PC game commandments

[Wolfram23]

My favorites:

1. You shall not make a game with Games for Windows Live. This will result in your name (soul) being sent to the top of the "burn in hell" list.
-Had a hell of a time getting Fallout 3 working again all thanks to GFWL. Dirt 2 only had the issue with the CD Key. I bought the game in Steam, why can't you just work!?

2. Thou shall support modding.

3. Thou shall support full graphic customizing including detail settings and RESOLUTION!

4. Thou shall support custom key bindings

and a new one

5. Thou shall create a driver for PS3 controllers on PC (lol. Currently use MotionJoy but it requires a trick at startup that is a pain in the butt)

 

[The Unworthy Gentleman]

Thou shalt make games that ACTUALLY work on their own recommended system requirements!

Ideally, yes, they should. But who said that false advertising was illegal?

Thou shalt include a detailed instruction booklet offering some insight into events prior to in game events... unless said information is provided in game.

 

[Tom Phoenix]

I disagree. The creative arts have always been about drawing inspiration from one's contemporaries. If noone could use anyone else's ideas, we'd be completely screwed.

Right, but you're talking about inspiration - I'm talking about blatant theft. Blizzard's entire catalogue of products is a direct ripoff of Games Workshop. Everything is just renamed. That has nothing to do with inspiration; that has no artistical merit and shows only a large lack of integrity.

I never mentioned inspiration, just carbon copy theft

Did you know that post-1998 Tyranids are a carbon copy of the Zerg? Yes, I am aware that Tyranids have existed longer, but their post-StarCraft art direction is significantly different from the pre-StarCraft one. I am not saying Blizzard hasn't borrowed ideas from others (WarCraft being a prime example of this), but let's not pretend as if Games Workshop is innocent in this regard. Ironically, the author of the 3rd Edition Tyranids (the one in which the Tyranid artstyle changed significantly to be more "Zerg-like"), Andy Chambers, would go on to work for Blizzard.

Anyway, most of the PC game commandments have already been mentioned, so I will just state this one:

Thou shalt adapt controls to work with the mouse & keyboard. I have nothing against ports, but it's awful when developers release a game for the PC platform and do not optimise it for it's control scheme. Sometimes, it is so unwieldy that it is practically impossible to play the game without a gamepad. This is a particularly insulting offence when it comes from game companies who have worked with the platform for years and should know better (LucasArts, Telltale Games, I am looking at you).

Oh, which reminds me. Thou shalt show controls in the menus as they apply to the PC platform. There is little else more annoying than when you want to check the controls, only to find a list filled with crosses, squares and triangles. -_-

 

[T-Bone24]

OT:
Thou must have mouse control. (Whether it be FPS', TPS' or others.)

WASD with Mouse are the movement controls for an FPS by LAW. Change this and you will be punished.

This is one of the many reasons to stay well away from the infamous PC port of Resident Evil 4. No mouse control, you have to aim with the keyboard. How anyone greenlighted that is beyond me.

 

[Skorpyo]

Though shalt not make QTE's with different command keys across the board of thine PC-using neighbor.

Shit be-ith uncool.

 

[GideonB]

Thou shalt make more music games for keyboard for PC. Mmo or not.

 

[archvile93]

Thou shalt not continue with the perpetuation of console-style health regeneration and quicktime events.

Thou shalt embrace change and not depserately cling to the past, lest stagnation set in.

 

[Orcus The Ultimate]

1. Thou shalt not use DRM. DRM is just a sign you don't give a shit about your customers.
2. Thou shalt not use QTEs. Seriously.
3. Thou shalt not sacrifice the SP for the MP
4. Thou shalt not use GFWL
5. Thou shalt not make thy game buggy
6. Thou shalt not try to impede third party modifications
7. Thou shalt not release DLC that adds fuck all and charge 5-15 bucks for it(See: MW2 map packs)
8. Thou shalt not include DLC on the game disk. This defeats the whole idea of DLC and is just lazy. Release a full game or delay the release until you can do so.
9. Thou shalt ensure thy game runs well on most computers without bias to either brand of CPU/GPU
10. Thou shall ensure thine game is fun to play, bug-free and doesn't require many patches.

That's some perfect rules to live by !

 

[Battenbergcake]

Thou shalt port with care and attention.

 

[Orcus The Ultimate]

That's some perfect rules to live by !

Heh, thanks. Here's volume 2:

1. Thou shalt not build thine game around cover-based combat.
2. Thou shalt pay close attention and take thine time with dialogue
3. Thou shalt listen to thine customers
4. Thou shalt delay a game's release if it means the game is better in the end
5. Thou shalt not attempt to harm used game sales
6. Thou shalt release authoring tools
7. Thou shalt use more than 'brown' when selecting colors
8. Thou shalt not hide our savegames. The ideal location shall be termed "/Saves
9. Thou shalt not port to PC from console. Thou ist allowed to port from PC to console, however.
10. Thou shalt not rely on Valve Anti Cheat for anti-hacking. VAC works, but it takes too damn long and can be circumvented. Allowing us to make our own admin plugins for dedicated servers accomplishes this.

