Game design decisions you'd do differently?

[DarklordKyo]

Are there any aspects of any games that you'd change if you had your way?

To start, I think Arc Sys should've made Blazblue's Platinum the Trinity into a stance character. Luna and Sena could specialize in different things (one melee, the other ranged, for example), and Trinity Glassfile could be their Overdrive (Super Mode, for the uninitiated).

 

[Saelune]

Oh what a blank canvas you present me with, and I have too many ideas that I dont know what to paint!

I guess all the good stuff from Morrowind, Id easily add back into the later Elder Scrolls games.

Id remove all the bullshit from the Souls games, and focus on making enemies just harder, more complex to fight. Bloodborne is my favorite, since I feel it already basically does that. Humanity, effigies, Soul Memory, degrading health, all absent, and it flourishes because of it.

Id bring stances back to Soul Calibur, and turn any character who is absent into a create-a-character move set, so even if Talim or Seung-Mina are gone, their playstyle isnt.

Id make Duke Nukem Forever good.

Id make Borderlands have you make your own characters with classes that specialize into the previous ones. Not like the specific character is ever important in the game they play in (Pre-Sequel aside sort-of). Soldier, Siren, Rogue, Brute. Maybe engineer class, and some other weird one. Id also add a bunch of weird aspects to the randomized guns so they seem more varied and unique beyond fire-rate and element. Id probably rip off alot from Ratchet and Clank.

And Id make Hitman a single worthwhile game.

 

[Dalisclock]

Final Fantasy X- Either fix the voice acting or make it possible to turn it off entirely. Make the game a bit less linear, include more actual towns and such.

However, aside from that: Blitzball. So many things wrong with it. 1. Don't throw us into a tournament without giving us a chance to learn how the game plays. That's just being a dick. 2. Make it, well, a lot more fun then it actually is. What we saw in the intro movie looked a lot more interesting and exciting then what we actually got to play. 3. Either make it more or less important to the game. Because as it stands, it's something that gets played up for the first 5 hours of the game until the big tourney and after that it never matters again, like a half-assed mess. So what was the point? For gods sake, SE, either integrate it into your game if it's so important(maybe by tying it into the combat system or something) or make it COMPLETELY optional/cut it out entirely.

Saints Row 3-Have the game remember important things that happened. If you decide to keep the Syndicate Tower instead of blow it up, let us actually use it as a crib(and hell, if you decide to blow it up, have there be fallout from that somewhere down the line. The Saints did just blow up a fucking skyscraper in a major city with bomb stolen from the military). Or when the Saints have to abandon their downtown penthouse midway through the game, have it no longer available as a penthouse anymore.

Also, the fight with the flying aircraft carrier should have happened in both endings, not just the one where you abandon your friends to kill someone who was already defeated and leaving for good(Fuck you, Angel). Also, making Angel kind of useful(other then setting up the killbane fight) would have been nice.

 

[Danbo Jambo]

I guess all the good stuff from Morrowind, Id easily add back into the later Elder Scrolls games.

Hell yes. 2 games on and they're still miles away from captuing the adventure and sense of wonder which Morrowind gave us.

I've no idea why they don't release a "Return to Morrowind" game using the base of the old game, but keeping it fresh by implementing changes which time has caused (maybey Vivec now burried under the explosion from Red Mountain & similar?)

Update the combat, keep the old spells & setup (no cheap "click here" fast travel or compass markers already revealing everything, and totally taking the fun out of discovering anything) and you'd have a corker of a game.

Just thinking about it really shows how Oblivion & Skyrim failed massively at trying to recreate a genuine exploration experience.

 

[Saelune]

I guess all the good stuff from Morrowind, Id easily add back into the later Elder Scrolls games.

Hell yes. 2 games on and they're still miles away from captuing the adventure and sense of wonder which Morrowind gave us.

I've no idea why they don't release a "Return to Morrowind" game using the base of the old game, but keeping it fresh by implementing changes which time has caused (maybey Vivec now burried under the explosion from Red Mountain & similar?)

Update the combat, keep the old spells & setup (no cheap "click here" fast travel or compass markers already revealing everything, and totally taking the fun out of discovering anything) and you'd have a corker of a game.

Just thinking about it really shows how Oblivion & Skyrim failed massively at trying to recreate a genuine exploration experience.

I just keep hoping that the next Elder Scroll game will be made with Morrowind in mind. And to be fair, Skyrim was a step in the right direction from Oblivion in most ways. I think one thing they need to do...is make the next game have MORE spells, cause each game has fewer and fewer. Sure the spells that remain are more spectacular, but I dont need to shoot fire 10 different ways when thats ALL I can do.

