Can the phrase "so bad it's good" really apply to a game?

[Naeo]

Depends on the sort of game and the sort of technical issues. If the AI is bad like "doesn't do anything" bad, then it can't come back around to "fun". But if the AI is bad like "aliies charge straight forwards then run around in circles and do a dance in front of enemies" then it kinda can be fun. As for glitches, if it's graphical glitches or glitches with ragdoll physics it can often make a game more oddly fun.

But if the game is trying to play itself off really seriously, then it just collapses and I feel sorry for it. If it's a game like Saints Row 2 that's ridiculous when it's working right, then it makes it a lot more fun and whacky.

 

[MegaManOfNumbers]

According to masochistic LPers, (example: ProtonJonSA) Kaizo Mario is so well-designed to fuck you over that you gotta give the creators mad props for that insane amount of detail.

 

[DrOswald]

First I want to clarify what I mean by this. While a film or book can be so bad it's good because of terrible writing or acting, that's because a film or book depends on that to work. So a badly written game that is fine mechanically doesn't count.

What I'm talking about is a game that's either so glitchy or so badly designed in some way that the game becomes enjoyable. Personally I just don't think a game can truly fall into this category because a game that's glitchy or that has bad mechanics would be frustrating or awkward.

For comparisons sake I'll give an example of why it doesn't work by comparing the argument to films. A film like The Room, is so bad it's good because as a film it's badly written, acted and the production values or awful. This means it can be fun to watch even it is fundamentally a bad film. On the other hand a film like the recent GI Joe film is just boring. It's technically sound and nothing in it leaps out as being exceptionally bad or good in any way. This makes the film boring to watch either as an example of a good cinema or comically bad cinema. In my view a badly made game would only be like GI Joe, a game could never survive being as badly made a game as The Room is a film because it wouldn't be fun to play through that kind of a mess of a game.

But maybe I'm wrong. I kinda hope I am because I'd like to see The Room of video games. So if you know of one suggest one, or if you can think of a reason why I'm wrong and why a game can be enjoyed for flaws on a fundamental level as a game can still be fun I'm all ears.

As others have pointed out, technical glitches in a game are more akin to typo's in books, they get in the way of reading, where as the bad writing or plot of a bad book is what makes it so bad it's good.

Keeping that in mind, the entire Metal Gear franchise is, in my opinion, a great example of a game that is so bad it is good. The whole thing is so stupid, from game play mechanics to writing to art direction, but some how it comes together in a perfect storm of fail to be a great game. Great bad dialog like "I killed my soul!" and "We managed to avoid drowning!", mining battlefields with playboys, and ridiculous art direction like Mount Snakemore. At one point, Liquid Ocelot tries to run Snake over with a submarine. What more could you ask for?

 

[ShakyFt Slasher]

Three words and a number: Earth Defense Force 2017. That is all.

 

[Atmos Duality]

Can it? Yes.
Proof: Deadly Premonition
That game is hilarious for all the wrong reasons.

 

[The Rockerfly]

snip

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Did either of you play the first ones multiplayer? Bullets literally curved round and you could see them curving and if anyone got into a chainsaw then it was random who won. Texture glitches, objects falling into others (such as guns falling through surfaces), ai glitches with allies and enemies not shooting. This is just with gameplay, I've had the game deleting the saves and all the collectables half way through the game.

I agree the encounters are well done, interesting level design and overall it is fun but the story is fucking ridiculous and the glitches are intense on both games.

If you don't believe me
http://gamerglitch.com/category/glitches/gears-of-war-glitches/

I've played both games on 2 different Xboxs before you insult me and make an ass of yourself

 

[Willem]

First I want to clarify what I mean by this. While a film or book can be so bad it's good because of terrible writing or acting, that's because a film or book depends on that to work. So a badly written game that is fine mechanically doesn't count.

Why?

 

[Soluncreed]

people say Earth Defense Force: 2017 is "so bad it's good"

I was just about to say this.

