As gamers grew up, it was only natural that games matured alongside them. Work, relationships, kids and various activities cut into their game time, and developers needed to adjust. As a result, enemies became easier, some games became shorter and when it came to the Wii, controls became simpler. A select few designers, however, just can’t let go of the past, and continue to punish us with outdated concepts. The simple solution is to avoid these games, but sometimes we make the terrible discoveries after the fact. With that, here are some old-school features that need to die.
Pre-determined save points
Every video game needs to come with the ability to save anywhere. No more of that “finish the level” or “make it halfway” nonsense. Some hardcore gamers will tell you that save anywhere transformed a generation of players into pansies, but they need a syringe full of reality. Finishing a level to save (even 20 years ago) was easier because we were kids with too much time on our hands. On that note, we still lost hours of gameplay because our parents forced us to shut off the TV (and the console) to wash up for dinner or to go on some stupid shopping trip that didn’t involve Nintendo. Bottom line, it sucked back then and it’s even more annoying today. We don’t save anywhere because we’re weak. We save anywhere because our girlfriends came over. When that happens, games lose every time.
Unskippable cut-scenes
It’s hard to believe that developers still feel the need to force everyone to watch cut-scenes. Look, we get it. You spent a lot of time animating that dude’s hair, and the narrative is critical to squeezing the most enjoyment from the game, but we deserve the option to skip the computer-generated fluff, especially when it's boring or fails to impress.
More slash... less watch
Forced tutorials
Most people don’t read video game manuals, so it makes sense to include tutorials. Just don’t force them on us. If it’s not a part of the game, give us the option to skip, or at the very least, make it interesting. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is a perfect example of a tutorial done right. It’s quick and fun shooting the targets. We don’t need a 15-minute lecture.
Punishing difficulty
Some people enjoy games with impossible A.I., but it’s also true that some people love cutting themselves. We can’t speak for the entire gaming population, but we don’t spend $60 to throw controllers and scream unmentionables. That said, give us a choice between Easy, Normal, Hard and masochistic difficulties. Just don’t make “INSANE!!!” the default, because unlike the 100 “hardcore” gamers who purchased it, we hate Demon’s Souls with a murderous passion.
Manual upgrades
Why does every action game these days feature upgrades for the main hero, a.k.a. RPG elements? Why can’t we go 30 damn minutes without having to shove an orb into a special attack slot, or spend untold amounts of in-game currency on moves we’ll never use (here’s looking at you, Darksiders). All we want to do is whip out some guns and put holes in monsters, not obsess over making enhancements. If you can’t resist designing upgrades, at least include the option to let the game handle most of it, a la Mass Effect 2.
10 Comments
8 months ago
Totally agree Chris, I really agree about the Insane difficulty. Many of these games come from Japan, whose gamer base hates hard games. Weird paradox there.
I wouldn't play Demon Souls until there is a difficulty reduction patch.
I would also add that every game needs a Hard Drive installation option.
8 months ago
Good point Eric. I love installing the games to the HDD on my 360. Much quieter operation since the 360 doesn't need to access the disc much and usually slightly faster load times.
8 months ago
Buffoo, you're becoming the Andy Rooney of video games journalism.
But, I agree with all those points, so maybe I'm a curmudgeon too.
I also hate...
Stealth - Overused and rarely fun.
Collecting Stuff - It's fun to a point, but most games carry it too far.
Retardo quests - Go fetch that box and carry it across town to this person.
Girls with big breasts - they're never big enough.
8 months ago
Demon's Souls isn't even that difficult. and lololololol @ the first comment and refusing to play without a "difficulty reduction patch". What are you, five?
The game has also sold about 500,000 copies to date (as of the figures I saw a month ago), and reviews have all pretty much universally praised the game. It currently has a 90% rating on gamerankings and 89/100 on metacritic. Those 100 gamers you mentioned must have real pull (and serious cash considering they seem to have purchased 5,000 copies of the game each)!
For an article that tries to prove how "in touch" you are with modern gaming trends you aren't quite up on your facts. Though maybe that's part of your shtick, not having a clue what you're talking about.
8 months ago
The problem has always been that game designers are hardcore gamers; they're the people who play Ninja Gaiden and wish it was harder. The best designers are those who understand that they're not just designing a game for themselves and their friends, but for a wide audience.
8 months ago
Are you kidding with this comment? "We save anywhere because our girlfriends came over. When that happens, games lose every time."
Don't you mean "imaginary" girlfriends? And even then, I bet the games win more than 50% of the time.
8 months ago
I would also add, I love the ability to customize (remap) your controls...especially for sports/extreme sports.
I like a hard game, but I cannot help thinking restricting a gamer's choice to play at an easier level is short sighted and limits the sales potential for a game.
I bought Uncharted 2 for my step-dad because it the difficulty was balanced and accessible to a casual gamer. If Uncharted 2 had only the Demon Souls difficulty level, he would never had played it.
8 months ago
I agree with the comments. I played Demon Souls at a friends house. I am a decent gamer, I really hated the cheap deaths from hidden or recently spawned enemies. I liked how Fallout 3 allowed you to instantly revise the difficulty level in the menu - including giving your bonuses for a harder setting.
8 months ago
Ah, I knew this would provoke a reaction from an angry Demon's Souls fan. And it has done good for a game of its sort, though last I heard the confirmed total was around 300k, not 500k.
Of course, “difficultly” is a generic term that tends to encompass a lot of elements. That a game requires precision and skill to complete is something that is to be admired, but when you have to slog through a half an hour of content again in a 40+ hour game because you made a couple mistakes, that's crossing a line. Buffa's right: you can't go wrong by giving players options in how they play.
8 months ago
I have spent a long time internally debating the "Save Anywhere" point. On the one hand, I agree with the idea that there are some times when you shouldn't be allowed to stop and save. However, I am also generally pressed for time.
After a long struggle, and a little reflection, I've noticed that most of my RPG / Adventure gaming seems to come from the DS. The reason is simple. I can close the lid, and it sleeps until I am ready to resume.
This reminds me of things I've seen in games from the past. What we really need is a quick save feature to be placed in EVERY game -- I even feel it should be a feature of the hardware, and often mention this to Microsoft every time I get a chance to talk to the hardware team. Let me have a scratch pad file. I one use "Save Exact State" save. I can "pause" the game anywhere. When I load the game again, I can either reload that save, or lose that save forever.
I can't count then number of good games that I never finished because designer decided that challenge = 5 hours between save points. I'm generally happy if I can carve an hour out of the night to play a game. However, if I can't get past the first level because it requires a 5 hour commitment to reach the first save point . . .
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