)). That might be a more "interesting" approach.
it's called guild wars.
Re:what is up with Elder Scrolls III??? by MichailS · 2006-11-02 21:28 · Score: 1

Well, as you instantly considered yourself, there is indeed such a thing as gaining "levels" in real life by obtaining experience and skill, the difference being that we don't get a badge that boasts of our proficiencies (too bad!) and they don't increase uniformly.

You would not send any kid fresh from highschool to negotiate a peace treaty. You would probably wish that the diplomats you were choosing from were having scorecards with skill points though. "John Smith, level 24 Bullshitter".

The thing with the levelling system in games though is that with them I do not have to gain skill as a player, my avatar is getting it instead. I don't swing the sword hoping to find a weak spot on my enemy, I just command my avatar to do it.

And there is a good chance that I want it that way. If I want to micro-manage my avatar, then I can play Unreal Tournament. Different games for different audiences. I'm sure that a game where you would have to guide the spoon into the avatars' mouth to feed them would find happy players, but I personally prefer to consider my game avatar to be somewhat autonomous, only guided by higher powers (me).

Re:Yerp. Figure it Out, Already. by gt_mattex · 2006-11-02 07:33 · Score: 1

If you'd like to check out an old school game with great story line and cinematics try Legend of Dragoon for the PS2. To this day it is still on of my favorite games.

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"No doubt one may quote history to support any cause, as the devil quotes scripture." - Learned Hand

On the Topic of Not-So-Fun Design by American+AC+in+Paris · 2006-11-02 07:33 · Score: 5, Insightful

Does anybody else find it just a tad rich that 1-up.com is dissing bad design decisions in a six-page, rollover popup ad-laden, narrow-column, cluttered article?

...I mean, the actual content of page one occupies maybe 10% of the page. The other 90% of the page is devoted to big, flashy ads, stripey backgrounds, a rat's nests of irrelevant links, and other stuff that really just doesn't add much to the experience of reading an article.

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Obliteracy: Words with explosions

Re:On the Topic of Not-So-Fun Design by 9mm+Censor · 2006-11-02 07:45 · Score: 1

Difference between a game and an article on website, is that you pay 60 bucks for a game and still get adverts, and reading the article is free but there are a bunch of adverts.
Re:On the Topic of Not-So-Fun Design by Chosen+Reject · 2006-11-02 07:47 · Score: 1

I noticed that too. Not a print option in sight. Plus it was really wordy. There were some where I wasn't sure which game and what the flaw was they were talking about until I read it a second time.

They also failed to mention the bad design decision of having "urban themed" games. Gah! What is wrong with people? Sure the science fiction and the fantasy and some other genres are cliched and all, but at least your fighting for a worthy cause (save the world/princess or something). But these gangster games you're playing the part of idiots and morons who think they're the schnizzle because they're pants are at the knees.

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Just say no to irreversible processes!
Re:On the Topic of Not-So-Fun Design by XO · 2006-11-02 07:52 · Score: 2, Interesting

Hmm, I didn't notice any of that. Looked fine for me.

Oh, yeah, I use Opera.

And I have a script that removes a ton of advertising elements automagically.

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"Champagne for my real friends - and real pain for my sham friends!" http://ericblade.postalboard.com/
Re:On the Topic of Not-So-Fun Design by Anonymous Coward · 2006-11-02 08:21 · Score: 0

Not making games tailored specifically to your tastes is a bad design decision now?

Hmmm.... what other preference-based decisions should I personally contact you for guidance on in the future? I mean, I already came to the conclusion that I don't like games like that one with 50 Cent in it, but I probably could have saved a little time if I'd known that you were here to tell us all how to think correctly.

Just out of curiosity, since your personal choice in video game entertainment betrays your staggering intellect, what are you playing right now? I want to start playing it too so everyone will know how smart and superior I am to them.
Re:On the Topic of Not-So-Fun Design by despisethesun · 2006-11-02 08:26 · Score: 1

Don't knock the theme just because you don't get it or enjoy it. While I'm not going to pretend most of those games aren't total shit, some (like GTA:SA) are pretty good, and the "urban" theme is shared with some excellent and thought provoking films. To carry that further, I'm willing to bet you don't have the same disgust for The Godfather or The Sopranos. Both are well-written, well-directed, and well-acted. Do you have the same problem with those that you apparently do for movies like Boyz in the Hood (which is a pretty good movie if you can get past the "urban" surface)? And if you don't hold any contempt for those movies, why shit all over the games? Are a few shitty games enough for you to declare an entire genre worthless?

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This poo is cold.
Re:On the Topic of Not-So-Fun Design by Anonymous Coward · 2006-11-02 09:31 · Score: 0

Well, the Wall Street Journal (as seen in the link from another current article) is even worse. Their narrow column is so far to the right that I actually have to scroll over to read the column where the article is. The main part of the page is occupied by ads, links to other stories, and yes, stripey backgrounds (though not as stripey as 1up.com)
Re:On the Topic of Not-So-Fun Design by KlausBreuer · 2006-11-02 21:54 · Score: 1

Ah, thanks for letting me know.

I'd never have noticed that, seeing how all these damn pop-ups, ads, etc are all quietly eaten by my Adblock config...

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Free PC version of ChipWits at http://www.breueronline.de/klaus/chipwits/
Re:On the Topic of Not-So-Fun Design by blackcoot · 2006-11-03 13:05 · Score: 1

completely o/t, but are you still interested in getting into robotics?

too much "innovation" by krell · 2006-11-02 07:35 · Score: 1

"that have been made in games over the years. 'Innovations' like pits, spawn points, and long FMV sequences are just some of the choices they take to task here. From the article"

Yes, games would be so much easier without pits, walls, terrain obstacles, bad guys, and ammo limits. Oh, and they should ship them with godmode defaulted to "on".

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Where were you when the voynix came?

FPS Games Fail A LOT by Digital+Vomit · 2006-11-02 07:37 · Score: 1, Interesting

This article has touched a sore spot for me, so I'll post an article I wrote a while back that discusses this very issue, but focuses mainly on First Person Shooters. Unfortunately, it's just as applicable as when I first wrote it...

I'm a fan of good first person shooters, rare as they may be. One of my favorite video game pastimes right now is playing James Bond: Nightfire for the GameCube. I just set myself up in multiplayer mode with six bots (all Snow Guards) on the Skyrail level and blast away in 'professional' mode. That's pretty much the only way I play the game (I don't even think I've finished the single player portion of the game). Sadly, the game lacks a good mix of automatic weapons. Oh how I miss the good old AR44 and RCP90 from the N64 game Goldeneye.

As fun as the game is on my regular setting, it does get a tad tiresome. You know you've played a FPS too much when you start using a pistol to snipe while on the run (it is, however, quite satisfying getting a good sequence of one shot kills with the Raptor .50). But it was hen I started using one of the game's only automatic submachine gun set on semi-automatic mode to snipe, I knew it was time for something new.

So, my brother and I go out and rent GoldenEye: Rogue Agent on the weekend. *sigh* I'll forego describing its major shortcomings and rant about the state of the FPS genre on the console.

Okay. Here is how the video game industry should be: find out what is good about a game in a particular genre, then include that feature in every subsequent game. There is absolutely no excuse for multiplayer mode in a FPS shooter not to have every single one of the following features:

Bots Not everyone can gather a group of people together to play multiplayer games. Every FPS should include computer controlled players in multiplayer mode. At the very least these bots must fill in for missing players. A better standard would be the existence of bots in addition to the human controlled players. Nightfire is a perfect example of how all FPSes from now on should be, allowing up to four human players and six computer controlled players at once.
Customizable Controls No FPS should exist without at least four different control setups. The control layout should be displayed on-screen. There is no excuse not to do this (I'm looking right at you, Medal of Honor: Frontline, whose control layouts weren't even in the manual!). The best would be if each button were customizable. Players should be able to change controls in the middle of a game. Any sensitivity controls (and there should be sensitivity controls!) should range from frozen molasses to greased lightning (not frozen molasses to regular molasses, GoldenEye: Rogue Agent!).
Good Weapons No FPS game should have fewer than twenty weapons. That is the absolute, bare-bones minimum. A good number of weapons is thirty or forty. The complete weapon set must include the following:
- At least two high-powered assault rifles, capable of automatic and burst fire (e.g. the AR-44 from Goldeneye)
- At least two submachine guns with high rates of fire (e.g. ZMG and RCP-90 from GoldenEye)
- At least one submachine gun with a silencer (e.g. Deutsche M9K from Nightfire)
- At least one, good sniper rifle
- At least one rocket launcher.
- At least one grenade launcher.
- Hand grenades
- Proximity mines
- Laser trip-mines
- At least one automatic shotgun
- At least one laser weapon
- At least two good, normal pistols
- At least one pistol with a silencer
- At least one machine pistol
- A knife
- The ability to punch (i.e. attack without a weapon)
- The ability to use an empty gun as

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Modern copyright is theft of culture from everyone and it retards the progress of the useful arts and sciences.

