Gaming Tropes That Need to GO

[Mister Jack]

Another immigrant from old country, this is the thread to gripe about things that you see games do that irritate you. It can be related to bad design, poor programming, bad storytelling, or stuff that just plain isn't fun.

 

Note that if it only applies to one game, it doesn't count. So you can't say:

 

"I hate this jump! I can't make this jump! Why is it so hard!?"

 

But you can say:

 

"I hate it when platformer games require pixel perfect positioning with your character's feet to make a platform jump"

 

Got it? Then get to it!

[TheForgetfulBrain]

 

But you can say:

 

"I hate it when platformer games require pixel perfect positioning with your character's feet to make a platform jump"

 

Got it? Then get to it!

 

On that note, I second this.

 

Dante's Inferno has horrible platforming sections. Died far more from missing a jump a bunch of times in a row than from combat.

 

So I guess my gripe is - developers have got to stop making irritating platforming portions that have poor detection and derail the pace of their game.

 

I remember back in the day when Turok came out for the N64, the game was awesome, except for the horribly implemented platforming sections that resulted in constant death.

 

It's been the same with many, many games.

[Cyber Rat]

Those Goddamned Bats... (Or Medusa heads, or eagles...)

[Mister Jack]

I got one. I hate it when a game has deathtraps that kill you, but enemies can walk right through it like it's a sunny meadow.

[Mister Jack]

I liked the poker in Red Dead, but I can understand how it would be annoying if you don't already know how to play. I guess it'd be fair to take it out of the main storyline, but leave it in as a sidequest and multiplayer?

[Cyber Rat]

I guess this could be directed towards any unnecessary minigame in a game, really. Come to think of it, Blitzball was the worst possible minigame ever to exist in interactive entertainment and whoever designed it should be put into a separate circle of Hell.

 

Fixed that for ya.

[Yantelope]

I guess this could be directed towards any unnecessary minigame in a game, really. Come to think of it, Blitzball was the worst possible minigame ever to exist in interactive entertainment and whoever designed it should be put into a separate circle of Hell.

 

Fixed that for ya.

 

2nded.

 

Also, I'm gonna say infinitely respawing bad guys again because I'm playing through Black Ops.

[Cyber Rat]

Also, I'm gonna say infinitely respawing bad guys again because I'm playing through Black Ops.

 

That almost made me give up on Call of Duty 4 during the TV station.

 

EDIT: in the sense I wanted to give up after I realized it had infinite respawns, not because it was too hard.

[Mister Jack]

They STILL do that? I thought they cut that shit out after CoD4. No shooter should have infinitely respawning enemies. Ever. I don't give a fuck what the difficulty is set on. EVER.

[deanb]

Was Red Dead the one with the dice?

If so I quite liked that one.

 

edit: No that was The Witcher.

The Witchers Dice gambling mini-game was great.

Really pretty too.

[Mister Jack]

I never actually played Liar's Dice since I didn't know the rules. Didn't make sense to me in Dead Man's Chest so it probably wouldn't make sense to me in RDR.

[HotChops]

I've got one for military FPSs, particularly ones involving a squad of friendly cpu players.

 

I hate it when friendly squadmates cross in front of you while you're taking aim or shooting. It's surprising how often this happens in Battlefield, Call of Duty and Medal of Honor.

 

In reality, soldiers often slap their teammate on the shoulder to let them know that they're moving in front of them. This of course might not be so easy to incorporate in games, but there are possible solutions:

 

- The controller could vibrate to let you know, but that of course might conflict with other feedback, plus not all controllers have vibration.

 

- Simply program the damn AI not to cross in front of you while you're shooting! Aiming is one thing, but shooting? Come on, who would be stupid enough to cross in front of me when I'm firing 100-round volley from a LMG?

 

- teach basic squad tactics in the game's tutorial. They teach players how to shoot, go prone, throw grenades and switch weapons. Is it really that complicated to teach players how to adhere to simple formations?

[slithy toves]

I guess this could be directed towards any unnecessary minigame in a game, really. Come to think of it, Blitzball was the worst possible minigame ever to exist in interactive entertainment and whoever designed it should be put into a separate circle of Hell.

 

Fixed that for ya.

 

2nded.

 

Also, I'm gonna say infinitely respawing bad guys again because I'm playing through Black Ops.

 

i guess this means i 3rdened this.

 

i hate it when games have an item you need to be able to finish the game... and they let you pass a point where you're not able to go back and retrieve it if you miss it. i suppose this doesn't happen so much anymore, but god i still use sooooo many save slots because of this and get all uncomfortable when games (dragon quest ix i'm looking at you) force you to just have one save slot.

[Mister Jack]

It bugs me how in Call of Duty the enemy can snap to cover but you can't. Come on, that just isn't playing fair.

 

Edit: This applies to quite a few military shooters, but the CoD series is a particular offender.

[HotChops]

It bugs me how in Call of Duty the enemy can snap to cover but you can't. Come on, that just isn't playing fair.

 

Edit: This applies to quite a few military shooters, but the CoD series is a particular offender.

 

Can't they also blind-fire, but you can't?

[Chronixal]

Escort missions and arbitrary time limits.

[Cyber Rat]

Escort missions and arbitrary time limits.

 

You must despise Dead Rising.

[RadiantViper]

I always think of these things when I'm playing but forget them later ...

 

One off the top of my head is horrible checkpoint systems. I'm not on the side of people who say every game should let you save everywhere since that ruins the challenge/exploration of a lot of games, so I think in general just more checkpoints are in order. No one likes playing the same section they've mastered 40 times just to always get to the next impossible section and fail.

[Mister Jack]

It bugs me how in Call of Duty the enemy can snap to cover but you can't. Come on, that just isn't playing fair.

 

Edit: This applies to quite a few military shooters, but the CoD series is a particular offender.

 

Can't they also blind-fire, but you can't?

 

Yup. Which is bullcrap.

[ADIRTYWINDOW]

In sequels, when the protagonist loses all the previous weapons/abilities/power-ups.

[Mister Jack]

In sequels, when the protagonist loses all the previous weapons/abilities/power-ups.

 

Sadly, this one is probably unavoidable most of the time. Although God of War 3 was at least nice enough to let you keep some of the equipment from 2.

[Yantelope]

Yeah, it's tough to not lose all your equipment but on the other hand some games at least give a reason for why you lost all your equipment. Metroid Fusion was a good example of this.

[Chronixal]

Escort missions and arbitrary time limits.

 

You must despise Dead Rising.

 

I haven't played it but it doesn't sound like something I'd enjoy.

[RadiantViper]

I find the Bag of Spilling annoying from a continuity point of view ... but honestly, I would find playing a sequel already super-powered would be boring. It's fun finding the stuff again since it adds to exploration and all that.

 

Also, http://www.kdingo.net/champ/pics/main.php?g2_itemId=9337

[Yantelope]

Yeah, that's one of those things that doesn't make logical sense but from a game design standpoint it's fine by me.