Gameplay mechanic trends that need to die.

• Quick Timed Event: I hate repeating the same scene over and over instead of just watch it and enjoy. It's a lazy way to add hours to a game instead of real content.

• Health Regeneration: This system killed exploration, tension, challenge and conservation tactics in most games, especially shooters. It also contributed to the poor level design, since you don't need alterative ways to find health packs or anything. Think Call of Duty and Call of Duty 4. Two linear FPS, same series, but the gameplay experience is very different because of the health system.

• Cover System: I think the cover system is very interesting, but it contributes to repetitive level design. How many games with cover system do you know that doesn't have repetitive rooms with blocks to cover over and over until the end of the game? It's a minority.

• Arrows, Ponters, Guiding System: I hate this in most games. I like to think and find things on my own. I don't need an arrow to show me the way. It makes me feel dumb, especially when I play linear games.

[QUOTE="AAllxxjjnn"]Waist high barriers all over the place. Learn from Uncharted 2 devs, the levels in that game still felt natural compared to Mass Effect 2. jyoung312

Well ME is mostly ariticial enviroments, apposed to a lot of natural enviroments in UC, so yeah ... One will feel more natural.

In urban levels in UC2 it suffers from the same thing.

[QUOTE="AAllxxjjnn"]Waist high barriers all over the place. Learn from Uncharted 2 devs, the levels in that game still felt natural compared to Mass Effect 2. jyoung312

[QUOTE="jyoung312"][QUOTE="AAllxxjjnn"]Waist high barriers all over the place. Learn from Uncharted 2 devs, the levels in that game still felt natural compared to Mass Effect 2. -Snooze-

Well ME is mostly ariticial enviroments, apposed to a lot of natural enviroments in UC, so yeah ... One will feel more natural.

In urban levels in UC2 it suffers from the same thing.

I like scripted death animations better than rag doll. i.e. every halo game. the headshot animation in the first halo is hands downthe best death animation period.

[QUOTE="cowgriller"]

rag doll physics are too unrealistic and detract from the experience. normal bodies don't move in such fashion.

flashn00b

If used correctly, Havok can look realistic. Valve's titles are living proof of this.

Multiplayer upgrades: Possible interference with gameplay balance, and it could be possible that newbies will have incentive to cheat.

the problem with rag doll physics is realism, or lack thereof. don't expect me to believe that if a grenade explodes under someones feet that he going to fly 30 feet in the air doing cartwheels. but there's also the fact that the npc doesn't even move realistically. there's no muscle or skeletal resistance at all, just unrestrained movement. at least Euphoria is a step in the right direction.

mashing aa button to open a chest or door. They add NOTHING to the game

If done right QTEs add a lot to a game.

• Quick Timed Event: I hate repeating the same scene over and over instead of just watch it and enjoy. It's a lazy way to add hours to a game instead of real content.

• Health Regeneration: This system killed exploration, tension, challenge and conservation tactics in most games, especially shooters. It also contributed to the poor level design, since you don't need alterative ways to find health packs or anything. Think Call of Duty and Call of Duty 4. Two linear FPS, same series, but the gameplay experience is very different because of the health system.

• Cover System: I think the cover system is very interesting, but it contributes to repetitive level design. How many games with cover system do you know that doesn't have repetitive rooms with blocks to cover over and over until the end of the game? It's a minority.

• Arrows, Ponters, Guiding System: I hate this in most games. I like to think and find things on my own. I don't need an arrow to show me the way. It makes me feel dumb, especially when I play linear games.

RyuRanVII

If done right QTEs add a lot to a game.

W1NGMAN-

Making games "more accesible" (i.e. making it impossible to die). I hate the Prince of Persia (2008), Fable 2, and Assassin's Creeds for their ease. These games are not challenging and by far too easy and make the games less fun. PoP:Warrior within may have been a let down but atleast it was challenging and required skill.

mashing aa button to open a chest or door. They add NOTHING to the game

swamplord666

Choose your own dialogue: we go through every options anyways why have us click them one by one?

A shooter without ragdolls/Euphoria.. In arma II on ACE mod its FUN! But i shot someone in the back of the head and they fly backwards... :|

Arma II + Euphoria + Realistic gore = :shock:

agreed there should never be a damage meter for cars, in real life you dont see cars exploding and they can run even with the damage they take also ,,,

first person shooters with rechargable health , , thank to halo ,, now were flooded with rechargable health in fps

Also, cars exploding at %100 damage.

