things games need

[das müffin mann]

i found this small list of things modern games need and i found these to be true

Modern Saving

We are no longer limited by the space constraints of yore. Every game should have a quicksave (a save that can be done at any point, quits the game right after the save is complete and deletes itself when loaded). Every game should also have a sensible saving system. Losing progress when you feel like it’s unwarranted is one of the most frustrating player experiences.

So what is meant by a “sensible saving system”? Let me use Mass Effect as an example of a nonsensical saving system. Mass Effect uses a hybrid autosave/player save system. The player can save whenever they are not in combat but the game will automatically save at certain checkpoints. Time after time I’ve heard players say things like, “I lost twenty minutes of progress because I assumed it would save when I went into that building”. Unfortunately the game does not let the player save during combat, and does not necessarily autosave for them before major encounters.

Since there was an autosave players tended to rely on it, unfortunately it wasn’t always reliable. If you are going to include some form of check pointing or autosave system it’s got to be good enough that the player never has to save for themselves. This does not preclude a hybrid system: it just means that player saves should feel like a feature not a necessity.

Moreover, highly functional autosave systems should become the norm. Saving is a chore the player should not have to perform unless they want to. Autosave systems should retain the last few autosaves so that the player can roll back if they want to so that the player never has to worry about getting stuck. Strict autosave systems also have the added benefit of allowing the designers greater control over how badly the player is punished for failure...

But, no matter what saving system you employ the player should never feel as though they were cheated out of progress.

Knowing what the f’k I’m doing

A player should be able to put down a game for a period of months at a time and still be able to hop right back in. Anything else is self-defeating and counter-productive.

We’ve made huge strides in this area over the last several years. MMOs began to refine the “journaling system” or quest log as a necessity but console titles have recently picked up where they left off. Here’s a place where I can thoroughly praise Mass Effect. I encourage you to look at its journal system.

Is there more that can be done? Of course. We can do everything from including video recaps in our journals to creating logical naming conventions for player saves. I still see too many games where all the saves simply label themselves by the hours played instead of where the player was or what they were doing.

What specifically should be done will be very game specific but the player should always have access to the information that will tell them just what they are doing and why. This is one of the hardest things to achieve on this list, but it is also one of the most important.

Stay tuned next time for the final five. It will include in game manuals, meaningful loading screens and more...!


the other ones can be found at this link
http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9875&Itemid=59


so what else do you guys think is lacking in many games these days?
note: please dont say graphics

[Solaris17]

i totally agree i hate picking up FF games and being like WTF am i doing? Morrowinds journalism system was a step in the right direction but was very loose in some areas...for example if you completed a quest unless you had another one going than the journal said nothing more..as you wont get another quest unless you talk to someone who will give you the last part...and of course it wouldnt tell you which means if you boot the game after 3 months of not p[laying you are in a wolrd of WTF am i doing?...and please dont say dont play it for 3 months oblivion is better and almost exactly like morrowind in the fact that the games span is absolutely huge..finishing morrowind in one sitting will resualt in physical player death...


the only game that i think has totally hit the nail on the head in your first part is crysis...it saves at auto check points and allows you to save whenever you want even in combat i can save getting a rocket shot at me or save while jumping off a cliff and i can creat a new one effectively giving me a list of the past like 200 saves incase i screwed up or think theirs a better way of handeling something.

[GJSNeptune]

So you want strictly linear games? Why are you putting a game down for months if you haven't beaten it? That's not the nature of a true gamer.

[Triprift]

Autosave systems should definitly become the norm one of the worst offenders for bad saving was the destroy all humans game where yad have to finish a level to save. If ya died thru the level youd have to go to start and do it all again pure unadultirated madness.

[Solaris17]

no i dont want stricktly linear games...i want to be able to do w/e quest i want and they provide that however they dont tell you what needs to be done next in that quest line..in my opinion changing that so it does does not make it non linear it simply makes it so its easier to pick back up......and you have a very flawed version of non true gamer...because i think im rpetty extreme. for example dropping morrowind when i got oblivion to play it non stop for months....ya no life and that would probably be the reason i didnt play morrowind nice try though..

o and on a side note i seriously doubt youve beaten oblivion have you talked to the thousands upon thousands of ppl in the game and completed all the side quests not just the main.....that would take years....i cant take a break to bplay crysis all the way through...i dont think you know me as a gamer...i can rarely put a gome down...but i get i touch with reality when ppl said oblivion was almost impossable to beat with the amount of depth to the game..

