Game design/mechanics that you love / hate

[Siyano]

Being aficionado playing a lot of the roguelike genre (go in with one life, get random stuff, die trying to kill an end boss) that usually either have "meta-upgrade" or similar mechanics, I had the idea to post what I like and dislike about them and want to ask you guys what do you like/dislike about the genre you play
Love:
Replayability: obviously the main aspect that make me play them so much is the ability of replaying a run and having a different "randomness" of things happening.
Quick / short: Doesnt apply to all of them but in general a complete run can be done in 30-45 minutes and most can even allow a mid run exit to come back later.

Like:
Variety: Usually mix with the replayability aspect, another reason I like roguelike, having a variety of build or items and such.

Neutral:
Randomness: Can widely swing hit or miss, a lot of variety can usually mean potentially a lot of randomness, making the runs range from easy to "impossible"
Dailies: Personally I just dont see the appeal myself, most of the time it either you have some people just cheating their score or you try to fight high score of random people that can be 10X better than you, and please to apply unlocks

Dislike:
Grindy Meta upgrade: I dont mind having to play the game to unlocks stuff one by one, but sometimes they make it a little bit too much grindy, where at the end it not about if you are good or bad at the game, being worst just make the game "grindier". Like in dead cells you can gather a number of souls and spend them in between to biome, it is not "difficult" you can gather say 30~ souls before the first split, and some of the unlocks require 500... It just about how many runs you are going to do to unlock it, nothing about being "good"
Similar in Rogue Legacy 2, a run grant you gold, you can spend it on upgrade the left over you save a in a bank, so eventually you can anyway buy them, again all depending how many runs...
In Hades, same, I have well over 40 hours played and I still havent put points in every upgrade, that just a bit ridiculous..

Hate:
Difficulty: that very personal but I dont like when a game gets way too hard, where you need to do a run to near perfection to succeed. A good example was Spelunky I had fun in general but the difficulty was too "out of whack" after all. That also include most "souls-like".
Hidden information: well, I think this one is the one I sometimes frustrate the most, and Im not talking specifically about unlocking secrets, like for example in Binding of Isaac, you need to eventually remember most of the object ability, why isnt there a compendium of what it does before I get instead of me going anyway on internet and look at what it does. A example in the good way is Enter the Gungeon. Also unlocks that requires a "ridiculous" very precise 5-6 steps to unlock and near no way to find it by yourself (like unlocking "the souls" in BoI)

My 2 cents

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Love: Anything that indulges my curiosity. If I go I wonder what would happen if I do this?, and the game surprises me, that’s cool.

Dislike: Superficial choice depth. I don’t care about making an A or B choice about what my character says to so and so if the result is just them saying something like, “Hey I agree; you’re a good guy there, mate!“ or “Wow guy, why would you say such a thing?! I’m going to walk over here now.”

Hate: Unskippable cutscenes or long walk n talk sections that take up precious time, especially on replays. Also, when sequels of games make you re-level up a main character from scratch just because it’s a new game. I.E. the narrative erases a sense of gameplay design continuity, resulting in a blatant disconnect between the story and the game.

 

[Drathnoxis]

You should play Nethack, one of the original roguelikes. It has a lot of what you like without most of your dislikes. Well it is fairly difficult until you really know what you're doing and it's not exactly short, but it's still a really good game.

Hidden information: well, I think this one is the one I sometimes frustrate the most, and Im not talking specifically about unlocking secrets, like for example in Binding of Isaac, you need to eventually remember most of the object ability, why isnt there a compendium of what it does before I get instead of me going anyway on internet and look at what it does

Very much this. BOI really should have had that in game, it was just laziness on the developers part leaving the wiki to do all their work for them.

