What do you think makes a bad game?

[Seydaman]

unlikable characters shitty combat, bboring gameplay. repetitive gameplay. bad level design and color usage. shitty controls terrible voice acting bad animations, bad community, unfairness, cheepness bad sound, stupid plot, bad balancing, overpowering, and let downs...

 

[Ramthundar]

When the focus of the game was to make money instead of making a fun game with original ideas.

 

[Ace of Spades]

g´´

EA.

100% TRUE.

I don't know about you, but I think Dead Space, Mirror's Edge and Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure are simply splendid games.

Yay, I knew I wasn't the only one who liked those.

 

[letsnoobtehpwns]

Usually space marines. Doom and Doom 3 were good though. Haven't played Doom 2. I also like the Halo games.

 

[Redingold]

Anything Blizzard hasn't done except Red Alert 1 and Dungeon Keeper 2.

So no Valve games, no CoD, no Metal Gear?

 

[Fraught]

g´´

EA.

100% TRUE.

I don't know about you, but I think Dead Space, Mirror's Edge and Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure are simply splendid games.

would rather eat 2 pounds of green south-american chilis than play those games.

This sentence just shows that you haven't played those games, so I can't really take your opinion seriously.

 

[Kirosilence]

EA, Nuff said.

Oh and we can just take Dead Space and Mirror's Edge, and the various other titles they have put out since their 180 degree twist from shovel ware to quality product.

EA is just stupid administratively, not in the development section. And they have smartened up, and scrapped the DRM. EA is fine, it's doing what we ask it, even not messing with Bioware.

 

[iJosh]

EA, Nuff said.

Oh and we can just take Dead Space and Mirror's Edge, and the various other titles they have put out since their 180 degree twist from shovel ware to quality product.

EA is just stupid administratively, not in the development section. And they have smartened up, and scrapped the DRM. EA is fine, it's doing what we ask it, even not messing with Bioware.

I admit Mirrors Edge was pretty good. I don't like how there are NHL games since like 1990's and onward. NHL 1991 - 2009 plus random side games made from EA like HITz and NHL 2k7 and bullshit like that. Same goes for the Tiger Woods, MLB, NBA, FIFA, Skate I think?

 

[Kirosilence]

EA, Nuff said.

Oh and we can just take Dead Space and Mirror's Edge, and the various other titles they have put out since their 180 degree twist from shovel ware to quality product.

EA is just stupid administratively, not in the development section. And they have smartened up, and scrapped the DRM. EA is fine, it's doing what we ask it, even not messing with Bioware.

I admit Mirrors Edge was pretty good. I don't like how there are NHL games since like 1990's and onward. NHL 1991 - 2009 plus random side games made from EA like HITz and NHL 2k7 and bullshit like that. Same goes for the Tiger Woods, MLB, NBA, FIFA, Skate I think?

Some people find those games good, even though they are remade time and time again. I hope this new wave philosophy that has hit EA and spurred some creativity will eventually smack these divisions in the face and they can make a unique hockey game. Like Blood Bowl.. Well thats football but you know.. On with my rebuttal

When you're a car manufacturer, and you are making wicked new cars that are unique and new and fun to drive and have all kinds of new features. But you also have a mass production plant that makes basic cars, maybe upgrades them every year or so. That's because there are still people who want a basic car. Not everyone wants a car with all the bells and whistles. Same goes for video games, most of us want the new cool thing, where as those guys who sit in their living room playing Madden and grunting, they want their sports. ANd if you havn't noticed, EA is pretty much the only company that provides for them.

Let the shitty sports games slide, they are still trying to produce gold at their other studios.

 

[iJosh]

EA, Nuff said.

Oh and we can just take Dead Space and Mirror's Edge, and the various other titles they have put out since their 180 degree twist from shovel ware to quality product.

EA is just stupid administratively, not in the development section. And they have smartened up, and scrapped the DRM. EA is fine, it's doing what we ask it, even not messing with Bioware.

