Question of the Day, April 19, 2010

[MasterSplinter]

(can you imagine the nightmares that game would give a four year old?).

My 4 year old cousin loves video games and every time he comes visit and i'm playing he wants to watch (and with a little hel play too), I've played left4dead, dead space, HL2, RE, etc with him he just gets bored after a while of the same thing over and over again. Popcap games on the other hand he can't get enough, also the robot unicorns attack.

 

[StriderShinryu]

I certainly enjoy unique environments and settings, but for me it's more about quality of presentation and design than simply being unique.

 

[The Great Zegrool]

I really, really like them.

But they're not completely necessary for me to enjoy the game.

 

[sln333]

Depending on the style of the game and if it's linear or open-ended, environments can make or break a game. Linear games only need to have it's levels look nice. Sandbox games need to have big environments that can entertain you anywhere. Any GTA game, Bioshock, Oblivion, and Batman: AA are all games that I can quickly think of whose environments made the games better.

 

[MMMowman]

Mass Effect, Oblivion and Fallout are the only notable games that use enviroments well
EDIT: AND BIOSHOCK!

 

[Halceon]

"I could care less" ? WHO LET THIS ABOMINATION BE WRITTEN?

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

Yes, yes a million times yes.

Compare Morrowind and Oblivion - Morrowind is more immersive and feels alot bigger than Oblivion because of all the different regions, while Oblivion gets stale as it look copy pasted.

Generally it just makes things more fun when there's lots of new, unexplored and unknown environments to ramble through.

I would have made exactly this comparison, although it seems I no longer need to. I only feel the need to explore (and by doing so become immersed in) a gameworld if I feel that heading over the horizon will bring new, unseen enviroments. If I feel the game is just going to serve up re-heated scenery and samey creatures I don't bother. After all, what's the point of exploring a landscape that you have (to all intents and purposes) already explored?

Distinctive and varied landscapes are absolutely key to RPGs and sandbox games, although I will concede that for other genres they become more of a nice plus.

 

[pearcinator]

Abso-freaking-lutely!

My favourite games are those with fantastic environments and I always stop to look at a fantastic vista shot. I play games to see a whole range of environments.

 

[Andronicus]

It depends on the game of course, (obviously it's not really going to make much of a difference to, say, Tetris), but for most RPG's, Action and platformer games, it's a definite yes from me. One of the things I love most about videogames are their ability to take me to a new world and let me explore it. Endless corridors in shooters and games that don't let you stop to enjoy the scenery really aren't my cup of tea.

Final Fantasy XIII's worlds, especially Pulse, really didn't offer much in the way of exploration and general world design; sure, there were "distinctive environments", but there was no opportunity to stop and look in all the little nooks and crannies around the various locales the way I like to, instead encouraging you to just push incessantly further onward.

 

[JEBWrench]

Pac-Man just doesn't have the reply value, what with its one screen and all.

 

[Darth Rahu]

I'll say it, Bioshock, nuff said.