[GJSNeptune]

Haven't played Oblivion.

[francis511]

Good article

:cool::cool:

[AsRock]

Haven't played Oblivion.

OB is worth playing even today but to me they made it hell loads easier than Morrowind.

I have to agree with your post you made to.

What bugs me with games is that they make most of them to simple to be able to give better graphics.

For a example Ghost Recon not the biggest maps but had much more freedom than GRAW 1 and 2. NWN2 was another storys not to bad but the area of freedom is much less than NWN and did not require loads of downloading as the modules are much smaller.

There needs a good balance as i like good graphics but i all so like freedom and story.

Arma gives you that freedom ( 50KM ) maps but story is lacking but small downloadable missing and to be able make your own and play with friends makes it great in my eye's.

Bioshock near had what i am after it even got away with being strange?. BUT had exceptable graphics and a little twist in the story. BUT best story i heard in a game has to be Deus Ex.

Good story
Freedom
Graphics

OB near had this story was not the greatest but the other like Graphic and freedom made this game.

[jbunch07]

thats one thing i didnt like about doom3 if u saved it and came back to play it a day or 2 later you where like ok wtf was i doing? and end up backtracking or something and going completely the wrong way...

[GJSNeptune]

I bought FFVII a couple years ago during my senior year in college for nostalgic kicks. I got to the third disc and got a little tired of it. I came back a few weeks later and I forgot what I was going after. The third disc is completely open. You can go fight the end boss, or you can do quests and get better weapons.

But I like openness. I like to explore.

[ShadowFold]

1. Games need to be longer and have amazing story lines. Half-Life 2, Never-Winter Nights, Warcraft are some examples. I love when I play a game and it just feels epic and never ending. Good never ending games are Neverwinter and Oblivion even tho Oblivions story was meh, I thought it was kinda cool at the time.

2. Games need epic and huge landscapes that almost never repeat. With some mods Oblivion achieves this and so does neverwinter on some levels. World of Warcraft's map is huge and all the areas differ from each other. Imagine a single player game with a really long story in a map thats the size of Azeroth!

3. Optimization is really something devs need to work on. A good example of an optimized game is Half-Life 2, I can run it maxed on a Pentium 4 1.6ghz and a 6150Onboard. Crysis on the other hand runs like crap on even the highest end of machines unless you get some optimizers from a 3rd party which is pretty pathetic.

[jbunch07]

1. Games need to be longer and have amazing story lines. Half-Life 2, Never-Winter Nights, Warcraft are some examples. I love when I play a game and it just feels epic and never ending. Good never ending games are Neverwinter and Oblivion even tho Oblivions story was meh, I thought it was kinda cool at the time.

2. Games need epic and huge landscapes that almost never repeat. With some mods Oblivion achieves this and so does neverwinter on some levels. World of Warcraft's map is huge and all the areas differ from each other. Imagine a single player game with a really long story in a map thats the size of Azeroth!

3. Optimization is really something devs need to work on. A good example of an optimized game is Half-Life 2, I can run it maxed on a Pentium 4 1.6ghz and a 6150Onboard. Crysis on the other hand runs like crap on even the highest end of machines unless you get some optimizers from a 3rd party which is pretty pathetic.

i agree i think fps games should have really f'in big worlds that they let you explore and do stupid stuff in...like gta games had pretty big worlds that you could just rome and do whatever...or racing games that had free rome where awesome like midnight club and nfs

edit: also agree with games being longer...fps games are way to short imo...especially crysis...

[Solaris17]

1. Games need to be longer and have amazing story lines. Half-Life 2, Never-Winter Nights, Warcraft are some examples. I love when I play a game and it just feels epic and never ending. Good never ending games are Neverwinter and Oblivion even tho Oblivions story was meh, I thought it was kinda cool at the time.

2. Games need epic and huge landscapes that almost never repeat. With some mods Oblivion achieves this and so does neverwinter on some levels. World of Warcraft's map is huge and all the areas differ from each other. Imagine a single player game with a really long story in a map thats the size of Azeroth!

