Each game developer tries his best to make sure that his game becomes popular. But not all games make it to the top spots. In many cases minor annoyances destroy the game.
Here are some annoyances that cause games to fail. Though these problems may not, by themselves be the major reason for a game not being able to hit it in the market, but they sure do contribute to the game's ultimate downfall

1) Swat That Bug
Firstly let me introduce you to Mr. Bug. What does he do? He 'bugs' us(pun intended). Consider playing a game for a long time. You have picked your way carefully through a treacherous cliffside, fighting hordes of enemies along the way. Just as you're about to reach the next save point the game crashes. Now what? You're distraught or even worse, uber mad that you might even break your PC. Other less noticeable but equally irritating bugs may include unbalanced AI or the game's flagship feature not working properly at some points of the game

2) Head's Up... Where's The Display
The Heads-up Display has to be optimized. There are two cases of this turning into an annoyance.
Case1: The HUD may be bland. It may lack the vital info that should generally be displayed on screen. In games where the enemy uses grenades to kill you, a grenade indicator is a necessity, or you won't know that it's there and if you get killed by it, what killed you.
Case2: If the HUD is too cluttered, then the effective playing space of the game gets reduced. So you will miss the 'bigger' picture.

3) Resource Hogs
What good is a game with awesome graphics and immersive gameplay, if the average gamer cannot run it on his computer? Not all gamers are financially sound enough to constantly keep upgrading their systems. You can't expect the gamer to be interested in the game till he gets the necessary upgrade. By then the game would be long forgotten. This is why Crysis did not see such a wide adoption as you'd expect for a game so good.

4) Messed Up Storylines
Storylines form an important part of games. Though not all games need storylines, a good lot of them still need a strong storyline to back them up. Games without storylines are like Soccer matches without goal posts. In some cases the storylines are not easy to follow. The average gamer will spend some time to bring out a logical explanation for a seemingly incomprehensible story but after that he'll simply dump it.

5) What's In A Difficulty
Difficulty should be optimum. If the overall difficulty level of the game is very low, the hardcore gamer will avoid it for lack of challenge. Contrarily a very high level of difficulty will alienate the casual gamer.

6) Don't Repeat It
Repetition is one of the most prevalent forms of game breakers. Using a partially reworked storyline or an exact copy of a popular gameplay just won't work (with some exceptions). Repetition could also take another form as you see in Assassin's Creed. Doing the same thing over and over again in a game becomes boring.

7) Too Much To Follow
Keep it simple. Though gamers appreciate depth and variety in their games, there is a limit to everything. Too many concepts or too many units (in RTSes) tend to confuse the gamer. In the end he'll be spending a lot of time trying to figure out what is what and not enjoying the game.

8) Crappy Controls
This is one of the bigger game breakers. Control mapping should be done in such a way that the player can easily identify the controls and can easily access them too. Resident Evil 4 for PC(Biohazard 4) was one game that dug its own grave due to poor control mapping.

9) Curse That Lag (Multiplayer)
In multiplayer the lag time should be kept as low as possible. High lag times translate to unbalanced gameplay and will eventually irritate gamer.

10) Implement It (Console)
FPSes and RTSes have generally been better on PCs than on consoles. But when you are creating a FPS or RTS on a console it should be implemented properly. Poor implementation is one f the reasons why the ambitious game Darkness failed.
n a console it should be implemented properly. Poor implementation is one f the reasons why the ambitious game Darkness failed.

Readers pls comment on the article and if you feel there are other game breakers, feel free to post it in your comments:)

Have you ever felt returning to your old times, when games were few and far between?

Well, this is something I have been feeling for the past few months. It's a longing to return to the times when cartridge video games(like NES) was the order of the day. There were few games to be played, and the graphics were not quite refined. It was a time when games lacked depth of gameplay, as compared to games of today. Most games did not have any save features, so if you get the 'GAME OVER' just before the end of a long hard-played game, frustration would hit a peak.

Let's look at those same old games in a different angle... The gameplay may lack depth, but its sheer simplicity and innovation for its time was more than enough to drive away the need for a deeper gameplay. Who needs great graphics when the gameplay element alone is tons of fun. We might have LAN gaming today, but according to me its no match for two-player mode in a Pro-wrestling match, with all the kids in the neighbourhood sitting around a single machine fighting to decide who those two players would be for that round.

But one of my most important problems is that there are so many games around that you are spoilt for choice. Before you can nurture that interest in one game, along comes another that partly diverts that interest. Soon enuf, you end up getting bored with both the games for lack of sfficient interest to be invested in either game.

