Well, pretty much everything there : http://www.designersnotebook.com/Design_Resources/No_Twinkie_Database/no_twinkie_database.htm
Sins of Game Design
- Thread starter defcon 1
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(Insert number of commandment here) Thou shalt not be in that ugly brown and grey colour scheme like every other mother*&^%#@# game out there.
"Indigo Prophecy/Farenheit Syndrome"
If you ever played this game then you know what I'm talking about. (It's Indigo Prophecy in the U.S. and Farenheit everywhere else).
If you start off with a great, compelling, mysterious and believable story, then don't &@#% it up by explaining it with 1000 year old Mayan Hobos and AIs from the future and the main character all of a sudden gets super powers! Damnit!
That game was so great...for the first 2/3 but that last 1/3 was crap! Hopefully Heavy Rain is better.
If you ever played this game then you know what I'm talking about. (It's Indigo Prophecy in the U.S. and Farenheit everywhere else).
If you start off with a great, compelling, mysterious and believable story, then don't &@#% it up by explaining it with 1000 year old Mayan Hobos and AIs from the future and the main character all of a sudden gets super powers! Damnit!
That game was so great...for the first 2/3 but that last 1/3 was crap! Hopefully Heavy Rain is better.
Using the right analog stick for anything other than the camera. Is the biggest gaming sin in my opinion
But that's "realistic" LOL.muckinscavitch said:
Also does anyone else notice that nearly every object in nearly every game nowadays (more so on the 360) is shiny to some degree? Like even stuff that shouldn't shine, like dirt, is still very shiny.
I first noticed it in Oblivion when I would walk into a dark cave and my hands and weapon and everything would shine like I was in the sun. Now I continue to see it ALOT, especially on the 360.
Am I the only one? Is it just that my eyes are screwy?
Case in point...Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness. Not that bad (IMO) but felt very unfinishedBertTheNerd said:
Infinite spawns can be a good thing if done properly. Take for example Aliens vs Predator (PC). The Xenomorphs spawned infinitively, forcing you to move forward. If you camp yourself in a corner (as a Marine) and wait for the spawn to die down, you will run out of ammo and eventually die. AvP is a horror game, and emulates a Xenomorph horde attack quite well. You need to get the hell out of there otherwise you'll be overwhelmed.
LUST
Titty titty, ass ass ass, more titty, ass!
Definition: Lust (or lechery) is an inordinate craving for sexual intercourse often to the point of assuming a self-indulgent, and sometimes violent character. Lust, or an immoderate desire for the flesh of another (outside of matrimony), is considered a sin, or impure act, in the three major Abrahamic religions.
Game Definition: Attempting to sell a game or cover up for a game's flawed designs or features with an exhordinant amount of curvacious bumpmapped jiggle physics or sex scenes to ensure young men buy your game, if nothing else to leave the female character iddled in a corner while they fetch the vaseline and tissues. In extreme cases, the buxom females can actually make a game WORSE or unintentionally comic.
Notable Offenders: Tomb Raider (any), Dead or Alive (Xtreme inparticular), Ninja Gaidan 1&2, Soul Calibur 3&4
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GLUTTONY
OHMNOMNOM. SANDVICH IS COMINGK FOR YOU!
Dude, check this out! My Shaders got Shaders and my bumpmaps got bumpmaps! I'm great!
Defintion: Gluttony, derived from the Latin gluttire meaning to gulp down or swallow, means over-indulgence and over-consumption of food, drink, or intoxicants to the point of waste. In some Christian denominations, it is considered one of the seven deadly sins?a misplaced desire of food or its withholding from the needy.[1]
Gaming Definition: Resource Hogs. Over-reliance or emphasis on indulgent graphics to pad a games presentation or compensate for gameplay loss. As with gluttony, not all gluttonous games are all bad- some are simply resource hogs as a status symbol, or because it was genuinly thought that awesomer graphics made for an awesomer game. This doesn't change the fact that resource hogs are often compensating for derivative or lackluster gameplay, or are unplayable by many due to their requirements.
