PC game commandments

[Vrach]

Thou shalt release a map editor with a multiplayer FPS.

Thou shalt not withhold content to put it on the DLC. (Mafia 2 I'm looking at you)

Thou shalt not make a sandbox game with a mission that ends it. (F3)

Thou shalt equip your sandbox with a free roam option. (M2)

Thou shalt provide (good) dedicated servers with thine online multiplayer and a LAN for those who praise thine game with their neighbours and in churches (cyber cafes).

Thou shalt stuff thine DRM up thine rear end and let it rest with its ilk (other shit that came out of thee).

 

[Gudrests]

why can we not we save or pause? what if i need to pee

What? MMO gamers don't pee?

Anyway.

666. Thou shalt not steal thine game ideas from others.

(Yes Blizzard, I'm looking at you.)

lol....you see there new "peaceblooms vs. ghouls" minigame ORIGINAL to the EXTREME

RULE #1 Thou shall not make normal...hard as hell and normal monsters shouldnt be able to pwn you because of rng..commmon now

 

[Vrach]

RULE #1 Thou shall not make normal...hard as hell and normal monsters shouldnt be able to pwn you because of rng..commmon now

Oh dear Lord, yes, I forgot about this one.

Thou shalt not mistake extreme use of RNG for a challenge.

 

[bawkbawkboo1]

Thou shalt not make a sandbox game with a mission that ends it. (F3)

Yes, this. FarCry 2 had this same goddamn problem.

 

[HotFezz8]

1. Thou shalt alt-tab gracefully

2. Thou shalt create an interface that is designed for 18 inches and a keyboard and mouse, rather than copy your 10 foot, gamepad based console interface.

Fallout 3, Borderlands, Mass Effect 2. The keyboard has 110 ish buttons, the mouse has at least 3. Let players assign different buttons to open, pick up, jump, run, slide, duck etc.

Let me switch weapons with a single button without opening up a scroll menu, and ffs let me carry more than 2 weapons, the HALO stupidity needs to die except maybe in games trying for realism.

3. (general gaming, not pc specific) Thou shalt allow saving and pausing at any time, save points are a relic of a bygone era.

4. (general gaming, not pc specific) All "intro" screens shall be skippable with a single button, and ideally automatically skippable with a configuration file setting.

I don't care if the game was designed for Nvidia or who made your 3D engine. I don't need 30 second animated advertisements for the developer, and the publisher, and the distributor every time I start up the game. I want to go to the menu to play the damn game. Borderlands is particularly bad about this one.

I'm sure others can think of other commandments to add to this list.

OH MY GOD YES!!

this author is a genius. end of.

 

[deathbydeath]

thou shalt not dumb down sequels or successors for console ports
thou shalt not rip off warhammer 40k unless you are making a 40k game

 

[oktalist]

Thou shalt not steal thine game ideas from others.

I disagree. The creative arts have always been about drawing inspiration from one's contemporaries. If noone could use anyone else's ideas, we'd be completely screwed.

Thou shalt continue to release games compatible for older OS's such as XP.

The problem there is that they'd have to continue to support DX9. (Or use GL like good members of the community.)

OT: Thou shalt release Linux and Mac ports of games in cases where it is trivial to do so (i.e. games that use Unreal engine, Source engine or any of the Quake engines).

 

[[BDS]Omega]

1. Thou shalt not make the AI ignore the rules and/or cheat in any way. A challenge is fun, playing a cheater causes homicide.

2. Thou shall hire actual writers for your story so that it does not become another generic Terrorist/Sci-Fi/ plot.

3. Thou shalt not advertise a patch as DLC.

4. Thou shalt not use DRM. Pirates find a way around it, legitimate gamers are punished by it.

 

[Wolfram23]

My favorites:

1. You shall not make a game with Games for Windows Live. This will result in your name (soul) being sent to the top of the "burn in hell" list.
-Had a hell of a time getting Fallout 3 working again all thanks to GFWL. Dirt 2 only had the issue with the CD Key. I bought the game in Steam, why can't you just work!?

