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Game concepts, mechanics, you wish were explored more.
- Thread starter Cameron122
- Start date
jetpacks was yes
Member
I really, really wish there were more games like Elite/Privateer/Freelancer. Space sims with a heavy element of exploration, trade, upgrading, bounties....
famfrit
Member
THIS. I would love a Planescape Torment 2 game because the wonderfull dialogue system, you can beat the game with mininal or not battling.
famfrit
Member
Real-time plane shifting and parallel realities.
Soul Reaver (yeah I know, I'm mentioning it again) had this awesome concept that there were two parallel worlds - the living material realm and the dead spectral realm. The main character would shift from one to the other in real-time, the world distorting around him.
The material realm was all decayed architecture and faded browns and greys. The spectral realm was a distorted blue and green version of this, with pillars and walls contorting during the transition, cracks expanding to passageways, walls transforming to stairs, and outcrops turning into bridges. Rivers, lakes and all water bodies were locked into the material realm, turning a pond for example into a deep explorable spectral pit. Torrential subterranean rivers in material would become explorable caves in spectral.
In story terms, statues, murals and art from the material realm would always reveal an innate truth when viewed in the spectral realm. Murals of human warriors - who would later become vampires - showed fangs when viewed in spectral. Stained glass windows depicting a romantacised historical event in material - would creepily show the dark truth when viewed in spectral. Altars to divination, would show the demonic undercurrents beneath the religious veil.
Time also froze when entering spectral, allowing the hero to enter the realm in battle, and re-emerge in material behind his adversary.
The series neglected to explore this absolutely brilliant concept in the sequels, unfortunately. A shame as it was so expertly done, with the visible transition between the realities making the experience far more immediate than even Metroid Prime 2 and Link to the Past.
Awesome concept. Remember white wolf Umbra. By the way, i only played the Blood omen legacy of kain, dont played soul reaver in the past because i disliked the ephemera version of the tittle sword.
Nocturnowl
Member
Combo mechanics in platformers.
I'm sure most know of the Mario series basic idea that bouncing across a bunch of enemies without touching the floor gets you a 1up which is a simple yet well known example of this, then Donkey Kong Jungle Beat took this whole not touching the floor idea and ran with it.
The levels were designed in such a manner that you can just head through it normally and reach the end but likely with a low score and then there was what you could call the real game. The levels were also designed in a way that you could keep DK going through entire sections using his own abilities along with the stages mechanics like ropes, springs and even animal buddies to keep DK from touching solid ground, each mechanic encountered added to the combo and the higher the combo when you grabbed bananas the more they were worth allowing the player to greatly increase their score by stringing actions together without getting hit or touching the ground.
It's an enjoyable take on platforming that rewards the player for learning the level design, applying the extra skills and allows for a higher level of play without affecting the basic game, most games like to base ranking on how fast you get through a stage and while there's the odd outlier (some 3D sonic titles have a basic trick system that you might need for higher ranks) it would be nice to see more platformers score the player on skill usage instead of just speed.
While i'm talking about this i'm reminded that Mirrors Edge also allowed moves to be strung together which could earn the odd achievement/trophy so it's popped up elsewhere yet i'd like a game to use the idea as the base once again.
Oh and more well done first person platforming would be swell as well, preferably in crazier environments.
I'm sure most know of the Mario series basic idea that bouncing across a bunch of enemies without touching the floor gets you a 1up which is a simple yet well known example of this, then Donkey Kong Jungle Beat took this whole not touching the floor idea and ran with it.
The levels were designed in such a manner that you can just head through it normally and reach the end but likely with a low score and then there was what you could call the real game. The levels were also designed in a way that you could keep DK going through entire sections using his own abilities along with the stages mechanics like ropes, springs and even animal buddies to keep DK from touching solid ground, each mechanic encountered added to the combo and the higher the combo when you grabbed bananas the more they were worth allowing the player to greatly increase their score by stringing actions together without getting hit or touching the ground.
It's an enjoyable take on platforming that rewards the player for learning the level design, applying the extra skills and allows for a higher level of play without affecting the basic game, most games like to base ranking on how fast you get through a stage and while there's the odd outlier (some 3D sonic titles have a basic trick system that you might need for higher ranks) it would be nice to see more platformers score the player on skill usage instead of just speed.