Also stop pandering to...I dont want to say it this way, but..."casuals". There were certain things that made Morrowind hard that dont need to return, sure(Im fine with not going back to dice combat, even if it had its advantages aka agility), but there is just too much hand holding now, and I hate that the ever increasing popularity of the series will hinder it rather than help it.

 

[Danbo Jambo]

[I just keep hoping that the next Elder Scroll game will be made with Morrowind in mind. And to be fair, Skyrim was a step in the right direction from Oblivion in most ways. I think one thing they need to do...is make the next game have MORE spells, cause each game has fewer and fewer. Sure the spells that remain are more spectacular, but I dont need to shoot fire 10 different ways when thats ALL I can do.

Also stop pandering to...I dont want to say it this way, but..."casuals". There were certain things that made Morrowind hard that dont need to return, sure(Im fine with not going back to dice combat, even if it had its advantages aka agility), but there is just too much hand holding now, and I hate that the ever increasing popularity of the series will hinder it rather than help it.

Couldn't agree more. Think we'll be waiting a long time either way though

 

[MysticSlayer]

I would actually have healing magic in Dragon Age: Inquisition. I can't stand the lack of it.

I would also actually use the Hawke imported from the Dragon Age Keep rather than forcing users to manually recreate her if she deviated at all from the original model. Come to think of it, I don't even think Inquisition's options were as varied or well set out as Dragon Age II's were during Hawke's creation.

Come to think of it, I wouldn't force users to use the Dragon Age Keep. At the very least, I'd give them the option to upload their character files from Origins and DA2 so it doesn't take so long. I also wouldn't hide the "import" option in a side menu to minimize the cases of people playing 5-10 hours before realizing that making changes to the Keep doesn't automatically update the world state that would be imported.

Then I would also fix the tactical camera. Dragon Age: Origins was perfect. Dragon Age II at least worked well with a lack of it. The entire system in Inquisition is just a clunky mess. Either do it like in Origins or just leave it out like in DAII. Stop breaking what already works perfectly.

Also, who decided it was a good idea to force users to hold down the attack button to keep launching a basic attack? RPGs have worked really well by just selecting the enemy and adding input when we need to use special attacks. This just feels unnecessary.

Finally, if we're not going to have healing magic, why the fuck are you limiting the number of healing potions in my pool? Is it too unrealistic to offer unlimited? Then why does it get magically passed around to people across the map? Just let me hold on to however many healing potions come from however much Elfroot I'm willing to invest.

Now, with all that said, I do enjoy Inquisition as a whole. So many decisions, though, just make absolutely no sense. It may not be as bad as The Witcher games, but it's what I'm playing right now, so the problems have been on my mind recently.

 

[Recusant]

Are there any aspects of any games that you'd change if you had your way?

Good sir, we are gamers here. The one thing we enjoy more than playing games is complaining about them. It is not a question of "are there any aspects", it is a question of "what aspects".

And the first one that springs to my mind is 2012 Xcom. Now, this game was very obviously a labor of love from people who adored the original; it was the very opposite of your typical soulless, milk-the-name cash-in- no Syndicate, Thief, or Dungeon Keeper Mobile, this one!- so why is it so stupidly simplified? No action points, no inventory system, no ablative armor, no ammo limitations- and by extension, no ammo types- no light levels, no locational armor, no ability to carry out the wounded, four stats instead of twelve, no protective functions of armor, and perhaps most bafflingly, no hyphen in the title.

Well, 1994 was a long time ago, and things have to be cut down in order to bring in the widest possible audience, which has no interest in a game that's actually challenging to more than your reflexes (because it's not like Dwarf Fortress exists, or anything). I'll give you that, for the moment. And stripping it down to a single move and a single fire/reload action did make the game move much faster. But then why in the name of all that is good and holy would you force an order on this, rending it impossible to shoot and then move? It makes no in-game sense, it makes no mechanical sense, and the gameplay change it makes is forcing you to take an aggressive approach; completely at odds with the strategic freedom of the original. Ultimately, the question is this: who could possibly play UFO Defense, then (presumably) play Apocalypse, and think that what X-Com players want is a game with less strategic complexity?