Re:FPS Games Fail A LOT by XO · 2006-11-02 08:07 · Score: 1

Any thoughts on a zombie game? Players vs. Zombies, specifically.

I like your points, except since I'm working on a huge mod to an existing game (Land of the Dead), something definitely to point out, is that building 20 to 30 to 40 high-quality weapons, models, animations, textures, would take a few people working full time several weeks, if they are experts in the field. For me and the 2 other people on my team, doing something like that would probably take years, considering we have other things to do with our time, and none of us are experts.

On the stupid punishments idea, I don't necessarily agree - certain things would totally screw up balance in a game, such as the redeemer in UT, if there were no disadvantages.

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"Champagne for my real friends - and real pain for my sham friends!" http://ericblade.postalboard.com/
Re:FPS Games Fail A LOT by AcidLacedPenguiN · 2006-11-02 08:17 · Score: 1

I think you missed the part where first person shooters get released for computers. Many of your suggestions are good, but they're entirely oriented for a very certain style of FPS and a very certain platform. On top of that, it seems that you're thinking exclusively of the subset of (formerly RARE) EA branded games. I think the only Bond game that EA handled that wasn't complete garbage was Nightfire, and even then that's a huge stretch to call Nightfire good. For the most part EA doesn't publish good games and many of your examples are EA exclusive. How can you say the FPS genre has "struggles with basics of multiplayer FPS games" when there are many, many good multiplayer FPS games. I don't know about anyone else but I certainly don't want to buy an FPS game if it follows your "Good Weapon" scheme, that is the typical weapon set that has been in use since a certain PC game in 1994.

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disclaimer: I've been known to store numbers in my ass for which to dig out when quantities are required.
Re:FPS Games Fail A LOT by Anonymous Coward · 2006-11-02 08:35 · Score: 0

Sorry, obvious Bond fanboy, mines are not a required weapon set for a good FPS game. I agree that there should be a larger variety of weapons, but there's nothing more annoying to me than playing with some mine-spamming jack*ss.
Re:FPS Games Fail A LOT by Weedhopper · 2006-11-02 09:12 · Score: 1

I'm sorry to say this dude, but you missed the boat. With the exception of a few games, the truly great FPSs are on the PC, not on a console, which is what your post seems to be directed towards.

Despite it's weaknesses, there's a reason Counterstrike alone generates more server traffic than the entire country of Italy.

If you consider yourself a true fan of the the FPS genre, you should worry less about a less than optimal platform and control scheme - consoles, and play FPSs on the PC, where your points have already been addressed. Which isn't to say that consoles don't have great games and aren't hours of fun but unless you're gaming the depths of the PC FPS scene, you're not really a true fan of the genre.

I don't mean to sound like an elitist. Hell, I don't do much gaming anymore, much less serious league gaming. But in this case, I feel that it's very much true.
Re:FPS Games Fail A LOT by Brian+Gordon · 2006-11-02 09:20 · Score: 1

The 215000 people that are playing counter-strike right now would disagree with you. Same with the millions who bought half-life 2, not to mention halo. Games with dozens of unbalanced guns are a minority. Timesplitters did this well; it had a lot of guns, but you only play with a couple at a time depending on the time period of the level, so it balanced pretty well.
Re:FPS Games Fail A LOT by C0rinthian · 2006-11-02 09:52 · Score: 1

Okay do all that, then make sure it has a simple and intuitive UI and menu system. Bonus points if you can make it workable on a console.

"Can we start the game yet?"
"No, I've got 6 pages of multiplayer options to set before we're ready."
Re:FPS Games Fail A LOT by tepples · 2006-11-02 10:37 · Score: 1

you should worry less about a less than optimal platform and control scheme - consoles, and play FPSs on the PC

Which PC first-person shooters support split screen on a television, so that I don't have to spend $3,000 on four low-end gaming PCs and four monitors to allow four players to play?
Re:FPS Games Fail A LOT by crabpeople · 2006-11-02 12:24 · Score: 1

"One of my favorite video game pastimes right now is playing James Bond: Nightfire for the GameCube."

Your complaining about games in excruciating detail, and yet your not using a mouse and keyboard to play FPS?!?!

Its like spending fifty grand, or at least putting the thought in to spend it, to pimp out your 1987 ford festiva. When you have such a basic problem (owning a ford festiva - playing fps on a gamecube), don't you think you should solve that before dealing with the other issues?

In other words, pick up halflife 2 for the PC and all your problems with FPS's will be solved. It has most if not all of your requested features.

--
I'll just use my special getting high powers one more time...
Re:FPS Games Fail A LOT by Kamineko · 2006-11-02 12:26 · Score: 1

Ladies and Gentlemen: Perfect Dark.
Re:FPS Games Fail A LOT by KDR_11k · 2006-11-03 03:16 · Score: 1

Serious Sam? But seriously, don't play on a TV, that's way too low a resolution to be useful for split screen. If you want split screen get a projector, at least you can see what you're shooting at that way.

--
Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.

Guild Wars and HL2 by SuperStretchy · 2006-11-02 07:41 · Score: 1

HL2 cutscenes are fairly nice. Well acted and interactive. BUT they take FOREVER and there's no way to skip through them when you're playing through for the seventh time to get ready for the release of Episode 1+2.

Guild Wars does a nice job on the "Skip>>>" button, but everyone in your party has to hit it in order to skip. The scenes are important to the plot and just plain beautiful. An addition to that with NightFall is that characters' mouths move. Alas, they are cinematic and not intereactive. Oh well.

If someone could mix the two.. it'd be hot.

Re:Guild Wars and HL2 by snuf23 · 2006-11-02 08:21 · Score: 1

I usually pass the time by beaning the characters in the head with whatever objects are around.
I tried doing this in Dark Messiah of Might and Magic but you lose the game if you hurl things at your "friends".

--
Sometimes my arms bend back.
Re:Guild Wars and HL2 by SuperStretchy · 2006-11-02 08:31 · Score: 1

Yeah.. in HL2 (like when you meet up with Alyx and Dogg the first time.. Thats not too fun except for playing with the mini teleporter and breaking crates. All the same, it is some form of interactivity- at the expense of being a 1/2 hour long.

Re:Yerp. Figure it Out, Already. by jizziknight · 2006-11-02 07:43 · Score: 1

It's been a while since I've played, so maybe I'm just forgetting any frustrations I had with the save points. I do remember them being more of a pain in Echoes than the original. However, IIRC, in both games no matter where you were going there was always a save point a few rooms away. Though, in Echoes, because of the Ing just phasing in whenever the hell they wanted, some of the save points were more of a pain to get to than they were worth. I don't know, I just don't see the Metroid Prime games as examples of where this was done wrong, just where it could have been better. But that's just a matter of opinion, I guess.

--
Everything I say is a lie. Except that... and that... and that, and that, and that, and that... and that.

Re:Yerp. Figure it Out, Already. by GrumblyStuff · 2006-11-02 07:46 · Score: 1

I dunno.... Metroid didn't seem to troublesome for me although on Hard I died probably a dozen times (each) on the Omega Pirate, Meta Ridley (sp?), and Metroid Prime (or whatever the final boss is called).

However, if you want to talk about save points being few and far between, always point to Turok 2. That game was fucking ridiculous like that.

YABnWA by Anonymous Coward · 2006-11-02 07:46 · Score: 0

Yet Another Bitch 'n Whine Article.

