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Instant and irrational turn offs in videogaming

I'm becoming increasingly annoyed with horrible, out of place voice acting in big budget titles. Any time it happens really, but when the point of a certain game (like say, Deus Ex: HR or Skyrim) is to immerse the player and make them feel part of a living and breathing world, an NPC with an around the globe accent or a first-time-i'm-reading-the-script performance really takes me out of the game.

I don't know how these performances slip through the cracks, if it's the fault of casting or sound direction or what, but they keep popping up even when budget wouldn't appear to be an issue. It's unprofessional and should be a problem in the rear view mirror of gaming at this point. There's a million union actors that can deliver passable voice work out there, take the extra time and get it right guys!
 
Games that over-expose themselves through advertising. I can't think of one thing that makes me instantly turn against a game than being bombarded with advertising everywhere.

Even games I'm really looking forward to can make me reconsider when I pick them up based on how much I see them around the web.
 
Typographenia said:
Games that over-expose themselves through advertising. I can't think of one thing that makes me instantly turn against a game than being bombarded with advertising everywhere.

Even games I'm really looking forward to can make me reconsider when I pick them up based on how much I see them around the web.
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To me overexposure/too much media always screams "we have no confidence in our product". If you know your game is good, you'll better do it the Rockstar way.
 
As soon as anyone uses "charming" or other flowery language to describe a game(It's so FULL OF LIFE. What an amazing JOURNEY/EXPERIENCE) I'm immediately disinterested.


EatChildren said:
Kinda on topic but also kinda not, but any game preview video which has audible clicking of the controller the player is using drives me up the fucking wall. Hearing the sticks slam against the sides, and the clickity of every button press. Jesus fuck stop I don't want to hear it my eeeeeeeears.
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Aww man I'm the exact opposite

I love the sounds of people playing games on arcade sticks. People playing FGs on pads makes a similar noise I guess

shit is like music to me
 
danmaku said:
I'll never touch a game with Akira Toryiama as lead artist.
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Btw. whats your avater from. The artstyle really reminds me of... I dont know, but I like his/her artstyle.

On-topic:

Tutorials, that drag on forever and ever and ever...

And japanese Games, that try to imitate western games or the western artstyle.
 
After sitting with the reply text box open for about 4 minutes, I think there is no one single thing that is an instant no buy from me. I'll try just about anything. Shooters, puzzles, RPGS, open, linear, western, japanese, whatever.
 
-Anime style art

-WWII setting

-Yearly iterations

-Washed out colors



BORING!

edit: I guess if those things bore me than it's not "irrational" but whatever
 
ScOULaris said:
I can't stand that either! It's even worse in real life when a friend is using your controller, and for some reason they feel the need to slam the analog sticks from side to side and mash down on buttons like they're trying to tear your controller in half.

As for my gaming turn-off, it'd have to be boxart featuring a CGI render of a bald protagonist:
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The funny thing is, none of those are bald, though one of them is balding I guess. =P They do have short hair though.

For me, games with ultra-high-pitched stereotypical anime female voices, anime kid characters in general, and trailers with hip-hop/rap/dubstep bug me.
 
The Lamonster said:
-Anime style art

-WWII setting

-Yearly iterations

-Washed out colors



BORING!

edit: I guess if those things bore me than it's not "irrational" but whatever
Click to expand...

It's like Valkyria Chronicles (ticks all options above) is your mortal enemy! (It DOES come out yearly in Japan, there's even a re-release of 3 coming out now I think)
 
Wonko_C said:
It's like Valkyria Chronicles (ticks all options above) is your mortal enemy! (It DOES come out yearly in Japan, there's even a re-release of 3 coming out now I think)
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haha that is awesome.


Zabka said:
When I saw the stamina meter in Skyward Sword I suddenly became very depressed.
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Same! I'm 10 hours in and it still annoys the shit out of me. I also hate the motion controls. I can't even itch my head without Link going all crazy and falling off cliffs and shit just because I'm in first person view at the time and "look around" is controlled with motion >:(

And don't get me started on the stupid bird controls. It is really sad. Zelda is my favorite series and even TP gave us the controller option.
 
ScOULaris said:
As for my gaming turn-off, it'd have to be boxart featuring a CGI render of a bald protagonist:

the-devolution-of-character-designs-20110621095535353-000.jpg
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Yeah I'm not exactly fond of the current cookie cut protagonist design that far too many designers are going with. It's funny that you can look at a particular games main character and easily tell what decade that game was released (from western devs or designed for western audiences first). In the 80s it was a cross between Ahhhnuld and David Lee Roth, 90s saw Jean-Claude VanDamme with a mullet grace just about every game, and from 2000 - present day, it's Jason Fucking Statham.