I admit Mirrors Edge was pretty good. I don't like how there are NHL games since like 1990's and onward. NHL 1991 - 2009 plus random side games made from EA like HITz and NHL 2k7 and bullshit like that. Same goes for the Tiger Woods, MLB, NBA, FIFA, Skate I think?

Some people find those games good, even though they are remade time and time again. I hope this new wave philosophy that has hit EA and spurred some creativity will eventually smack these divisions in the face and they can make a unique hockey game. Like Blood Bowl.. Well thats football but you know.. On with my rebuttal

When you're a car manufacturer, and you are making wicked new cars that are unique and new and fun to drive and have all kinds of new features. But you also have a mass production plant that makes basic cars, maybe upgrades them every year or so. That's because there are still people who want a basic car. Not everyone wants a car with all the bells and whistles. Same goes for video games, most of us want the new cool thing, where as those guys who sit in their living room playing Madden and grunting, they want their sports. ANd if you havn't noticed, EA is pretty much the only company that provides for them.

Let the shitty sports games slide, they are still trying to produce gold at their other studios.

True, Maybe its just me. I don't like it. I guess Im in the group of people that like all the new bells and whistles.

 

[Vanguard_Ex]

4 words, my fellow Escapists, 4 words: Alone in the Dark

*Curls into fetal position*

 

[Inarticulate_Underachiever]

When all the flaws in the game make it an unjoyable experience.

 

[Christemo]

g´´

EA.

100% TRUE.

I don't know about you, but I think Dead Space, Mirror's Edge and Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure are simply splendid games.

would rather eat 2 pounds of green south-american chilis than play those games.

This sentence just shows that you haven't played those games, so I can't really take your opinion seriously.

and that should i care for because?

 

[Deacon Cole]

You know, there's a whole section of book at Barnes & Noble on game design and game theory.

That said, Jenova Chen who is responsible for flOw and flOwer wrote a thesis on Flow in games [http://www.jenovachen.com/flowingames/thesis.htm], referring to the mental state of flow [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology)] as described by psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi.

If I understand Chen's thesis correctly, games require a careful balance between challenge and player's abilities. If it's too easy, it causes boredom. If it's too difficult, it causes frustration.

The eight elements of flow are:

1. A challenge activity that requires skills
2. The merging of action and awareness
3. Clear goals
4. Direct feedback
5. Concentration on the task at hand
6. The sense of control
7. The loss of self-consciousness
8. The transformation of time

Not all of these elements need to be present to achieve flow.

Not everything here is something that the game itself can provide.

One thing being said over and over in this thread is bad controls, which ties into #4 and #6.

I think all the stuff said about story is a non-issue for game design. Games are not an ideal medium for storytelling, so any story elements are little more than backdrop or set dressing, such as if the main character is a cowboy pig or a cucumber astronaut. These are surface appeal features but have little to do with the core gameplay. These are things that get you to buy a game because it appeals to you. But ultimately gameplay, good or bad, will trump the quality of the story.

 

[theultimateend]

see above, you can also say which games you think are bad

Dishonesty is what makes a game terrible. If your game is only marginally creative be honest with me. I'll give you a much longer bit of rope when I try it. I ALWAYS am more lenient with indie games.

Quest 64.
Horrible combat system, and a storyline to boot. I was young, foolish, and looking for a decent RPG.. GIVE ME BACK MY DAMN MONEY!

But to answer your question: I believe a bad game is made when the plot sucks, the voice acting is terrible, and the characters are uninteresting. Also, anything with a movie liscense usually sucks johnson.

When it first came out I was literally young and foolish. I loved it . I set my guy to run in a circle overnight. I can't remember why, I think it leveled something up.

 

[NXMT]

A technically broken game. Bad AI, erratic frame rate and the like. One can moan about the yearly Madden's or FPS knock offs but most are technically SOUND. Enough merit on it's own regardless of background.

 

[Tich]

It being an MMORPG, because they only create means for you to play it long.

 

[ssgt splatter]

bad controls, horrible voice acting (i.e. Ayumi in x-blades), lag issues in multiplayer (i.e. The Darkness)