Game design choices that annoy you

[V3]

I like health regen since Wing Commander. I really like them in X-Wing. But I sort of agree that for games that provide you with safe cover, health regen is kinda redundant.
I prefer something like PS2 Shinobi, where your health actually decreases if you don't feed your sword.

On topic of cover, I hate games where you have to cover and wait. Basically games with alot of waiting. Like MGS, Kill Switch, Gear of War, or other shooter that are like that. I prefer having to dodge bullets even if it is max payne style. It's still better than cover system.

Boring travel system especially in open ended games. I dread games where I have to go from point A to B with little or no actions or fun in between.

Game mechanic with no character. And I don't mean NPC or your avatar either. Take Daytona and Burnout for example. Both games have cars that are drivable, but the handling of cars in Burnout is just plain and boring. Or take Mario 64 to Mario Sunshine, Mario in M64 has more characters in the way he controls and moves. In Sunshine Nintendo dumbed him down, he became simpler. Fighting games where every characters are too similar to every other characters in the game.

 

[Xenus]

Final levels that have nothing to do gameplay wise with the rest of the game. Drakengrad I'm looking at you. What the hell was was that final level with the times button presses. I still haven't beat it grr...

 

[archangelmorph]

* Stupid AI in general. It's a shame that there is so much attention for shiny graphics but not for AI. What is the point of having a "realistic" world when it is a dumb one ?
!

I say the same thing regarding animation..

 

[Jack_Tripper]

1. Six-Axis support - sorry, I haven't found one good use for it yet. It's buggy, imprecise and I generally hate it. I know some swear by it, but it ain't for me (and conversely - I actually enjoy using a Wii-mote)

2. Inconsistency between cutscenes and gameplay (i.e. you're using x gun during gameplay - but when you flip to a cutscene (prerendered or realtime) - you're using a new weapon, or worse, none at all)

3. Rubberband AI in driving games - I'm sure it's already on this list somewhere -but it annoys the piss outta me

4. Using any button to "start" a game other than the goddamn start button. Metal Gear games previous to 4 suffered from this, and i'd constantly end up goingn back a menu instead of going forward

5. Racing games with no dmg model. Hell - half the reason I bought your game was to see what happens when a 60k car goes end-over end at 100mph.

6. 20-year old fighting games that don't have a moves list in the pause menu - seriously, I know I can go online and print out a FAQ for my Mortal Kombat II fatalities - but I dont' wanna wast the paper and my memory sucks ass - so give an old guy a break

7. Ad-logo splash screens for GOD AND EVERYONE who every might have contributed to the design of the game. Anyone played Crysis? You know what I'm talking about right? There are 5 seperate splash ad's before the game starts

8. OH OH OH!! AND THIS PISSES ME OFF!! Relatively new high-tech games which use prerenderd movies (and that's okay by the way) which are rendered at 640*480 - is it TOO much to ask to include movies at at least 720p?

9. Movie based video game - alright - I'm running out of material - but these (as a whole) just suck

10. Anytime a console asks me where I want to create or store my save data knowing damn well that I only have one storage device (fine, this may be a console thing - but jesus - if there's ONLY a HDD installed - why ask me over and over?)

11. Auto-aim in first person shooters on consoles. If you can't make the analog stick precise enough to aim effectively - just don't make the goddamn game on the console

12. Boobs/Jubble-physics - no, I'm not gay - I actually like boobs - I just don't need to see the grand-canyon clevage in EVERY SINGLE game that comes out. Games have made this wierd progression to becoming more and more like watching Spike-TV I certainly don't want to spend an extra $10 on games because part of the development cost was to perfect the boob-o-matic physics code - what are we all 13?

