Dumbest video game mechanics!

[Nanissimov]

Here's a list of some extremely stupid video game mechanics, some of which were boasted about quite a bit. Oh and please feel free to correct me (I know you will) if i used game mechanics in the wrong context, i could not think of another word to use.

#1) Karma (Fallout 3) I found this to be extremely stupid for quite a few reasons, number one it barley had any effect on the game, besides a few companions and a diologue option here and there but it's apparently a big selling point and even emphasized on the box.

#2) Scene Skipper (Alone in the Dark) As Zp said, "Its like you don't want us to actually play the game", what exactly is the point of this. Its like a movie trailer bragging about the Fast Forward button, though on reflection that would be appreciated in Micheal Bay films.

#3) TV (Gta IV) Again as mentioned in how there trying to hide the actually game play, but if found this one particularly stupid because Gta has always been about guns and stealing cars, but now were some eastern European immigrant watching TV, perhaps a realistic example to show what actually happens in america but if i wanted to watch TV i would, if i wanted to kill stuff i'd play saints row 2, or if i was a really boring person perhaps GTA IV.

So this is what my magnificent mind could conjure up what about you. Oh and feel free to call BS on any of the above saying how "It was an important part oh BLAH BLAH BLAH" its an opinion!

 

[Danceofmasks]

Throwing a girl as a weapon (Quantum Theory)

 

[Swaki]

RMB and LMB use to climb, there are countless offenders to this one but the most noticeable is CoD MW2, im a pc gamer so im not sure if this is incredibly innovative and immersive on a console but with a mouse its really annoying, even after having had a mouse in my hand for ,sadly, the majority of my life it suddenly feels awkward and unnatural.

quick loading, filling the entire screen in the middle of battle with a big wheel is always bad, quick time events are horrible, but still the worst thing is that it makes no sense story wise, i'll admit that i have never loaded a gun before, but i cant imagine that at a certain point the gun allows you to do something while putting in a clip, that if performed at the perfect time saves you a second, but if you are to late it will take another 3.

taking control of the camera/pointless cutscenes, this is when you enter a room and suddenly the camera flows around to show you something or a cutscene shows your character staring at something, just design the level so that i notice it or ,in the case of platformers, make the route clear, this is so annoying because its only purpose in the game is to hide bad level design.

pausing the game for every option, this happens mostly in RPGs, and sometimes it works, when facing big game changing decisions having some time to think about the consequences is nice and necessary, but not every thing needs it, its really annoying when you catch a bad guy and he talks to you, cause then the game pauses and you have to decide once again if you want to kill him or not, it completely breaks the flow of the game and often just leads to another way for the game to give you bad karma for killing a guy.

and lastly, showing me the right and wrong choice and tying it in to game mechanics (mass effect and inFamous), if you do this then it stops being a choice and simply becomes a red and a blue button, and once you have one colour yo no longer need to read the description because thats the one you are going to press all day long.

 

[Rednog]

I think the only game mechanic that really annoys me is quicktime events, especially ones that require you to bash the living hell out of a button. I mean like the reboot of the Prince of Persia, you can easily break your keyboard because the button mashing that is required out of you is somewhat supernatural and literally every keyboard out there is not made to be mashed at that kind of rate. Also another odd aspect of the quicktime event is those that appear out of no where and never show up again. For example Resident Evil 5, I was lazily sitting back sipping my drink at the end of the 2nd chapter and up until this point there is absolutely 0 interaction with the cutscenes, suddenly the game prompts hit F to fire. I'm like omg, drop drink, pull out keyboard, find F, press. Granted I haven't finished the game but through chapter 3 there is no more cutscene interaction. Why jam it in there and most likely screw anyone who wasn't holding their controller or mouse/keyboard.
Also in addition is the quicktime event that forces you to press a key that you usually would not associate with that action. Like in resident evil F to fire is such an odd thing when my fire is normally the mouse buttons.

 

[baddude1337]

That annoying thing in Braid where you are presented with two doors and one key, and if you use the key in the wrong door it breaks and you have to restart the whole level.