Notable Offenders: Crysis, Supreme Commander, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Medieval: Total War 2 (and on), Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, World in Conflict, S.T.A.L.K.E.R., Halo
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GREED
Lets just repackage the same shit, add some extra skins and sound effects. Those morons will eat it up.
Definition: Greed in psychology is an excessive desire to acquire or possess more than what one needs or deserves, especially with respect to material wealth.
Game Definition: Exploiting an IP annually, as Activisions CEO would put it. Wringing a franchise dry, milking the crap out of it. Doing as little as possible to change that winning formula that bilks people for what is essentially the same game over and over again with cosmetic changes. See also: EA.
Notable Offenders: Madden Football, Dynasty Warriors/Samurai Warriors/Gundam Warrios/Anything made by Koei, Sonic the Hedgehog, Zelda, Mario
*Yes, I know Madden has gotten alot better in recent years. And no, i'm not saying Zelda or Mario are bad games
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SLOTH
Eh... screw it
Definition: In the Christian moral tradition, sloth (Latin: acedia, accidia, pigritia) is one of the seven capital sins, often called the seven deadly sins; these sins are called the capital sins because they destroy charity in the person's heart and thus may lead to final impenitence and eternal death. Sloth is defined as spiritual or actual apathy, putting off what God asks you to do, or not doing it or anything at all. Acedia is a Latin word, from Greek ἁêçäåßᾱ, meaning "Carelessness". Acedia is also deemed to lead to God's wrath.
Sloth can also concern wasting due to lack of use or allowing entropy, expanding into almost any person, place, thing, skills, or intangible ideal that would require maintenance, refinement and/or support to continue to exist.
Several religious views concerning the need for one to work to support society and further God's plan and work by doing so reflects that by not being active alone, you invite the desire to sin on its own. "For Satan finds some mischief still for idle hands to do." ("Against Idleness and Mischief" by Isaac Watts).
Game Definition: Sloth's definition is two fold. Games that don't bother trying to refine themselves or to be fresh in any way are afflicted with sloth - related to but distinct from Greed which is focused on being unchanging to maximize profits, slothful games simply don't care. Games that are afflicted with the angsty blacks and browns of angsty gritty angst are guilty of Acedia, unecessary depression and melancholy. Failure to innovate or shake conventional systems. Many games are guilty of sloth every now and then.
Notable Offenders: Koei's Musou/Warriors Series (sloth), Gears of War (acedia), Mercenaries 2 (sloth), The Forcve Unleashed (sloth), The Darkness (acedia), Vampire Hunter D (sloth), Devil May Cry 2 (sloth AND acedia)
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WRATH
I GOT A FEVER, AND THE ONLY CURE IS MORE BLOODSPURT DAMNIT!
Definition: Wrath (Latin, ira), also known as anger or "rage", may be described as inordinate and uncontrolled feelings of hatred and anger. These feelings can manifest as vehement denial of the truth, both to others and in the form of self-denial, impatience with the procedure of law, and the desire to seek revenge outside of the workings of the justice system (such as engaging in vigilantism) and generally wishing to do evil or harm to others. The transgressions born of vengeance are among the most serious, including murder, assault, and in extreme cases, genocide. Wrath is the only sin not necessarily associated with selfishness or self-interest (although one can of course be wrathful for selfish reasons, such as jealousy, closely related to the sin of envy). Dante described vengeance as "love of justice perverted to revenge and spite". In its original form, the sin of wrath also encompassed anger pointed internally rather than externally. Thus suicide was deemed as the ultimate, albeit tragic, expression of wrath directed inwardly, a final rejection of God's gifts.
Game Definition: Violence. Lots and lots of violence, performed graphically. The ability to do dismember and disembowl in great detail. Used properly this is the primary selling point for games, but sometimes it can get a bit excessive or silly. On it's own not inteirly bad, but it does lead to the sterotyping of games as 'evil' by outsiders.