13. And what the hell happened to split-screen multiplayer? When did we just stop doing it? Yes, I realize I can play games online, but soemtimes I want to play with the douchebag sitting in my living room - and not the annonymous douchebags on the internet

14. Dunno if this is a design-choice, but unnecessary Vulgarity. I get if someone get's shot in the groin, that they probably wouldn't say "dang-it" but come on - it's like someone found the S and F words and decided that every single game character would use them as much as possible (take a look at somethign like Saints Row to see what I mean)

15. In game advertising for games I'm paying $60 for. If I'm paying a premium on price - I shouldn't have to sit through your cost recovery effort. There's a difference between being profitable and being a whore

16. Any game that forces you to turn your analog sticks (counter/clock-wise) as fast as you can. I dunno about you, but I'm not too happy about potentially screwing up my $60 controller

17. Stuff that doesn't make sense outside the context of the game. I can't really go into every instance that pisses me off - but I'll give you an example. So - you're playing Castlevania - your health is low, and you use your whip to shatter a piece of brick-wall and a pork-chop falls out that you scarff down and restores your health to full. Nuff' said

18. Super-meters or power bars that go off when full - as opposed to you triggering the reaction. Nothing better than going GODLIKE on an empty room with one bad guy at 1/3 health

19. Anytime there's a branching conversation tree - where you pick two unique options that end with a similar result. Ok, if I took the time and consideration to differentiate which response to you - at least do me the courtesy of having unique responses to each

20. ANytime a game has to TELL you what to do. I'll give you an example - look at Jerhico, there's this wierd system where button-press events come up during gameplay but you're not prompted to do anything. You have to DIE, then the game give you a hint as to how to complete the section. I got into a firefight where I had to take out some baddies with a grenade, but a special grendade that I wasn't told about and had to press an arbitrary button to use (triangle) - but I wasn't told when or how to use it! I had to die, then have the fucking game come back and tell me that I should use the special grenade by using triangle - well excuse the piss outta me for not being psychic and knowing I was supposed to press an arbitrary button to make an arbitray action happen

Jack

 

[Scott_Arm]

12. Boobs/Jubble-physics - no, I'm not gay - I actually like boobs - I just don't need to see the grand-canyon clevage in EVERY SINGLE game that comes out. Games have made this wierd progression to becoming more and more like watching Spike-TV I certainly don't want to spend an extra $10 on games because part of the development cost was to perfect the boob-o-matic physics code - what are we all 13?

13. And what the hell happened to split-screen multiplayer? When did we just stop doing it? Yes, I realize I can play games online, but soemtimes I want to play with the douchebag sitting in my living room - and not the annonymous douchebags on the internet

14. Dunno if this is a design-choice, but unnecessary Vulgarity. I get if someone get's shot in the groin, that they probably wouldn't say "dang-it" but come on - it's like someone found the S and F words and decided that every single game character would use them as much as possible (take a look at somethign like Saints Row to see what I mean)

Spot on! Especially the boobs. Most "Mature" rated games are anything but. They're the jerk-off fantasy of a 13 year old boy. I feel extremely embarrassed by virtual nudity/sexuality, because it is immensely pathetic. Sorry, sex mini game in God of War and DOA boobs, you are sad and depressing.

 

[dobwal]

4. Using any button to "start" a game other than the goddamn start button. Metal Gear games previous to 4 suffered from this, and i'd constantly end up goingn back a menu instead of going forward

LOL. Every MGS I have experienced has started with 5 minutes of dumbfounded and confused frustration of trying to start the game.

Just about every US PS game known to man use either the "start" button or the "X" button as the confirmation button. MGS uses "X" as a cancel button and "O" as the confirmation button.

 

[Xenus]

That's from the japanese layout and they were jst to lazy to flip it for the US.

 

[Silent]

LOL. Every MGS I have experienced has started with 5 minutes of dumbfounded and confused frustration of trying to start the game.

Just about every US PS game known to man use either the "start" button or the "X" button as the confirmation button. MGS uses "X" as a cancel button and "O" as the confirmation button.

I think I know the reason, their is a cultural explanation.

