All games should have... - General Discussion

#1 Posted by Masha2932 (1232 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

Most if not all of us have been playing games for a long time and there are basic things that all games should have regardless of genre. Hopefully we can make up a list. I'll start

All games should have:

1. Subtitles during cut-scenes and key dialogue sequences
2. Skippable cut-scenes
3. New game plus
4. Customisable controls or alternate control schemes

#2 Posted by nintendoeats (5970 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

There is always a good reason to not include any given feature.

#3 Edited by FluxWaveZ (17877 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

Pausable cutscenes
Fully customisable controls

@nintendoeats said:

There is always a good reason to not include any given feature.

What would give reason to not include a feature that lets you pause a cutscene?

#4 Posted by Kyle (2317 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

Oh, thank god. I was afraid you were going to say "split-screen multiplayer."

I would disagree with the "subtitles during cutscenes" one though. I don't like subtitles. I agree that there should be an option for it, but I would never want it to be always-on.

#5 Edited by FritzDude (2206 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

Euphoria physic engine... Think about it.

#6 Edited by Kyle (2317 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

@FluxWaveZ said:

@nintendoeats said:
There is always a good reason to not include any given feature.
What would give reason to not include a feature that lets you pause a cutscene?

Yeah, I would have to disagree with that as well. Some things, such as pausing cutscenes, are always a good idea.

#7 Posted by Siphillis (1270 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

Dinosaurs.

#8 Posted by Twitchey (865 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

Tits, or they need to leave the area

#9 Edited by nintendoeats (5970 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

@FluxWaveZ: That's definitely a tricky one, but I think I have an answer. Pausing a cutscene breaks flow. The designer may decide that the flow of their cutscene is vital enough to the game experience that they are better off forcing the player to shout "after this cutscene!" than letting them pause it. I mean, that would have to be one INTENSE frigging cutscene, but little decisions like that can be really important to the overall experience. So no, not all games should have cutscene pausing. And for the record, there are probably less contrived reasons that I haven't thought of.

#10 Posted by TehFlan (1944 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

@Siphillis said:

Dinosaurs.

Good man.

#11 Posted by supermike6 (3502 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

- Anime cutscenes.

#12 Posted by Redbullet685 (5743 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

Subtitles.
Good Soundtrack.

#13 Posted by Aronman789 (2610 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

Boob physics.

#14 Posted by SgtGrumbles (1019 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

...an adult only rating!

#15 Posted by FluxWaveZ (17877 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

@supermike6 said:

- Anime cutscenes.

Heh, that'd sure make a lot of Western games super crazy.

@nintendoeats: Sure, but isn't more options always a good thing? Wouldn't it be better to give the player choice rather than limit what they can do? I guess I can understand in a game where the cutscenes are short, but it's essential in a game like Metal Gear Solid 4, even when pacing can be important for the more dramatic scenes of the game.

#16 Posted by Loose (419 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

@Twitchey said:

Tits

#17 Posted by PeasantAbuse (4779 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

@FritzDude said:

Euphoria physic engine... Think about it.

YES

#18 Edited by ryanwho (12083 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

Not allowing me to skip a cutscene would be like a DVD not allowing me to choose a scene or fast forward.
In a similar vien, games should catch up to DVDs from 10 years ago and allow people to choose to play a game from any given preset scene. Because they own the product. For people who think I should suffer through some shitty fetchquest to "earn" the part of the game I want to get to, attach achievements or some other meaningless thing to not skipping chapters. But a product should be about giving people the ability to experience what they want. I don't feel like "backtrack to 7 different areas and collect some mandatory shit so we can pad the playtime" is essential to my experience and I'm okay missing a fraction of the story by skipping it. The game should allow for that. Cus the alternative is giving up on the game completely.

#19 Edited by nintendoeats (5970 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

@FluxWaveZ: The issue at hand here is whether a feature should be in ALL games. MGS IV absolutely needed cutscene pausing, because it's absurd to expect any player to be able to put their lives on hold for those periods of time, especially without any kind of indication of how long a cutscene would be. All I'm saying is that it is not outside the realm of possibility that an individual game could be better off without that feature.