 

[Nexus4]

Avatars gunship controls, there are two rotors mounted on the sides of each wing and you rotate each one with the left and right stick. So to go forward you need to push both sticks forward, turning you need one forward and one back. Also this takes place in the big floaty mountains where there are very tight quarters whilst you're being assaulted by banshees from every angle. Whoever thought that was a good idea needs to be shot...

 

[northeast rower]

Challenges in team-based multiplayer games. Everyone now plays Search and Destroy in the CoD games to get "challenge x" or whatever. No one gives a damn about actual teamwork and winning. I rebought Call of Duty 4 yesterday for just this reason.

 

[northeast rower]

I think the only game mechanic that really annoys me is quicktime events, especially ones that require you to bash the living hell out of a button. I mean like the reboot of the Prince of Persia, you can easily break your keyboard because the button mashing that is required out of you is somewhat supernatural and literally every keyboard out there is not made to be mashed at that kind of rate. Also another odd aspect of the quicktime event is those that appear out of no where and never show up again. For example Resident Evil 5, I was lazily sitting back sipping my drink at the end of the 2nd chapter and up until this point there is absolutely 0 interaction with the cutscenes, suddenly the game prompts hit F to fire. I'm like omg, drop drink, pull out keyboard, find F, press. Granted I haven't finished the game but through chapter 3 there is no more cutscene interaction. Why jam it in there and most likely screw anyone who wasn't holding their controller or mouse/keyboard.
Also in addition is the quicktime event that forces you to press a key that you usually would not associate with that action. Like in resident evil F to fire is such an odd thing when my fire is normally the mouse buttons.

I know exactly which part you're talking about. I had put my controller down and ended up diving across the room for it.

 

[LeonLethality]

Pratfalling in Brawl is horrendous, mainly because it always happens at the worst time.

 

[Palademon]

Spoilered for size.

Spoiler

 

[Geekosaurus]

Pratfalling in Brawl is horrendous, mainly because it always happens at the worst time.

It's like being told that you're going to get punched, but at an undetermined time. The fear is the worst part.

 

[Ramziez]

Surprised nobody said QTEs yet. That is the worst mechanic ever in video games IMO. Who doesn't hate Press X to not die scenes.

 

[ProfessorLayton]

Surprised nobody said QTEs yet. That is the worst mechanic ever in video games IMO. Who doesn't hate Press X to not die scenes.

As a huge fan of Resident Evil 4 and Heavy Rain, I'll have to say me.

Um I'll say the cars in Crysis. I let how they sectioned the car into different pieces so you could shoot out the tires, but the tires are always the first to get shot out and if you lose even one tire you're stuck and the fastest you can go is 30mph. So while you're stuck in the car, people will shoot at the engine so you're stuck in a slow moving bomb. I find it strange that cars are even in the game to begin with, considering you can run just as fast with maximum speed and you can actually shoot people while doing it.

 

[L3m0n_L1m3]

A button for blinking in Alone In The Dark.

The stupidest design choice I've ever seen. And you have to constantly be blinking, or it will be impossible to see anything.

 

[Danceofmasks]

Surprised nobody said QTEs yet. That is the worst mechanic ever in video games IMO. Who doesn't hate Press X to not die scenes.

QTEs was post #4 ...

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

Unskippable cutscenes win out of all your nominations!

 

[Danceofmasks]

Unskippable cutscenes win out of all your nominations!

I don't know ... that depends on the audience.
For instance, I'll mention that I skip this mission or other over at the Bioware forums 'cos the cutscenes are unskippable, and nobody thinks I'm being serious.

 

[ghstman]

QTEs aren't terrible I think, just horribly overused. If you're playing GOW and you have to three or more for every finishing move, it definitly gets old. Used sparingly though, it's not bad. If a guy jumps on you with a knife once or twice in a game, it's not so bad, it's just when it's all the damn time that it gets old.

Unskippable cutscenes win out of all your nominations!

I don't know ... that depends on the audience.
For instance, I'll mention that I skip this mission or other over at the Bioware forums 'cos the cutscenes are unskippable, and nobody thinks I'm being serious.

I don't mind watching cutscenes, it's just when there's a really long one right before a tough Boss fight that it really sucks. Like when you fight Riku near the end of Kingdom Hearts I. One of the hardest bosses I had ever played against at the time and he was preceded by a five minute cutscene that you had to watch every time you died.