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SlowRevolution · Feb 23, 2015

http://www.gamespot.com/videos/gaming-trends-that-need-to-die-in-2015/2300-6423493/

Some of the things they list are pretty common complaints, but there are some you don't hear as often. Worth checking out, I think.

10k · Feb 23, 2015

I'm on mobile and can't watch the video. Is bad gaming journalism one of the trends?

mp1990 · Feb 23, 2015

The armor thing was really nitpicking but overall i agree with the video,especially on the MOBA trend. Like,i hate LOL and Dota but i'm ok if you want people want to play it,i don't give a fuck,just don't try to make a MOBA game of every franchise.

SolidSnakex · Feb 23, 2015

10k said:
I'm on mobile and can't watch the video. Is bad gaming journalism one of the trends?

- Pinging the world to highlight objects of interest
- Gamer vision/detective vision
- Patches
- Too many MOBA games trying to grab eSports bucks
- Buying ingame money with real money
- Skimpy armor
- Kickstarter games going missing

It's pretty boring stuff. The biggest problem with the video is way too much unnecessary acting bullshit. Just talk about the issues.

MC Safety · Feb 23, 2015

10k said:
I'm on mobile and can't watch the video. Is bad gaming journalism one of the trends?

You didn't miss anything. GameSpot is trying out its comedy routine.

Jamie OD · Feb 23, 2015

SolidSnakex said:
- Pinging the world to highlight objects of interest
- Gamer vision/detective vision
- Patches
- Too many MOBA games trying to grab eSports bucks
- Buying ingame money with real money
- Skimpy armor
- Kickstarter games going missing

It's pretty boring stuff. The biggest problem with the video is way too much unnecessary acting bullshit. Just talk about the issues.

There was also brief gags about mandatory sign-ins for online services to play certain games (Uplay) and wireless controllers having shorter battery lives.

SatoAilDarko · Feb 23, 2015

SolidSnakex said:
- Pinging the world to highlight objects of interest
- Gamer vision/detective vision
- Patches
- Too many MOBA games trying to grab eSports bucks
- Buying ingame money with real money
- Skimpy armor
- Kickstarter games going missing

It's pretty boring stuff. The biggest problem with the video is way too much unnecessary acting bullshit. Just talk about the issues.

The pinging stuff is so weird. Why bother even putting stuff in different places if plauers can literally have them pointed out. What's the point of exploration might as well just put everything in a chest for every room.

Arion · Feb 23, 2015

SolidSnakex said:
- Pinging the world to highlight objects of interest
- Gamer vision/detective vision
- Patches
- Too many MOBA games trying to grab eSports bucks
- Buying ingame money with real money
- Skimpy armor
- Kickstarter games going missing

It's pretty boring stuff. The biggest problem with the video is way too much unnecessary acting bullshit. Just talk about the issues.

I'm okay with skimpy armor. What we need is more male skimpy armor so women and gay men can also have some eye-candy.

SatoAilDarko said:
The pinging stuff is so weird. Why bother even putting stuff in different places if plauers can literally have them pointed out. What's the point of exploration might as well just put everything in a chest for every room.

Developers want to have their cake and eat it too. They want realistic fully realized worlds but it's difficult to pick out important little tidbits like special herbs and bits of ore unless you are trained to do so. Instead of making those stuffs visually stand out too much and ruining the aesthetic of the game we have the pinging mechanic to make them stand out.

Caronte · Feb 23, 2015

Arion said:
I'm okay with skimpy armor. What we need is more male skimpy armor so women and gay men can also have some eye-candy.

Square Enix tried and it wasn't eye-candy at all.

Tal Shiar Agent · Feb 23, 2015

Lack of female protagonists.

Players should be able to choose their player gender in all games without an established character (ie stuff like Uncharted and Halo). New IPs or new games in a series where each new game has a new protagonist (ie Assassin's Creed) the player should be able to choose to play as either a man or woman.

If BioWare can afford to have four voice actors for the player character, other AA and AAA developers certainly can.

1044 · Feb 23, 2015

SatoAilDarko said:
The pinging stuff is so weird. Why bother even putting stuff in different places if plauers can literally have them pointed out. What's the point of exploration might as well just put everything in a chest for every room.