Funny, I thought that tag line at the top, "news for nerds, stuff that matters," had something to do with what is posted to slashdot. Serves me right for making an assumptions like that.

what things should be done... by XO · 2006-11-02 07:48 · Score: 1

As a guy building an FPS game, I'm curious as to what sorts of things should/shouldn't be done in an FPS.. any thoughts on that?

I've already virtually eliminated the HUD, it only shows things briefly when they change, unless you hit a button to bring it up, except for ammo holdings, which since we're using realistic weaponry, I really haven't come up with any other way (we could make that disappear too if you haven't fired in a while, but I see that leading to a lot more complaints).

--
"Champagne for my real friends - and real pain for my sham friends!" http://ericblade.postalboard.com/

Re:what things should be done... by Tom · 2006-11-02 08:00 · Score: 1

I'm curious as to what sorts of things should/shouldn't be done in an FPS.. any thoughts on that?

Just one right of the top of my head: Know when to stop with the realism.

Yes, in real life I have no crosshairs, and in real life I have no ammo counter. But in the reality of your storyline, I'm not a computer dude sitting at his desk with things on his mind, either - I'm a trained special forces whatever. My 10-year sniper veteran character doesn't need a crosshair, I 2-hours game-experience player do.

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Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
Re:what things should be done... by XO · 2006-11-02 08:23 · Score: 1

Right, I hate games that give you no crosshairs at all.

Someone has been making modified weapons for the game that have no crosshair but have you staring down the barrel of the weapon, which also drives me freaking nuts. And more so that the weapons move along with your moving animations.

My thought is to leave the weapons in the normal FPS position, while making crosshairs that are individual for each weapon, although I really haven't made any progress in this since developing the first crosshair for our rocket weapon (which is annoyingly huge when you're using it with something that isn't a giant rocket)

I had read an earlier article posted either here or bluesnews that suggested how big HUDs (see UT2k4) were a distraction, and I identified with that quite a bit, so I have made half of the existing hud in the game (there are only two indicators to begin with.. health and ammo) fade out when it's not being used, to a rather nice effect. Not sure what other things to do .. \o/

--
"Champagne for my real friends - and real pain for my sham friends!" http://ericblade.postalboard.com/
Re:what things should be done... by mybadluck22 · 2006-11-02 09:02 · Score: 1

I play UT2k4 nearly every day, and one of my favorite parts about it is the hud. I used to play quake 3, but having to switch weapons only to see that I don't have a specific gun was a pain. I also like being able to see all my ammo levels at once. Flag info is great and a must. Team overlay is also handy quite often. Time is absolutely necessary for timing powerups. I have to manually enable net and fps meters, but they're handy. Besides, if you don't like the hud, you can always turn it off. You can even remove parts of it. I think that that's the best way to do things, where you have the option of having parts on or off. I wouldn't want to be forced into whatever the developer thought was the "optimal" layout.

--
If I could rearrange the keyboard, I'd put U and I together.
Re:what things should be done... by grumbel · 2006-11-02 10:25 · Score: 1

As a guy building an FPS game, I'm curious as to what sorts of things should/shouldn't be done in an FPS.. any thoughts on that?

The thing that annoys me by far the most with virtually every FPS is the total lack of body simulation. In FPS you are for most part a pair of flying arms that control like a cylinder on ice, not exactly the thing I expect when I want to control a human. So give the player a body, use the arms when climbing a ladder and don't climb 'free-hand' like in HL2, let that body have hit-zones and let the weapon have some as well. As others have said, don't drive the realism to far, but drive it to the point where it feels real. This also means that you shouldn't have a 1000:1 kill count for enemy vs player. Have fewer enemies, but more intelligent ones or better armored ones or whatever, have team members that are actually usefull and have interesting situations because they emerge from good AI, not because of too much scripting. Have a realistic environment, meaning birds, civilians and stuff, not just you and the enemy.

To make a long talk short, look at Operation Flashpoint, that game just moved way beyond normal FPS cliches and still stands out today for exactly that reason. DeusEx, Call of Chuthulu and Riddick are a definitve must-have-a-look as well. Instead of writing yet another FPS, try to write a good game, the most important part is to not restrict yourself by genre. And a last whish: give me a game that offers as much freedom as XCom:UFO does, but from a first person view and in realtime.
Re:what things should be done... by KDR_11k · 2006-11-03 03:32 · Score: 1

No crosshairs works provided your weapons are centered instead of drawn in the right corner, aiming in Quake without crosshairs is easy because you can aim with your on-screen gun but aiming in, say, Half-Life without crosshairs is a whole lot more difficult because the gun doesn't line up with the target.

--
Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
Re:what things should be done... by XO · 2006-11-05 15:40 · Score: 1

We can always (in theory) take existing features and improve upon them. I'm hoping to find some new or not-very implemented ideas, that can change how things work.. Since I'm part of a 3-person game mod team, doing a mod to an existing game, we do have certain limits, like we need to work within the capabilities of the Unreal engine, and there's a limit to the amount of model and/or animation data that we can turn out. I can turn out the code to do some pretty amazing things, but getting the animation and model data to support it is something entirely different :(

I do have a camera view installed that actually puts your pov directly from the eyebrows of the player, which is pretty neat, although it totally screws up aiming, unfortunatly. :( Don't know if I'll get to fixing that, I'm not sure I know how just yet. But, we've got a long time to work on it (no specific date).. I'd like to get a climbing animation going, the game didn't have that originally, and it does support it.. i need to learn that part of 3ds though. Though, to further that point to some degree, I did already make it so that you are forced to stay within a roughly 45 degree angle to continue climbing the ladder, as well as being unable to operate devices that require both hands. (I should probably also make it so that you move way slower on a ladder if you are 1-handed...) so, at least if I don't get the animation part of it, it's at least an improvement.

--
"Champagne for my real friends - and real pain for my sham friends!" http://ericblade.postalboard.com/

Yar by writermike · 2006-11-02 07:49 · Score: 1

Rumor has it that videogames are not, in fact, movies.

What? You don't recall that three-hour Yar's Revenge? It won't, like, seven Oscars, dude.

--
If Nalgene water bottles are outlawed, only outlaws will have Nalgene water bottles.

Re:Yerp. Figure it Out, Already. by GrumblyStuff · 2006-11-02 07:49 · Score: 1

I would still prefer to be able to save at any time that I like

Seconded!

Yeah, it can be abused but it's such a chore saving every 2-5 minutes and saving to multiple slots just in case you've worked yourself into a that's impossible to get out of. I don't know about you but I have trouble with this save system because I'll load a game, play for an hour, DIE, and realize I haven't save my progress at all.

And in their sequel: by Kamineko · 2006-11-02 07:50 · Score: 1

In the sequel, Content Breakers, they explore ways of making your website innavigable.

It includes such design decisions as: splitting your content onto 8 seperate pages when one would have one.

Re:And in their sequel: by Man+Eating+Duck · 2006-11-05 00:08 · Score: 1

Yeah, that sucks. But, in lack of a print option, the repagination plugin for Firefox is your friend.
Works really great for those multiple-pages forum discussions as well :)

--
Are you a grammar Nazi? I'm trying to improve my English; please correct my errors! :)

Re:Yerp. Figure it Out, Already. by despisethesun · 2006-11-02 07:53 · Score: 1

PS2 is "old school" now?

--
This poo is cold.

Resident Evil 4 by MaxPowerDJ · 2006-11-02 07:54 · Score: 1

One of the main things I liked about RE4 was the interaction during the cutscenes. You had to press certain buttons in the middle of cutscenes in order to affect the character either way. Really good for late night playing. Otherwise you pass out during a lengthy cutscene.

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--MaxPowerDJ

Re:Resident Evil 4 by freeweed · 2006-11-02 08:29 · Score: 1

Actually, at first that really ticked me off!

I've been so trained to pretty much ignore cutscenes, or just turn my brain off as they show some flashy pre-rendered crap, that I died at least once on nearly every cutscene in RE4. You actually have to pay attention in this one!

