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Bad game design elements


Just Crouton

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[quote name='~King Crouton~' timestamp='1325900400' post='5751903']
Regenerative health - Megaman X3[/quote]
So... You either pick up the Helmet chip that prevents you from getting the other chip, OR get [i]everything else[/i] in the game in order to get an un-savable Golden Armor.
(Then again, you only really need it for the Sigma fortress)
Just for an HP regenerating ability that requires you to stand still, and takes like 1-2 minutes to completly finish?

I'll just stick with the Boots Chip for double-dashing, thank you.

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I honestly don't see the problems with the FF examples, or regenerating health.

TBQH, what I'll complain about in terms of game design isn't just "this is a mechanic in a few games I dislike". If I were to simply list those, you'd get me listing off things like fetch quests and escort missions.

But no, I'd much rather complain about something that's actually a problem in game design in general. That would be developers playing copycat. All it results in is an oversaturated market for one kind of game where few things completely stand out, usually things that were part of that market before everyone started copying anyways, and the other types of games end up getting small print runs. Several genres and sub-genres have had their turn at this, mons, platformers, etc, but ATM I'm looking at you FPSs.

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Probably being killed too easily. There's no honor in combat if you defeat your opponent in half a second. This is referring to multiplayer, of course.


And game elements that seem awesome but suck when put into usage.

Like the S.M.A.R.T. system from Brink. That was a great idea, but it's execution was terrible. Flawed, and a bit glitchy.

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The title is so amazingly vague, it's not funny. Bad game design elements? There's like 300 different genres for games. Each of those genres has things that work well and don't work well in them. Bad game design can't apply exactly the same for every single genre.

Regenerative health will work in some games. Namely, any game that is fast-paced enough that the small amounts of regen is useful and important. In slower games where you can just stall in various spots, it doesn't really work. The exception to that is first-person games, like any FPS or Skyrim, for example. They can stall, but combat is much more lengthy and you take damage much more frequently.

A lot of the time, gimmicks are what makes a game good, and what makes them stand out from the endless number of similar games. Some are fundamentally flawed though. Limit Breaks are ultimately promoting grinding, which should never be needed in a game (lolfinalfantasy). Limit Breaks, however, do appeal to certain audiences, and on Square-Enix's half, they did do a good job of making a gimmick that was appealing to the casual audiences. Trance was once again mehish. Only because that it was far too gimmicky. A good gimmick usually is anything that doesn't completely change the gameplay, and for no reason either. Megaman Battle Network had great gimmicks, as they were well made and memorable, but didn't make a massive difference in which that it changed gameplay far too much. Not saying that Megaman Battle Network was an amazingly well made game though.

Even so, the only reasons why gimmicks are even needed in the current state of game design is because developers can't be bothered to make their games notably different as a [b]whole game [/b]rather than in various independent gameplay elements. Developers are making games, which are basically too similar to other games, and compensate by adding gimmicks. Then again, the only reason it's like this is because some genres are fundamentally limited. Too bad.

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Bad Game Design Elements that I can list:

-Enemies able to hit you for your maximum damage -1, just to be a hardened penis in some RPGs (Golden Sun, Nomad from Runescape, ect.)
-AIs like to team-up against you when given the chance, even though they are not on a team (Oh god Mario Kart in the Battle Modes and in Mario Kart 7)
-AI can control all of their units simultaneously while you can only control 1 unit at a time (I'm looking at you Mario Strikers Charged)
-Underleveled Evolved Pokemon for reasons of confusion and maybe overpowerment (if you do not take the time to level up your own pokemon)
-Requiring use of the least feasible control in a game just to get through
-Technical Spam

these are just some bad design elements.

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[quote name='Koloktos' timestamp='1325952653' post='5752662']
Bad Game Design Elements that I can list:

-Enemies able to hit you for your maximum damage -1, just to be a hardened penis in some RPGs (Golden Sun, Nomad from Runescape, ect.)
-AIs like to team-up against you when given the chance, even though they are not on a team (Oh god Mario Kart in the Battle Modes and in Mario Kart 7)
-AI can control all of their units simultaneously while you can only control 1 unit at a time (I'm looking at you Mario Strikers Charged)
-Underleveled Evolved Pokemon for reasons of confusion and maybe overpowerment (if you do not take the time to level up your own pokemon)
-Requiring use of the least feasible control in a game just to get through
-Technical Spam

these are just some bad design elements.
[/quote]

Apparently, video game developers have space on a game to develop separate AIs for every single unit.