Notable Offenders: Grand Theft Auto Series, God of War series, Condemed series, Resident Evil Series, Ninja Gaidan series, Gears of War series
*Note violence isn't bad, and these games mentioned aren't even bad- infact most of them are quite good. But excessive violence IS one of gamings sins in the eyes of the world abroad
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ENVY
Lets just copy that other game that was popular and call it a day
Definition: Like greed, Envy (Latin, invidia) may be characterized by an insatiable desire; they differ, however, for two main reasons. First, greed is largely associated with material goods, whereas envy may apply more generally. Second, those who commit the sin of envy resent that another person has something they perceive themselves as lacking, and wish the other person to be deprived of it. Dante defined this as "love of one's own good perverted to a desire to deprive other men of theirs." In Dante's Purgatory, the punishment for the envious is to have their eyes sewn shut with wire because they have gained sinful pleasure from seeing others brought low. Aquinas described envy as "sorrow for another's good".
Game Definition: Ripping off another games gimmick or trait and slapping it onto your own less well designed game in order to make a profit off of that other games popularity. 'anything'clones that come quickly and then vanish, are examples of this. Also, Activisions CEO.
Notable Offenders: Activisions CEO, Saints Row, Ninja Blade, Scarface, The Godfather, HAZE, Call of Duty: World at War
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PRIDE
I am the greatest, and I will produce the greatest product of all time!
Definition: In almost every list Pride (Latin, superbia), or hubris, is considered the original and most serious of the seven deadly sins, and indeed the ultimate source from which the others arise. It is identified as a desire to be more important or attractive than others, failing to acknowledge the good work of others, and excessive love of self (especially holding self out of proper position toward God). Dante's definition was "love of self perverted to hatred and contempt for one's neighbor." In Jacob Bidermann's medieval miracle play, Cenodoxus, pride is the deadliest of all the sins and leads directly to the damnation of the titulary famed Parisian doctor. In perhaps the best-known example, the story of Lucifer, pride (his desire to compete with God) was what caused his fall from Heaven, and his resultant transformation into Satan. In Dante's Divine Comedy, the penitents were forced to walk with stone slabs bearing down on their backs in order to induce feelings of humility.
Game Definition: You have a high budget game, with a high quality crew. You've been working on your masterpiece for 10 years. Everyone is hyped, you've gone on the news promising gamers will love your product so much they'll let you sex their moms. Release day!
Your game sucks. Fail.
Overhyping ones product or ability resulting in a tragic, almost comic failure when you fail to deliver the goods. Or maybe your game isn't necessarily bad- just mediocre. Unfortunatly, mediocre doesn't cash the checks your mouth was writing. Sucks to be you.
Notable Offenders: Daikatana, Tombraider: Angel of Darkness, Rise of the Robots, E.T., Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Titty titty, ass ass ass, more titty, ass!
Definition: Lust (or lechery) is an inordinate craving for sexual intercourse often to the point of assuming a self-indulgent, and sometimes violent character. Lust, or an immoderate desire for the flesh of another (outside of matrimony), is considered a sin, or impure act, in the three major Abrahamic religions.
Game Definition: Attempting to sell a game or cover up for a game's flawed designs or features with an exhordinant amount of curvacious bumpmapped jiggle physics or sex scenes to ensure young men buy your game, if nothing else to leave the female character iddled in a corner while they fetch the vaseline and tissues. In extreme cases, the buxom females can actually make a game WORSE or unintentionally comic.
Notable Offenders: Tomb Raider (any), Dead or Alive (Xtreme inparticular), Ninja Gaidan 1&2, Soul Calibur 3&4
-
GLUTTONY
OHMNOMNOM. SANDVICH IS COMINGK FOR YOU!
Dude, check this out! My Shaders got Shaders and my bumpmaps got bumpmaps! I'm great!