 

[Siyano]

ARPG, there a lot of different style of ARPG but a lot use the same "base" element to build
I really like RPG but recently (almost since D3) they feel so flat and doesnt give enough

What I love: having the real feel of having the choice in a build, Last Epoch is the best example on how to do that with the talent tree of each skill

What I hate:
- gold (or ressource) that serve no real purpose, Diablo 3, Wolcen, Last Epoch, they cant really make gold useful, other than making some stuff stupidly expensive
- village npc that are just useless too, like sell pointless item that you could "Buy" like at the very beginning but nothing else.
point, bonus or any similar buff that doesnt feel like its really give you anything. Like in Wolcen you can choose stat distribution but those stat are pretty meaningless since it add like 0.1% of something, similar with talent or passive in many game where it give you +5 or +1%, doesnt feel impactful at all and is boring, last epoch as that problem on some of the passive, passive that give you +5 health. meh, when you are in the 500+ if just feel bleh...
- weapon type not changing anything, I think that was the main flaw since D3, but now I feel like it doesnt matter anymore, axe sword or mace, doesnt matter, also feel weird to have different "talent" for them, like PoE, having branch for each of them and only those branch really give some kind of different between them.
- Elemental that doesnt do anything, again in D3, a weapon with +an element doesnt do anything other than adding damage, fire, holy, arcane, whatever, there no difference, the only exception is frost with it minimal slow which is reduce by a lot when playing on hardest difficulty.
- Making rarity pretty too straightforward, the obvious that magic is better than common, rare > magic, legendary > rare.
- The no choice kind of progression: like when you have a weapon doing 2-4 damage with +1 strenght and get a 3-5 weapon with +2 strength, there no choice here, you just take the better one, rare I have seen RPG giving you real choice to make for equipment.
- Having 10k different potential drop but only a few select is interesting, yeah that inherent in a lot of "loot" rpg but I dont see the point, even worst when you have a loot filter and just dont see them anyway and even the one you see you still only look at less than 5% of them bleh...
my 2 cents again

 

[TheMysteriousGX]

Because this is an example that's come up recently: Wall of Text "Tutorials" and excessive sub-menus need to die in a fire.

Yes, I'm playing Monster Hunter again, how could you tell?

 

[thebobmaster]

I play a lot of different types of games, so I'll just go with Western RPGs for this one.

What I Love:

Freedom of exploration. I love being able to go off the beaten path, finding side quests, hidden treasures...the best kinds of RPGs, to me, are the ones where I can literally forget about the main quest completely because I got distracted by a side story.

Well-developed party members. This is mostly for games that have parties, obviously, but the likes of Mass Effect really shine not just with the main character, but with all the people around that character. If I'm going to be spending 20 hours+ with a character, I better not be able to sum up their personality in a sentence or two, and RPGs tend to very successfully deliver on that.

Romance sidequests: When done well, these really click with me. I just love the idea of two people growing closer to each other as they save the world/galaxy/universe/realm/insert thing here. As long as some effort is put into the romance, it makes my heart "aw" quite a bit.

What I Hate:

Encumbrance: Going along with the freedom of exploration, nothing spoils my fun of exploring the new dungeon/map I just discovered like realizing partway through looting "I am only going to be able to grab about 5% of this stuff, go sell it, then come back for more. Maybe."

Fake Choices: I don't necessarily need choices in a game, but if you are going to give them to me, let the choices actually matter. The original ending for Mass Effect 3 was a huge example of making my choices throughout the trilogy feel like they amounted to nothing, and the EC wasn't too much better about that.

Arbitrary Stat Needs: Morrowind is a big example of this. I have a dagger, I'm facing a rat. I shouldn't need to have a certain skill in One Handed Weapons to be able to even HIT the damned thing.

 

[SilentPony]

Love: When video game dialogue sounds like sentences and conversations people actually have.

Hate: Basically all video game dialogue. It all sounds like desperate "We would have been good enough to write for Buffy!" try hard fanboys/girls copying Joss Whedon's pseudo-intellectual, borderline Autistic, snarky quips where everyone has the same personality.

 

[immortalfrieza]

I play a lot of different types of games, so I'll just go with Western RPGs for this one.