I got tired real fast of having to ping every 5 steps in DAI. I would have greatly preferred if mundane things like resource nodes just automatically highlighted once you got within a certain distance.

I think detective mode and pinging can be well-implemented if used sparingly for special events. I think the Arkham games did this pretty well when you had to find certain clues in a story part.

AHA-Lambda · Feb 23, 2015

SolidSnakex said:
- Pinging the world to highlight objects of interest
- Gamer vision/detective vision
- Patches
- Too many MOBA games trying to grab eSports bucks
- Buying ingame money with real money
- Skimpy armor
- Kickstarter games going missing

It's pretty boring stuff. The biggest problem with the video is way too much unnecessary acting bullshit. Just talk about the issues.

Not microtransactions or broken games? Really?

whiteninja · Feb 23, 2015

Agree with those except for the skimpy armor. Detective vision can be annoying sometimes, especially as cat woman in Arkham City. Couldn't see shit with that on.

MrCunningham · Feb 23, 2015

SolidSnakex said:
- Pinging the world to highlight objects of interest
- Gamer vision/detective vision
- Patches
- Too many MOBA games trying to grab eSports bucks
- Buying ingame money with real money
- Skimpy armor
- Kickstarter games going missing

It's pretty boring stuff. The biggest problem with the video is way too much unnecessary acting bullshit. Just talk about the issues.

Yeah I agree. The presentation was more annoying than it should have been for a video that didn't really cover that much ground. Personally, I think some of these aren't really that big of a deal, while some of the bigger issues just get glossed over in the video. Day one patches are a real evil, I honestly think these are just being done now to deter pirates more than anything else. Kickstarter games going missing? Yeah that is a problem, and is a topic that has been covered by just about everybody else much better.

Onaco · Feb 23, 2015

I guess games releasing broken isn't a major issue. Congrats, GameSpot.

SlowRevolution · Feb 23, 2015

MrCunningham said:
Yeah I agree. The presentation was more annoying than it should have been

yeah, that's kind of par for the course for the dude who made it.

Beren the Empty-Handed · Feb 23, 2015

Retailer-exclusive content needs to be on that list.

~ Zyzomys ~ · Feb 23, 2015

I am playing Tomb Raider: DE right now on my PS4 and every room I enter, I automatically press L1 (ping for items of interest). Just make them sparkle, it would save me some time. 😀

My pet peeve is QTEs. I just hate them. If you want a cinematic scene, just play it. I hate sitting on the edge of my seat, hoping not to screw up which button to press. Let me enjoy the scene, and just tell the story. The QTEs in Tomb Raider

E are driving me to distraction.

Cheers

GavinUK86 · Feb 23, 2015

Why does the woman have to talk about the boob armour? I'm sure the same guy who voiced the rest of the video could've done it. Also, trying to funny when you're not should be on the list. This video included.

autoduelist · Feb 23, 2015

I like pinging the world. I hate searching for stuff that may or may not be there. Pinging makes collectathons bearable. Same with 'detective vision'.

Patches are better than no patches, though I agree companies need to keep some games in dev longer.

LiveFromKyoto · Feb 23, 2015

I like the production values.

SlowRevolution · Feb 23, 2015

GavinUK86 said:
Why does the woman have to talk about the boob armour? I'm sure the same guy who voiced the rest of the video could've done it. Also, trying to funny when you're not should be on the list. This video included.

It's different guys. They probably all came up with their own bits.

Sheroking · Feb 23, 2015

Any list like this that doesn't explicitly highlight all of the crap mobile developers are getting away with loses me completely.

LaserHawk · Feb 23, 2015

So, the skimpy armor argument always bugs me. I mean, I think it's okay for people to not want it based on their distaste for its visual design or sexism or whatever. But the reason people always bring up is that it's dangerous to the wearer or functionally ineffective, and I think that's a silly reason. In a video game, that kind of realism went out the window a long time ago.

SolidSnakex said:
It's pretty boring stuff. The biggest problem with the video is way too much unnecessary acting bullshit. Just talk about the issues.