 

[pookie101]

fallout 4

fix the dialogue system, you were far to limited in choices.. a question, sarcastic, yes or no as answers

fix the issue with power attack being the same key as throw a grenade. you can see how that would screw you up in melee

give us access to all the in game items in settlement building. if you are going to add it, go all the way

give me more options for settlements, the odd quest linked to settlers, etc

*edit* after finding settlers sleeping in my bed for the 10th time.. let me stop them from doing it grrr

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I would put more bad guys into Smash Bros. I'll go ahead and focus on Smash Bros 4 since there's a chance that Smash 4 NX is being made and I like to disappoint myself: In the latest Smash, there are (depending on how you look at it) 6 to 8 Super Mario reps. Controversially, I would add Wart which could be considered the 7th/9th Mario rep but I think it would be justified since the only bad guys are Bowser and Bowser Jr. (being the head of his own franchise, it's hard to count Wario as a bad guy).

That would really be my main thing to be honest; I would add a lot more bad guys. I don't think I could take any Super Mario Characters out but I could make other changes. Fire Emblem for example has 6 reps so I would cut half of them (Corrin, Ike and Lucina) and replace them with Sephiran and, Validar. The number of FE reps goes down to 5, we get 2 villains and, the unique Robin gets to hang around with the two mainstays, Marth and Roy.

I'm pro-Ripley and since the size issue is utter bullshit (Pikmin are smaller than a Cell Phone, they should be beaten by everybody walking around) I'd just straight-up add Ridley to the roster, giving Metroid a second/third rep.

I'd like to add Goetia from Xenoblade Chronicles X because I really like her design and I felt she was a more effective villain than Luxaar.

I would also add Dr. Robotnic to the Roster since Sonic has proven he'll likely be in most if not all future Smash titles. Building his roster would be a safe idea and adding in Robotnic would be much safer than a villain-of-the-month like the big red guy from Lost Worlds.

When it comes to the Legend of Zelda, I would really like to turn Ganon into a dual character like Samus and Shiek. There would be humanoid Ganon and there would be Beast Ganon, specifically the trident-wielding blue pig from A Link To the Past. I chose the more cartoony variation since it would be easier to make that into a smaller form compared to Chaos Ganon, Wind Waker Ganon, etc.

I may have taken away more female characters than I've added so to rectify that I would absolutely add in Crystal who would be another staff-wielder in addition to Validar and LttP Ganon.

There are little things I'd probably like to do with Smash as well but those are the most pressing things I'd change.

 

[Saelune]

I would put more bad guys into Smash Bros. I'll go ahead and focus on Smash Bros 4 since there's a chance that Smash 4 NX is being made and I like to disappoint myself: In the latest Smash, there are (depending on how you look at it) 6 to 8 Super Mario reps. Controversially, I would add Wart which could be considered the 7th/9th Mario rep but I think it would be justified since the only bad guys are Bowser and Bowser Jr. (being the head of his own franchise, it's hard to count Wario as a bad guy).

That would really be my main thing to be honest; I would add a lot more bad guys. I don't think I could take any Super Mario Characters out but I could make other changes. Fire Emblem for example has 6 reps so I would cut half of them (Corrin, Ike and Lucina) and replace them with Sephiran and, Validar. The number of FE reps goes down to 5, we get 2 villains and, the unique Robin gets to hang around with the two mainstays, Marth and Roy.

I'm pro-Ripley and since the size issue is utter bullshit (Pikmin are smaller than a Cell Phone, they should be beaten by everybody walking around) I'd just straight-up add Ridley to the roster, giving Metroid a second/third rep.

I'd like to add Goetia from Xenoblade Chronicles X because I really like her design and I felt she was a more effective villain than Luxaar.

I would also add Dr. Robotnic to the Roster since Sonic has proven he'll likely be in most if not all future Smash titles. Building his roster would be a safe idea and adding in Robotnic would be much safer than a villain-of-the-month like the big red guy from Lost Worlds.

When it comes to the Legend of Zelda, I would really like to turn Ganon into a dual character like Samus and Shiek. There would be humanoid Ganon and there would be Beast Ganon, specifically the trident-wielding blue pig from A Link To the Past. I chose the more cartoony variation since it would be easier to make that into a smaller form compared to Chaos Ganon, Wind Waker Ganon, etc.

I may have taken away more female characters than I've added so to rectify that I would absolutely add in Crystal who would be another staff-wielder in addition to Validar and LttP Ganon.

There are little things I'd probably like to do with Smash as well but those are the most pressing things I'd change.

Easy way to add villains (and female characters) is just fill out the less represented titles. Amy from Sonic is an obvious female.

Villains could include King Hippo (Punch-Out), bring back Wolf (Starfox), King K. Rule (DK), and some Mega Man enemy. Protoman might be too cloney, but I dont know if they would want to add Wily.