What I Love:

Romance sidequests: When done well, these really click with me. I just love the idea of two people growing closer to each other as they save the world/galaxy/universe/realm/insert thing here. As long as some effort is put into the romance, it makes my heart "aw" quite a bit.

I also love well done romances in games, but apparently only when it's set from the beginning and not something from player choice. On that note, I'll throw in a thing I hate about Romance sidequests: 9 times out of 10 it's just a bit of dialog and then a sex scene, and then the rest of the game during and after the romance doesn't even seem to acknowledge that the romance exists much less progress it in any way past the sex. I don't know about everybody else, but if I was in a relationship with someone I fought beside every single day I'd probably support them with what I do or say not to mention react a bit to them getting struck down, and I'd expect them to be a bit more interested in what I'm doing and saying and leaping to my defense more than they were before. I say the dating and then sex scene should happen fairly early on in the game all things considered, upon which it's solidified for the rest of the game to take account of, then spend the rest of the game having the lovers react to things that are happening in ways that takes into account the relationship and building the relationship itself beyond sex.

Or worse, it's clear the writers have a romantic interest for the player character in mind so that one gets all the attention and has the deepest romance out of them all by far and likely the player interacts with them much more than any of the other romance options. Good thing you brought up Mass Effect because it's apparent at least to me throughout the series that Liara's romance is what the writers wanted the player to go for, considering it's not only an option to both genders but she's clearly the squad member that Shepard encounters and interacts with the most across all 3 games even if you don't romance her. Then there's the Trails of Cold Steel games which is far more blatant since they keep not just ignoring Rean's relationship with anyone else across the games besides Alisa but keep going back to the "will they or won't they" dynamic they have with each installment as though any relationship Rean did have with her in previous entries never happened. They might as well not have put in the relationship mechanic at all.

What I Hate:

Fake Choices: I don't necessarily need choices in a game, but if you are going to give them to me, let the choices actually matter. The original ending for Mass Effect 3 was a huge example of making my choices throughout the trilogy feel like they amounted to nothing, and the EC wasn't too much better about that.

Seconded. I suppose both of my gripes come down to failure to actually make real use of a mechanic they're supposed to have. Mass Effect 3's ending is the worst about this or at least the most notorious, but it's definitely not the only game that ignores player choice. Really, most choice games do or even just put a "big choice" at the end that determines everything regardless of anything the player has done up to that point. In fact, I'd like a game that actually changes the choices you've got available to you as the game progresses based on the choices you've made up to that point. For example, if you were good/bad, about 25% in comes a point where the player character is good/netural/bad becomes locked in, and then the next 25% or so of the game is about what kind of good/neutral/bad you are such as if you're lawful/neutral/chaotic using D&D alignment rules for instance, locking out the choices you would've had available to you on the other path and then just keeps going from there. I wouldn't expect someone who just gleefully went around murdering 200 puppies to suddenly decide the next minute to save 20 puppies, then go back to murdering puppies after.

 

[XsjadoBlayde]

The swinging in new Spidermens is great and loveable and all that, but I do have a little critical desire, and they do say if you love something, you should criticise it until it files for divorce and never wants to see you again. So even if it's just an toggly option, I would love to be able to hold on to the web ropes for as long as my bitterly determined murder paws can hold the trigger. Allowing the ability to swing forever around the empire state peak and perform loop de loops amongst the street posts will elevate these games to godly perfection!

 

[Trunkage]

Like
Immersive sims
You have 5 ways of completing an objective. A couple for combat, a couple for sneaking. Maybe a couple of dialogue. Give me the choice to tackle tne problem how I want.

Knowledge is key
Alpha Protocol lets you manipulate people into positions you want, if you've been paying attention to dossiers. If your going to provide intel, make it matter to gameplay

Factions
Well developed faction draw you into a conflict. I cannot enjoy New Vegas that much because I find them utterly boring. I dont care who wins the strip. The Botherhoods in fighting in F3 was way more interesting. NV pretended to do the exact same thing without actually committing. Or having a consequence based on your choice. Not that the Brotherhood was that great in 3...