The 20 Rules of Gaming !

So Be it !

 

[The Eggplant]

Thou shalt have a console command interface for general dicking about.

Couldn'tve said it better myself. So I won't.

OT: Thou shalt not palette-swap an enemy and pretend that it is a new enemy. Especially if thy name is not Diablo II, to whom a pass is granted in this respect.

 

[Sacman]

Thou shalt make thy game extremely difficult and unintuitive so only a hardcore gamers can play...

 

[octafish]

Thou Shalt make menu options, in game menus and in game written dialogue scrollable with the mouse wheel. Why in Mass Effect you could read the numerous log entries with the scroll wheel, yet couldn't in ME2 is a mystery to me.

I don't mind if some games have cover systems, although I prefer to crouch and lean, but please dont have a couple of empty corridors and then a room full of chest high crates. Gee i wonder if there are any bad guys in there? Occasionaly I'd like to be ambushed in a place where there isn't tonnes of convenient cover. I'd better stop now before this just turns into a why Mass Effect is better than ME2 rant.

 

[Thedayrecker]

Thou shalt not fuck over PC gamers with release dates.

 

[Sn1P3r M98]

Thou shalt allow cutscene pausing for when I need to pee.

Thou shalt include an SDK or level designer on release.

 

[cpnichol]

Thou shalt not have any "press any/start button" screens. Been bugging me for years, every time I see one I just think, how about you ditch this screen then I don't have to press a button for no good reason.

Thou shalt support multiple makes of gamepad. EA are terrible for that and have been for at least 5 years despite it being something rather easy to fix.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

Omega]1. Thou shalt not make the AI ignore the rules and/or cheat in any way. A challenge is fun, playing a cheater causes homicide.

2. Thou shall hire actual writers for your story so that it does not become another generic Terrorist/Sci-Fi/ plot.

3. Thou shalt not advertise a patch as DLC.

4. Thou shalt not use DRM. Pirates find a way around it, legitimate gamers are punished by it.

can agree to this especially 1 and 2, 1 irks me like no other. id rather just have them smarter, which sure requires you to not be lazy and program a bit more, but it makes the experience SO MUCH BETTER instead of having the cpu bend the shit out of rules to make me rage.

 

[Talshere]

Thou Shalt Not Use Games For Windows Live under any conditions, as it is an abomination unto all that is Holy.

EDIT: Google Autocomplete knows it's true:

I've never understood this =S I mean...I don't get what is so wrong with it, though I have only used 2 games with it and they have been fine for me, and it also allows me to talk to my friends who just use X-boxes(and I can also add the game to Steam, so I can be talking to both parties)....I don't get it..

Games for windows live is notorious for kicking people mid game and spamming the notorious NAT error, despite the fact that until it kicked you everything was fine. It is incredibly picky over what type of router you are using and the way its set up. It often fails to connect when joining games. It lags horribly. Joining games is needlessly complicated.

Seriously. Dawn Of War 2 and Company of Heroes Online are the same game set in 2 different eras. CoHO is infinitely better because they were not stupid enough to use games for windows live. Relic has come out and said that choosing to use GfWL was the worst decision they ever made, and caused the multiplayer to be almost unplayable for the first 6 months of release as they spammed patches and fixes in an attempt to solve the problem.

If youve never had any problems with it. you are one of the very very lucky few.

 

[Talshere]

why can we not we save or pause? what if i need to pee

What? MMO gamers don't pee?

Anyway.

666. Thou shalt not steal thine game ideas from others.

(Yes Blizzard, I'm looking at you.)

lol....you see there new "peaceblooms vs. ghouls" minigame ORIGINAL to the EXTREME

RULE #1 Thou shall not make normal...hard as hell and normal monsters shouldnt be able to pwn you because of rng..commmon now

On this note: Thou shalt not make thine games pushovers.

Halo 1 on legandary was hard. Halo 2 on Legendary was fuckin impossible, especially on 2 player mode. Halo 3 on Legendary was about as hard as the first 2 on normal.

WoW is another culprit of this. Easy content, while it may allow everyone to experience the story, remove the satisfaction of completion, destroying the game experience.

Ninja Gaiden may have over killed it a bit. Though the first one was far from impossible. The second on was a joke. How your supposed to not die to something that you cant see and 1 shots you the moment you walk into the room idk.


EDIT: How do you delete posts?

 

[Atmos Duality]

Thou shalt not make a sandbox game with a mission that ends it. (F3)

Thou shalt also not profit from thine sin. (this one especially).

Additionally:

Thou shalt not remove local/LAN multiplayer support only to sell us a subscription to thine multiplayer monopoly later.

Thou shalt not invoke the name of Kotick without a curse or complaint.

Thou shalt not pad thy game with needless grind.

Thou shalt port thy games wisely. Lead us not into tedium, but deliver us from console-interfaces! (PC only)

Thou shalt not remake thine game over and over again for profit.