Female characters could be Dixie Kong, Krystal (which you said) and Roll. Could also add Tetra (and Wind Waker Ganon for another villain...sorta).

 

[Shoggoth2588]

-snip-

Easy way to add villains (and female characters) is just fill out the less represented titles. Amy from Sonic is an obvious female.

Villains could include King Hippo (Punch-Out), bring back Wolf (Starfox), King K. Rule (DK), and some Mega Man enemy. Protoman might be too cloney, but I dont know if they would want to add Wily.

Female characters could be Dixie Kong, Krystal (which you said) and Roll. Could also add Tetra (and Wind Waker Ganon for another villain...sorta).

Ya know the funny thing is, back during the Smash Ballot I posted several King K. Rool votes a day...King Hippo is a good one that slipped my mind, same with Wolf. When it comes to Mega Man though, I wonder if Tron Bonne would work. She's from the Legends series and she's been in Marvel vs Capcom 2 but it would make for an interesting addition.

 

[DarklordKyo]

I guess all the good stuff from Morrowind, Id easily add back into the later Elder Scrolls games.

On the bright side, until that becomes a reality, there's always MorrOblivion and Skywind (moreso the former, as the latter is still in a pre-release alpha state).

 

[DarklordKyo]

Hell yes. 2 games on and they're still miles away from captuing the adventure and sense of wonder which Morrowind gave us.

I've no idea why they don't release a "Return to Morrowind" game using the base of the old game, but keeping it fresh by implementing changes which time has caused (maybey Vivec now burried under the explosion from Red Mountain & similar?)

Update the combat, keep the old spells & setup (no cheap "click here" fast travel or compass markers already revealing everything, and totally taking the fun out of discovering anything) and you'd have a corker of a game.

Just thinking about it really shows how Oblivion & Skyrim failed massively at trying to recreate a genuine exploration experience.

Until then, there's MorrOblivion and Skywind (moreso MorrOblivion, as Skywind is currently in closed alpha).

 

[Saelune]

I guess all the good stuff from Morrowind, Id easily add back into the later Elder Scrolls games.

On the bright side, until that becomes a reality, there's always MorrOblivion and Skywind (moreso the former, as the latter is still in a pre-release alpha state).

Not really. It might vaguely look like Morrowind, but it wont play like Morrowind.

 

[DarklordKyo]

MGS4

The whole game takes place in and near the war-ravaged Middle Eastern town. There's no globetrotting, no Nomad to pick Snake up when he's tired.

Remove the Drebin shop and currency. You use the guns and items you find and that's it.

More unique bosses, who are actual characters who interact with each other and have their own motivations and flaws. The B&Bs (MGS4) and The Cobras (MGS3) both lacked what Dead Cell (MGS2) and Foxhound (MGS1) had.

Don't try to give scientific explanations for things that didn't need them. The Vamp explanation (nano machines) was dumb. Write original characters instead of finding weak excuses for everyone from the previous games to come back. Especially Big Boss. He should have stayed a corpse. They only brought him back because MGS3 elevated him to god status for people. Also, cut Major Zero and Eva completely from the story. I liked them in MGS3, but they should have been left alone. Major Zero was too insignificant and funny in MGS3 to turn into Big Boss's powerful arch-rival.

Don't overexplain the past. Focus on new ideas.

Raiden returns, but he does not become yet another Gray Fox (tortured cyborg ninja).

Kojima doesn't relent to his staff and Snake does die.

Replace Snake's mustache with a beard.

Don't try to make it so incessantly depressing. It felt awkward because of that.

Cut all the weird live action and CG videos from the beginning of the game to save costs.

An original villain. Ocelot remains an instigator and manipulator, sometimes overtaken by Liquid. I found the arm idea in MGS2 too dumb to make him the main villain. The sequels to MGS1 cheapened Liquid for me.

Did you read these links from the Kojima thread -

http://www.metagearsolid.org/reports_mgs4_longdark.html
http://www.metagearsolid.org/reports_mgs4_soldout_1.html

It's even more depressing to know Kojima didn't even want to make it. Thinking about it now though, it all makes more sense as to why it seemed substandard for him in some ways. His heart wasn't into it.

But then again, apparently MGSV was the game he'd always dreamed of making, and even that was compromised. Almost certainly for different reasons though.

 

[Souplex]

I'd take away later Souls games' pathological hatred of shield players.
I'd cut Sanik and most Pookeymanns from Smash bros. while bringing in characters like Ridley.
I'd allow multiple companions in modern Fallout games with your charisma and how much the companions dislike each other determining your party size.