I actually got really irritated with how unstructured and "artsy" the video was trying to be. It felt like it was trying to be a three-minute independent documentary, and I came out of it feeling uninformed and irritable.

ActuallyHulk · Feb 23, 2015

Personally I'd put patches + whatever method they can use to milk the most money out of the consumer over things like skimpy armor and detective vision. Detective vision makes sense can make sense depending on the game. Batman? Completely fine. Hitman? Please.

So, the skimpy armor argument always bugs me. I mean, I think it's okay for people to not want it based on their distaste for its visual design or sexism or whatever. But the reason people always bring up is that it's dangerous to the wearer or functionally ineffective, and I think that's a silly reason. In a video game, that kind of realism went out the window a long time ago.

I feel the same way. I know the "IT'S MAGIC" excuse is something people don't like to hear but that's legit how I've always thought of it ever since I was very young and saw my characters in RPGs getting smacked by giants and not being squashed like a pancake. Of course then they go and die in a cutscene as if all their armor or lack thereof was just paper.

Deified Data · Feb 23, 2015

SolidSnakex said:
- Skimpy armor

I just want skimpy armor for everyone. The more options, the better.

Petrae · Feb 23, 2015

Onaco said:
I guess games releasing broken isn't a major issue. Congrats, GameSpot.

Patches are bad, but releasing broken games isn't. GameSpot logic.

Pankratous · Feb 23, 2015

SG-17 said:
Lack of female protagonists.

Players should be able to choose their player gender in all games without an established character (ie stuff like Uncharted and Halo). New IPs or new games in a series where each new game has a new protagonist (ie Assassin's Creed) the player should be able to choose to play as either a man or woman.

If BioWare can afford to have four voice actors for the player character, other AA and AAA developers certainly can.

What the fuck, no? Games like AC absolutely should not have a choice in character. That would make the character non-canon and ruin the story. Can you imagine reading Wiki and the character was just referred to as "The Assassin (AC5)"... like how Skyrim always "The Dragonborn". Boring and yawn, no thanks.

SlowRevolution · Feb 23, 2015

don't think this was ever intended to be (or billed as, but maybe I missed that part) the quintessential list of every single thing wrong with gaming: it's different editors/producers offering up the ones that bother them, personally.

RalchAC · Feb 23, 2015

1044 said:
I got tired real fast of having to ping every 5 steps in DAI. I would have greatly preferred if mundane things like resource nodes just automatically highlighted once you got within a certain distance.

I think detective mode and pinging can be well-implemented if used sparingly for special events. I think the Arkham games did this pretty well when you had to find certain clues in a story part.

I think that both the detective vision and the audiologs / diaries / text collectables are some of the most tired design elements this gen.

On Batman Detective Mode is cool. You're Batman, it makes sense, and exploring a place and looking for clues and stuff is cool. There are some neat Riddle challenges that use it IIRC.

But it's been implemented in many games since then. And most of the time it just doesn't feel that good. I think that was, for example, a problem in TLOU. Using it removed part of the tension when you're fighting clickers. The game definitely is more tense (and better IMO) if you don't upgrade it (so the range is smaller) and you try to not use it.

And the second one. There are some games when it's really cool. OG Bioshock audiodiaries are fucking great. They give a lot to the atmosphere and are really well written. But many games seem to think of them as simple collectables and don't put enough effort in them as they should.

TLOU had great notes. I liked how in Batman Arkham City you unlocked criminal records and character descriptions (especially because I'm not a big superhero comic fan, so many characters were new to me) Tomb Raider ones are an example of the poorly written collectables.

Jumplion · Feb 23, 2015

Arion said:
I'm okay with skimpy armor. What we need is more male skimpy armor so women and gay men can also have some eye-candy.

Developers want to have their cake and eat it too. They want realistic fully realized worlds but it's difficult to pick out important little tidbits like special herbs and bits of ore unless you are trained to do so. Instead of making those stuffs visually stand out too much and ruining the aesthetic of the game we have the pinging mechanic to make them stand out.

Equal opportunity sexism probably isn't the solution to sexism, really.

But the pinging mechanic I totally agree with, way too often games have something that just reveals where exactly you should go to, as if they don't trust the level design to naturally let the player proceed.