 

[cgentero]

Two tropes that prove that bad coding can be fun

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GoodBadBugs

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AscendedGlitch

 

[Dogstile]

50 cent blood on the sand is an excellent example of a game being so bad its good.

 

[Zakarath]

In 2101, war was beginning.

 

[DanielDeFig]

When it comes to writing and visuals, I think the term can still be applied. But as OP point out, once you get bad gameplay mechanics, then it makes it difficult to actually experience the game.

The only time I think glitches or bad mechanics can actually work in a games favour is, when the game is unintentionally challenging. Devil May Cry 2, and the PC version of Dragon Agerigins, ere examples of this. TE difficulty levels of the fights were too high for the average player, but many hardcore players saw it as a personal challenge, and it gave them greater satisfaction when they actually survived fights (they worked hard for it).

 

[Fappy]

Superman 64.

That is all.

That is stretching it. I love bad games and I quit after dying numerous times on the first level. I laughed at how bad the tutorial was, but the main game is EVEN WORSE.

 

[The Rockerfly]

I won't insult you for reporting glitches and make an ass of myself. I didn't play the multiplayer of Gears much, but I don't remember coming across any glitches or bad problems while playing it. I liked the single player a whole lot more than I did the multiplayer, though, and when people say "the game is glitchy..." my mind always assumes it's single player.

Me and a friend went back to it today and while there aren't any game breaking glitches, there are still some very annoying glitches. Plus never EVER play the multiplayer of 1, you will drown under a sea of glitches

 

[Rossmallo]

Superman 64.

That is all.

That is stretching it. I love bad games and I quit after dying numerous times on the first level. I laughed at how bad the tutorial was, but the main game is EVEN WORSE.

I'm going to quote Protonjon here.

It's one of those sort of games that you try to play, to see how hard you can break it, what sort of stupid stuff you can do, and so on.

 

[Squarez]

50 cent blood on the sand is an excellent example of a game being so bad its good.

The ironic thing is that the game itself mechanically is solid. But it's the totally ridiculous story (and specifically, the protagonist) that makes the game hilarious.

 

[Fappy]

Superman 64.

That is all.

That is stretching it. I love bad games and I quit after dying numerous times on the first level. I laughed at how bad the tutorial was, but the main game is EVEN WORSE.

I'm going to quote Protonjon here.

It's one of those sort of games that you try to play, to see how hard you can break it, what sort of stupid stuff you can do, and so on.

I guess if you get past the awful controls that could be a pretty interesting prospect, but I honestly couldn't even navigate the first level properly. I just got frustrated lol.

 

[Rossmallo]

Superman 64.

That is all.

That is stretching it. I love bad games and I quit after dying numerous times on the first level. I laughed at how bad the tutorial was, but the main game is EVEN WORSE.

I'm going to quote Protonjon here.

It's one of those sort of games that you try to play, to see how hard you can break it, what sort of stupid stuff you can do, and so on.

I guess if you get past the awful controls that could be a pretty interesting prospect, but I honestly couldn't even navigate the first level properly. I just got frustrated lol.

If it helps, think of Superman like a car. If you wanna make a sharp turn, let go of the gas.

 

[Fappy]

Superman 64.

That is all.

That is stretching it. I love bad games and I quit after dying numerous times on the first level. I laughed at how bad the tutorial was, but the main game is EVEN WORSE.

I'm going to quote Protonjon here.

It's one of those sort of games that you try to play, to see how hard you can break it, what sort of stupid stuff you can do, and so on.

I guess if you get past the awful controls that could be a pretty interesting prospect, but I honestly couldn't even navigate the first level properly. I just got frustrated lol.

If it helps, think of Superman like a car. If you wanna make a sharp turn, let go of the gas.

Yeah, I figured that out. I had more trouble with the Y-axis. Couldn't keep him from constantly nosediving and bouncing up to the ceiling.