Then again, I've pretty much always hated cutscenes. They're supposed to advance the plot and add some sort of "story" to the game, but they end up being the literary equivalent of Dick and Jane. "Your mission is to shoot the aliens. The aliens have come to Earth to conquer us. Here's some fancy pre-rendered explosions to distract you from the fact that there really isn't a plot to speak of". Or, for the Warcraft crowd: "Here's an evil wizard. He once was a good wizard, but turned to evil. Now you must destroy his forces. Here's some fancy pre-rendered battle scene".

--
Endless arguments over trivial contradictions in books written by ignorant savages to explain thunder in the dark.
Re:Resident Evil 4 by Reapy · 2006-11-02 10:12 · Score: 1

I really enjoyed the knife fight sequence in re4. You had to first fight the urge to put the controller down as the cinimatic plays, but also, as you are listening to the plot being revieled as the other character talks to you, he'd all of a sudden lash out with his knife, and you'd have to dodge the attack by pushing the correct buttons. It was really immersiver as you were on edge the whole time, just as the character would be in that sequence.

Granted, a whole game of instant death via this manner would be very frusterating, but used in moderation, it is a great technique.
Re:Resident Evil 4 by KDR_11k · 2006-11-03 05:09 · Score: 1

I agree, it emphasized the idea that your character is in danger and just because the camera isn't directly behind you right now doesn't mean you are safe. There are games where some cutscenes included battles I wished I got to play (Xenosaga 2 is pretty strong on that), RE4 really makes the player keep his character alive, even when it's a cutscene that has him falling into a deadly trap.

--
Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.

fact by Tom · 2006-11-02 07:56 · Score: 1

Finally! An article that explains how I felt when I played the expansion of Incubation. I loved Incubation itself, so I was looking forward to the expansion... turned out that they changed gameplay so dramatically that I hated it after the first level, tried to force myself to continue, remembering how great the first part was, but I just couldn't. To this day, I never played it beyond level 3 or so.

What was the change? In Incubation, you could always react to the enemies and single mistakes, while painful, were not ultimately fatal. In the expansion they added spiders that spawned ("crawled out of sewers") close enough to your team to reach it on the same turn and that sprayed poison that insta-killed everyone in all surrounding fields - with bad luck, half your team. A single mistake, such as not setting enough people on guard, suddenly meant game-over. Since everything else in the game had more or less stayed the same, that one thing totally broke expectations and learnt behaviour.

So, what are gamebreakers? When the game behaves inconsistent with regards to itself. When things suddenly work or stop working without a convincing reason. A game that mixes cinematics with gameplay in a consistent, well-done matter is no problem. A game that has no cinematics at all, and then bores you with 10 minutes of movie near the end sucks.

--
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org

Hey asshole by StocDred · 2006-11-02 08:00 · Score: 0, Flamebait

Developers like Metal Gear's Hideo Kojima insist on cramming their games with cut-scenes that are often inscrutable, occasionally entertaining, and almost never interactive. Sometimes, you can't even press the Start button to skip them."

Hey asshole, how about you go buy games that don't have cutscenes. There's enough to go around. I hear Lumines is pretty cool.

Anyone who picked up a Metal Gear game in the last decade and was surprised to find lots of lengthy cutscenes, obviously doesn't know very much about what they're buying.

Why is it that everybody has to sound off about this, when it's really easy to just buy games that are not story-driven.

To review:

not all cutscenes are bad
not all cutscenes are good
not all games have cutscenes
you don't have to buy the games that contain cutscenes that you do not like
if you did buy a game that has cutscenes you don't like, please return/resell it
stop being such a whiner and don't wreck it for those of who like carefully orchestrated, cinematic cutscenes

Re:Hey asshole by Rob+T+Firefly · 2006-11-02 08:29 · Score: 1

I love how the article complains about the tired old stories and plot retreads, before complaining about the in-game cutscenes you pretty much need for anything more involved than "are you a bad enough dude to rescue the president?"

In a story-heavy game, you need cutscenes. I for one would find it difficult to concentrate on a level boss' monologue if I have to worry about getting killed at the same time. If you push it far enough it actually becomes its own genre, and I for one really liked many of the better "interactive movies."

--
Slashdot Burying Stories About Slashdot Media Owned
Re:Hey asshole by east+coast · 2006-11-02 08:33 · Score: 1

While I agree that cutscenes have a place in a good story driven game I have to agree with the article to a point: Having cutscenes that can not be skipped is a poor design.

The first time you play the game the cut scenes are needed for the telling of the story. This adds to the games immersiveness and that adds to the games value... but if you find yourself playing a game because the gameplay is that good having to deal with the same 5-10 minute cutscene over and over again can be fairly tedious.

Take Undying for example. The game didn't do very well but I did enjoy the atmosphere of the game and the general story line. The problem with Undying, from a developers and game players aspect, was that the game did an auto save and then immediately did a cutscene. While I currently can not recall if cutscenes were inescapable in the game I'm sure there are other games with the same setup of auto-save to cutscene where the cutscene is forced on the user. I don't mind the "auto-save to cutscene" part of it too much because it allows a player to start from a save without putting their feet into the fire right away, but if it's a particularly hard section of a game you're going to be pissed too if it's 45 seconds of game play with a five minute cutscene.

Just my 0.02

--
Dedicated Cthulhu Cultist since 4523 BC.
Re:Hey asshole by Anonymous Coward · 2006-11-02 21:05 · Score: 0

Hey asshole, how about you go buy games that don't have cutscenes. There's enough to go around. I hear Lumines is pretty cool.

But they should at least be skippable.

I enjoyed Maken X on the Dreamcast except for one thing, you could not skip the opening scene.

I want to jump into the game, but it insists on making me sit through the introductory story every time. You could kind of speed up the dialogue a bit, but even then you were tapping the controller button for several minutes.
Re:Hey asshole by mgblst · 2006-11-02 22:09 · Score: 1

Maybe the should put a warning on the box - WARNING: half of the game is cutscenes.

Re:Yerp. Figure it Out, Already. by gt_mattex · 2006-11-02 08:02 · Score: 1

You didn't get the memo?

Someone forward him the memo.

--
"No doubt one may quote history to support any cause, as the devil quotes scripture." - Learned Hand

Re:Yerp. Figure it Out, Already. by Tom · 2006-11-02 08:09 · Score: 1

While I am not a huge fan of "spawn points", I definitely see why they may be somewhat necessary.

Not so sure about that. Remember the old Larry games? Ok, they were adventures and not FPSs - but one thing that was great about them was that it was very, very hard to get a GAME OVER result. If you made a Big And Horrible Mistake, you were ridiculed, punched and abused - and put back in the game about where you left off, so you could continue and try again.

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Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org

Time Killers! by lazyl · 2006-11-02 08:27 · Score: 1

Man, I forgot about that game. That was fun; it was all about the amputations! :D

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Aw crap, ninjas!

Re:Yerp. Figure it Out, Already. by kmhebert · 2006-11-02 08:32 · Score: 1

PS2 is not old school.

--
Regular Meta Moderators are not more likely to get mod points.

Re:Yerp. Figure it Out, Already. by revlayle · 2006-11-02 08:36 · Score: 1

The Metroid Prime re-spawn-every-time-you-enter-a-room effect was simply taking the concept from ALL the OTHER Metroid games before. In every single Metroid game the enemies re-spawn when you enter any room.

Re:Yerp. Figure it Out, Already. by TriezGamer · 2006-11-02 08:41 · Score: 1

No, but Legend of Dragoon is. It was released for the PSX.

Re:Yerp. Figure it Out, Already. by gt_mattex · 2006-11-02 08:42 · Score: 1

Or, you could stop to actually read my comment and realize I said 'old school game' and was, in fact, not referencing the PS2 as 'old school'.

Is it too much to ask you actually read what I type before you flame?

--
"No doubt one may quote history to support any cause, as the devil quotes scripture." - Learned Hand

Re:Yerp. Figure it Out, Already. by duerra · 2006-11-02 08:43 · Score: 1

Was talking about the lack of/distance between save points, not enemy spawning.