With that said, even though the bald guy is boring (and extremely lazy), I don't personally have anywhere near the same level of disconnect as I do with the token Japanese anime big haired Femboy, with his(?) moronically large sword, cute little post battle thumbs up poses and one word unintelligible Japanese catch phrases. As sad as it is that I've missed some good/great experiences, there is something about the stereotypical Japanese Anime protagonist I despise so deeply that I refuse to play any game that employs that design.
 
Retro_ said:
Aww man I'm the exact opposite

I love the sounds of people playing games on arcade sticks. People playing FGs on pads makes a similar noise I guess

shit is like music to me
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This so much. Also one of the reasons why I love to watch videos like Cross Counter because you can hear the clack and flicking of those glorious (probably Sanwa) parts and its almost cathartic.

On topic:
No character customization, or poorly done so customization. Especially in games like the Fable series, or games where you character is ambiguous but its still a preset defined model or archetype, shit bugs me to no end. I don't care if it ruins your idea of who the character should be.
 
Any of the following buzz words, either said at E3 or any trailer.

visceral
eviscerate
escalation
epic
cinematic
thrill ride
conviction
redemption
remission
mission
missile
real time
dynamic
physics
combat
graphics
kinect
sensor
audible
augmented
voice enhance
family
all ages
enjoyable for both old and young
finger sensor thing to read old people's heartbeats
 
Instant turn offs:
  • Ubisoft
  • Kinect

Temporary turn offs:
  • Games with multiple day one DLC's (or season passes) - Will wait for cheaper and integrated version
 
My biggest turn-off is a game that drops its original dubbing when published outside its own market, especially when it comes of western games coming to Italy.
Even before hearing a single word about the quality of the translation and/or the new dubs, it just feels bad to me.

When I like a game, I look for some info about it and read 'italian version is in italian-only'... Ugh, it's like I already want to pass to the next one on the wishlist.
 
Kinect.

It's an instant ignore for me.

And season passes, like EA Sports online passes. You pay for fucking xbox live, so why you have to pay to play online on EA servers, and still need a gold account, is beyond me. Fuck I hate gaming today
 
Not sure if irrational, but-

WHY THE HELL do I have the option to invert one axis and NOT the other???

Seriously. Can't play La Noire because of this.
 
I'll never play a game that forces motion controls. Luckily the list of games that do that that aren't completely shit is pretty much limited to the new Zelda.
 
Off the top of my head, extra/unnecessary DRM (especially on top of Steam) and games from Publishers who have I have lost faith/trust in (and subsequent spending monies)

Yeah but seriously nothing makes me go nope faster than shitty DRM.

KD16t.png
 
RoboPlato said:
Huge, sprawling open worlds. I think that's anathema to good game design. It's like the developers sat down and decided they didn't really want to make a game, just a map. Stuff like Oblivion and GTA4 were unplayable to me since everything in them was so shoddy and glitchy to accommodate the size of the world. You just have to make your own fun and it sucks. I like games to be polished. I'm all for nonlinearity and even an open world when it's done well (Red Dead Redemption/inFamous) but some games take it way too far and sacrifice too much polish and gameplay for it. I rarely buy open world games unless I know there is a quality game inside the map.
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This. I enjoyed Arkham City and InFamous and the like, but there is GAME there, not just random exploration with no point. The only one like this I played and really enjoyed was the first Crackdown. But it's so unrealistic it was fun.

Typographenia said:
Games that over-expose themselves through advertising. I can't think of one thing that makes me instantly turn against a game than being bombarded with advertising everywhere.

Even games I'm really looking forward to can make me reconsider when I pick them up based on how much I see them around the web.
Click to expand...

Yep.

Galdelico said:
My biggest turn-off is a game that drops its original dubbing when published outside its own market, especially when it comes of western games coming to Italy.
Even before hearing a single word about the quality of the translation and/or the new dubs, it just feels bad to me.

When I like a game, I look for some info about it and read 'italian version is in italian-only'... Ugh, it's like I already want to pass to the next one on the wishlist.
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... aaaand yep. This is mainly for me going with Japanese games and not having the original audio option on there. Even if the dub is good, I would still like to have the original audio available. At least Atlus, NISA, Aksys and Xseed seem to be able to retain this.
 
I go into old properties that have been resurrected with a heavy, not gonna like this bias. So far only Fallout: NV has beat the odds.
 
Finding out a game was created in Japan is a huge turn off these days, sadly.



I keep an open mind, though, and wait on that eventual resurgence of great gaming and story combined.