Chie Satonaka · Feb 23, 2015

Onaco said:
I guess games releasing broken isn't a major issue. Congrats, GameSpot.

Look, friend...

Priorities.

ActuallyHulk · Feb 23, 2015

Onaco said:
I guess games releasing broken isn't a major issue. Congrats, GameSpot.

I thought patches was an extension of that. Like saying "Hey the game is broken but can just patch it later lol now ship it and roll me a joint"

burgervan · Feb 23, 2015

I agree with most of what they're saying but god damn that video is over-produced. It's cool that they're putting actual effort into it, but that was just too much.

Surface of Me · Feb 23, 2015

I disagree with the pinging complaint, it makes sense in most games it's in, doesn't break immersion for me really.

Logging into other services other than PSN/Live INFURIATES me. 2k, Ubishit, EA Asses, all need to go. Let me play the damn game without you emailing me about your next game every 5 minutes.

Intheflorsh · Feb 23, 2015

AHA-Lambda said:
Not microtransactions or broken games? Really?

- Buying ingame money with real money

Hexa · Feb 23, 2015

My List:

-Metacritic actually mattering
-Broken Games/Lack of QA
-Ridiculous Microtransactions
-Bloated AAA budgets
-General atmosphere of negativity
-Ridiculous pre-order bonuses including specific retailer crap

All I can think off of the top of my head. Pinging and super vision are fine if devs think they fit the game. Patches are a perfectly good way to deal with issues and even add features, but the game shouldn't ship broken. Creating MOBAs is fine if people are playing them and enjoying them, and if they're not the trend will die soon enough, just like it did with CoD. Skimpy armor is fine. The Kickstarter model has problems, but I don't quite think that there's a trend that needs to be fixed. Rather, people just need to accept that that's how the system functions.

Imo of course, just in case that isn't implied.

Deified Data · Feb 23, 2015

Pankratous said:
What the fuck, no? Games like AC absolutely should not have a choice in character. That would make the character non-canon and ruin the story. Can you imagine reading Wiki and the character was just referred to as "The Assassin (AC5)"... like how Skyrim always "The Dragonborn". Boring and yawn, no thanks.

He specifically said "all games without an established character".

Blackage · Feb 23, 2015

This list sucks. Day 1 Patches for actual broken games is the only thing I remotely cared about, and even then it seemed like he was bitching about having to patch in general.

Tal Shiar Agent · Feb 23, 2015

Pankratous said:
What the fuck, no? Games like AC absolutely should not have a choice in character. That would make the character non-canon and ruin the story. Can you imagine reading Wiki and the character was just referred to as "The Assassin (AC5)"... like how Skyrim always "The Dragonborn". Boring and yawn, no thanks.

Please. All the character needs is a last name and similar first name. Joseph, Josephine etc. The story doesn't need to change at all. They can romance the same characters, do the same missions, have the same story. There are no negatives to allowing the player to pick gender, only positives.

Dying Light would have worked exactly the same with a female Crane. I mean for fucks sake they only ever call him Crane anyway.

We've got a new line of Assassins with Unity. We aren't tied to the Kenways anymore. There is no reason why the protag of AC5 can't be both a man and woman.

Arthr2ShdsJcksn · Feb 23, 2015

Welcome to my gaming utopia

This shit can all go away immediately:

5. DLC, all of it.
4. Sexism, all of it.
3. Patches, all of them.
2. Pre-orders, all of them.
1. Non-standardized consoles... All of them.

In terms of gaming journalism, Videos without a text story can go away too. I do most of my browsing during times when watching a video is very inconvenient.

Jumplion · Feb 23, 2015

Pankratous said:
What the fuck, no? Games like AC absolutely should not have a choice in character. That would make the character non-canon and ruin the story. Can you imagine reading Wiki and the character was just referred to as "The Assassin (AC5)"... like how Skyrim always "The Dragonborn". Boring and yawn, no thanks.

That's practically as much character as the Assassin's in AssCreed get, usually.

Pankratous · Feb 23, 2015

Deified Data said:
He specifically said "all games without an established character".

Read the very next sentence.

