Learn something from a bad game

[gamer_parent]

Extra Credit has said on two separate occasions now that you can often learn more from a bad example instead of a good example.

So, in this thread, we will endeavor to do JUST that.

Name a game, tell us what it did wrong, and the lesson we ought to learn from it.

Try to be specific though, as low hanging fruits like "make you game as bug free as possible" is so easy that it is practically meaningless.

I'll start:

Game: DC vs. MK

What they did wrong: Just going to name one (even though there are numerous)
Klose Kombat is basically a blind rock-paper-scissors game. However, because all Klose Kombat options between all combatants are essentially the same, (Same damage output, same speed, same everything except the person doing it) the guessing game presented here can be easily replaced with a random number generator in it's place. Having unequal options is HOW you can make mind games interesting. (At least for a game that has an implicit aim to court competitive play audience)

Lesson learned: When making a guessing game between players, give the options some distinction beyond aesthetics. The added information about the different properties of moves means that players can now actually try to make an educated guess based on existing variables and how the player in question thinks. In other words, it encourages the Sirlin concept of Yomi.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

I'll give it a shot, why not

Game: Dragon Age II

personally i felt in the story *****WARNING*****(this could have some spoilers folks)

didn't exactly flow amazingly, in the fact that act 1 you take that whole damn time just getting down to the shafts to get some loot (nothin wrong with that) but then when you go into act 2 the main aspect of it is the whole quanari scandal, and it really picks up before hand and it really feels like that's the climax of the game...but then oh wait, mages vs templars? lol woops we'll add that in at the end


Now i'm not saying it isn't good to have a couple strong side quests amongst your main quest, but it wasn't quite clear what was your intent/purpose throughout the game, i loved the game, but it sure didn't feel like it had an overall direction/purpose on the story aspect of where they were leading you most of the game.


So i'm not saying they were bad choices on plot lines, just mabye it could've/should've been handled differently..so maybe they could've tied up all together nicely in the end instead of chopped up apple sauce randomly in the game.

 

[gamer_parent]

Since I'm at it, I'll add another one

Game: Tao Feng, Fist of the Lotus
What they did wrong: differentiate characters not by play style, but mostly by location and hit box. Basically, the flow of the game is fairly constant. One guy performs a combo string, and try to penetrate your defense. If the defender successfully blocks it, they strike back with their own combo string, trying to do the same thing. Essentially, while each character has different combos, the method of play is the same, where the back and forth of combo strings punctuated by a single throw is standard. Compare this to say, Tekken 6, where one character's strength is doing the back and forth block string stuff (Jin), one character's main mode of play is to set up for a large juggle (Devil Jin), etc.
Lesson Learned: When designing characters for a competitive game, think about how the character's main method of play will differ from each other rather than focusing on superficial, if easily definable differences. Approaching it from a game play perspective will allow for a deeper difference in terms of play, and at the same time allow your game to cater to players of different styles.