--
A community-oriented lyrics site

List by Lord_Dweomer · 2006-11-02 08:44 · Score: 1

While these encompass more than just the actual game itself, they do contribute to the gaming experience...heres a list of starters:

1. In-game ads that detract from gameplay. Acceptable game for placement: Gran Turismo Unacceptable: City of Heroes

2. Microtransactions. Don't nickle and dime us to death and don't scrape content that should have been in there initially *cough*horsearmorlumines*cough*

3. Grind. See WoW, EQ, and BF2142 as perfect examples of why grind sucks.

4. Limited custimization of controls. See the new Zelda on the Wii as a perfect example. I'm left handed...they just totally lost me as a customer.

5. Releasing games that should still be in beta. Too many examples to list, but I should NOT have to pay you for a buggy game.

6. Camera angles. If your game requires such precise cinematography in order to prevent me from dying constantly, make sure it doesn't make me puke, and make sure that it actually enhances the gameplay.

7. Don't charge me $60 for what is essentially a mod of your existing engine. EA, i'm looking squarely at you and BF2142 on this one.

--
Buy Steampunk Clothing Online!

Re:List by Anonymous Coward · 2006-11-02 09:34 · Score: 0

Wii Zelda will work just fine with the wiimote in your left hand. Link will be using his right hand on the screen, but so what? Link's handedness was inconsistent in previous games anyway.
Re:List by Temuar+Skylari · 2006-11-02 10:07 · Score: 1

1. In-game ads that detract from gameplay. Acceptable game for placement: Gran Turismo Unacceptable: City of Heroes

City of Heroes? Do you mean the fake company ads, like the law firm that offered to get you money if you got caught in superhero crossfire? Those are mostly jokes, like the game's restaurant name choices (Hero Hoagies and things like that). I'd think those don't detract from gameplay, and if anything add some relevant humor.

NOTE: I haven't played CoH in about 5 months, so if those funny lawyers got replaced by "Subway: Eat Fresh!" in the meantime, I retract this post and am now very sad :(

--
USE colorful confetti ON heavily-armed clown
Re:List by Lord_Dweomer · 2006-11-02 10:14 · Score: 1

But you see, in the past Link's movement wasn't dependant on being synched up with my physical movements, just button presses.

--
Buy Steampunk Clothing Online!
Re:List by Hillgiant · 2006-11-02 10:39 · Score: 1

I think he was referring to BF2142
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/10/19

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Re:List by steveo777 · 2006-11-02 10:50 · Score: 1

I completley agree with point #5. If your game has a 'safe mode' odds are, it's far too buggy to release (EA, EA, EA, EA...). It dang well better work out of the box.

--
This sig isn't original enough, it's time to come up with something witty...
Re:List by Faylone · 2006-11-02 13:07 · Score: 1

From the E3 video I saw, there will be the option of choosing left handed or right handed when playing the Wii version, so lefties should be able to play just fine.
Re:List by slim · 2006-11-02 23:25 · Score: 1

Grind. See WoW, EQ, and BF2142 as perfect examples of why grind sucks.

I've basically given up on all RPGs because of grind.
However, I've come to believe there's a large chunk of people out there who actively enjoy the countless random battles in (for example) Final Fantasy.

I don't mind that there are games for people who like that kind of thing. I can let them get on with it.
Re:List by meringuoid · 2006-11-03 01:24 · Score: 1

See the new Zelda on the Wii as a perfect example. I'm left handed...they just totally lost me as a customer.
Even I'm mildly annoyed. I'm right handed, but Link isn't. Even in the NES original, while facing in three of four directions he was left handed. And the manual to Zelda II specifically said that he holds the sword in his left hand.
I'd have put up with holding the wiimote in the wrong hand - it's only a matter of training, dammit! - if it meant playing the game the way Din, Farore and Nayru intended!

--
Real Daleks don't climb stairs - they level the building.
Re:List by Lord_Dweomer · 2006-11-03 10:29 · Score: 1

You might want to try Fable if you haven't already. While not online and not an MMO, the pacing of the story is excellent and there's is little to no grind in it. Just as I think I've played too much for a night...another cliffhanger pops up that I HAVE to complete.

--
Buy Steampunk Clothing Online!
Re:List by XO · 2006-11-05 15:52 · Score: 1

I would actually be amused even more so, if amongst the ads that were totally within the game, there were some ads for real companies, especially if they had a brunt that made them fit the game world. That would be impressive, and potentially amusing, and potentially useful for the advertiser.

--
"Champagne for my real friends - and real pain for my sham friends!" http://ericblade.postalboard.com/

Re:Yerp. Figure it Out, Already. by east+coast · 2006-11-02 08:46 · Score: 1

Is it too much to ask you actually read what I type before you flame?

You're new around these parts, ain't ya?

I'd rather light a candle than complain about the dark.

Yeah, you're a gringo. Well, welcome to Slashdot.

--
Dedicated Cthulhu Cultist since 4523 BC.

Re:Yerp. Figure it Out, Already. by Anonymous Coward · 2006-11-02 08:51 · Score: 0

oops, my bad. i read that whole post... but equated "spawn points" with enemies re-spawning. MOD ME "F--" FOR DUMB! ;)

-- revlayle

Re:Yerp. Figure it Out, Already. by kmhebert · 2006-11-02 08:52 · Score: 1

That wasn't a flame. I was responding to your second comment. Don't get all upset.

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Regular Meta Moderators are not more likely to get mod points.

Re:Yerp. Figure it Out, Already. by GrumpySimon · 2006-11-02 09:15 · Score: 1

Leisure Suit Larry!? They were renowned for letting you play on for hours in unwinnable situations, simply because you didn't (IIRC) get the jar of pickled eggs from the bar on the third floor of the cruise liner. Sure, they weren't as kill-happy as the Space Quest games, where any false move got you killed immediately, but you still died all the time.

Nothing compared to the Secret of Monkey Island where there's only *one* way to die in the whole game, and it's very obscure (bonus points for guessing it). This made the game great - you could try anything without fear of dying (USE "Stylish confetti" ON "heavily-armed clown" comes to mind).

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henry -- the human evolution news relay

Re:Yerp. Figure it Out, Already. by steveo777 · 2006-11-02 09:35 · Score: 1

I think the lack of save points in a game can make it more challenging and fun. The rush and the feeling of hope failing while you desperatly use every trick you know to stay alive long enough can be nerve racking. Praying that the next kill drops a health up or some ammo. I feel the same way about Metroid Prime and Zelda. If you could save whenever you wanted, it would take away from the game, or the need for a longer life meter.

A game loses significant amounts of challenge and enjoyability if you can just pick up where you left off at any point, or retry from the same point hundreds of times, if neccesary. But that's just me.

--
This sig isn't original enough, it's time to come up with something witty...

Re:Yerp. Figure it Out, Already. by GrumblyStuff · 2006-11-02 09:50 · Score: 1

It all kinda depends on the person and the game now, doesn't it? Eternal Darkness let you save anywhere (provided there was no enemies in the room) but I still would end up playing on and on without saving only to die and lose all that progress. If someone wants to ruin their experience by saving every 3 minutes, who cares? It's the same with cheat codes.

Is there anything wrong with letting players play the game at their own level even if it does mean spoiling the gameplay experience? Can't we stop with all the god damn hand-holding after the training level?

If they can't get into the gameplay but still want to experience the story, does it really matter?

The worst that'll happen is a game with utterly shit gameplay but has a good story will get propped up in sales.

Re:Yerp. Figure it Out, Already. by LordVader717 · 2006-11-02 10:06 · Score: 1

The Idea behind Majora's Mask, like many other games, is that you only save when you want to stop playing. Dieing only made you start from the last door you entered. Same goes for OOT. Saving was only a waste of time.

Cut-scenes themselves are not the problem by crswanny · 2006-11-02 10:24 · Score: 1

The beef that I have (I'm looking at you EA) is at the end of the Op's statement: Sometimes, you can't even press the Start button to skip them. Why God, can I not simply press a key to skip the scene?! Nothing infuriates me more than having to wait through a scene that I've seen repeatedly (oh, I died and have to continue this level for the 8th time but first must spend the three minutes watching teh same thing) and not doing what I bought the game for: playing.

Sure, I love cut-scenes and movies in games, they're a great way to convey a story. Games such as Resident Evil, Warcraft, and the Final Fantasy series all have beautiful scenes that I look forward to. But give me the option to not watch it when I want.

