The ability to use strategy and/or tactics. Spamming the same tactic over and over doesn't count. Also good storytelling.
Your gaming turn ons
- Thread starter Doitpow
- Start date
Great, immersive story
Modern or future settings
Innovation, or improvement of existing mechanics
Multiple gameplay approaches, including stealth
Freeroam exploration
Character customisation
Nothing gets me more excited than starting a game for the first time and the prospect of exploring the game world.
Modern or future settings
Innovation, or improvement of existing mechanics
Multiple gameplay approaches, including stealth
Freeroam exploration
Character customisation
Nothing gets me more excited than starting a game for the first time and the prospect of exploring the game world.
bloody gushing neck stumps and giblets.
i guess the big sisters from bioshock.
dragons.
xeno facehugger impregnation.
power armor.
big guns.
i guess the big sisters from bioshock.
dragons.
xeno facehugger impregnation.
power armor.
big guns.
I'm an action adventure, TPS, WRPG, platformer kind of guy so some of these won't surprise you.
-Open-ended solution to scenarios (level design, combap, and puzzles come to mind)
-Clever AI that you can rely on (rarely happens)
-Exploration (any kind is fine)
-Discoverable lore (and I don't just mean logbooks but locations, photos, history, etc. you can find and inturpret on your own)
-Natural boundreys (opposite of invisiable walls)
-Pointless life system (arcade techniques don't apply anymore so stop it)
-Dragons (...why not?)
-Sharp textures (If I see blood splatter as squares on a dying Quarian then there's something wrong)
-Forgivable level "gates" (aka rpgs that show some modesty to the player's time and not forcing them to grind)
I think that's most of it.
-Open-ended solution to scenarios (level design, combap, and puzzles come to mind)
-Clever AI that you can rely on (rarely happens)
-Exploration (any kind is fine)
-Discoverable lore (and I don't just mean logbooks but locations, photos, history, etc. you can find and inturpret on your own)
-Natural boundreys (opposite of invisiable walls)
-Pointless life system (arcade techniques don't apply anymore so stop it)
-Dragons (...why not?)
-Sharp textures (If I see blood splatter as squares on a dying Quarian then there's something wrong)
-Forgivable level "gates" (aka rpgs that show some modesty to the player's time and not forcing them to grind)
I think that's most of it.
For me, one of the biggest ones is a great environment. I've been playing some Two Worlds 2 lately, and the Tanzania-influenced Chapter One locations are simply brilliant. Nothing like running across the open space, between tree to tree, while the sun shines through the hills as a Cheetah jumps in the grass, hiding from you and you jump down into some rocks to avoid Baboons throwing shit.
There are many times in video games where I'll come across lovely little areas and I just think how amazing they are and how they feel. Games like Gothic 3, The Witcher and even Skyrim to a degree are others.
Something else I enjoy in games is a complete moral grey-area. The whole good vs. evil thing is pretty boring now. I prefer games where there is no clear cut black and white, where the antagonists do have good traits and maybe even good intentions and the protagonists have some lesser sides to themselves. Makes it much more interesting I think. I also prefer not so happy "And they lived happily ever after" endings. I like ones with a little ambiguity or even a little darkness to it.
There are many times in video games where I'll come across lovely little areas and I just think how amazing they are and how they feel. Games like Gothic 3, The Witcher and even Skyrim to a degree are others.
Something else I enjoy in games is a complete moral grey-area. The whole good vs. evil thing is pretty boring now. I prefer games where there is no clear cut black and white, where the antagonists do have good traits and maybe even good intentions and the protagonists have some lesser sides to themselves. Makes it much more interesting I think. I also prefer not so happy "And they lived happily ever after" endings. I like ones with a little ambiguity or even a little darkness to it.
-Interesting or at least amusing characters. I can tolerate a mediocre story as long as I'm having a good time with the people going through it. (Tales games more or less exemplify this for me)
-Collectible systems that allow for gameplay progression or diversity (Pokemon, Persona) or add backstory/lore or at least cool character art (Metroid Prime, Batman:AA's riddles). Just make it more than GTA's nondescript hidden packages
-Exploration, as long as the game takes some form of creative license to make the world worth exploring. I love Morrowind of all the Elder Scrolls games in large part because the world seems truly alien, while I think that recent Rockstar games fail on some level because they choose to make a painstakingly accurate representation of the real world without considering that the real world is full of thoroughly uninteresting space.
-Soundtracks that consist of modern musical styles rather than more orchestral instrumentation. Rap, rock, country, J-pop, whatever works for me as long as they don't lean too heavily on metal. Licensed music can be great but doesn't really count
-A general lack of gritty realism. Gritty unrealism is fine, but I want my grit in moderation. The surreal, absurd, and fantastic are things that video games have a unique window into, and I feel that this potential is far from sufficiently explored
-Meaningful gameplay outside of just combat, whether it's puzzles, platforming, a strong conversation system, or just a strong sandbox element outside of just driving and shooting or something
-Collectible systems that allow for gameplay progression or diversity (Pokemon, Persona) or add backstory/lore or at least cool character art (Metroid Prime, Batman:AA's riddles). Just make it more than GTA's nondescript hidden packages
-Exploration, as long as the game takes some form of creative license to make the world worth exploring. I love Morrowind of all the Elder Scrolls games in large part because the world seems truly alien, while I think that recent Rockstar games fail on some level because they choose to make a painstakingly accurate representation of the real world without considering that the real world is full of thoroughly uninteresting space.
-Soundtracks that consist of modern musical styles rather than more orchestral instrumentation. Rap, rock, country, J-pop, whatever works for me as long as they don't lean too heavily on metal. Licensed music can be great but doesn't really count
-A general lack of gritty realism. Gritty unrealism is fine, but I want my grit in moderation. The surreal, absurd, and fantastic are things that video games have a unique window into, and I feel that this potential is far from sufficiently explored
-Meaningful gameplay outside of just combat, whether it's puzzles, platforming, a strong conversation system, or just a strong sandbox element outside of just driving and shooting or something
-Sections of the game that involve the protagonist tripping balls, going insane, or otherwise not perceiving reality correctly.
-Stylistic esthetics, such as cel shading.
-Unique or experimental gameplay mechanics and storytelling techniques.
-Games largely having a single person directing its development. Individuals like Tim Schafer, Chris Avellone, Ken Levine, or Fumito Ueda driving the game towards a single creative vision usually seems to result in a better game.
-Games actually having something meaningful to say, like Bioshock.
-Or, if the game doesn't have any artistic statement to make, being completely batshit insane like Saints Row or Katamari.
-RPGs with really deep roleplaying options that go beyond just in crafting your playstyle, and in establishing your character's personality. The best modern example I've seen is Fallout: New Vegas.
-Stylistic esthetics, such as cel shading.
-Unique or experimental gameplay mechanics and storytelling techniques.
-Games largely having a single person directing its development. Individuals like Tim Schafer, Chris Avellone, Ken Levine, or Fumito Ueda driving the game towards a single creative vision usually seems to result in a better game.
-Games actually having something meaningful to say, like Bioshock.
-Or, if the game doesn't have any artistic statement to make, being completely batshit insane like Saints Row or Katamari.
-RPGs with really deep roleplaying options that go beyond just in crafting your playstyle, and in establishing your character's personality. The best modern example I've seen is Fallout: New Vegas.