EDIT: Oh yeah, choice. The funny thing is, people think that they know what they want, but they are often quite wrong. Part of a game designer's job is to figure out what will genuinely deliver the best experience. Sometimes that means taking away a toy that player thinks that they need.

#20 Edited by FluxWaveZ (17877 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

@ryanwho: I'm not against what you're suggesting, but it's understandable that developers will never include a feature akin to what you're suggesting because the amount of used game sales would increase significantly.

#21 Posted by shinigami420 (640 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

@supermike6 said:

- Anime cutscenes.

#22 Posted by CaptainTightPants (2777 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

Like the Giantbomb Crew mentioned before, giving you multiple options to change in the sound mix.

#23 Edited by Beforet (2633 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

Quality voice acting and soundtrack. Sound design has a pretty large effect on my enjoyment of a game.

I'm going to disagree with New Game+. I think it's only a good feature for RPGs, to give a second playthrough that god like feeling. Even then, it's hardly necessary.

#24 Posted by nintendoeats (5970 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

@ryanwho:

You would essentially be removing the "game" part of video games. To quote Yahtzee, "I thought that the "game" part of the term video game implied that gameplay obligations WERE WHAT I WANTED."

#25 Posted by ryanwho (12083 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

@FluxWaveZ said:

@ryanwho: I'm not against what you're suggesting, but it's understandable that developers will never include a feature akin to what you're suggesting because the amount of used game sales would increase significantly.

I don't follow. By not letting me skip tedious shit, they're compelling me to give up on a game faster. I'm more than happy to trade in a game once it decided I need to slog through 5 hours of boring shit to progress. If they allowed me to skip that, I'd probably be less compelled to sell that motherfucker. If the idea is putting brick walls in games means people keep the game cus they'll eventually finish it, I don't buy that. But really it wouldn't create a significant sway in used game sales one way or another. Point of fact, developers could data collect what it was that people skipped most and learn from that. When you skip a scene, you send a little ping over to the QA for the game and now they know 60% of people skipped over the "push a rock uphill with our bad physics engine" chapter.

#26 Posted by ryanwho (12083 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

@nintendoeats said:

@ryanwho:
You would essentially be removing the "game" part of video games. To quote Yahtzee, "I thought that the "game" part of the term video game implied that gameplay obligations WERE WHAT I WANTED."

So if I enjoy the assassinations in Assassin's Creed Brotherhood I also must enjoy the awful horse riding? Its impossible for me to like one part of a game and not the other parts. Brilliant point.

#27 Edited by kingzetta (4307 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

@ryanwho said:

Not allowing me to skip a cutscene would be like a DVD not allowing me to choose a scene or fast forward. In a similar vien, games should catch up to DVDs from 10 years ago and allow people to choose to play a game from any given preset scene. Because they own the product. For people who think I should suffer through some shitty fetchquest to "earn" the part of the game I want to get to, attach achievements or some other meaningless thing to not skipping chapters. But a product should be about giving people the ability to experience what they want. I don't feel like "backtrack to 7 different areas and collect some mandatory shit so we can pad the playtime" is essential to my experience and I'm okay missing a fraction of the story by skipping it. The game should allow for that. Cus the alternative is giving up on the game completely.

They made the game and they want you to play it, also you should play that Alone in the dark game.

#28 Posted by nintendoeats (5970 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

@ryanwho: The way to solve that problem is to make the game better, not to remove the whole concept of playing the game to unlock stuff. Brilliant strawman argument.

#29 Posted by Loose (419 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

@nintendoeats said:

@ryanwho: The way to solve that problem is to make the game better, not to remove the whole concept of playing the game to unlock stuff. Brilliant strawman argument.

This.

#30 Posted by JJOR64 (18127 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

E. Honda.

#31 Posted by FluxWaveZ (17877 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

@ryanwho: Actually, I'm not even sure what I meant by used game sales would increase... I guess I just immediately thought that since a lot of players are out to finish games instead of playing them, this could make it easier for them to reach their goals.

But aren't the mechanics like "Boss Rushes" or "End game fetch quests (ala Zelda: WW triforce gathering)" included in games to artificially increase the game's length? You seem like you'd rather sell games when you get frustrated with them in segments such as these and that's okay, but I think the majority of people would just rather progress than have to sell a game they started.

