DMShade, thank you for the inspiration. Now I'm not sure it actually is a game mechanic, but what always ruins my experience of a game is something, anything that simply does not work because the company had to release the game to soon. Bringing me to the "Do it right now, don't do it right" thought I stole and corrupted from DM. The grenades from Doom 3. Getting stuck just about anywhere. Not stuck as in "How do I do this?" but stuck as in "I can't move from this spot". I haven't slept in a while so I can't think of any more examples. But I am sure everyone has had a few similar experiences.
Game mechanics you hate
- Thread starter The Irrelevant Gamer
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DMShade: It bears mentioning that there are some games, actually, that reward you for taking longer. A lot of fighters and racing games, for instance, unlock stuff for you with the number of hours logged if you don't feel like doing the missions it would otherwise require (which is great). I was also going to cite Step Mine here as an example of reinforcement of taking your time, but I just recalled it was higher damage with more steps, but greater cost with more time. So that's out.
God forbid someone take their time and observe the situation to make sure they get the job done. That's something that irked me about Tenchu 3, too: I couldn't even look around before entering an area, even look through the doorway, without being spotted mysteriously. The Tenchu guys were just crappy ninjas, I guess?
Oh yeah. Not being able to play stealth even when I do it right is a big, big pet peeve of me. I'm so much a sniping-style player that I tried to run through Black like parts of it were stealth missions. Clearly that didn't go over well; though I was making no noise and no sudden movements, patrols would mysteriously spot me in the dark while I was crouching in cover. Horse dooky.
God forbid someone take their time and observe the situation to make sure they get the job done. That's something that irked me about Tenchu 3, too: I couldn't even look around before entering an area, even look through the doorway, without being spotted mysteriously. The Tenchu guys were just crappy ninjas, I guess?
Oh yeah. Not being able to play stealth even when I do it right is a big, big pet peeve of me. I'm so much a sniping-style player that I tried to run through Black like parts of it were stealth missions. Clearly that didn't go over well; though I was making no noise and no sudden movements, patrols would mysteriously spot me in the dark while I was crouching in cover. Horse dooky.
My top hated list:
1. Bosses completely out of character for the game. Like in Bioshock the last guy is basically a retarded bronze colored arnold schwarzenegger with elemental powers. Really didn't fit into the whole atmosphere of the game for me. The boss in the freezer was by far the coolest boss of the entire game (and one of the better ones in a while).
2. Bosses that are have one flaw that makes them ridiculously easy to beat. Again, in bioshock (just played it so its fresh)you can turn in a circle and he can't hit you, which is horrible AI, horrible character design for the boss, and just boring and anti-climactic.
3. You have to go through this door right next to me, but to get through it i have to walk 5 miles to mt. doom.
4. When the game makes it seem like you have to run (quick! the building/ship/universe is collapsing/blowing up so run!) but its still purely scripted on your location so you could saunter your way out at a snail pace and nothing would happen.
5. bosses that are just really powerful but idiots. Just once give me a boss that isn't necessarily just uber health and mass AoE damage. Give me one that is smart and that you have to actual think a little to beat rather than just spam to death. Above average HP and damage but tricky and no insta-death effects.
6. Obviously scripted encounters. So bioshock was so proud of the fact that it was a 'living' environment with no scripts for the npc's, but there was a ridiculous amount of obviously scripted moments in that game when it came to combat encounters.
7. Boss fights that make you wade through hordes of minions while they sit back and decide to do nothing and then take over again when the minions die off. Why would they ever do that?
1. Bosses completely out of character for the game. Like in Bioshock the last guy is basically a retarded bronze colored arnold schwarzenegger with elemental powers. Really didn't fit into the whole atmosphere of the game for me. The boss in the freezer was by far the coolest boss of the entire game (and one of the better ones in a while).
2. Bosses that are have one flaw that makes them ridiculously easy to beat. Again, in bioshock (just played it so its fresh)you can turn in a circle and he can't hit you, which is horrible AI, horrible character design for the boss, and just boring and anti-climactic.
3. You have to go through this door right next to me, but to get through it i have to walk 5 miles to mt. doom.
4. When the game makes it seem like you have to run (quick! the building/ship/universe is collapsing/blowing up so run!) but its still purely scripted on your location so you could saunter your way out at a snail pace and nothing would happen.
