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[Helpless Hometown Motor]

So I know that some people get grouchy when someone says that a game gets simplified, since it sometimes means that good features were stripped out of a game. However, there are times when simplification from previous titles in a series/ previous titles in the same genre adds a lot to a new game. What do you think are times where simplification to a game made a game better?

Personally, I think that simplification from potions/status effects from Morrowind to Skyrim made Skyrim a lot better(sorry, haven't tried Oblivion yet). In Morrowind, you had your standard restore Health/Magicka/Fatigue. You also had the standard cure disease/paralysis/other standard ailments. However, in Morrowind, you could get hit with one of eight spells that could lower one of your eight attributes. The only way to restore the attribute back up was to take one of the eight restore [Attribute] potions. Now, if you wanted to cover your bases, you would have to be carrying your standard restore potions, along with eight potions for each of the attributes. And when you used one of the eight, you would have to track down a merchant that sold the specific restore potions you were looking for. Not only that, but the vanilla UI made it a hassle searching through all your crunch ton of potions that you had to be carrying. In Skyrim, the reduce attribute spells were taken out (since there were no attributes haha), but honestly it made the game better since you didn't have to juggle around so many restore potions to heal one of the decrease [attribute] status effects.

 

[Hackworth]

Are we counting situations where one group makes a game and another makes a spiritual sequel? Because League of Legends basically takes all the good stuff from DOTA and removes lots of the excess complexity.

Because fuck yeah, MOBAs that aren't horrible clusters of impenetrable mayhem are amazing.

 

[Helpless Hometown Motor]

Are we counting situations where one group makes a game and another makes a spiritual sequel? Because League of Legends basically takes all the good stuff from DOTA and removes lots of the excess complexity.

Yeah that would count since it's simplification within the genre.

 

[GnawtyDog]

Every ND game. You can see they could of done more yet they chose to keep it simple, polish and focus. Result = great games. Not sure if it applies to this thread but it's in the same ballpark. I love simplicity and accessibility.

 

[ChrisD]

League and Dota are so different I don't know if it would count. It's like Mario 64 to Spyro.

I liked the simplification of Fire Emblem that Awakening applied. Don't shoot me please, long-time fans. They're still awesome games.

 

[RowdyReverb]

I know there is some difference of opinion on this, but it was a very welcome change for me when Mass Effect 2 streamlined the inventory system of its predecessor. Inventory management was probably one of the least-fun aspects of ME1 for me. Maybe if the guns were more drastically different from each other, or if the ammo types significantly changed functionality, things would have been different. Instead, it felt like going through menus to select the same gun with different names and slightly different numerical stats.

 

[Octavia]

Morrowind combat->Oblivion combat.

Formulas and dice rolls turned into "If your weapons hit box touches them, you get the hit."

Soooooooo much fucking better.

 

[Timeaisis]

"A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away."

Anyway, I love simplicity.

 

[injurai]

Morrowind combat->Oblivion combat.

Formulas and dice rolls turned into "If your weapons hit box touches them, you get the hit."

Soooooooo much fucking better.

Skyrim's combat isn't perfect, but I do think it's better.

 

[Kindekuma]

Does simply putting the disc/cartridge in the console and going straight into the game count? Because I sure miss how simple that stuff was.

But I guess for example in a game, in the newer Pokemon titles you're asked if you want to use another repel instead of having to go back in the menu every time to apply a new one.

 

[Hackworth]

Mass Effect Guns

Yeah same. If there was an autoupdate feature or greater differences in weapons or something I'd have seen the point in Mass Effect's eleventy billion guns but as it is I just sold or shredded almost everything and maybe got Shep the Spectre weapons if they were available.

ME3 has enough weapon differences and effects that they're worth caring about, but ME2's super simple system was a definite step up from 1.
Actually I think 3's upgrade system might still be less complicated than in 1, they just put the complexity in more interesting places.

 

[ThoseDeafMutes]

Overall, Mass Effect 2 cut more fat than meat. It was a pretty drastic change, shooting isn't dice based any more, less skills overall, no more loot drops all the time. But most of what it eliminated was really poorly implemented and it was a better, tighter game for it.

 

[Pinko Marx]

Pokemon simplifying breeding and EV training.

 

[Jotamide]

The DexNav.

 

[Jazzkokehead]

Overall, Mass Effect 2 cut more fat than meat. It was a pretty drastic change, shooting isn't dice based any more, less skills overall, no more loot drops all the time. But most of what it eliminated was really poorly implemented and it was a better, tighter game for it.

Mass Effect 2 was the first game that came to my mind as well. Inventory management is easily the worst part of any RPG - and the first Mass Effect had a particularly dreadful one. Removing the inventory completely was definitely taking the nuclear option, but I wasn't sad to see it go.

 

[30yearsofhurt]

Every ND game. You can see they could of done more yet they chose to keep it simple, polish and focus. Result = great games. Not sure if it applies to this thread but it's in the same ballpark. I love simplicity and accessibility.

Didn't they strip back the weapon crafting in TLoU just so you could make firebombs more easily in the heat of battle?
I remember seeing something by the lady responsible for that menu.

 

[IDKAboutThat]

From Demon's Souls to Dark Souls, weapon upgrading was made comprehensible. Thank God.

 

[TC McQueen]

Mass Effect is definitely a case of simplifying things benefiting the game, at least when it came to the gameplay.

XCOM: Enemy Unknown did simplify things compared to X-Com: UFO Defense, but that was mostly in the interface (which was terrible in X-Com), base management (which usually boiled down to 1 main base + interceptor bases + factories), smaller squad sizes, and the interceptor components of the game (only 2 designs, only 1v1 interceptor vs UFO fights, etc...), but most of that was aimed at improving the user experience and improving the pacing of combat.

 

[lowhighkang_LHK]

Bloodborne. In regards to it's stats and weapon upgrade system they got rid of a lot of stupid shit that wasn't really adding to the experience in any meaningful way.

 

[Gunstar Ikari]

Mega Man 9 in general.

Movesets in The King of Fighters XIII. Moveset bloat was a very real issue in XI and the UMs. They went a bit too far with some characters (Clark), but cutting things down to bare essentials was a net positive IMO.

 

[Booshka]

Halo CE MP is a great example of simplifying PC Arena FPS gameplay so that it is fun and playable for a console audience. Movespeed and aiming that is more suitable for dual thumbsticks, map design that is inspired by Quake and Unreal, but not nearly as complex, and a stripped down, but varied sandbox with no real bloat.

Clean, simple, fun, with a ton of depth.

 

[JediLink]

Dude, remember in Demon's Souls where every different stat was represented by some arbitrary combination of dots and squiggly lines? That was dumb. "Strength" should always just be a fist, damnit.

 

[SerTapTap]

Fusion came out with one of the best control schemes for 2D Metroid by majorly simplifying. I love Super but uh, that weapon select system is not the best.

Pokemon simplifying breeding and EV training.

It's not really any more simple, it's actually mostly added features (and I guess, complexity) that makes it easier to manage IF you take advantage of them. Simplifying would be like...take out IVs because they're fucking awful.