#32 Posted by TotalEklypse (1000 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

The BFG

#33 Posted by DAFTPUNK (1213 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

naked cartoon pussy is all I need in a game!

#34 Posted by ryanwho (12083 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

@nintendoeats said:

@ryanwho: The way to solve that problem is to make the game better, not to remove the whole concept of playing the game to unlock stuff. Brilliant strawman argument.

I'm not sure who made you the person who dictates what other people want to experience in their games. If choosing scenes defeats the purpose of a game, it defeats the purpose of a movie. But DVDs still have the scene selection tool so I guess DVDs remove the WHOLE CONCEPT of watching a movie. But why watch a movie if you're not going to experience it correctly, nintendoeats insists, as the emissary of public opinion. If you don't play through a shitty part of the game, you're missing the whole concept of a game. Which is that you can't just play the parts you enjoy, because games are much much more serious than that. Its not like "game" is a synonym for having fun. Games are about doing things you don't like to earn the things you like. Wait no, that's work. That's the opposite of a game. I really don't think everyone feels games should be work like you do.

#35 Posted by nintendoeats (5970 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

@ryanwho: I'm not really in the mood to write a treatise on this subject, which is pretty much what I would have to do to explain it in a way that makes real and proper sense. I'll try to go pithy: If you don't make the players work for stuff, they usually won't appreciate it. Putting on all the cheats is fun for a while, but it isn't as satisfying as beating a game and saying "I did that all on my fucking lonesome." The problem is, once again, that people often don't actually know what they want until you give it to them.

And yes actually, skipping half-way through a movie the first time you watch it IS pretty stupid.

#36 Posted by TheMustacheHero (6654 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

@Twitchey said:

Tits, or they need to leave the area

Go back to 4chan.

#37 Posted by ryanwho (12083 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

@FluxWaveZ said:

@ryanwho: Actually, I'm not even sure what I meant by used game sales would increase... I guess I just immediately thought that since a lot of players are out to finish games instead of playing them, this could make it easier for them to reach their goals. But aren't the mechanics like "Boss Rushes" or "End game fetch quests (ala Zelda: WW triforce gathering)" included in games to artificially increase the game's length? You seem like you'd rather sell games when you get frustrated with them in segments such as these and that's okay, but I think the majority of people would just rather progress than have to sell a game they started.

Frustrated is a loaded word, implying difficulty. I guess I'm not "hardcore" because some chores, easy chores but chores, have been mandated in order to progress and I don't have the time in my life to throw hours away on something I don't like just for the possibility that it might get better again later. And I think at this point, a lot of people don't have that time. And plenty of people do, and good on them I guess. But its really nobody's place to dictate someone else's experience. If they don't want to play through segment x, I'm not sure how its any different than them not wanting to watch cutscene y, or do sidequest z. The difference is its the main game and the main game should be enjoyable the full way through, but products aren't sold based on what they should do. They're sold on what they are. And often, games are uneven experiences, giving the option (not a mandate, nobody has to use it) to skip scenes solves a reality found in a lot of games and brings games closer to the modernization that music and film woke up to years ago. You can buy songs instead of albums, you can skip scenes in movies, yet somehow the music and film industry didn't implode from people experiencing their medium "incorrectly".

#38 Posted by the_OFFICIAL_jAPanese_teaBAG (4267 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

@Aronman789 said:

Boob physics.

oh my god

#39 Posted by Kjellm87 (1728 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

Yeah, I can only think of one thing: Skip-able cut-scenes.

They're nice enough during the first playthrough, but after year 2000, not many of my favorite games has been specially story-heavy, it gets in the way for the gameplay.

Heck, I think Mario takes too long getting out of that pipe in Mario 64 sometimes.

#40 Posted by laserbolts (5130 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

All content that's ready to go at launch in the fucking game. I don't mind dlc that is produced after the game is shipped but when it is left out so that people that really like the game have to pay another ten or fifteen on top of the sixty, it's bullshit.