5. bosses that are just really powerful but idiots. Just once give me a boss that isn't necessarily just uber health and mass AoE damage. Give me one that is smart and that you have to actual think a little to beat rather than just spam to death. Above average HP and damage but tricky and no insta-death effects.
6. Obviously scripted encounters. So bioshock was so proud of the fact that it was a 'living' environment with no scripts for the npc's, but there was a ridiculous amount of obviously scripted moments in that game when it came to combat encounters.
7. Boss fights that make you wade through hordes of minions while they sit back and decide to do nothing and then take over again when the minions die off. Why would they ever do that?
This is highly interesting to me, because looking at a LOT of other people, they hate...ilves7 said:
Timed events.
So, the obvious solution to make everybody happy is to never have anything in the game that makes it even seem remotely like you need to hurry, because either it's the "Meteor will never land" scenario, or people are too stressed out by the countdown timer.
Inconsistant game cues.
For instance, I lost a half-hour of gameplay in Half-Life2 trying to find a safe way down to the street level after the rooftop Strider battle. Twice I even slipped with the controls on those bare girders, fell one story, and took health damage. Then I discovered that I was supposed to leap 4 stories down onto a paved street, and could do so without taking damage.
I took the names of several deities in vain at that point.
I mean, at least put a pile of mattresses there, or a dumpster filled with trash bags I could fall into, or a tub of water, or a diving board, or some other cue that the game physics permit the jump. Heck, Crackdown did it right with the tidal pool at the base of the Agency Tower... and Portal excelled with those cues.
-- Steve
For instance, I lost a half-hour of gameplay in Half-Life2 trying to find a safe way down to the street level after the rooftop Strider battle. Twice I even slipped with the controls on those bare girders, fell one story, and took health damage. Then I discovered that I was supposed to leap 4 stories down onto a paved street, and could do so without taking damage.
I took the names of several deities in vain at that point.
I mean, at least put a pile of mattresses there, or a dumpster filled with trash bags I could fall into, or a tub of water, or a diving board, or some other cue that the game physics permit the jump. Heck, Crackdown did it right with the tidal pool at the base of the Agency Tower... and Portal excelled with those cues.
-- Steve
eh, different strokes for different folks, no matter what someone gets pissed off. But additionally, another bioshock gripe.. what the hell was with having to escort that little girl who first runs ahead of you with no regard for anything only to freaking stop every 10 feet to, obviously, get bumrushed by 50 lunatics only to find out once she dies that IT DOESN'T MATTER. All we get is 'oh, that's sad, i'd like for them to not die please.' What is the point of an escort scenario (which i also, btw, hate) when you don't even have to escort her?propertyofcobra said:
Yeah... that's another thing I hate, is bosses that are too easy. I just played Doom 3... the last boss? A joke! How anticlimactic! Just run in a circle and you're good to go. Not that this is new to Doom... it's not that hard to get the BFG before the end of episode 3, or again before 4 (which was not added until later, but still...). Just fire off a few shots with it, and you win. If you had it when you fought the cyberdemon, he'd probably be easy, too. These are certainly not the only games that have this problem, but these are good examples. Easy bosses strike me as poor game design.
How about poorly implemented checkpoints? CoD2 pissed me off, because not only did it have another damn Normandy beach level, but the checkpoints felt like they were 90 miles apart. I found myself wondering "Where's the next one, Berlin?" Checkpoints are tolerable or even sensible in some games, but games where you can die easily would be better with quicksaves instead, or in addition. When you have to redo the same crap ten times over, something's wrong, and it's probably not your fault...
I also dislike games that force me to do something which seems out of context with the rest of the game... not sure how to explain just what I mean... the Simon thing is just one example... I think a good example is the part in GTA:VC where you have to race that guy to advance in the story. I bought GTA to play as a violent criminal, not a street racer... ESPECIALLY not against a driver who is suspiciously better than any other in the game. This mission would not bother me if it were a side mission, but you MUST do it to advance the game's main story. That's stupid. It feels out of place, and is not enjoyable.
I have to agree on games that grade your performance with time as a factor. STOP RUSHING ME! Isn't it good enough if I get 100% accuracy, tons of headshots, and don't get injured even once? So what if it takes me two hours to do that? If I wanted to race, I would buy a racing game.