Open World
New Vegas other problem is its 10 to 20 hour tutorial. They delibrately put in impassable mountains funneling you through areas they want you to visit first. Yes, you can sequence break but that tutorial path still dominates the map, meaning less exploration. Let me determine how I want to play

Dislike
Continuing on with Fake Choices: Telltale Walking Dead. It sure doesnt matter if you cut that arm off... Also, do NOT say 'x will remember this' if it literally doesn't matter if they remember.

I gave up on Wasteland 2 when a commander said I could take a prison to interrogate to further the missoon. You can do whatever to him, even kill him but the Commander says nothing. Don't threaten consequences and never address it.

TBH, the only really good choice is where it changes the game. Even Witcher 2 doesn't really do this well during the middle act. Alpha Protocol is probably best for this, sometimes changing objectives based on prevoois actions. Pity the gameplay is pretty bad

And Witcher 3 had another bad example. Ciri survives if you give her a pep talk? Maybe if it was a good speech. Or maybe if it counted a bunch of pep talks over the game. But this just sucks all the agency out of Ciri. Sorry, there are more examples but I'll move on.

Stat to Hit: Baulder's Gate was where I learn to hate this. 90% of the play time is character swinging sword and not hitting making the combat exponentially longer. Morrowind was terrible for it too. It doesnt make a pleasent play experience to never hit things.

ME1 version of stat to hit (reducing recoil and spread) I am undecided about. Most shots hit so... maybe okay?

Energy Bar
In Deus Ex Human Revolution why does punching someone completely exhuast me? It's just become a time tax. Like the last one, stop wasting my time.

Dress to Impress
I found this most egregious during Outerworlds but happens in plenty of others. It is really stupid, during a conservation, when you realise you dont have the right outift. SO YOU GET UNDRESSED AND CHANGE TO BETTER STAT CLOTHES IN FRONT OF THEM. This makes no sense

 

[Trunkage]

Sorry forgot one
Dislike:
Choices again
This is probably due to development time. In New Vegas, most of the actions you do in the main quest is the reverse of what you do in another faction. That's pretty awefully. It was slightly better in F4 where you had different quests based on the faction you were trying to defeat (or even ally). Using their technology against their factions is great. Just shooting up the Railroad was not

 

[BrawlMan]

Disliked mechanics:

• Insta death/rapid mashing QTES. Thankfully, they've mostly died down or played down to mostly action commands.
• Cover shooters/heal behind cover while the screen turns blood red with rapid heartbeat. The only exceptions I like are Bulletorsm and Vanquish.
• Forced walking segments!
• Fake choices that don't matter.
• Pointless side quest or don't matter to the overall narrative.
• Two weapon limit in shooters.
• Forced stealth sections; especially insta-death ones.
• Melee combat games with one button combat.
• Games where there is only 1 save file.
• Auto scrolling section. I rarely like these, but they are worst when in 2D/2.5D Sonic games.
• One person in your party dies and it's instant game over.
• One hit kills that come out of nowhere.
• Long Load times. In today's day and age, why are we still getting these in a good amount of games?
• Unskippable cut-scenes or non-pausable.

Liked mechanics:

• Block and Parry mechanics in action games.
• Games that encourage you to use the dodge button, not spam it.
• Any game that properly rewards skillful play. Especially games with great risk/reward systems.
• Multiple save slots or files.
• Dynamic music.
• Manual Saving.
• Training modes with step by step details or training rooms.
• Level or Mission select.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Oh, shooters where you can carry X amount of ammo for Gun A, and Y amount for Gun B, which I'll never use. I want to be able to drop all the ammo for Gun B and carry more for Gun A. Also, having Gun B which I'll never use in general.

Also, when I've got X-1 bullets, and there's 5 on the ground, and if I walk over it, I'll go up to X and the pickup will disappear and the other 4 are lost.