While i'm talking about this i'm reminded that Mirrors Edge also allowed moves to be strung together which could earn the odd achievement/trophy so it's popped up elsewhere yet i'd like a game to use the idea as the base once again.
Oh and more well done first person platforming would be swell as well, preferably in crazier environments.
This would be great. Imagine sneaking up on a guy and neutralizing him through threat of force instead of blasting away like usual, but you also run the risk of him alerting enemies. There's a lot of directions to go with this, and this was one of the reasons I loved MGS2. Messing around with the guards with all the gadgets was an endless sandbox of interactivty in of itself.
VanillaCakeIsBurning
Member
One hit kill 3rd person melee combat games.
The last one (and best one) I've played was Movie Battles 2 mod for JK3. Took the saber combat, removed the nerf bat aspect of the combat and redid everything else and you have what dueling games should be like.
Recently the only third person melee combat game I'ved played was Chivalry. I saw someone a page back compare it to Bushido Blade when this couldn't be further from the truth.
It has nothing in common with Bushido Blade. Nerf bat combat with severely limited combat options in addition to attack/feint/attack gimmick which will work against anyone, even "skilled" players, and an awkward blocking system in which blocking with a shield is worse than blocking with your weapon.
The game's fun to stomp around in but there is absolutely nothing "Bushido" about it.
An aspect of games I would like to see explored more is upgradeable and dynamic NPCs with some form of autonomy apart from you giving basic orders.
Things like Dragon's Dogma's pawns, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood's recruitable and trainable assassins, God Eater Burst's NPC allies.
There's more games that I've played that have had NPC companions that felt more than just attack bots in how they operate but the ones listed above are all I can remember at the moment.
The last one (and best one) I've played was Movie Battles 2 mod for JK3. Took the saber combat, removed the nerf bat aspect of the combat and redid everything else and you have what dueling games should be like.
Recently the only third person melee combat game I'ved played was Chivalry. I saw someone a page back compare it to Bushido Blade when this couldn't be further from the truth.
It has nothing in common with Bushido Blade. Nerf bat combat with severely limited combat options in addition to attack/feint/attack gimmick which will work against anyone, even "skilled" players, and an awkward blocking system in which blocking with a shield is worse than blocking with your weapon.
The game's fun to stomp around in but there is absolutely nothing "Bushido" about it.
An aspect of games I would like to see explored more is upgradeable and dynamic NPCs with some form of autonomy apart from you giving basic orders.
Things like Dragon's Dogma's pawns, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood's recruitable and trainable assassins, God Eater Burst's NPC allies.
There's more games that I've played that have had NPC companions that felt more than just attack bots in how they operate but the ones listed above are all I can remember at the moment.
NullPointer
Member
* Magicka's real-time spell combination system. I finally got to play this game last week and fell in love with it. Truly simple to learn and more difficult to master under pressure. Combining earth and fire to make fireballs, fire and ice to make steam, shield + earth + shock to create a massive wall of earthen spikes crackling with electricity. No other magic system will feel as rewarding now.
Ol No Bones
Banned
2 words, PHANTOM DUST
back in the N64 days i dreampt of a perfect dark where missions would branch depending on whether you 'accomplished' or 'completed' them, a la star fox
the only way to have any decent character development in a game. criminal that no one has seemed to have noticed.
Schobeleth
Member
This and dragons and or dragon riding in general. I think a lot of people don't take the genres seriously, so they're never really given a chance. I won't deny it, I love dragons and after the let down that was Lair I dunno if the genre can ever recover.
j_k_redtail
Member
Look into Hardware by Blackbird Interactive - the guys behind Homeworld.
There was an old RTS called Real War. It wasn't great, but it introduced the concept of a supply line (as opposed to resource gathering). Made for some interesting new tactics.
j_k_redtail
Member
I really, really wish there were more games like Elite/Privateer/Freelancer. Space sims with a heavy element of exploration, trade, upgrading, bounties....
This, this right here. Feels, man
Hopefully Squadron 42 will be great.
BigTnaples
Todd Howard's Secret GAF Account
All of the online mechanics from Chromehounds. An amazing title, deep, and teamwork was a REQUIREMENT.
If we never see a sequel I will die a little inside.
ForsakenBaykon
Neo Member
yes please!
I heard it had a really cool system where voicechatting would actually fail if you were outside communications range, and you had to capture towers to boost your team's signal to voicechat from farther away. But I also heard that the game got completely broken when they added the party chat to Xbox Live.