Did I mention I hate EA especially for this?

Re:Cut-scenes themselves are not the problem by dueydotnet · 2006-11-04 22:03 · Score: 1

You probably already know your answer, but basically it makes a 4-8 hour game seem more like 24-48 hours.

Duey

Re:Yerp. Figure it Out, Already. by steveo777 · 2006-11-02 10:26 · Score: 1

Is there anything wrong with letting players play the game at their own level even if it does mean spoiling the gameplay experience?

Inherintly, no. But like I said. I think the feel of a game like Metroid Prime required you to have long periods between saves. It has a lot to do with the energy recharge, but it really adds suspence to a game where you're on your own, no way out, and what you've got is what you've got. Basically, 'You're on your own, please don't die.' Metroid and Turok can be put in the same category as Silent Hill and Resident Evil in this way. In all these games, you have to venture out, survive, and find shelter if you want to save.

Where as if you're playing MGS or DOOM3, you've got people occationally on the com (well, always on the com in Metal Gear), so saving at any point doesn't take away from the survival aspect, you've got buddies (though they dissapear in Doom3). Not so with Eternal Darkness. But that game remains creepy if you're able to save or not.

But I may be missing your point because your comment seems a bit ambiguous.

--
This sig isn't original enough, it's time to come up with something witty...

Watch others play by Subacultcha · 2006-11-02 10:28 · Score: 1

A key to making an enjoyable game is to watch other people playing your game. You and your development team should already be playing constantly, obviously, but you need unbiased feedback to see the real effect of the changes you're trying.

When you have a playtester, watch them play, but don't teach them, answer questions, or comment on what they do. Let them struggle their way through the game like a player would if they bought the game. While they play, take notes on what they do. Do they appear confused? Do they miss important feedback from the game? Are they using all the weapons they currently have? If there are puzzles in the game, how long did it take them to figure them out? If they failed, how many times did they try before giving up?

Of course, if they get really stuck, or encounter a bug or an unfinished section of the game, step in to help. If it's not a bug, don't tell the player they screwed up, however. Just tell them you're still working on that and move on. The fact that the player got stuck is not their fault--it's probably a design error. You can usually tell if you get a few more testers. If it happens more than once, it's probably worth changing, possibly even removing that part of the game.

After they're done, walkthrough their experience with them. Ask them non-leading questions. Ask them what they were thinking at different parts of the game. Again, don't tell them they did something they weren't supposed to--get information FROM them. You need to know whether they were understanding what they were doing while they were playing. Also, ask what were the high points and low points of the game (note: asking if they had fun is usually pointless as most playtesters will feel gratitude for being able to play and won't want to hurt your feelings). Did they ever feel lost, or not know what they were doing? Ask them to describe how the HUD works, and what the guns did. To find out if they noticed how the HUD works, ask them questions that reveal their thinking--"Did you ever feel like you were low on ammo?" could reveal that they never knew how much they had.

The important thing during these playtests is to not taint them by giving the player any information that could alter their honest reaction. You want to see how a player who just bought the game would experience it.

Don't be afraid of showing the game while it's ugly. The most important thing is to get feedback early so that you can make changes easily. It's best to know early on if your game is boring.

Remember not to take things too personally when people just don't like some part of your game. You may have a "vision" that you want to create, but ultimately you want an audience. Watching others play your game should be a humbling experience. When things don't work out, it's not a disaster, and it's no one's fault. Take the lesson learned and use it to make things better. The nice thing about a playtest is that there can't be much arguing about the results. If the players keep hitting their head on some problem, it has to be fixed, no matter who's favorite feature it is.

Hope this helps

Justifying some of these decisions by tepples · 2006-11-02 10:35 · Score: 1

The best would be if each button were customizable. Players should be able to change controls in the middle of a game.

And just stand there while the other human players shoot him, right?

If a player nabs the Kill-o-matic 3000, he should not be punished by receiving the walking speed of a small snail. If this is going to be included in a game, make it an option.

Of course it's an option to drop the weapon. You complain about lack of fixed gun emplacements, but then you complain that the heavy guns are slow to carry. Just use the gun close to where it spawns.

Every single thing that might be changed in a game should be controlled by the player with a suitable option. Everything.

Even when the other human players are waiting (im)patiently for the player with controller 1 to finish taking fifteen minutes to set everything up?

You can forget about renting some multiplayer games, too. I've seen games were most of the multiplayer content was locked until you spent hours in the single player mode. WHY ON EARTH DID ANYONE THINK THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA?!?

Because a rental is a potential lost sale.

Under no circumstances should there ever be missing a code that unlocks everything in a game. Ever.

Is it acceptable if this code is different for each console that you use the game disc on?

Re:Justifying some of these decisions by Kamineko · 2006-11-02 12:41 · Score: 1

And just stand there while the other human players shoot him, right?
TimeSplitters games pause everything until all players have left pause mode. Perfect Dark allows any one player to hit Start, and then turn on Pause. All other players have to wait until this player has turned off Pause. (At least, that's how I remember it. I think it's possible to turn off somebody elses Pause, which is a bit of a bummer. But that's why you don't play against people like that.)
Of course it's an option to drop the weapon. You complain about lack of fixed gun emplacements, but then you complain that the heavy guns are slow to carry. Just use the gun close to where it spawns.
There's no excuse for not having it as an option.
Even when the other human players are waiting (im)patiently for the player with controller 1 to finish taking fifteen minutes to set everything up?
You must've had some bad experiences playing against folks in Perfect Dark, I guess. Whenever I played, we always used to make a good scenario and then save it.
Is it acceptable if this code is different for each console that you use the game disc on?
Depends if there's a (fairly obtuse) method to figuring out the code. If there was an Xbox 360 game (random example of console with Ethernet port) which showed you a series of 6 coloured lights (think of a random 'Mastermind' combination. Or even better, a series of Vib Ribbon esque swiggles, or a Mortal Kombat-like series of pictures) on the title screen, based on a hash of the MAC address, and you could work a code out from that, with a little help from some kind of method. (Each coloured light could correspond to a pair of controller combinations, or something along those lines.) Type in the entire code, and you get the Unlock Menu, where Player 1 can set various 'Unlock All X...' options which last until the console is powered down. These codes don't stop your player profiles from saving (having all the guns that a completed game save would give you shouldn't be punishable), but they don't give you any sort of advantage in the single player game.
GoldenEye has a code where you can unlock all the hidden characters in multiplayer, so you're not all fighting over Bond.
Re:Justifying some of these decisions by tepples · 2006-11-02 13:17 · Score: 1

There's no excuse for not having it as an option.

So if the weight of a gun is an option, then should the type of ammo consumed, firing rate, number of bullets per clip, damage per bullet, and ability to dual-wield also be an option for each gun?

[Unique code per console serial number?] Depends if there's a (fairly obtuse) method to figuring out the code.

In markets that allow game rental (such as the United States), some publishers have tried to extract income from renters by selling personalized unlock codes to players for real money. Or is that too obtuse?
Re:Justifying some of these decisions by Kamineko · 2006-11-02 15:59 · Score: 1

So if the weight of a gun is an option, then should the type of ammo consumed, firing rate, number of bullets per clip, damage per bullet, and ability to dual-wield also be an option for each gun?

Absolutely. It should all be there, if you really want to set that stuff.

An aside: I've read that you can make some pretty bizarre weapon hacks in GE and PD with the right Gameshark code templates.

In markets that allow game rental (such as the United States), some publishers have tried to extract income from renters by selling personalized unlock codes to players for real money. Or is that too obtuse?

Now that's just being silly.

Everybody knows that 'personalized unlock codes' means finding somebody elses half finished Lode Runner passwords scrawled in pencil all over the Nintendo Hotline pages at the back of the manual after buying it second hand.

Re:Yerp. Figure it Out, Already. by masterzora · 2006-11-02 12:20 · Score: 1

Actually, it's not your bad, it's the OP's mistake. You actually had the idea that the article actually referred to. The OP got the wrong idea with what sort of spawn point the article was speaking of.

--
Remember, open source is free as in speech, not free as in bear.