3. Optimization is really something devs need to work on. A good example of an optimized game is Half-Life 2, I can run it maxed on a Pentium 4 1.6ghz and a 6150Onboard. Crysis on the other hand runs like crap on even the highest end of machines unless you get some optimizers from a 3rd party which is pretty pathetic.


dude mad respect for another lover of NWN i have both 1 and 2 and those are my fav rpg of all time no doubt

[Silverel]

I'd like to see more "leveling" aspects in FPS games. A lot of them touch on it slightly with upgrade systems. Advent Rising (XBOX), was a game that I picked up for 5$ at a local game shop. Excellent game once you get used to it, has a lot of weapons that level as you use them, and the main character develops powers that grow stronger throughout the game as well. Its an action-adventure game that plays a lot like an FPS, minus the first person. Not enough to be called an RPG, and still very linear. I think the closer they can get to developing hybrid games that flow smoothly, the better. You can actually find it on Steam these days.

It was one of the few games over the past couple years that really dove into alternative play styles. Reviewers put it between 50-83 out of 100, which just screams to me that it's too different to base much off it. Try comparing it to other games, and you fail. Look at it for what it is, and it's very playable and enjoyable. You could probably run straight through it in 10-15 hours, but the ability to level up your powers and weapons will stretch that out to 20-25 like it did for me. Bosses are difficult, until you figure out the "trick" to defeating them. Its something that has irritated me over the years, you should always be able to brute force an enemy to the ground, imo. Voice acting is very VERY good, refreshing considering the vast amount of games that just suck it out.

If you have Steam, or can find it laying around, pick it up. There's plenty to be enjoyed.

[xfire]

Main part Fun Game-Play like in Serious Sam 2 and the ability to many different attacks giving many combo's. Any one played LF2 its a 2-D game but what makes it special is One can customise the charecters oneself in MSPaint itself.
Games also need to work on all platforms and with PC on all OS'es.

[das müffin mann]

I'd like to see more "leveling" aspects in FPS games. A lot of them touch on it slightly with upgrade systems. Advent Rising (XBOX), was a game that I picked up for 5$ at a local game shop. Excellent game once you get used to it, has a lot of weapons that level as you use them, and the main character develops powers that grow stronger throughout the game as well. Its an action-adventure game that plays a lot like an FPS, minus the first person. Not enough to be called an RPG, and still very linear. I think the closer they can get to developing hybrid games that flow smoothly, the better. You can actually find it on Steam these days.

It was one of the few games over the past couple years that really dove into alternative play styles. Reviewers put it between 50-83 out of 100, which just screams to me that it's too different to base much off it. Try comparing it to other games, and you fail. Look at it for what it is, and it's very playable and enjoyable. You could probably run straight through it in 10-15 hours, but the ability to level up your powers and weapons will stretch that out to 20-25 like it did for me. Bosses are difficult, until you figure out the "trick" to defeating them. Its something that has irritated me over the years, you should always be able to brute force an enemy to the ground, imo. Voice acting is very VERY good, refreshing considering the vast amount of games that just suck it out.

If you have Steam, or can find it laying around, pick it up. There's plenty to be enjoyed.

i have to agree i really liked the game it was just enjoyable to play the voice acting was great and the score was execellent there were i few parts that i didn't like (i hated most boss fights) especially the one with the big rancor like thing i spent a good hour or two just beating up on it until i figured out how to take it down, i really liked that game because the story was very good, gameplay was lacking at times but combining the powers was very fun for me

also you should be able beat any boss with straight on brute force, maybe have weak points that make it easier

also what is nwn? is it like oblivion or diablo or FF? a few people seem to love it but i never checked it out

also i loved oblivion and gta because you could save whenever do what ever you want but still know what your suposed to be doing

fps really need to be longer these days crysis pissed me off in that aspect that was really the only downside for me with that game (other than sys req.)
also NO MORE LOOKING FOR KEYS and other pointless items in games, its stupid and pointless thats when i quit playing a few games is because you always had to look for a friggin key or some shittin thing to open a weak wooden door that you could hack open with you sword or simply kick it open or something

also fable was a great game you could wader around a lot but still know what your doing and you could hack open doors and a lot of customization options (cant wait for 2)

[GJSNeptune]

Games need to appeal more to girlfriends. Aside from The Sims, that is.

[candle_86]

this is why i like games like Civlization and the Total War games, everything plays diffrent everytime, and after every battle the game saves and at the end of every turn.