#41 Posted by Mike76x (519 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

@nintendoeats said:

@FluxWaveZ: The issue at hand here is whether a feature should be in ALL games. MGS IV absolutely needed cutscene pausing, because it's absurd to expect any player to be able to put their lives on hold for those periods of time, especially without any kind of indication of how long a cutscene would be. All I'm saying is that it is not outside the realm of possibility that an individual game could be better off without that feature.
EDIT: Oh yeah, choice. The funny thing is, people think that they know what they want, but they are often quite wrong. Part of a game designer's job is to figure out what will genuinely deliver the best experience. Sometimes that means taking away a toy that player thinks that they need.

Cutscene pausing is a necessity.
If I have to go to the bathroom, I'm going to miss it anyway, unless I pull the batteries from my controller.
Also once I've beaten a game I should be able to skip the cutscenes, I'm looking at you Mortal Kombat.

#42 Posted by Mike76x (519 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

@ryanwho said:

Not allowing me to skip a cutscene would be like a DVD not allowing me to choose a scene or fast forward. In a similar vien, games should catch up to DVDs from 10 years ago and allow people to choose to play a game from any given preset scene. Because they own the product. For people who think I should suffer through some shitty fetchquest to "earn" the part of the game I want to get to, attach achievements or some other meaningless thing to not skipping chapters. But a product should be about giving people the ability to experience what they want. I don't feel like "backtrack to 7 different areas and collect some mandatory shit so we can pad the playtime" is essential to my experience and I'm okay missing a fraction of the story by skipping it. The game should allow for that. Cus the alternative is giving up on the game completely.

DVDs force you to watch the "do not pirate commercials", which is funny since the only people that see that are people that buy DVDs legitimately.
Blu-Rays also force you to watch commercials and opening animations, and when you try to skip right to the menu you see a big red "no you can't " symbol on your screen.
That said, I agree with you. My game, I should be able to fast forward the story.

#43 Posted by AckbarTheGreat (366 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

@Siphillis said:

Dinosaurs.

It's a proven fact that dinosaurs make everything better.

#44 Posted by Hockeymask27 (3451 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

HARDCORE NUDITY. I want to see Mario's junk.

#45 Posted by Soapy86 (2425 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

Surprised no one has said Speedtree or Nolan North yet.

#46 Posted by blueaniman93 (595 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

Pausable and Skippable Cutscenes should always be included...ALWAYS.

#47 Posted by LiquidSwords (2741 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

Unsuck option

#48 Posted by Grumbel (903 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

* ability to select subtitles and audio language separately (most games still fail at it)
* ability to select language in-game, overriding the system default (many games already do that, but its extra annoying when they don't)
* have all languages the game was released in available (huge number of games fails at this, if disk space is an issue, offer downloadable speech pack)
* X and Y axis invert (Y axis invert is standard thanks to Microsoft TCR, X axis invert is still missing sometimes)
* ability to independently select audio, music and sfx volume (luckily already standard almost everywhere)
* subtitles
* save everywhere (used to be standard on PC, is becoming rare these days, also everywhere should really be everywhere, even in cutscenes or dialogs, almost all games fail at this, except emulator stuff)
* fast forward/rewind in cutscenes (never seen that)
* fast forward/rewind in gameplay, Super Guide style when the game allows
* build in invulnerability, unlimited weapons and level skip options (used to be standard part of many flight games on PC, is getting rather rare)
* ability to replay/rewatch any part of the game easily (level select is luckily provided often, but sometimes lacks granularity)
* ability to select resolution and aspect ration separately (lots of games fail at this)
* gamepad support (almost standard, but still some fail at it, like Mass Effect)
* GPU and CPU scalability (graphic options are almost everywhere, options to lower CPU use exist almost never)

#49 Posted by TehFlan (1944 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

@ryanwho: I suppose scene selection could work in some games, but I feel like it would be a really bad idea in most RPGs, and probably in some other cases I can't really think of, so the idea of that being in every game seems dumb to me. Maybe an ability to go to any point in the game once you've already beat it, kind of like how The World Ends With You does it? If that was standard, it would be pretty cool.

#50 Posted by PerfidiousSinn (594 posts) - 1 year, 10 months ago

1. Sound Test
2. Level Select