The Little Things in Games?

[Rosalia Nightsong]

So, after having just picked up Skyrim (yes, I know it may seem like "yet another Skyrim thread", but read on!) and engaged in some combat, I watched as my camera shook while I pulled out and put away my weapon. And I realised something... I love the little subtleties game developers sneak in to enhance the immersion.

Take, for example, Grand Theft Auto IV. When Niko is driving a car, the radio makes an interference noise just before the cell phone rings (much like speakers do in real life). It is that type of addition that I have come to appreciate.

So what minor additions (that, if missing, would not detract from or add to the gameplay) have you noticed?

 

[SquirrelPants]

My first thought when I saw the thread title was the books in The Elder Scrolls games. It's really easy to just ignore them, they're pretty unnecessary and out of the way, but if you give them the time, there's hours and hours worth of reading, whether it's characters or lore or even just straight-up jokes(see: the lusty Argonian maid.)

It really gives the world a better sense of scale. Makes it seem like there's so much more to it.

 

[Rosalia Nightsong]

My first thought when I saw the thread title was the books in The Elder Scrolls games. It's really easy to just ignore them, they're pretty unnecessary and out of the way, but if you give them the time, there's hours and hours worth of reading, whether it's characters or lore or even just straight-up jokes(see: the lusty Argonian maid.)

It really gives the world a better sense of scale. Makes it seem like there's so much more to it.

I agree. Mostly I will read the book right there, but sometimes I will save it for later (I like to read one or two every night before my character sleeps).

 

[Dagnius]

I had a friend get (back) into CnC: Zero Hour back in the day after I had upgraded my video card and he seen the pecks of dust fly up from the ground as a poor GLA worker was being shot at. I thought that was the strangest little thing to get him back into the game.

As for myself (both a negative, and a positive), It's the freeze-hit in games. It really annoys me but my other friends often don't even realize it's happening. What I mean by Freeze-hit is that the game stops for .25 or .50 of a second when your weapon collides with an enemy or object.

One subtle thing that really made me 'Wow!' in a game was the Tornado spell in Rusty Hearts. When you use it, the screen kind of blurs and shakes as the enemies are drawn in. That doubled the epicness of the fighting.

 

[BlindMessiah94]

I like in Resident Evil 4 how when you reload the Magnum it actually does each individual bullet in the barrel, or how when you equip grenades the extra ones are on your belt.
In both Prince of Persia and Arkham Asylum I appreciated how as the game went on the damage done to your body and clothes was apparent as well.
Little things like that make a game more immersive.

 

[superdelux]

I remember in the first Assassins Creed when ever you did a particularly brutal stabbing you can actually see the guards wince at the sight of their friends death.

 

[Elementary - Dear Watson]

I loved the rusty guns that jammed in Farcry2 and the apropiate damage that needed healing, (putting out flames when on fire, removing bullets when shot, realigning limbs after falling etc!)

I also loved when I played the Darkness the first time and watching the characters fingers move with mine as I pulled the trigger! If you half pulled the trigger, he would too! Awesome!