Another thing that gets on my nerves are cutscenes that either cannot be skipped, or are skipped if you press any button or key at all. The only thing worse than having to sit through a cutscene I've seen 8 times before is missing one the first time I play through a game because I accidentally TOUCHED something.
How about poorly implemented checkpoints? CoD2 pissed me off, because not only did it have another damn Normandy beach level, but the checkpoints felt like they were 90 miles apart. I found myself wondering "Where's the next one, Berlin?" Checkpoints are tolerable or even sensible in some games, but games where you can die easily would be better with quicksaves instead, or in addition. When you have to redo the same crap ten times over, something's wrong, and it's probably not your fault...
I also dislike games that force me to do something which seems out of context with the rest of the game... not sure how to explain just what I mean... the Simon thing is just one example... I think a good example is the part in GTA:VC where you have to race that guy to advance in the story. I bought GTA to play as a violent criminal, not a street racer... ESPECIALLY not against a driver who is suspiciously better than any other in the game. This mission would not bother me if it were a side mission, but you MUST do it to advance the game's main story. That's stupid. It feels out of place, and is not enjoyable.
I have to agree on games that grade your performance with time as a factor. STOP RUSHING ME! Isn't it good enough if I get 100% accuracy, tons of headshots, and don't get injured even once? So what if it takes me two hours to do that? If I wanted to race, I would buy a racing game.
Another thing that gets on my nerves are cutscenes that either cannot be skipped, or are skipped if you press any button or key at all. The only thing worse than having to sit through a cutscene I've seen 8 times before is missing one the first time I play through a game because I accidentally TOUCHED something.
On 1: He's not really out of character for the setting. Firstly, Atlas in that form represents the dehumanising effect of a rapacious desire for power. Secondly, he's made to resemble the Atlas character on several of Atlas Shrugged's different covers. Seeing as Bioshock is a criticism of Rand's views, to have Atlas the way he is is a symbol of the extremes of Rand's views and their absurdity: ie that it's ok for people to grasp as much power as possible. In fact, I could break down how every part of the boss battle is very thematically appropriate but I'm already getting boring so I won't.ilves7 said:
As for every other complaint, definitely. Atlas was crappy as a GAME boss. There's even a terrible bug that ruins any immersion; if you can get into cloak Atlas will run to 3 feet in front away from you and stand there taunting. What the?
I hate it when games rewrite the rules to make the game more frustrating---I mean "challenging."
In POP:TTT the Prince's ability to slow time is suddenly yanked during the two generals boss fight during attack. You can slow time to evade, but the minute you attack, time resumes normal. This happens in GOW2 as well for a timed run.
In the new Tomb Raider games, CD constantly changes Lara's abilities to keep her out of areas. Ledges she could reach in some levels she's programmed out of in others.
In POP:TTT the Prince's ability to slow time is suddenly yanked during the two generals boss fight during attack. You can slow time to evade, but the minute you attack, time resumes normal. This happens in GOW2 as well for a timed run.
In the new Tomb Raider games, CD constantly changes Lara's abilities to keep her out of areas. Ledges she could reach in some levels she's programmed out of in others.
A real peeve of mine is being forced into ambushes/traps/tricks. Especially in games that are supposed to give you control. Once or twice in Phoenix Wright, the only way I could progress the story was by going into what I already knew was a trap, and watching Wright get clobbered. I always feel cheated that I've been given enough clues to know it's a trap, but not enough freedom to avoid it.
I guess this is an offshoot of the "too much/little information" bug, but every now and then, playing an FPS, I'll get stuck for a bit, until I realize that I need alert every guard in the map that I AM HERE AND HOSTILE so that they can open the door for me.
As far as game mechanics done RIGHT, Earthbound had the best pre-battle mechanics of any RPG in that era.
1. No random battles
2. Relative position on the overworld determines advantage
3. Weak enemies were dispatched automatically
I guess this is an offshoot of the "too much/little information" bug, but every now and then, playing an FPS, I'll get stuck for a bit, until I realize that I need alert every guard in the map that I AM HERE AND HOSTILE so that they can open the door for me.
As far as game mechanics done RIGHT, Earthbound had the best pre-battle mechanics of any RPG in that era.
1. No random battles
2. Relative position on the overworld determines advantage
3. Weak enemies were dispatched automatically
Count me in amongst those who hate friendly NPCs that are pants-on-head retarded. Either give the NPCs a decent AI, or make them expendable (no automatic mission failure if you lose one), or don't have any at all.