Defintion: Gluttony, derived from the Latin gluttire meaning to gulp down or swallow, means over-indulgence and over-consumption of food, drink, or intoxicants to the point of waste. In some Christian denominations, it is considered one of the seven deadly sins?a misplaced desire of food or its withholding from the needy.[1]
Gaming Definition: Resource Hogs. Over-reliance or emphasis on indulgent graphics to pad a games presentation or compensate for gameplay loss. As with gluttony, not all gluttonous games are all bad- some are simply resource hogs as a status symbol, or because it was genuinly thought that awesomer graphics made for an awesomer game. This doesn't change the fact that resource hogs are often compensating for derivative or lackluster gameplay, or are unplayable by many due to their requirements.
Notable Offenders: Crysis, Supreme Commander, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Medieval: Total War 2 (and on), Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, World in Conflict, S.T.A.L.K.E.R., Halo
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GREED
Lets just repackage the same shit, add some extra skins and sound effects. Those morons will eat it up.
Definition: Greed in psychology is an excessive desire to acquire or possess more than what one needs or deserves, especially with respect to material wealth.
Game Definition: Exploiting an IP annually, as Activisions CEO would put it. Wringing a franchise dry, milking the crap out of it. Doing as little as possible to change that winning formula that bilks people for what is essentially the same game over and over again with cosmetic changes. See also: EA.
Notable Offenders: Madden Football, Dynasty Warriors/Samurai Warriors/Gundam Warrios/Anything made by Koei, Sonic the Hedgehog, Zelda, Mario
*Yes, I know Madden has gotten alot better in recent years. And no, i'm not saying Zelda or Mario are bad games
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SLOTH
Eh... screw it
Definition: In the Christian moral tradition, sloth (Latin: acedia, accidia, pigritia) is one of the seven capital sins, often called the seven deadly sins; these sins are called the capital sins because they destroy charity in the person's heart and thus may lead to final impenitence and eternal death. Sloth is defined as spiritual or actual apathy, putting off what God asks you to do, or not doing it or anything at all. Acedia is a Latin word, from Greek ἁêçäåßᾱ, meaning "Carelessness". Acedia is also deemed to lead to God's wrath.
Sloth can also concern wasting due to lack of use or allowing entropy, expanding into almost any person, place, thing, skills, or intangible ideal that would require maintenance, refinement and/or support to continue to exist.
Several religious views concerning the need for one to work to support society and further God's plan and work by doing so reflects that by not being active alone, you invite the desire to sin on its own. "For Satan finds some mischief still for idle hands to do." ("Against Idleness and Mischief" by Isaac Watts).
Game Definition: Sloth's definition is two fold. Games that don't bother trying to refine themselves or to be fresh in any way are afflicted with sloth - related to but distinct from Greed which is focused on being unchanging to maximize profits, slothful games simply don't care. Games that are afflicted with the angsty blacks and browns of angsty gritty angst are guilty of Acedia, unecessary depression and melancholy. Failure to innovate or shake conventional systems. Many games are guilty of sloth every now and then.
Notable Offenders: Koei's Musou/Warriors Series (sloth), Gears of War (acedia), Mercenaries 2 (sloth), The Forcve Unleashed (sloth), The Darkness (acedia), Vampire Hunter D (sloth), Devil May Cry 2 (sloth AND acedia)
-
WRATH
I GOT A FEVER, AND THE ONLY CURE IS MORE BLOODSPURT DAMNIT!