I love me some photography.
Having more robust implementation of taking photos ala Beyond Good And Evil or Zelda, and having it scored based on positioning, relevance, subject, visuality etc ala Pokemon Snap.
I would love to be inside a semi-realistic world taking photos of environments, rare events, animals, scandals, going on secret missions etc. It would be amazing if this was a primary agenda in a game.
Having more robust implementation of taking photos ala Beyond Good And Evil or Zelda, and having it scored based on positioning, relevance, subject, visuality etc ala Pokemon Snap.
I would love to be inside a semi-realistic world taking photos of environments, rare events, animals, scandals, going on secret missions etc. It would be amazing if this was a primary agenda in a game.
SneakyStephan
Banned
Focus on movement in gameplay, with a lot of depth or a good learning curve or interesting physics/flow or all of those combined.
The movement in quake 3 was amazing and immensely satisfying and intuitive (just check for some defrag movies to see what it is), KS_ maps in cs too for example.
It doesn't have to be just movespeed modifiers for strafing or rocket jumps etc, just cause 2 grappleshute is endlessly enjoyable though quite a lot more shallow.
Just focus on entertaining physics and controls in general I suppose.
Rollcage is a racing game that did it well ,there was a pretty fine line between glued to the track grip and horribly spinning out and the game rewarded you in spades for finding good lines (using wall and ceilings to keep lateral forces in check so you didn't spin out, the tracks were intelligently designed so you could find all kinda of crazy high speed 'shortcuts'.
99.9 percent of shooters/arcade racers/action games completely ignore this things nowadays, lately it's all about the carrot and the stick through rpg unlocks instead of gameplay.
The movement in quake 3 was amazing and immensely satisfying and intuitive (just check for some defrag movies to see what it is), KS_ maps in cs too for example.
It doesn't have to be just movespeed modifiers for strafing or rocket jumps etc, just cause 2 grappleshute is endlessly enjoyable though quite a lot more shallow.
Just focus on entertaining physics and controls in general I suppose.
Rollcage is a racing game that did it well ,there was a pretty fine line between glued to the track grip and horribly spinning out and the game rewarded you in spades for finding good lines (using wall and ceilings to keep lateral forces in check so you didn't spin out, the tracks were intelligently designed so you could find all kinda of crazy high speed 'shortcuts'.
99.9 percent of shooters/arcade racers/action games completely ignore this things nowadays, lately it's all about the carrot and the stick through rpg unlocks instead of gameplay.
Action RPG with Card Combat. Basically wasnt explored much some games to certain extent worked something similar to the concept like Phantom Dust which basically focused more on the Multiplayer Aspect. Then we had folklore where you had to capture all monsters to use it on your arsenal. This combat system hasnt been explored that much and it can be expanded either on PC and consoles. You can probably make a faster paced combat system and keep the RPG and Adventure Elements of these games on a more open world or simply better structured worlds like Dark Souls for example that its a decent sized world map.
R
Retro_
Unconfirmed Member
Asymmetrical co-op gameplay. Basically co-op campaign design where the player characters all have defined strengths and weaknesses. Things they can and can't do that the other character/s can compensate for, creating a dependency on the other player for progression through those limitations.
I think that's lacking in alot of modern co-op design. That fundamental reliance on another player. You have games like Borderlands where every class can solo, or games like Peace Walker where the game content was designed primarily to be completed in single player. Basically either the characters themselves are designed to work independently of any other involved characters, or the content itself is designed and balanced around being able to be completed by any one of the possible player characters alone.
As a result it often feels like playing a game next to someone rather than there being any meaningful interaction between me an another player.
I think there are alot of games out there that do actually explore gameplay like this as well. Like Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light. but I'd like to see someone explore that kind of co-op design with more complex mechanics than the ones present in that game.(where, in single player, Lara just gets the abilities of both characters. That's how short the list of differences between the two is)
I always felt like Viewtiful Joe was going in towards the direction of something like this. One of the reoccurring design problems the developers of those games would speak of was that there wasn't enough buttons on controllers for all the powers they could come up with. They addressed that somewhat in the sequel by splitting abilities between Joe and Sylvia, requiring the player to switch between the two for puzzle solving. I always felt that the natural progression from that point was to give another player control of the 2nd character who would have access to even more unique powers to be used in combination with the first player's.
and that's kind of the game I want to see made more than anything. A really complex co-op game with unique playable characters with a really deep set of differences between them, and the game content to really challenge and force the players to work together and utilize their unique abilities in order to complete the game
I think that's lacking in alot of modern co-op design. That fundamental reliance on another player. You have games like Borderlands where every class can solo, or games like Peace Walker where the game content was designed primarily to be completed in single player. Basically either the characters themselves are designed to work independently of any other involved characters, or the content itself is designed and balanced around being able to be completed by any one of the possible player characters alone.