Re:Yerp. Figure it Out, Already. by GrumblyStuff · 2006-11-02 12:59 · Score: 1

I think the feel of a game like Metroid Prime required you to have long periods between saves. It has a lot to do with the energy recharge, but it really adds suspence to a game where you're on your own, no way out, and what you've got is what you've got.

Oh? I got two game series that say otherwise: System Shock and Thief. If there's any games that really took the whole "you're on your own, no way out, and what you've got is what you've got" and ran with it, it's System Shock 1 and 2. Thief does it to a degree since you're really unable (often by the mission rules) to kill any enemies. You can sometimes but mostly you're stuck just trying to knock them out.

The problem (termed used lightly mind you) with Metroid is that the closest save point before a real difficult area is often half dozen to a dozen rooms away. Not the most terrible inconvience but fighting your way to it again and again is just one of those frustrations (like being forced to watch a cutscene over and over) that can be done without.

In my mind, I see only two types of save systems. One for the standalone level (think Super Mario 64 or GoldenEye) that lets you save upon success. The other that lets the player save any where (when not in combat) and saves automatically after certain areas (such as bosses or long cutscenes but those should always be playable from a menu anyway like in Eternal Darkness). Well, ok, three but the it'd be similar to the first: Sports style games where multiple plays are required (Gran Prix, a full game of football or baseball, etc.).

Oblivion is both shallow and deep... by myowntrueself · 2006-11-02 13:34 · Score: 1

Yup, Oblivion was a very wierd game.

Deep and shallow at the same time.

Starting to play it, you get that 'wow' effect as you see the graphics and what, at first, seems to be awesome gameplay. Then it starts to dawn on you that the graphics are pure bling and the game has nothing more to offer than bling.

For me it was sneaking through the forest and coming across a band of brigands up to no good.
They hadn't noticed me and were engaged in the sort of conversation that you get... what I realised
was that these goons were having *exactly* the same conversation in *exactly* the same *voices*
as I'd heard a million times before in the Imperial City!

You even hear these same voice actors speaking the same lines in a dungeon full of *vampires*.

Weak, dude, very weak.

And don't even get me started on the levelling.. I specifically created a character and custom class with primary skills that I was never going to use (except to level). It felt really lame.

--
In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.

Re:Oblivion is both shallow and deep... by default+luser · 2006-11-03 08:37 · Score: 1

I gave up on the Oblivion leveling game when I had this happen to me:

I restarted my character because by level 20, my character couldn't keep up with the "scaled" enemies. People told me the "tricks," and insisted I should be able to pull-off 4-5 skill-points per category each level-up. I had been averaging three, so I said what the hell.

So I'm looking to level, and I sleep, and the level is 4 Int, 4 Wis and 2 Str. I figure with some work I can bump up the Str to 3, and the Int or Wis to 5, so I reload to before the level-up and set about it. I kill lots of creatures with blade and hand-to-hand. I cast all sorts of spells and create alchemical potions.

In the end, I sleep again and what do I get? THREE Int, THREE Wis and TWO Str. What. The. Fuck. Seems NOBODY knows what's really going on with the Oblivion level system.

Since then I said screw this. I installed Oscuros Oblivion Overhaul, and that gets me two things:

1: I don't have to worry about optimizing my levels. Quests DO scale with your level, but the creatures in the quest have a MAXIMUM CELING. The main quest is also geared for level 25 characters, so there's no rush. You can use the time to explore the huge world, and do sidequests.

2. Every once and awhile I actually meet a random enemy that is TOO POWERFUL (imagine that). In regular Oblivion this is impossible. Sometimes I run away successfully, and sometimes I die, but it makes the game a little more interesting. The only thing I used to run away from was ghosts, but now I have had to learn how to run away effectively (and avoid running into more creatures in the process), and it adds greater depth to the game.

--
Man is the animal that laughs.
And occasionally whores for Karma.

You need CRATES - LOTS OF THEM!!! by spineboy · 2006-11-02 13:57 · Score: 1

Game fun formula is easy

CRATES are proportional to FUN

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..........FULL STOP.

Re:You need CRATES - LOTS OF THEM!!! by CMDR+Wolf · 2006-11-03 08:33 · Score: 1

Don't forget red explosive barrels!

Re:Yerp. Figure it Out, Already. by Beefysworld · 2006-11-02 14:57 · Score: 1

Though I never tried it, I do believe it was spending 10 minutes underwater that killed Guybrush. Now, how about them bonus points?

Two words: by Draconix · 2006-11-02 16:18 · Score: 1

Television show.

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By reading this you acknowledge that you have read it.

Sorry, no. by SanityInAnarchy · 2006-11-02 17:30 · Score: 1

I would much rather have a decent FPS that gets most of the basics right (headshots should count, for instance -- Quake 3 fails it) than one with EVERYTHING.

You're talking about a game which implements every single thing you like about every single game that exists, and then saying "That's a good game, a great game is that and more."

Sorry, no. Spend five years implementing ridiculous customizable options, 20 DIFFERENT weapons (as a "bare minimum"), and all of your other demands? I'd rather have them spend five years giving me a decent plot (Halo 2), inventing new concepts (the Gravity Gun), polishing technical issues (loading times = no), and generally making a better, unique game.

Yes, there will be games like what you described -- the various Unreal Tournament games, mods, etc. Maybe the Battlefield games will be close to right. And then there will be games that say "You know what? No snipers. If a target is far enough away to snipe you, you get to take cover." Or maybe "No rocket launchers, no superweapons. Pistols all the way." And these will also be the games that say "Oh yeah, we're also an RTS, didn't we tell you? By the way, the Commander says to go here." Or "Hurt? Take some cover and wait for your shield to regenerate. No more sneaking around jumping at shadows because you're stuck at 10 health and a shot in your big toe will kill you."

Or take Portals -- you really don't need guns at all in that game.

In short, the games that appeal less to purists like you will be the truly great games that invent a feature which you'll be the first to complain when nobody else has it.

But really, think about it. You yourself admit a fixed gun emplacement adds spice to a multiplayer game. There are other ways to achieve the same effect, and you do not need a fixed gun emplacement to have a decent game.

--
Don't thank God, thank a doctor!

Re:Sorry, no. by KDR_11k · 2006-11-03 03:26 · Score: 1

(headshots should count, for instance -- Quake 3 fails it)

Do you really want the railgun to do only, say, 50 damage when you don't hit some arbitrary point defined as a head (since Quake 3 has characters wit their heads in different spots unlike Unreal Tournament the head hitbox would rarely be near the head model)? Because I don't think they'd have made it do more than 100 damage even with a headshot. Q3A is balanced to allow you to survive the first hit most of the time, unlike UT where you die on the first shot with some weapons.

--
Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.

Ph33r the arteest by Travoltus · 2006-11-02 18:54 · Score: 1

Don't screw with an arteest's work. You must watch the work as the arteest intended or you won't get the effect that the arteest intended.

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--- Grow a pair, liberals... stop letting the Republicans bully you!

Kingdom Hearts. Post modern Eye candy by Nyall · 2006-11-02 19:06 · Score: 1

Here's one for the list.
Constant dialog sequences where the text prints out slowly and I'm pressing buttons to make it go faster.
Now I'm playing Okami and you can't speed up the text.

--
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jury_nullification

Re:Yerp. Figure it Out, Already. by Tom · 2006-11-02 21:07 · Score: 1

Good point, I all but forgot about Monkey Island. Yes, that should serve as a better "see, it can be done" example.

--
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org

Re:Yerp. Figure it Out, Already. by steveo777 · 2006-11-03 00:45 · Score: 1

Ah.. forgot about System Shock. Know where I can find a copy of either? I totatly know what you mean about battling back to a save point. It pisses me off too. I was thinking more along the lines of battling your way through the research facility in Phendrana Drifts on Prime. Creepy music, everything is dark, and you can't turn back. Heck, even when the lights turn back on, that part scares the crap out of me. Can't wait for Prime 3!!!

Another save system I've been fond of (and extremely frusterated with) is what you get with Fire Emblem. Let's you save your current progress for the mission, but when you load it, it wipes it. If you screw up, you start the level over. Being a perfectionist, I can't have any of my charecters die, so I've started chaperts over many times. Heck, I've restarted chapters because of a bad leveling in the begining.