If i'm not mistaken the Circle (maru = right) is universally used for the OK button , while the cross (batsu = wrong) is used as the cancel button in Japanese (PSX) games.

Mostly they reverse that for European and American games but in the case of MGS they seem to apply the original Japanese button layout.

 

[RobertR1]

Thinking back, the lack of "The Cole train" in every game makes me a sad panda

 

[StefanS]

I think I know the reason, their is a cultural explanation.

If i'm not mistaken the Circle (maru = right) is universally used for the OK button , while the cross (batsu = wrong) is used as the cancel button in Japanese (PSX) games.

Mostly they reverse that for European and American games but in the case of MGS they seem to apply the original Japanese button layout.

Yup, that's correct.

 

[Jack_Tripper]

Ok, so I'm on a roll:

21. AI that can do things that you can't in fighting games. I'm gonna use Street fighter II as an example here: Nothing like fighting Blanka who is walking toward you and suddendly does his barrell roll (which is a hold backward for 2 seconds then press forward and punch to execute move) straight at your face. Call me old fashion - but I didn't know we'd advanced so much in our controll methodolgy that we can simotaneously walk forward and backwards at the same time (no moonwalking jokes please)

22. Bullet-time - it was cool when the matrix was released 6 or 8 years ago - that time has passed - it's no longer cool, it's the video game equivalent of the Macaraina!

23. Japaneese (or other ethninticities) with english accents - everyone knows the asian guy without an asian accent - but if you're fighting a bunch of Koreans, you know...in korea and they do speak english - I'm gonna make a broad generalization here that they're probably going to have an accent

24. Achievements - in general - I hate the concept of the Xbox live achievement for the very sake of what it stands for. It's an attempt to expolit the obsessive compulsive tendancies in all of us - and that can't be a good thing

25. Apologies for violence in Violent Video games. I think it stands as a statement but an example is Assasins Creed where you spend 10 minutes killng your target and stab him in the eyes - then you have to listen to a 10-minute soliloque about how his life went bad. I think I established, early on in our relationship, that I don't give a flying winkie about you or your situation - hence me stabbing you in the eyes! I see this as a brazen attempt to point out "killing is bad mmm'kay" in a medium where violence is the paintbrush - lets take things for what they are kids!

26. Dark moody characters who are in their 20's and have "gym" bodies - who are needlessly "cutsmyknife" - okay - I dunno about you, but when I was in my early 20's and in great shape - I wasn't whining about faith, truth consequence and how life generally sucks. I was out chasing tail - then in my 30's (long after tail was stuck between my proverbial legs) - I started lamenting for my 20's - I just think it's one more thing that distances us from characters that we are supposed to empathize with. If the game industry needs anythign - it's some psychological and sociological advice

27. Racial Stereotyping - call me provential - but even as ano old white guy - I'm utterly offended when the black character spouts out something like "Shi bitch - Im da Cole-Train" and then begins to rap. Don't get me wrong - I'm not an advocate for politcal correctness - in fact quite the opposite, I'm equally offended when we have a game that ensures that we will have all ethninticities represented when the situation doesn't call for it - it's like a focus group gets together and looks at a game and say - you know we're missing an Asian guy here - quickly - get one in there I'd be far more interested to start out a game with a character that's racist and makes decisions based on them - then is punished or has to suffer the consequenses for those actions - or may even learn that he/she is a racist and has to cope with the fallout from their friends/cohorts for being a racist. Something along those lines might be more interesting than trying to put " a brown guy" in a scene!