Shattered007

[QUOTE="Shattered007"]

Also, cars exploding at %100 damage.

imprezawrx500

For me - 1. Tacked on MP. Yes, MP can be great, but face facts, any tacked on MP will be quickly forgotten and players will go back to their Halos or their MWs or whatever. Stop wasting development time on something that is generally bad. 2. Pre-order exclusive content. Recently looked at Dragon Age Origins DLC guide, dear lord there is a ton of *bleep* that was given out via pre-order deals. I'm okay with getting free stuff via pre-order. I'm not okay with this content going unavailable via any other means. 3. DLC that is already on the disc. Don't think I need to explain this one.DerekLoffin

i totally agree with you here. i didn't pre-order Mass Effect 2, Heavy Rain, nor God of War 3 so i missed out on some armor and weapons, and an entire back story in HR. that's BS. all of this should be available to everyone who buys the game. the worst part is pre-orders of multiplat games that have pre-order content exclusive to one platform. like the upcoming Splinter Cell: Conviction. a "silenced" shotgun for the 360 version only and only if you pre-order it at gamestop. that's f---ing bull----. (at least with HR, i get to buy the DLC in April for $5.)

I hate boss fights in which you have to deal with common minions while fighting the boss.

What people are missing is that QTE allows the user to do something that the normal mechanics wouldnt allow you to do. So in other words, those same QTE that some of you guys claim to "hate", wouldve instead been a cutscene instead.

Slicing a building using QTE in KH2 > watching him do it

peaceoutmedusa

[QUOTE="DerekLoffin"]For me - 1. Tacked on MP. Yes, MP can be great, but face facts, any tacked on MP will be quickly forgotten and players will go back to their Halos or their MWs or whatever. Stop wasting development time on something that is generally bad. 2. Pre-order exclusive content. Recently looked at Dragon Age Origins DLC guide, dear lord there is a ton of *bleep* that was given out via pre-order deals. I'm okay with getting free stuff via pre-order. I'm not okay with this content going unavailable via any other means. 3. DLC that is already on the disc. Don't think I need to explain this one.cowgriller

i totally agree with you here. i didn't pre-order Mass Effect 2, Heavy Rain, nor God of War 3 so i missed out on some armor and weapons, and an entire back story in HR. that's BS. all of this should be available to everyone who buys the game. the worst part is pre-orders of multiplat games that have pre-order content exclusive to one platform. like the upcoming Splinter Cell: Conviction. a "silenced" shotgun for the 360 version only and only if you pre-order it at gamestop. that's f---ing bull----. (at least with HR, i get to buy the DLC in April for $5.)

I couldn't agree more about QTE's. And you guys wanna know something? Tomb Raider Underworld found a new and better way for players to perform (what I would call) Specialized Action Sequences.

The problem with QTE's is what the instructional pop-ups (which button to press) does for the gameplay experience;

* interrupt the natural game play flow
* pulls the player out of the immersion of the experience
* boils down to hand-holding, the player is no longer in direct control of the action

So what TRU did, was find a much simpler solution for players to pull off timing critical action maneuvers that couldn't normally be done in normal gameplay - just slow down time. By slowing it down, the player can pull off the required maneuver, whether that's making a timing critical jump, avoiding colliding objects or enemy attacks, or getting that finshing head shot.

The difference of this from QTE's;

* no button queues, the player always relies on his knowledge of the main control scheme (punch, jump, shoot, etc..) so he has to execute the maneuvers himself
* no pop-ups also maintains the immersion, and is a styIe of slow-motion more akin to hollywood action scenes, giving the action a more immersive cinematic feel to them
* the player always remains in direct control of the character instead of pressing buttons just to keep the flow of a non-interactive cinematic
* flows more seamlessly between normal gameplay in real time

It's not like the PoP time manipulations either, as a power the player can activate. it's just a segment triggered by certain moments in the action of the game, again for timing critical moments that helps the player execute what he needs to do, but without holding his hand the entire time, even allowing him to pull off the moves he would want to, instead of the pre-scripted actions.

I said this in my review of TRU, but this, THIS is how all specialized action sequences in games should be done. This is the mechanic that should replace QTE's everywhere and let that be retired.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned trial and error. I can't stand T & E mechanics. Demon's Souls was a prime example of this. It's lazy game design, and it needs to be retired.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned trial and error. I can't stand T & E mechanics. Demon's Souls was a prime example of this. It's lazy game design, and it needs to be retired.

Rekunta

I just made a thread about it xD (modern games are not hard enough?)

I hate boss fights in which you have to deal with common minions while fighting the boss.

GreySeal9