And I'm pretty sure the underleveled pokémon were just accidental, or because of events etc. Besides, that's not a design point. Just an extremely specific point in gameplay.

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extremely specific point is jealousy-inducing though. However, it really does get overwhelming at times when you realize you are 1 person going up against 4 different computers in a Soccer (or Football for the non-Americans) match, which makes the game Nintendo Hard.

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[quote name='Koloktos' timestamp='1325952653' post='5752662']
Bad Game Design Elements that I can list:

-Underleveled Evolved Pokemon for reasons of confusion and maybe overpowerment (if you do not take the time to level up your own pokemon)
[/quote]

Thats not bad game design, it's quite nice. Nor is it unfair. When you run through any Pokemon game, you either have 1 majorly strong pokemon (usually your starter) that breaks everything even pokemon its weak against. But if you even stop for a little and bother to alternate on even a whim, you usually end up with a party of 3 pokemon + the designated HM Slaves on the level of your opponents or the level+2.

As for me, only one I can think of thats actually bothered me yet is games that do not have the ability to skip cutscenes.

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I forgot to add tutorials that stop the game and are unavoidable. Tutorials should be optional and simply made accessible through the config or whatever like in Final Fantasy 8 when you need them. Either that, or the game should pop up a small screen that tells you what to do while you play.

EDIT: For example, I was playing Kingdom Hearts 350-whatever days, and the first mission of the game is learning to open a treasure chest. Now, if this event triggered a monster attack, leading into the first battle, or you needed to learn some stylus trick, then okay. But like in every RPG, it's a 1 button process that wastes a minute or so of gameplay. The second mission is teaching you how to fight, yet another task that doesn't need a mandatory tutorial, especially since this is a DS game, and the controls could be placed on the other screen like how Ultimate Mortal Kombat lists the player's moves and fatalities on the second screen.

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[quote name='Koloktos' timestamp='1326047419' post='5754743']
I call it a bad design because it is also a disruption in rhythm. I know that I sound nit-picky, but I expect consistency in Leveling up. Early evolution just ruins the rhythm for me and that is why I consider that a bad element.
[/quote]

Disrupts the rhythm? In most cases, [i]the player won't notice[/i].

In any case, as I said, lower-level evolved Pokemon have been available many, many times. Another example is that LV50 Dragonite official event back in gen 4.

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[quote name='burnpsy' timestamp='1326052506' post='5754951']
Disrupts the rhythm? In most cases, [i]the player won't notice[/i].

In any case, as I said, lower-level evolved Pokemon have been available many, many times. Another example is that LV50 Dragonite official event back in gen 4.
[/quote]

It just bothers me for some reason. For example, when I was 8 and I played Silver, *I forgot the name of the 1st Gym Leader but I think it was Falcor?* had a Level 9 Pidgeotto and that made me think that the game suffered a glitch.

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[quote name='Lovely Warrior ❤ Fairymon' timestamp='1326295268' post='5759282']
Boob jiggle: I know they are trying to make a game "realistic" but they go way overboard with the boob jiggle its like no girl in video games wear a bra.
[/quote]


It's because they have to appeal to Teenage Boys, A.K.A: Perverts.

but teehee.

Another one I hate is characters who never shut up.

In specific:

BANG
NOEL
LITCHI
DIZZY
I-NO
EDDIE

SHUT UP

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[quote name='Order-Sol' timestamp='1326307648' post='5759523']
It's because they have to appeal to Teenage Boys, A.K.A: Perverts.

but teehee.

Another one I hate is characters who never shut up.

In specific:

BANG
NOEL
LITCHI
DIZZY
I-NO
EDDIE

SHUT UP
[/quote]

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NocwTvB7puU"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NocwTvB7puU[/url]

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03e-kKjko_U"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03e-kKjko_U[/url]

I believe you forgot Robotnik/Eggman

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