28. The invisible bag - you know, when you have 20 guns - 30 types of armor that you pull from a "menu" but not a physical location on a character - it's like the porkchop that falls outta the brick-wall, it just doesn't make any sense

29. Choice systems where the choice isn't an intergal part of the gameplay story. Again, all I can do is provide an example - Fable - a system by which you can go down a "good or evil" path - but then are given the oppertunity to change back later in the game. Look - if you slaughter 100's of innocents then decide - oops, I wanna be a good guy - fine, but you shouldn't have a pawn shop where you can trade your horns for a halo instantly. Without context, without struggle - you can't arbitrarily change your personality from "good to bad" - again, something that takes me out of the experience. I look at something like KOTOR as a better example - as at least you had to correct your bad behavior to be "good" again. And while we're at it - why are my good/evil choices always so dramatic - why do I have to be either Satan himself or Mr Rogers - I'd love to see some middleground in character development here - I'd love to see a good character make an emotional choice to do something bad, or an evil character who secretly wants to do good - not just eat babies!

30. Lives and continues - the biggest pet peeve for me in modern video games is where developers choose to give us three lives and unlimited continues. I UNDERSTAND that it was necessary to limit the experience when games were in arcades and a certain amount of money bought you a certain amount of play time. But if I'm playing a game at my house - that I paid $60 for - then I have an unlimited experience. Putting in an arbitrary "Lives system" only serves to break-up the experience and is even worse when coupled with an unlmited continue's system. It's right up there with calling someone to tell them you sent them an email!

Jack

 

[Scott_Arm]

Nice posts, Jack. I like the achievements though And about choice, offering a chance for "redemption" could be interesting, if it had a significant impact on the story or events in the game.

 

[fearsomepirate]

I am actually annoyed by not having said "invisible bag." Only being able to carry one or two weapons is interesting once in a while, but most RPGs and action games are built on the "one-man army" premise.

Contra would have about 45 minutes of game play if you had infinite lives, since you start right where you died. Sometimes, a game forcing you to actually get good at it rather than funnelling you to the end regardless of your skill can be a good thing.

 

[Scott_Arm]

I am actually annoyed by not having said "invisible bag." Only being able to carry one or two weapons is interesting once in a while, but most RPGs and action games are built on the "one-man army" premise.

Contra would have about 45 minutes of game play if you had infinite lives, since you start right where you died. Sometimes, a game forcing you to actually get good at it rather than funnelling you to the end regardless of your skill can be a good thing.

Actually, I do agree with you. Sometimes the invisible bag is nice, and limited lives is ok for really short games like Contra. What I don't understand is why they have continues for games at home. If you have 3 continues and each one gives you 3 lives, why not just give you 9 lives to start, and that's it?

 

[AlNom]

If you have 3 continues and each one gives you 3 lives, why not just give you 9 lives to start, and that's it?

Depends on how it's implemented. Say... 3 lives to continue exactly where you are in a level, 3 continues that start you at the beginning of the level.

 

[Scott_Arm]

Depends on how it's implemented. Say... 3 lives to continue exactly where you are in a level, 3 continues that start you at the beginning of the level.

This is true. You're a genius!

 

[liolio]

Am I allowed to say first person view?

I'm a huge lover of third person view...

 

[RobertR1]

24. Achievements - in general - I hate the concept of the Xbox live achievement for the very sake of what it stands for. It's an attempt to expolit the obsessive compulsive tendancies in all of us - and that can't be a good thing

Jack

I like achievements. They bring little mini games and side quests to the game and make it more fun. Yes, some are ridiculous but some games do it well. And its' a nice way to call out people's bullshit. "LOL I beat CoD4 on realistic!!!" Quick check shows otherwise.

 

[Cornsnake]

Having an achievement doesn't prove that he got it himself. I have a friend who will do anything to get them. I got plenty for him when he couldn't do it himself or when simply didn't like that game.

 

[Cornsnake]

Having an achievement doesn't prove that he got it himself. I have a friend who will do anything to get them. I got plenty for him when he couldn't do it himself or when simply didn't like that game. I don't care for doing stupid things for points. Like the dyno might medal in Uncharted. I beat the game 4 times but never got it. It needs you to create a illogical situation in the gameplay and repeat it until you get it. So getting it is meaningless IMO.