SG-17 said:
Please. All the character needs is a last name and similar first name. Joseph, Josephine etc. The story doesn't need to change at all. They can romance the same characters, do the same missions, have the same story. There are no negatives to allowing the player to pick gender, only positives.

Dying Light would have worked exactly the same with a female Crane. I mean for fucks sake they only ever call him Crane anyway.

A change in gender is already a huge change in the story. A girl growing up has very different experiences from a boy growing up, especially in the times that AC games are set in. Their relationships with other characters are also likely to be different.

There should be more games with female protagonists sure (including the AC series), but please don't infect my games with choice.

Surface of Me · Feb 23, 2015

Arthr2ShdsJcksn said:
Welcome to my gaming utopia

This shit can all go away immediately:

5. DLC, all of it.
3. Patches, all of them.
1. Non-standardized consoles... All of them.

I really dont understand some people's hatred for DLC. Isn't more of something you like a good thing? I understand DLC as keys to unlock content on the disc being hated on, but stuff like the GTA4 episodes? Patches are just part of the ecosystem now, not going anywhere, not sure what that last thing is.

Tubie · Feb 23, 2015

SolidSnakex said:
- Pinging the world to highlight objects of interest
- Gamer vision/detective vision
- Patches
- Too many MOBA games trying to grab eSports bucks
- Buying ingame money with real money
- Skimpy armor
- Kickstarter games going missing

It's pretty boring stuff. The biggest problem with the video is way too much unnecessary acting bullshit. Just talk about the issues.

Agree with most of it.

Xray vision and items highlighted in the world don't bother me so much, although they could be toned down a bit.

Violet_0 · Feb 23, 2015

pinging is like the worst idea ever, especially for players with mild ocd tendencies (so, like, all of them). It should come to no one's surprise that Dragon Age: Inquisition, a game already riddled with terrible design decisions to a ridicules degree, is probably the worst offender.

Wulfram · Feb 23, 2015

1. Pinging.
There does need to be something that indicates that a particular part of the background is actually functional and not just decoration. And you don't want to have the "hey look, item here!" glow always on because it's kind of ugly. I preferred being able to just hold the ALT key to pinging, though.

2. "Gamer vision"
Doesn't need to die, but could probably stand to be less frequent.

3. Patches
Nah, patches are good. If anything, looking at PC games, I feel like we get less after release support than we used to, probably because certification makes patches expensive. I can see annoyance at Day 1 patches, but given how long it takes to get a game shipped, they seem logical things to exist.

4. MoBAs/ESports
I find it all surprisingly easy to ignore

5. Buying in game currency with real money
Yeah, that's horrible. Particularly since it makes them likely to work against modding and cheating.

6. Skimpy armour isn't really a "trend", is it? I mean, it's pretty much always been around and if anything it seems like there's a slight trend to sensibly clothed female characters. But I could certainly stand to see less skimpy armour.

SapientWolf · Feb 23, 2015

Regarding patches, you guys know that it's literally impossible to fix all the bugs in shipped software, right?

Kinyou · Feb 23, 2015

During the skimpy armor part they basically ask for practical armor for everyone which I really don't agree with. Varric's outfit reflects part of his personality. Don't put that guy in some plate mail.

It basically just comes down to if the design is consistent or not.

Also, I'd say that the current trend goes for less skimpy armor. That they had to pull footage from the old Tera MMO speaks for itself.

Arthr2ShdsJcksn · Feb 23, 2015

Surface of Me said:
I really dont understand some people's hatred for DLC. Isn't more of something you like a good thing? I understand DLC as keys to unlock content on the disc being hated on, but stuff like the GTA4 episodes? Patches are just part of the ecosystem now, not going anywhere, not sure what that last thing is.

No, I don't want more of a good thing. I want a well defined experience sold as a single product. More of the same dilutes the experience, I've found.

I know patches aren't going anywhere, but in my utopia, games come out when they're finished.

That last thing is a nod back to the idea of a 'one console' future. Think blu-rays. My Sony blu-ray player plays Paramount films even though they're a competitor. There is absolutely no technical reason why a standard can't be put into place. It is only the entrenched console business practices that is holding back such progress. Again, this is my utopia, not a realistic list.

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