I think this save system would work very well in a level based survival game. You get your main save and after that, if you save again, it gets wiped when you load it. But, you can still start the stage/level/chapter from the beginning again if you have to.

--
This sig isn't original enough, it's time to come up with something witty...

Re:Yerp. Figure it Out, Already. by GrumblyStuff · 2006-11-03 01:05 · Score: 1

Can't help with the sequel but System Shock has been packaged up nicely to work with XP. There's a thread about it here.

Mind you, I'm running just the CDSHOCK.EXE and not !START.EXE. The mouse cursor is a little slow but it works great. If you have issues, try both. More trouble? Check the thread.

Can't say I understand the Fire Emblem saves (never played). You get a main save at the start/end of each chapter and, basically, a save anywhere so long as you quit which, upon loading, gets wiped? Sounds like it works.

Re:Yerp. Figure it Out, Already. by KDR_11k · 2006-11-03 01:09 · Score: 1

And most of the time cutscenes in HL mean standing around while NPCs do a performance that ends in the next level section being opened. Nothing you do influences the scene anyway unless it's paused so you can push a button or put a plug into a socket. I just don't like standing around with nothing to do in a game, when there's nothing I can do anyway why not remove control and make the camera show angles where you can actually see and hear what's going on?

--
Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.

Re:Yerp. Figure it Out, Already. by steveo777 · 2006-11-03 02:16 · Score: 1

Thanks for the link.

Okay, Fire Embelem: The way it works is you can save the game in-between combat. At any time you can choose to restart a chapter (each fight). This allows you to go back and buy weapons/items if you had problems in a fight or get different charecters (you can have 30+ chars, but only bring 8-14 into any fight, once a charecter dies, it's gone forever unless you restart the chapter or the game). It helps to know that this is a turn based strategy.

On the GBA the game saves EVERY MOVE you make, so you can just shut it off and come back later (I may have missrepresented it when I mentioned this system the first time). You can turn the game back on and it will be waiting at the point you left off every time. So, basically, it's a save state. There is another save that works the same way, but you only get one per level. It's a nice feature except it's infuriating when you make a stupid move and someone croaks. The 'random' tables are generated by your movements, so the result of an attack will be the same no matter how many times you turn the fight back on.

Still love the games. Mostly becuase I love the logic/chance mixture that is involved. And after re-reading that, I don't know how to explain better, but now I'm confused... oh well.

--
This sig isn't original enough, it's time to come up with something witty...

FMVs by Rapter09 · 2006-11-03 02:18 · Score: 1

What in the heck are people's beef with FMVs?
I hate this seriously negative FMV approach that is by and large a product of ADD gamers and developers like David Jaffe that's overtaking this industry. Granted, yes, if you're going to have a cutscene make it *always* skippable for those who have ADD, or those of us who've completed the game, or whathaveyou, but I seen nothing wrong with sweet Blizzard Cinematics Team-Quality cinematic sequences that advance the story and provide some eye-candy.
Personally if its anything its in-game cinematics that drive me up the wall. Nothing like watching one poor-quality, poorly textured and poly-reduced model talking and emotionally acting to another poor-quality, poorly textured, poly-reduced model: That really gets my beans hoppin'. There's nothing wrong with FMVs, CGI Cinematics.. whatever you wanna call them. Let them stay, make more of them, but make them skippable for those who don't like it. But, for those like me, I'll keep salivating and getting goosebumps everytime I watch a cinematic sequence from StarCraft, WarCraft, or Command & Conquer, just because its damn cool. Some of the coolest moments in videogame history were FMVs; In the WarCraft III preview you got excited when you seen the Infernal crawl out of its hole and get ready to kick ass and take names; and the Footman and the Orc that decided to put down their hatred of each other and try to take on the Infernal. In StarCraft's "Battle on the Amerigo" cinematic, people who liked StarCraft got excited to see their first Terran vs Zerg battle in full motion high quality cinematics, same with the intro to Brood War. Seeing all of those units rendered in full high polys and seeing them actually interact realistically with their world. Same goes for games like C&C. Granted, Tiberian Sun wasn't an AMAZING RTS but when Kane comes on the screen at the Philledelphia, that was a cool moment in FMV game history. Nothing wrong with stuff like that. But if I remember correctly, they were all skippable.

Can't forget Blur Studios' intro to Dawn of War; too bad they didn't do something similar for Dark Crusade or something; their Company of Heroes intro that they were working on that supposidly prevented them from making a Winter Assault intro was quite poor, IMHO.

Re:FMVs by ShadowsHawk · 2006-11-03 04:15 · Score: 1

"*always* skippable for those who have ADD" It's not about ADD. For me, it's the games that go save point, three minute cut scene, pit of death/uber boss. Don't make me watch the friggin cut scene over and over!

Re:On the Topic of 0wnage... by Anonymous Coward · 2006-11-03 03:03 · Score: 0

0wned!

Aliens versus Predator by Dr.+Manhattan · 2006-11-03 04:20 · Score: 1

The original release had a few unobtrusive FMVs (at the very beginning and very end of each species' campaign), and a whole lot of in-game FMVs that actually made some sense - they were videophones in the game and sometimes told you important information, sometimes were just for atmosphere. The in-game ones were done with actual actors.

In the "Gold" edition the programmers got to indulge their vanity and re-record the in-game FMVs themselves. An excellent example of why you should hire actors to do acting. The same lines, same framing, same lighting... but the "Gold edition" FMVs sucked compared to the originals.

(Fox/Rebellion released the source code and icculus ported it to Linux. (The cvs link there doesn't work, you need to use Subversion to get it.) It didn't link for me on Ubuntu, so I patched it. Unfortunately, the videos are in a proprietary codec (Bink/Smacker) and now I'm working on restoring them to the game. Looks like recent libavcodecs support that format... :-> )

--
PHEM - party like it's 1997-2003!

Backtracking BAD? by ShadowMarth · 2006-11-03 04:28 · Score: 1

They call backtracking a 'necessary evil', and cite two incredible games as negative examples, Metroid and Castlevania. Both of these games used backtracking in the best possible way. If you go back to an area, you'll probably find stuff that wasn't there before, whole new areas, doors to unlock, upgrades, what have you. Backtracking is one of my favorite game mechanics in exploratory games like these when it's done right.

A few of my annoyances by WWWWolf · 2006-11-03 04:53 · Score: 1

Opening credits. I don't really mind game cutscenes, but being forced to mash start button bazillion times when starting up the game, or waiting good 5 minutes, is annoying. Especially if you're trying to make sense of a puzzle that's quicker redone by hitting Reset when you fail. Or when you're developing a mission/mod. (Metal Gear Solid: TTS comes in mind; Used to be a problem with Neverwinter Nights until I figured out how to turn off the intro movies. =)
Save points. Save points suck. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Metroid series. I just wish they'd learn to put the save points a bit closer to the boss fights. If I need to trudge 5 minutes through acrobatics-requiring hallways to a boss that kills me in 30 seconds... (Pain in the neck in several spots in Metroid Fusion and to lesser extent in both parts of Metroid Prime. Spider Guardian in MP2. Arrrgh. God I hate the fact my memory card lost my save and I have to play through that thing again soon...)
The most annoying side of Final Fantasy VII: I've played the game through - what, three times now. I love it. But why the heck did I have to keep the run button down all the time? There's one optional puzzle where you must not run. Game designers sometimes don't get the interface design. If you can notice at some point that the user interface is funny, fix it.
In net games, the lack of customisation. I've never really got into current MMORPGs because getting the player character to truly look unique is difficult. Someone get us Oblivion's character creator on steroids, bazillions of different sorts of armour and weapons, and especially clothing options. Or it would rule if someone did an open remake of Ultima Online. Paperdolling is a bit more trivial in 2D.
Again in net games: Variety. When developers get bright ideas - no matter how small - they should implement them. When users get bright ideas - no matter how small - they should implement them. The latter even if it doesn't really affect anything at all permanently. Above all don't make the game depend on routine and let the game stagnate.

Too coffeed to think anything more. But at least these spring to mind immediately...

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