Also, irrationally of me, but I really hate the isometric perspective. It's why I haven't given classic games like Planescape and BG2 more than a hour or two play (despite owning both games, in disc form thank you very much).
 
-Game Patches/Updates on Day 1 - I have no problem with devs updating/fixing problems with their games that may arise over time but having to patch a brand new game on its release date is ridiculous!

-"Floaty" jumping - a perfect example is LittleBigPlanet. I loved the idea of a platformer that allowed you to create your own levels/content but the first time I made Sackboy jump I was instantly turned off on the game.

-DLC - DLC can be great, but it can also be utter bullshit. If it's a brand new level/mode/playable character that wasn't on the original disc and is released a while after the game itself, I'm cool with that.
Day 1 DLC that unlocks levels/characters/costumes that are already on the disc is infuriating.

-Downloadable games with DLC - Castlevania: Harmony of Despair was one of my most-wanted PSN games until I realized it would cost over $40 to get the complete game with all the stages and characters. Crazy!
I know I may sound like a hypocrite (based on my thoughts on DLC above), but the fact that all of the DLC was put out on day 1 on PSN (with no option for a "bundle price") instead of being spaced out as it was after the XBLA was quite irritating.
 
Gameboy415 said:
-Game Patches/Updates on Day 1 - I have no problem with devs updating/fixing problems with their games that may arise over time but having to patch a brand new game on its release date is ridiculous!
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It's funny, I'm actually okay with this and sort of welcome it. A game may go gold weeks or even maybe a month or two before it is released (and then delayed...) and in that short time they may end up finding a bug that got through QA (yep, some companies actually do QA! I was amazed considering how many buggy...) and patch it right away. That or they'll lock out features like online to prevent stores from breaking street date.
 
Sudden, out-of-place QTEs. Seriously, if you're going to make a cutscene make a good cutscene and don't make me press A in the middle of it.
 
Nealand Liquor said:
With that said, even though the bald guy is boring (and extremely lazy), I don't personally have anywhere near the same level of disconnect as I do with the token Japanese anime big haired Femboy, with his(?) moronically large sword, cute little post battle thumbs up poses and one word unintelligible Japanese catch phrases. As sad as it is that I've missed some good/great experiences, there is something about the stereotypical Japanese Anime protagonist I despise so deeply that I refuse to play any game that employs that design.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I feel the same way. In the 16- and 32-bit days, I had no problem with the anime aesthetic because it was more abstract and "charming" if that makes any sense. It seems like Japan is becoming increasingly "moe" as the years roll on, whereas there used to be a sophistication or edge to the anime stylings of the 90's. The anime aesthetic does not mesh well with current-gen fidelity. Just look at Star Ocean; everyone looks like a creepy Japanese mannequin with human eyes peeking through cut-out holes. It also didn't hurt that Japanese devs were the ones cranking out polished, innovative titles back then.

I'm sure some of you will just call me a butthurt nostalgist, but I have confidence that I'm not alone in thinking this way.
 
I have an irrational hatred of fantasy RPG's where all the menu's are written on pretend scrolls. Don't know why. Maybe because so many of them do it and it exposes their inherent lack of originality.

Yeah, that'll be it.
 
hikarutilmitt said:
It's funny, I'm actually okay with this and sort of welcome it. A game may go gold weeks or even maybe a month or two before it is released (and then delayed...) and in that short time they may end up finding a bug that got through QA (yep, some companies actually do QA! I was amazed considering how many buggy...) and patch it right away. That or they'll lock out features like online to prevent stores from breaking street date.
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Yea I'me fine with that as well. Would rather have the game be fixed, as long as it's not some huge ass patch of a gig or more.
 
I have a few, but I only play console games so they're specific:

- Lots of shit happening on screen and the game slowing down to a crawl several times
- Regardless of how big a game installs and there's no difference in loading times
- Lack of even a subtle form of anti-aliasing so there's jaggies EVERYWHERE
- Overarching plot with JRPGs being eclipsed by a billion different other subplots/themes, diminishing the importance of the main story in general
 
I live in Austria (right next to Germany) and the instant turn off fore me is the big USK logo on the game boxes as well as not knowing if the game will feature English voices. The problem is that some versions have the big USK logo and no English (here in Austria) and sometimes Austria gets the EU version with PEGI and English.

This is the reason why I mostly just import games from the UK. I don't do it because it is cheaper (though it is nice) - I would pay the EU price if I get it day one here the way I like - but simply because I am sure to not get the big USK logo as well as the certainty I will have the option to play in English.
 
Challenge added solely by timed events.

Quick Time events that kill you if you fail.

Complete lack of information (ala Demons Souls but sill an A+ game)
 
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