As a result it often feels like playing a game next to someone rather than there being any meaningful interaction between me an another player.
I think there are alot of games out there that do actually explore gameplay like this as well. Like Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light. but I'd like to see someone explore that kind of co-op design with more complex mechanics than the ones present in that game.(where, in single player, Lara just gets the abilities of both characters. That's how short the list of differences between the two is)
I always felt like Viewtiful Joe was going in towards the direction of something like this. One of the reoccurring design problems the developers of those games would speak of was that there wasn't enough buttons on controllers for all the powers they could come up with. They addressed that somewhat in the sequel by splitting abilities between Joe and Sylvia, requiring the player to switch between the two for puzzle solving. I always felt that the natural progression from that point was to give another player control of the 2nd character who would have access to even more unique powers to be used in combination with the first player's.
and that's kind of the game I want to see made more than anything. A really complex co-op game with unique playable characters with a really deep set of differences between them, and the game content to really challenge and force the players to work together and utilize their unique abilities in order to complete the game
Strange in Stereo
Member
This was one of my favorite game play mechanics of the original Perfect Dark. You could shoot the guns out of enemies hands to disarm them. If you picked up their weapon before they could pick it back up, they would either surrender,run away and alert friends, pull out a concealed Falcon pistol, or rush you unarmed.
It was so much fun to try to neutralize a room full of enemies without hurting them, and if one guy tried to fight back, you felt justified shooting them in the face.
SneakyStephan
Banned
Play portal 2 coop, you don't have different abilities but you are as codependant as it gets, and in a meaningful way not 'both press a button at the same time'.
Felix Lighter
Member
Red Faction Destruction mechanics. Red Faction Guerilla was great fun but the destruction tech could only improve with more complex physics calculations that would be possible with more powerful hardware.
R
Retro_
Unconfirmed Member
Yeah I meant to include Portal 2 as well with Lara Croft. There aren't (deep) differences between the two players, but the content is so well designed about keeping both players active and working together that they're still really compelling experiences.
fast-paced first person shooters with cool ways to move around
i'm sick of slow games where you can only walk, sprint, and jump
let me do something cool please. whether it's traditional strafe jumping, rocket jumping, bunny hopping, or tribes stuff or wacky stuff like a portal gun or teleport like in shadowrun, or even mirror's edge parkour, i don't care. AND DON'T MAKE IT AUTOMATIC OR CONTEXTUAL like that dumb brink game, let me press buttons so it actually takes some amount of skill
i'm sick of slow games where you can only walk, sprint, and jump
let me do something cool please. whether it's traditional strafe jumping, rocket jumping, bunny hopping, or tribes stuff or wacky stuff like a portal gun or teleport like in shadowrun, or even mirror's edge parkour, i don't care. AND DON'T MAKE IT AUTOMATIC OR CONTEXTUAL like that dumb brink game, let me press buttons so it actually takes some amount of skill
Randolph Freelander
Member
Plots.
SecretMoblin
Member
Something akin to the gambit system in Final Fantasy XII. Allowing the player to "program" actions for friendly AI could be useful and smartly implemented in a number of different genres.
cyberdogs7
Neo Member
Well, you can continue to live!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSTlHLCJQvw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FQDo42DX-s
ChosenPredator
Banned
Wrestling game, firepro wrestling style, open sandbox, promoters trying to recruit the best talent...viewed on twitch..make it like real life lol
Jaded Alyx
Member
I really like the way the character reacts to imminent threat in ZombiU. Their uneasiness is palpable.
More games like SOS the Final escape. Basically, no mowing down thousands of enemies. The environment is the threat. Earthquake, tornado, tsunami, I'd like a game where you have to survive these kinds of hazards. Maybe have it real time as well, so the disasters can happen at any time