Definition: Wrath (Latin, ira), also known as anger or "rage", may be described as inordinate and uncontrolled feelings of hatred and anger. These feelings can manifest as vehement denial of the truth, both to others and in the form of self-denial, impatience with the procedure of law, and the desire to seek revenge outside of the workings of the justice system (such as engaging in vigilantism) and generally wishing to do evil or harm to others. The transgressions born of vengeance are among the most serious, including murder, assault, and in extreme cases, genocide. Wrath is the only sin not necessarily associated with selfishness or self-interest (although one can of course be wrathful for selfish reasons, such as jealousy, closely related to the sin of envy). Dante described vengeance as "love of justice perverted to revenge and spite". In its original form, the sin of wrath also encompassed anger pointed internally rather than externally. Thus suicide was deemed as the ultimate, albeit tragic, expression of wrath directed inwardly, a final rejection of God's gifts.
Game Definition: Violence. Lots and lots of violence, performed graphically. The ability to do dismember and disembowl in great detail. Used properly this is the primary selling point for games, but sometimes it can get a bit excessive or silly. On it's own not inteirly bad, but it does lead to the sterotyping of games as 'evil' by outsiders.
Notable Offenders: Grand Theft Auto Series, God of War series, Condemed series, Resident Evil Series, Ninja Gaidan series, Gears of War series
*Note violence isn't bad, and these games mentioned aren't even bad- infact most of them are quite good. But excessive violence IS one of gamings sins in the eyes of the world abroad
-
ENVY
Lets just copy that other game that was popular and call it a day
Definition: Like greed, Envy (Latin, invidia) may be characterized by an insatiable desire; they differ, however, for two main reasons. First, greed is largely associated with material goods, whereas envy may apply more generally. Second, those who commit the sin of envy resent that another person has something they perceive themselves as lacking, and wish the other person to be deprived of it. Dante defined this as "love of one's own good perverted to a desire to deprive other men of theirs." In Dante's Purgatory, the punishment for the envious is to have their eyes sewn shut with wire because they have gained sinful pleasure from seeing others brought low. Aquinas described envy as "sorrow for another's good".
Game Definition: Ripping off another games gimmick or trait and slapping it onto your own less well designed game in order to make a profit off of that other games popularity. 'anything'clones that come quickly and then vanish, are examples of this. Also, Activisions CEO.
Notable Offenders: Activisions CEO, Saints Row, Ninja Blade, Scarface, The Godfather, HAZE, Call of Duty: World at War
-
PRIDE
I am the greatest, and I will produce the greatest product of all time!
Definition: In almost every list Pride (Latin, superbia), or hubris, is considered the original and most serious of the seven deadly sins, and indeed the ultimate source from which the others arise. It is identified as a desire to be more important or attractive than others, failing to acknowledge the good work of others, and excessive love of self (especially holding self out of proper position toward God). Dante's definition was "love of self perverted to hatred and contempt for one's neighbor." In Jacob Bidermann's medieval miracle play, Cenodoxus, pride is the deadliest of all the sins and leads directly to the damnation of the titulary famed Parisian doctor. In perhaps the best-known example, the story of Lucifer, pride (his desire to compete with God) was what caused his fall from Heaven, and his resultant transformation into Satan. In Dante's Divine Comedy, the penitents were forced to walk with stone slabs bearing down on their backs in order to induce feelings of humility.
Game Definition: You have a high budget game, with a high quality crew. You've been working on your masterpiece for 10 years. Everyone is hyped, you've gone on the news promising gamers will love your product so much they'll let you sex their moms. Release day!
Your game sucks. Fail.
Overhyping ones product or ability resulting in a tragic, almost comic failure when you fail to deliver the goods. Or maybe your game isn't necessarily bad- just mediocre. Unfortunatly, mediocre doesn't cash the checks your mouth was writing. Sucks to be you.
Notable Offenders: Daikatana, Tombraider: Angel of Darkness, Rise of the Robots, E.T., Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
^Great post, but Saints Row did an excellent job "ripping off" the sandbox design, so I wouldn't label it as doing something wrong.
Unless it's forced, in a bat-shit-insane sortof way - "Hur hur hur play the game six more times for this unlockable/achievement, despite the fact that it's AWFUL and we put no effort into level design/graphics/fun-factor/etc."esperandote said:
