Poll: Coolest game mechanics

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

There are a few games out there that offer interesting styles of play beyond the run of the mill. The Warrior, Mage, Rogue, Priest way of doing things is tried and tested, true, but I love those games where there's an interesting or innovative mechanic.

Crysis gives us the Nanosuit, Dishonored lets Corvo teleport and summon RATS, WoW druids can shapeshift to suit their situation. Spiderman can swing his way through Manhattan and climb up buildings, Alex Mercer can...everything. The Prince of Persia can rewind and stop time, Fallout 3 lets you get your own pet dog while Necromancers in most games can summon undead minions to do the physical fighting for them.

Personally, I've always been partial to shapeshifting and teleporting, though games which offer either are few. Older D&D CRPGs probably have the best shapeshifting mechanics, though I did enjoy my WoW druid back when I played many years ago. I was also sad that the superpowers in SR3 didn't last beyond the DLC as that superspeed was incredible fun.

What are the coolest gameplay features you've encountered in a game and/or what games have the best/most fun examples of unique game mechanics? Do you like having/summoning pets? Do you enjoy flight in games?

 

[tippy2k2]

Give me an excellent stealth mechanic any day over...well....just about everything else.

The biggest issue is that most stealth games kind of fuck it up. Either the AI can't handle stealth (See Skyrim and the "My buddy just got an arrow through the throat but it was probably just my imagination" bad guy) or the stealth system makes the game piss easy (see Crysis and the God-like powers you get with a bow).

I really hope that this generation and the "Dumb Blonde" issues go away (The game is pretty but has a IOU note where the brain should be). Next-Gen is getting some nice horse power under the hood so I'm really really hoping that devs will take advantage of that.

Strike from the shadows...if the enemy is aware of you, you have failed.

 

[DoPo]

Instafreezing your enemies into ice blocks? Is that it?



I think I prefer telekinesis myself. It's just...I dunno, feels like I get more control over the world with it. Yes. Ye-e-es control. The world. It feels I can control the world.

 

[BrotherRool]

Time manipulation naturally looks cool. Bayonetta slow down dodges, hacking everyone to pieces in Devil May Cry. Slowing down and shooting six enemies dead in the same second in Red Dead Revolver, Alpha Protocol + crud loads of other games. Stopping time in Dishonoured and putting enemies in front of their own bullets.

And then on a meta level you've got transforming landscapes by changing the past, manipulating previous events to get desired future events. That RTS where you can clone a unit in time and then kill it's grandfather to wipe out all units further down the road.

Or that game where you can see a barrel falling down, leap on it, reverse time so it takes you up to the starting position and snipe people from an elevated spot and run away from enemies reversing time as you go so they get further and further away and bullets retreat in their guns.


Teleportation was a close second though, because leaping around the battlefield backstabbing people and all the other teleportation tricks is pretty fun.

 

[shrekfan246]

Strike from the shadows...if the enemy is aware of you, you have failed.

Sounds like somebody should play the first two Splinter Cell games or the Metal Gear Solid games on the hardest difficulty...

OT: Out of this list, I'd probably pick stealth just because none of the other mechanics have really been utilized in amazing ways in games lately.
Time manipulations is usually just a boring stop and/or rewind (and rewinds you along with everything else).
Teleport is just a really quick jump/dash (barely any games even let you teleport through things).
Shapeshifting is admittedly fun but outside of MMOs, Dragon Age is the only one I can think of that included it and it just changed your action bar to different attacks.
Flight is typically on-rails segments, or "falling with style".
Companion pets are neat but nothing really unique or interesting.
Conjuring/summoning is usually just a few specific items or creatures, and the creatures just work like companion pets.

All of these things could be used in so many new, different ways, and I'm sure some indie game somewhere probably has made a puzzle-platformer based around each one of them, but... I dunno, I'd like to see more of them.

 

[AT God]

This is a tough call since most of these options have been done well and been done awfully. I loved the rewind time mechanic in Braid and I loved the slow mo in Max Payne, but both have been done horribly in other games.

The teleporting mechanic is tricky since lots of games feature teleporting, but always differently.

My dream is to play a third or first person game with the "Blink" teleporting mechanic that Blizzard does so well. The teleporter gun in Unreal Tournament was close, even more of that would be great.

 

[Nouw]

Time-manipulation for the Max Payne games alone. Shoot-dodging is incredibly fun, especially because you look so damn cool doing it. Unless you bump into a wall and land out of cover, that's not so cool.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

Give me an excellent stealth mechanic any day over...well....just about everything else.

The biggest issue is that most stealth games kind of fuck it up. Either the AI can't handle stealth (See Skyrim and the "My buddy just got an arrow through the throat but it was probably just my imagination" bad guy) or the stealth system makes the game piss easy (see Crysis and the God-like powers you get with a bow).

The most common complaint with stealth I've heard isn't the stupid AI (though that is a good point well made!), but the binary nature of it. Being in stealth may as well be invisibility (ie. you are either detected, or you are not). Still, I've never really understood that complaint as by its very nature that is fundamentally what stealth is (I can't think of any other state than being either detected or undetected). Hence why I combined invisibility with stealth in the poll, though I do realise they are different, both in gameplay and and in nature.

The trouble with stealth IMO, is that it's usually offered as an alternative, not as the only option (excepting stupid game design with "forced stealth" levels (Hitman: Absolution, I'm pointing at you) which is just a puzzle then. What I mean is that in Skyrim, one could be undetected and stealth in heavy armour and still be powerful enough to lay waste once detected. Thief 2 on the other hand forced players to stay hidden, as discovery was almost certain death. No game has really matched it for the terror and tension of discovery as guards' footsteps pass by mere feet away.

Or that game where you can see a barrel falling down, leap on it, reverse time so it takes you up to the starting position and snipe people from an elevated spot and run away from enemies reversing time as you go so they get further and further away and bullets retreat in their guns.

You're thinking of the Timeshift (I think) they initially showcased, before they changed it 4 times or so. Those first gameplay trailers looked incredible; the final game had none of that and was among the most boring and uninspired shooters ever. I didn't even play past the 2nd chapter. But the original game they showcased had so much promise, for just the reason you described.

The teleporter gun in Unreal Tournament was close, even more of that would be great.

Holy crap, I forgot about that. That was bloody brilliant, thanks for the reminder. Shooting that disc and teleporting to it, amazing fun. Especially on Morpheus map; saved my life numerous times (and looked cool doing it!).

Shapeshifting is admittedly fun but outside of MMOs, Dragon Age is the only one I can think of that included it and it just changed your action bar to different attacks.

Not just DA, but many of the older D&D CRPGs too. Arguably MegaMan has this in its own way as a core mechanic, Divinity 2 (Dragon only, and only in specific areas)...not nearly enough for my liking! But about "just changing the action bars"...that's the end result of the feature. What it represents is the ability to adapt, to switch between different specific forms for different purposes. One of my favourite examples, would be turning into a Golem to get immunity to normal weapons in BG2, then going to town on the puny humans!

 

[TrevHead]

A good scoring mechanic floats my boat, be it chaining found in REZ / Child of Eden, Pacman CE DX or a hundred and one shmups, to collecting items in Akia Katana to fill meters and cashing them in to unleash a special weapon which if used right nets a big score with lots big colourful numbers filling the screen and a feeling like I've won the jackpot on a casino gambling machine. Yum Yum.

 

[shrekfan246]

Not just DA, but many of the older D&D CRPGs too. Arguably MegaMan has this in its own way as a core mechanic, Divinity 2 (Dragon only, and only in specific areas)...not nearly enough for my liking! But about "just changing the action bars"...that's the end result of the feature. What it represents is the ability to adapt, to switch between different specific forms for different purposes. One of my favourite examples, would be turning into a Golem to get immunity to normal weapons in BG2, then going to town on the puny humans!

Ah, yes, I had forgotten Divinity 2.

And I can never get into the combat of old-school D&D RPGs, it frustrates me too much, though I suppose it makes sense that they would feature shapeshifting.

What I meant by "it just changed your action bar", was that in Dragon Age there was no appreciable reason or advantage to shapeshifting. Maybe that changes on the higher difficulties or something, though, I don't know.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

Not just DA, but many of the older D&D CRPGs too. Arguably MegaMan has this in its own way as a core mechanic, Divinity 2 (Dragon only, and only in specific areas)...not nearly enough for my liking! But about "just changing the action bars"...that's the end result of the feature. What it represents is the ability to adapt, to switch between different specific forms for different purposes. One of my favourite examples, would be turning into a Golem to get immunity to normal weapons in BG2, then going to town on the puny humans!

Ah, yes, I had forgotten Divinity 2.

And I can never get into the combat of old-school D&D RPGs, it frustrates me too much, though I suppose it makes sense that they would feature shapeshifting.

What I meant by "it just changed your action bar", was that in Dragon Age there was no appreciable reason or advantage to shapeshifting. Maybe that changes on the higher difficulties or something, though, I don't know.

For old-school RPGs, I think the barrier is the varied rules surrounding each class, and the extreme specialisation of such. Each class was different but distinct and most of the fun came from the party-based gameplay. Warrior challenges this one, mage fireballs over there, cleric does something else, the player controls all of it. The druid (and NWN's Shifter prestige class) were fun, though NWN2's warlock with Demon form was coolest.

For Dragon Age, truth be told you're kinda right. The SS in DAO wasn't great. I think the idea was Bear = tank, wolf = DPS, spier = CC, but it wasn't well realised. There's a great mod though the massively expands SSing with like 5-6 new trees including the tree/ent type forms, demon forms (yes, Pride Demon!), Darkspawn form and even Drake/Dragon/Archedemon form (the AD form annihalates things and takes up the entire screen....zoomed out).

 

[Shoggoth2588]

It's not-at-all helpful or really necessary but I love when the environment and random clutter breaks realistically. Back when Metal Gear 2 came out I remember spending about a half hour in the lounge shooting liquor bottles and windows to look at the damage I've wrought. Flash forward however many years and in Fallout New Vegas you can shoot a bottle with your trusty Fat Man and marvel at how undamaged it is...This is part of why I love Otogi, you and enemies can wreck up levels by attacking and when you are flung or fling enemies through a bridge that then shatters into a million splinters, I can't help but giggle like an idiot.

Speaking of mass destruction I've heard nothing but good things about Alone in the Dark and its Fire mechanics...I've seen videos and yes, that fire is sexy and needs to be in more games.

 

[IllumInaTIma]

From your list I'd say Companion pets, although it depends on the pet itself. Like in Torchlight 2 you have freaking ferret with aviator glasses! How cool is that?
I myself really love optional romances in game, because they usually mean that no small amount of characterization was put into game, and that's always plus.

 

[The Wykydtron]

Well it's a small one but the mechanic in Persona 4 where one of your party members will rush in and push your main character out of the way of an otherwise lethal, game ending blow. It's AWESOME!

I always keep Team Original Party Members so that gives me three tries on its own >.<

Oh any attack that hits the entire team doesn't work obviously, just single target crap. Party members don't save each other as well, I could totally see Chie rushing to save Yukiko for example but whatever.

Oh and I really like unique resources in fighting games and MOBAs. Yeah you could just use Mana for everyone or just give everyone a moveset and be done with it but hey, let's be interesting.

BlazBlue does a lot of this. Carl and Relius have Nirvana/Ignis overload, or even Carl in general for having to worry about both himself and Nirvana at the same time. Tsubaki has her charge ups, Hazama has whip cooldowns so he's not absolutely broken, Bang has his set number of nails that he can use as projectiles and/or mobility dashes or even just drop all of the into a super. Then there's Fu-Rin-Ka-Zan... The second hype-est move ever, just behind Phoenix Wright's Turnabout Mode in UMVC3. Then there's Haku's Magatama... Thing. No idea how the hell it works but it's annoying. Don't even get me STARTED on Aracunte's Instant Win Bullshit Mode.

Then you have Katarina in LoL who just gives zero shits and spams every move she has, or Rengar with the 5 stacks Ferocity mechanic. Yeah fight him when he's on 3 stacks or higher. See where it gets you.

 

[The]

Teleportation is probably the coolest. It'll give you the "quick getaway" ability, essentially. This is especially useful for someone like me, who sucks at stealth.

 

[Nepukadnezzar]

OT: Out of this list, I'd probably pick stealth just because none of the other mechanics have really been utilized in amazing ways in games lately.
Time manipulations is usually just a boring stop and/or rewind (and rewinds you along with everything else).
Teleport is just a really quick jump/dash (barely any games even let you teleport through things).
Shapeshifting is admittedly fun but outside of MMOs, Dragon Age is the only one I can think of that included it and it just changed your action bar to different attacks.
Flight is typically on-rails segments, or "falling with style".
Companion pets are neat but nothing really unique or interesting.
Conjuring/summoning is usually just a few specific items or creatures, and the creatures just work like companion pets.

Basically agree with you. Addition:
Shapeshifting can be seen as changing your equipment completely (it changes your playstyle, maybe not the way you look) and is thus implemented in a lot of games, e.g. GW2, but it is not a must. (I just meant the gameplay mechanic, you still look (nearly) the same)


I picked other, because I think every little ability that is slighty "over-human" makes it fun.
Jump like Mario: Check
Wallrunning: Check
Falcon Punch: Check
A good stealth mechanic (like walking without making a sound): Check



So you see, I basically love every mechanic that lets me do stuff myself. I am not too fond of summoning monsters (or having an animal companion) just to watch them obliterate the enemy while I polish my bow(or whatever weapon I am using)

Oh and I really like unique resources in fighting games and MOBAs. Yeah you could just use Mana for everyone or just give everyone a moveset and be done with it but hey, let's be interesting.

I actually do like it (in singleplayer games) when the abilities are so weak, that I can use them in a rapid succession over long periods. I would hate to wait for my mana to refill after a wallrun^^

PS: sry for screwing up that post, me new^^

 

[Full]

I don't see sliding on that list. Sliding is fun, just slide all over. Especially if they game has slopes that let you slide faster. I just love to slide in games, ALSO especially when you can do actions while sliding.

 

[OldDirtyCrusty]

Time manipulation and other like grabbing and climbing on enemies (Dragon`s Dogma).
It`s been a while since the game got released and i still play it. Every Fantasy game with big monsters should have something like this. I mean look at fantasy artwork and you`ll see alot of Conan types clinging sword swinging on a monster and i started to wonder why not more games use this (especially rpgs). It makes the fights so much better and intense.

 

[NightmareExpress]

Realistic (particularly liquid) physics, object permanence, "smart" AI and realistic destruction of organic and inorganic material. Wait...those might be the wrong mechanics.

I like being able to conjure up some minions.
Especially if they're zombies/skeletons. Oh, and explosive AoE attacks that have some "oomph" behind them are great too.

 

[Zantos]

Being able to grab things. Many games recently, probably Unmechanical most recently, have educated me on how versatile this lost art is. When combined with something like a jump/fly you can basically make an entire, albeit short, game that's still incredibly fun and interesting.

Though Giana Sisters has given me a new love of world switching.