Pet peeves you want to see gone next-gen

[GwymWeepa]

I hate all sorts of things this generation, low resolutions, inconsistent frame-rates, shoddy voice work...but something I can't stand and I hope is non-existant next-generations...is cloning. I hate playing a current generation game and seeing identical enemies rushing towards me (unless it is in context, like say, a sci-fi FPS, naturally your enemies may look all alike). Unfortunately I think its the least likely problem to be solved next-gen (and that's why I'm writing about it), but I have my hopes, especially with procedural synthesis and whatever other techniques available to developers that allow for randomly generated geometry and textures.

Let's take for instance RE4. I've seen tons of videos, the latest being the IGN video review...and boy does Capcom recycle villagers, seriously I think there's maybe 10 models used a few hundred times. I hope with a sequel Capcom would make an algorithm that would randomly alter a base model to insure unique facial features, clothing, texture patterns maybe even alter animations. Imagine the increase in immersion when a whole town really feels like a real place, with each person being totally unique. Or how about a Japanese RPG. The norm is to come across absolutely identical clones of enemies, usually multitudes of them on the same screen, all doing the same synchronized animation. I would love a game that would dramatically alter a base species model so that each creature was unique and interesting to look at (with some creatures being "runts", others being unusually large, some with battle scars, the possibilities are endless), each would move in its own way, all by just altering a few parameters on a base model.

How about you guys? Do you have 1 particular pet peeve that you would like to see eliminated next-gen?

 

[London Geezer]

My only pet peeve would be the lack of immagination, artistic ideas in games.
99% of the games are still worthy of C-movie storylines and artistic assets. The most infuriating this is that if 100% of games were like that, i'd be ok with it, it just would not be possible for videogames to be classy.
But as it stands, there are a very few games that stand out as classy, so it can be done. Why can't all studios take note of those who make GOOD games? Why are we inundated with so much CRAP? Do they really think gamers are so stupid, that they just need shiny graphics, 10-20 hrs of repetitive gameplay, generic rock-y-techno music, with no other value attached to them? Or football?

When the same amount of attention as in (good) movie production goes into the games production, i'll be happy.

I guess, like there are bad movies, there are bad games, it just seems that videogame makers are happy to keep games as the "geeky hobby of teenagers", when they could be so much more.

 

[Mulciber]

I prefer the good old days where harder enemies were just the original enemies in a different color. Like the first Dragon Warrior.

 

[rabidrabbit]

I've never really paid attention to the "cloned" npc's and enemies in games, guess I've just grown to accept them as a norm.
And I don't find too much time in games to care for the extra characters such as city inhabitants in GTA game for example.
What would you do with those characters if each of them were unique? would you go up close to each one of them and check their uniqueness?

What I hate in this gen, and would like to see got rid of next gen is shoddy framerates and jerky animation. IMO fluid movement is often more important than all the eye candy that looks good in stills but awful in 20 fps.

 

[London Geezer]

Animation is also another of my pet-peeves. My eyes have been spoiled by Pixar movies and reality sadly so now everything else just looks jerky, clunky and totally not natural (Talking about the movements here).

 

[rabidrabbit]

My only pet peeve would be the lack of immagination, artistic ideas in games.
99% of the games are still worthy of C-movie storylines and artistic assets. The most infuriating this is that if 100% of games were like that, i'd be ok with it, it just would not be possible for videogames to be classy.
But as it stands, there are a very few games that stand out as classy, so it can be done. Why can't all studios take note of those who make GOOD games? Why are we inundated with so much CRAP? Do they really think gamers are so stupid, that they just need shiny graphics, 10-20 hrs of repetitive gameplay, generic rock-y-techno music, with no other value attached to them? Or football?

When the same amount of attention as in (good) movie production goes into the games production, i'll be happy.

I guess, like there are bad movies, there are bad games, it just seems that videogame makers are happy to keep games as the "geeky hobby of teenagers", when they could be so much more.