The last reason is my main problem that makes me feel nostalgic and lose interest in most new games soon enough.

Just changed my ISP and the net plan. Downloaded more than 25GB of content in the last 2 months. The net bill for the last 2 months was a total killer. So I changed the plan and the ISP. The new connection allows unlimited download but the only problem is the speed: 128kbps - down from 2Mbps on the previous connection. So now it takes about 5 - 10 minutes for each GS page to load. That's relly bad given that I hardly have any time left after my col work. I think I'll be dropping by only once a while and will concentrate one one or two unions only

Gaming has come a long way from its humble beginning a few decades ago. From the days of Pong to the days of Crysis, a lot has gone by. In fact the rate at which gaming has developed is unbelievable. And so have the gaming technologies. The most visible testimony to this is the stunning graphics of today compared to the box-graphics of old. Not only graphics, but even the gameplay is becoming realistic. Employing real-world physics and reactions are becoming commonplace in games nowadays. And with the efforts of making games in Virtual Reality underway, the future of gaming is even more advanced. Games are becoming just so... real.
Here's the question: Are games becoming too real to be called just games anymore? Maybe. A lot of us find gaming an escapade from the real world. It's a place where you know no matter how much times you get killed(in the game) you are still alive(in reality). You game to keep away the bothering factors of the real world(Of course, some game for life, but I am NOT including them). So when the games themselves get so realistic, where wold you go if you want a break from this kinda reality. In such cases games don't remain games anymore.
Already, game addiction is becoming a major issue, major enough to find a place among all the other common forms of addiction. People have begun playing games, not as entertainment, but as a way of life. To many it's become as integral to their life as eating or sleeping. And reality in gaming only acts a catalyst, that makes people even more hooked on to it. At a psychologic level, you may partly be led to believe that the game is something real. That makes you react in a game in the same way as you would react in real-life situations. That includes unwanted emotions like anger, frustration, sadness, etc., for silly stuff like losing a life in an intense FPS(silly, here, is relative). And that'll further harm your social life.
Let me come to the question again - Are games becoming too real to be called just games anymore? Mostly YES. The line between game and reality is becoming thinner and thinner.
Now here's another question: A'right should the quest to make games more realistic allowed to continue at the same pace? If I were to be an unbiased judge, the answer would be a definite NO. But since I am not, I'd answer that, " To hell with it. We gaming addicts are not to be discouraged with such petty talk."

Have settled in my new home and the net connection is finally up and running... :DAh! SOOOOO good to be back on GS, especially after so much trouble to have my net reconnected. Still have to check out what's been happenin on GS and especially on my preferred unions. The only problem is I won't beas active as I was on GS. Col workload has grealy increased and I will most probably be able to be on GS at weekends.

I'mnot gonna be on GS from tomorrow ever again... that is untila week or two. I am shifting my houseand won't have net connection for a week or two untilmy ISP reconnects the net to my new house and that'll take time (Work doesn't get done fast here:( ). GS has become an integral part of my life that I wonder how I'm gonna pass two weeks without it. Oh well, on the brighter sidemaybe I can finally get to playing all the new wares. If I get the chance I'lllog into GSfrom a friend's comp or something. Till then, see ya

YAY! :DGot my much anticipated game - Supreme Commander. Wanted to get the game since I read the game review in a game mag about 2 months before it's release. Went to the local store and just as for CnC3, almost missed the game and was about to leave when I noticed in a far corner. The guys hardly know anything about gaming. They had stacked all useless stuff up front and hide the good stuff away. Got it for Rs.699, which is equivalent toabout $17. That's $13 less than the price they have put up here at GS :D

Reached the level 10 yesterday after over a 1500 posts. Not only that, I also got 2 new emblems, one for uploading my user(for which I have been waiting for long) and two, for voting on the best NES game. What game did I vote for? Pro Wrestling, naturally :)

I am now the leader of The Historical And Not So Historic Strategy Games union. The previous leader AARONRULZ1 has resigned his leadership post and the job has fallen on me. He gave it to me as The Historical Strategy Games union, but I changed the union name.This is my first leadership and I want you guys post any suggestions you might have about how to lead a union. If you can, please join the union and help making it active.

Just got this news off one of the union boards. Looks like there's a new virus on the loose again. To read the article about this click here.

If this is true, I suggest people look out for it. From what it seems it could be dangerous and can spread through Gamespot. I don't want my new PC crash bcos of some stupid virus. This could be a hoax too, but i don't want to take any chances.