[das müffin mann]

i never really saw teh appeal of the sims, my old gf loved the sims i tried to get her to play gta she liked some of it (driving around) but she didn't like teh rest (killing hookers ;))

[das müffin mann]

+1 candle
another thing games need is replay value, make the game worth buying (for me this is one of the biggest parts of actually buying a game)

[candle_86]

i agree, thats why empire building games last so long, today i can pick up say Civilization II and it plays diffrent than the last time and is sitll enjoyable even if its from 1994. A 14 year old game retains its appeal when a 2 year old game can not. Hell i like SimCity 2000 still also. Empire building is the one and only type that will never repeat, even an MMO and an RPG have limited possibilities

[das müffin mann]

have to agree man i loved those games of course back then they were more worried about gameplay than graphics ;)

[GJSNeptune]

Ah, the days of Civ. on the SNES. I miss those days. Best gaming ever. The days when EA didn't push games out like a catholic wife. The days when developers cared about story and gameplay.

I would go back to the SNES and PSX days in a heartbeat.

[das müffin mann]

goldeneye and the original perfect dark still have to be some of my fav. fps games to date

[candle_86]

I agree, when did we go from a game that could be fun 20 years later to a game that can be fun for 5 hours, COD4 SP come to mind anyone?

[candle_86]

goldeneye and the original perfect dark still have to be some of my fav. fps games to date

no arguments here, i still play them both, I love to setup a laptop gun in facitliy right outside the bathoom then sit in there with the railgun, best fun ever on perfect dark

For goldeneye it has to be complex though, with the goldengun :D

[das müffin mann]

i loved cod4 single now if only they added 10hrs to it then all would be good


also fps games should NOT have enimies keep spawning

[candle_86]

yea it was fun first run through, but the second time is the same crap, all you can do is make it harder, the FPS hasnt changed much since Half Life

[jbunch07]

goldeneye and the original perfect dark still have to be some of my fav. fps games to date

ain't that the truth!
i could play those games all damn day long and not get board or tired of them...and so what if the graphics where not all that great they were still fun as hell!
multiplayer on those games was so much fun!

[das müffin mann]

god i skipped so many days of school to play mp with my buddies, great memories

[jbunch07]

god i skipped so many days of school to play mp with my buddies, great memories

ahh yes...i remember me and the guys would have multiplayer tournaments...those where the good ole days

[candle_86]

now i think where all forgetting another fun one, The World is Not Enough was great, it was like Goldeneye, and fun as hell. I could pick people off all day with the Mag 44

[jbunch07]

now i think where all forgetting another fun one, The World is Not Enough was great, it was like Goldeneye, and fun as hell. I could pick people off all day with the Mag 44
oh man how did we forget that game? it was awesome!

[candle_86]

anyone feel the N64 had some of the best games ever?

Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, The World is Not Enough, Mario 64, MarioCart 64, StarFox, Rouge Squadron, Zelda Ornica of Time ect

[Silverel]

also what is nwn? is it like oblivion or diablo or FF?

also NO MORE LOOKING FOR KEYS and other pointless items in games, its stupid and pointless thats when i quit playing a few games is because you always had to look for a friggin key or some shittin thing to open a weak wooden door that you could hack open with you sword or simply kick it open or something

NWN is Neverwinter Nights. It's more like diablo than anything, but much much better.

a BIG +1 to getting rid of useless finding keys. Doors are meant to be broken. Don't tell me that rickety beaten wooden door, with it's rusted shut iron keyhole ain't gonna be kicked down in half a second because I NEED a "key". I got a key right here for ya, it's called the MIGHTY BOOT.

[GJSNeptune]

I had great fun in college playing inter-dorm LAN battles in Quake III Arena. And in my hall I would play Ghost Recon and C&C Generals with my roommate and RA across the hall.

Then the next year the school basically isolated the dorms, so no more LAN fun. :(

[jbunch07]

anyone feel the N64 had some of the best games ever?

Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, The World is Not Enough, Mario 64, MarioCart 64, StarFox, Rouge Squadron, Zelda Ornica of Time ect

hell yes!
i wish i had a an emulator to play those games on my pc because i sure as hell would

[das müffin mann]

anyone feel the N64 had some of the best games ever?

Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, The World is Not Enough, Mario 64, MarioCart 64, StarFox, Rouge Squadron, Zelda Ornica of Time ect

hell yeahs those games are classics and i still play them today, i was playing duke nukem the other day god that was a great system, wasn't to fond of the controller but god damn it was worth it