That's because they are games, not movies or even interactive animation.
Games today are still mainly hand-eye coordination, like jerking off. Whereas movies are like real sex.
It must be very very difficult to make a game, or interactive film "tight" enough so that the narrative would hold through the empty spaces when the player just guides the character around, solves some puzzle or battles the enemies.

 

[London Geezer]

That's because they are games, not movies or even interactive animation.
Games today are still mainly hand-eye coordination, like jerking off. Whereas movies are like real sex.
It must be very very difficult to make a game, or interactive film "tight" enough so that the narrative would hold through the empty spaces when the player just guides the character around, solves some puzzle or battles the enemies.

Errr... Not sure about the jerking-off comparison, but what i was talking about is making games that are not tacky. If you know what i mean.
Like, the difference between ICO and Harry Potter games...
Or between Sould Calibur and WWF Def Jam I'm The Big Bad Ghetto Bitch game or whatever they're called these days...

 

[GwymWeepa]

I've never really paid attention to the "cloned" npc's and enemies in games, guess I've just grown to accept them as a norm.
And I don't find too much time in games to care for the extra characters such as city inhabitants in GTA game for example.
What would you do with those characters if each of them were unique? would you go up close to each one of them and check their uniqueness?

It would just immerse me more into the world. Games are becoming more and more realistic, I'd like every element to be as realistic as possible. Cloned NPC's for some reason just really stick in my craw.

Another one, and I had forgotten about this...is f'ing clipping, I can't stand body parts showing through clothing, or worse yet, going through objects.

 

[London Geezer]

About the cloning, i'm not sure which game does it (or will do it?), for which company, or which platform (probably PC? not sure), but there are ways to randomise NPC's looks, either by exchanging their items of clothing, together with exchanging their facial and body features. Basically they have, say, 10 different tops, 10 different trousers, 5 different hair colour and stiles, 5 different body sizes and features, and the engine puts them all together randomly, making people look different from each other, until you find the character with the same combination you saw 5 miles ago in a different village...

It can be done "easily" i guess... Studios might not have the resources to make the additional assets to make many different characters, when they have deadlines and bugs to sort out.

It all coems down with my previos post about production, if the budget and time requirements go up, more can be done.

 

[rabidrabbit]

I don't think the characters would really all need to be totally different.
They can have same faces, like 10 different or so (as cgi characters often still look very alike in facial features, even in prerendered movies) and because they are seldom seen so close, and even if you did go close to every one of them it is likely you'd have forgotten the facial features of the character you met 7 characters ago.
Anyway, I don't think next gen consoles will be powerful enough to render hundreds of characters in high enough polycount and texture resolution that you could really appreciate a unique face among a group of hundreds or even tens.

Mix those faces with 10 different hairstyles, facial hair, makeup, 10 different trousers, shirts, dresses, hats, glasses, shoes... and you'll get thousands of unique combinations.

(Edit: I didn't read l-b's previous post before posting, but he seems to have repeated just what I said here )

There would be characters that have the same clothes, hairstyles... but so is there in real life.

Again, it would be at least as important to animate those characters uniquely enough, or even enough different routines so that they would not appear like robots from the same factory line.

 

[London Geezer]

I don't think the characters would really all need to be totally different.
They can have same faces, like 10 different or so (as cgi characters often still look very alike in facial features, even in prerendered movies) and because they are seldom seen so close, and even if you did go close to every one of them it is likely you'd have forgotten the facial features of the character you met 7 characters ago.
Anyway, I don't think next gen consoles will be powerful enough to render hundreds of characters in high enough polycount and texture resolution that you could really appreciate a unique face among a group of hundreds or even tens.

Mix those faces with 10 different hairstyles, facial hair, makeup, 10 different trousers, shirts, dresses, hats, glasses, shoes... and you'll get thousands of unique combinations.

(Edit: I didn't read l-b's previous post before posting, but he seems to have repeated just what I said here )

There would be characters that have the same clothes, hairstyles... but so is there in real life.

