Three Great Game Design Evils

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Originally Posted by Eggroll

The only time Escort Missions are fun is if the characters you are escorting are more powerful than you and actually serve a purpose. That, and have sufficient AI so they don't shoot you in the back or get in the way. I have yet to see this implemented right.

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That's more of an accompanyment mision.

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“The whole notion of cut-scenes smacks to me of commercial breaks on TV. They are pointless and usually done very badly.

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The cutscenes in Metal Gear Solid 3 added so much to the game, it was integral to the game.
Even the small cutscenes in Devil May Cry 3 & Resident Evil 4 were bonuses that really rewarded you.
I can see if he means a game like FFX, but a lot of games do them right.

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“But when you think about games, do you remember the bit where you blew away a load of guys with a rocket launcher, or do you remember the bit where you sat quietly in a dark room? Games should be about fantasy and action - if I want to hide in a cupboard I can do that anytime.

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No one remembers when they played the C.I.A. level in Splinter Cell?
I remember the strategies, tension & the close calls more then firing any rocket launcher in Halo 2 or any other game.

As well as levelling up, I'd include nearly everything else about RPGs as well.

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Originally Posted by Mikey

As well as levelling up, I'd include nearly everything else about RPGs as well.

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Levelling up also doesn't belong in as many games as it taints. It's fake difficulty pacing.

If there is one thing I cannot stand, it is escort missions. They interupt the flow of the game and for a majority of the games out there, ruin them. I could see them playing a little better as AI becomes more developed and the developers aren't lazy enough to slack off.

Stealth doesn't bother me as much in games that focus around it, but when it is thrown in there for the hell of it AKA PD0, it sucks balls.

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Originally Posted by Diff-chan

Simon Byron is dead on. Stealth has ruined so many games. Metal Gear Solid 1, which started the trend, has pretty ass gameplay (2 and 3 are mildly better). It's one of those things that sounds great, looks great in previews, but almost never turns out well.

Escort missions are a matter of bad design. RE4 did it good, IMO - but thats about it.

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If you want really frustrating stealth gameplay, try the Syphon Filter series. In SF2's McKenzie Airbase mission where you are Lian Xing, you need to escape. Taking out any of the airbase personnel is not an option. If you are seen, you are SOL- you can not try to run for cover and ride out the alert ala Metal Gear. Mission failed.

Wow... I disagree with all three. First guy is totally wrong, second guy I can understand where he's coming from, and stealth certainly doesn't need to be in every game, but it can be really fun, and Peter also has somewhat of a point but just comes off as whiny and you can't just say get rid of all cutscenes.

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Originally Posted by doshi

Peter [...] just comes off as whiny

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Yes.

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Originally Posted by doshi

and you can't just say get rid of all cutscenes.

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True, but the Half-Life reference makes a lot of sense. Story can be very important, but games like Xenosaga are unforgivable.

I cant read his mind, but I bet if there were more game stories worth a damn he wouldnt be complaining. Game stories are so fucking terrible.

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Originally Posted by shidoshi

Wow... I disagree with all three. First guy is totally wrong, second guy I can understand where he's coming from, and stealth certainly doesn't need to be in every game, but it can be really fun, and Peter also has somewhat of a point but just comes off as whiny and you can't just say get rid of all cutscenes.

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I completely agree. The first guy just seemed like he was stretching to find something flawed in current game design. "Unbalance games"? That just makes no sense, and as a developer he should know that there should always be a good balance of difficulty in games.

The second guy just seems to hate stealth games. He made a huge generalization by saying "It seems to me that only a very peculiar individual would want to spend on-screen time sitting still or creeping around.". He should talk to the millions of gamers that have purchased all three Splinter Cell games, and all three MGS games. Obviously putting stealth into every game, when it isn't a core mechanic is not necessarily good design, but damn, people who like stealth games are now "very peculiar individuals"? WTF mate?

And Peter needs to take some his own advice, considering Fable was full of shitty cinemas that revolved around an equally shitty story + it had escort missions. Granted I did enjoy Fable, but the fact that he has fallen into one of these game design evils, and then has a discussion on why it's bad is just laughable.

I'm not saying there aren't problems with some current trends in game design, because there definitely are. But when 3 reletivly well respected people in the industry spout non sense like this, and don't even address real problems in game design, it makes me cringe. I do have to agree though, escort missions are the fucking suck, for reals.