2. Thou shall support modding.

3. Thou shall support full graphic customizing including detail settings and RESOLUTION!

4. Thou shall support custom key bindings

and a new one

5. Thou shall create a driver for PS3 controllers on PC (lol. Currently use MotionJoy but it requires a trick at startup that is a pain in the butt)

 

[The Unworthy Gentleman]

Thou shalt make games that ACTUALLY work on their own recommended system requirements!

Ideally, yes, they should. But who said that false advertising was illegal?

Thou shalt include a detailed instruction booklet offering some insight into events prior to in game events... unless said information is provided in game.

 

[Tom Phoenix]

I disagree. The creative arts have always been about drawing inspiration from one's contemporaries. If noone could use anyone else's ideas, we'd be completely screwed.

Right, but you're talking about inspiration - I'm talking about blatant theft. Blizzard's entire catalogue of products is a direct ripoff of Games Workshop. Everything is just renamed. That has nothing to do with inspiration; that has no artistical merit and shows only a large lack of integrity.

I never mentioned inspiration, just carbon copy theft

Did you know that post-1998 Tyranids are a carbon copy of the Zerg? Yes, I am aware that Tyranids have existed longer, but their post-StarCraft art direction is significantly different from the pre-StarCraft one. I am not saying Blizzard hasn't borrowed ideas from others (WarCraft being a prime example of this), but let's not pretend as if Games Workshop is innocent in this regard. Ironically, the author of the 3rd Edition Tyranids (the one in which the Tyranid artstyle changed significantly to be more "Zerg-like"), Andy Chambers, would go on to work for Blizzard.

Anyway, most of the PC game commandments have already been mentioned, so I will just state this one:

Thou shalt adapt controls to work with the mouse & keyboard. I have nothing against ports, but it's awful when developers release a game for the PC platform and do not optimise it for it's control scheme. Sometimes, it is so unwieldy that it is practically impossible to play the game without a gamepad. This is a particularly insulting offence when it comes from game companies who have worked with the platform for years and should know better (LucasArts, Telltale Games, I am looking at you).

Oh, which reminds me. Thou shalt show controls in the menus as they apply to the PC platform. There is little else more annoying than when you want to check the controls, only to find a list filled with crosses, squares and triangles. -_-

 

[T-Bone24]

OT:
Thou must have mouse control. (Whether it be FPS', TPS' or others.)

WASD with Mouse are the movement controls for an FPS by LAW. Change this and you will be punished.

This is one of the many reasons to stay well away from the infamous PC port of Resident Evil 4. No mouse control, you have to aim with the keyboard. How anyone greenlighted that is beyond me.

 

[Skorpyo]

Though shalt not make QTE's with different command keys across the board of thine PC-using neighbor.

Shit be-ith uncool.

 

[GideonB]

Thou shalt make more music games for keyboard for PC. Mmo or not.

 

[archvile93]

Thou shalt not continue with the perpetuation of console-style health regeneration and quicktime events.

Thou shalt embrace change and not depserately cling to the past, lest stagnation set in.

 

[Orcus The Ultimate]

1. Thou shalt not use DRM. DRM is just a sign you don't give a shit about your customers.
2. Thou shalt not use QTEs. Seriously.
3. Thou shalt not sacrifice the SP for the MP
4. Thou shalt not use GFWL
5. Thou shalt not make thy game buggy
6. Thou shalt not try to impede third party modifications
7. Thou shalt not release DLC that adds fuck all and charge 5-15 bucks for it(See: MW2 map packs)
8. Thou shalt not include DLC on the game disk. This defeats the whole idea of DLC and is just lazy. Release a full game or delay the release until you can do so.
9. Thou shalt ensure thy game runs well on most computers without bias to either brand of CPU/GPU
10. Thou shall ensure thine game is fun to play, bug-free and doesn't require many patches.

That's some perfect rules to live by !

 

[Battenbergcake]

Thou shalt port with care and attention.