Again, it would be at least as important to animate those characters uniquely enough, or even enough different routines so that they would not appear like robots from the same factory line.

If anything, that is more of an artistic limitation. More textures, more different models, more animation routines. It's an artistic limitation before it becomes a processing limitation.

 

[passerby]

ALL DESIGN ISSUES

* There's some serious magic voodoo in levels. Not only do items levitate a few inches from the ground, they even rotate in place.

* Medical items have the most voodoo in them. They can bring someone with both legs in the grave back to olympic-level fitness in less than a second.

* Protagonists have unlimited inventory space. Considering the surface area and strength required to carry such a pile they should be giants, have no need of puny weapons, and should just knock out the pillars and collapse the building instead of bothering to 'clear the level'.

* Encounters that trigger randomly, without being able to see coming enemies are outdated.

* Encounters where protagonists and enemies stand in straight lines facing each other are outdated.

* Evil masterminds are very considerate. After building their dungeons or stronghold, they love to leave precious weapons and items everywhere for visitors, and even put them in brightly-coloured, conspicuous chests.

* Monsters that dwell in said masterminds' strongholds are also very considerate. They never prey on said treasures which were left in the open, unlike the thieving, hostile visitors.

* Evil masterminds are very health-conscious. For example, to unlock the door to their living room, they need to walk 1km east to pull a level, 1km south to ring a bell, and another 1km south to tap three times on a wall, to unlock said door.

* But wait! Hostile visitors have redeeming qualities too! They are very considerate of damage to other people's property - even those belonging to the evil mastermind they have vowed to vanquish. For a group capable of routing armies, slaying dragons and defeating demons, instead of just bursting through the door or wall, they'll walk 1km east to pull a level, 1km south to ring a bell, and another 1km south to tap three times on a wall, to unlock said door.

* Sissy, male lead characters are evil(tm).

* However, bada** male characters are boring(tm).

* Female characters in bikinis and thongs are also evil(tm).

* But underaged, sissy male lead characters are the MOST EVIL OF THEM ALL(TM).



I'll post more if I'm in the mood.

 

[London Geezer]

You forgot the main one,

Evil Bad Guy Is Not Really Evil, He's Like That Because His Mother Was Killed By Another Evil Evil Guy When He Was 5 And Made Him Watch.

 

[London Geezer]

Oh, and who can forget the

Evil Guy Is Main Character's Father/Brother/Mother. But No One Knows Until All Is Revealed In Final 15-Mins FMV Cut-Scene Flashback That Explains Everything, One Tenth Of A Second Before Main Character Slashes Evil Guy's Heart With His Ultimate Sword.

 

[hey69]

then you should see Doom 3 . it's made of thousends of clones of 5 monsters

 

[_phil_]

the F**** with reality.Transcend it or die
We have been basicaly playing the same games for 12 years .
From doom1 to Halo2 .
What could be the more free media is stucked into the same games with that same pathetic iterative process of imitating Reality....

sadly unimaginative.

 

[Guden Oden]

Nah, where would we be without our gaming cliches? Change nothing, I say, or we wouldn't recognize outselves when pursuing our favorite pastime!

(But I *would* like to see I have a pair of legs and a torso when I look downwards in a FPS... )

 

[London Geezer]

Nah, where would we be without our gaming cliches? Change nothing, I say, or we wouldn't recognize outselves when pursuing our favorite pastime!

(But I *would* like to see I have a pair of legs and a torso when I look downwards in a FPS... )

Why? r u not happy with your real legs, torso, and.. what's down there?

 

[cthellis42]

* Female characters in bikinis and thongs are also evil(tm).

True. Female characters in bikinis and thongs are most definitely GOOD!

 

[one]

* Female characters in bikinis and thongs are also evil(tm).

True. Female characters in bikinis and thongs are most definitely GOOD!

I need physics simulation power for removable bikinis