Starfox 64 did it right, only one of the friendly NPCs is a moron, and you don't need to keep him safe to finish any of the missions (except one, but the only way to lose him in that mission is to take too long beating the boss, who is painfully easy anyway, which is sad since I really liked him).
Starfox 64 did it right, only one of the friendly NPCs is a moron, and you don't need to keep him safe to finish any of the missions (except one, but the only way to lose him in that mission is to take too long beating the boss, who is painfully easy anyway, which is sad since I really liked him).
The fact I have to see the animation where the enemy kills me every time I "die" CONSTANTLY in a part where I'm dieing a lot. Not to mention the fact the game automatically loads the autosave instead of the quicksave forcing me to load twice only to repeat the die>see me die again in 3d person thing.
Ranting about undying here, great game but this last part is simply driving me insane with the feature mentioned above.
Ranting about undying here, great game but this last part is simply driving me insane with the feature mentioned above.
1.) Endless Swarms of Enemies(No Bosses)
I hate games that have constant swarms of enemies to make up for the lack of bosses. One good example would be Halo. The Halo series has never had a boss(to my knowledge.) All they have is constant swarms of aliens, flood, humans(if you betray enough or your allies) and flood invested humans. I mean the Halo 3 had that levitating robot guide but he was basically a spartan laser so he doesn't count as a boss.
2.) RPGS
Altogether I despise RPGs, they are a horrible type of game. I hate the whole "click, wait and watch" format of the whole thing. You click "attack" and the computer does the whole thing for you. Or heal and it heals your partners for you. Ones the point of calling it a game when in reality its just an interactive movie. Games are much more fun knowing you were the ones that pushed those buttons and did cool new combos than knowing the computer did all those accomplishments for you. PS: Was Kingdom Hearts an RPG? If so, I like those kind. Those type of RPGS are an exception.
3.) Games made completely out of Socializing
I hate games where its made up of you walking around and getting information from different people in different towns to solve mysteries or to find love. Why bother making a game of socializing with others when you can just go outside and do it! If you honestly would rather stay home and help a guy in a video game get laid than to actually go out and help yourself get laid....you have problems.
I hate games that have constant swarms of enemies to make up for the lack of bosses. One good example would be Halo. The Halo series has never had a boss(to my knowledge.) All they have is constant swarms of aliens, flood, humans(if you betray enough or your allies) and flood invested humans. I mean the Halo 3 had that levitating robot guide but he was basically a spartan laser so he doesn't count as a boss.
2.) RPGS
Altogether I despise RPGs, they are a horrible type of game. I hate the whole "click, wait and watch" format of the whole thing. You click "attack" and the computer does the whole thing for you. Or heal and it heals your partners for you. Ones the point of calling it a game when in reality its just an interactive movie. Games are much more fun knowing you were the ones that pushed those buttons and did cool new combos than knowing the computer did all those accomplishments for you. PS: Was Kingdom Hearts an RPG? If so, I like those kind. Those type of RPGS are an exception.
3.) Games made completely out of Socializing
I hate games where its made up of you walking around and getting information from different people in different towns to solve mysteries or to find love. Why bother making a game of socializing with others when you can just go outside and do it! If you honestly would rather stay home and help a guy in a video game get laid than to actually go out and help yourself get laid....you have problems.
I just played through FEAR Perseus Mandate this weekend, and it made me think of something else that drives me nuts; enemies who take ridiculous amounts of damage with no ill effects until they die. In FEAR the combat is usually pretty good. It is possible to get kills with one or two shots, head shots count for something, and enemies react to being hit. It throws them off balance, and interrupts their attacks. Not so with the final boss on Perseus Mandate. They guy literally bounces off the walls while I'm lighting him up with a minigun, and doesn't show any indication he even notices he's being hit until I've expended something like five hundred rounds, and he finally drops dead.
Even if a bullet doesn't kill an enemy there should at least be some indicator they have felt the damage.
Even if a bullet doesn't kill an enemy there should at least be some indicator they have felt the damage.
Bosses are bosses because they suspend reality even more than the normal ones.The Irrelevant Gamer said:
TheKittenStrangler
I'll take slow stat based combat over poorly deved action based combat.
Also there has been a dry spell in RPGs for the last 7ish years most are under done and grindy as all hell.