Your "What were they thinking." Moment while you were playing a game.

BrawlMan

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Reminds me of what might be the first trailer that really stood out to me as aiming for that effect -


Nothing in the actual games ended up anywhere near that kind of dramatic tone though; at least not of the first three I actually played.
Everyone has seen that trailer! That ad especially, brought in a lot of gamers.
 

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Reminds me of what might be the first trailer that really stood out to me as aiming for that effect -


Nothing in the actual games ended up anywhere near that kind of dramatic tone though; at least not of the first three I actually played.
The only level in the first GoW game I remember even coming close to that kind of moodiness was the one that took place in a nighttime rainstorm. I remember being impressed with how the rain flowed down the treetrunks.
 
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Specter Von Baren

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Reminds me of what might be the first trailer that really stood out to me as aiming for that effect -


Nothing in the actual games ended up anywhere near that kind of dramatic tone though; at least not of the first three I actually played.
How bout Dead Island's commercial with the super dramatic, and artsy tone played with some super sad music when the game itself isn't anything like that?
 

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How bout Dead Island's commercial with the super dramatic, and artsy tone played with some super sad music when the game itself isn't anything like that?
There are still people who won't let that go. Sorry y'all, you're dumb enough to fall for the hype train when there hadn't even been any game footage yet. That is why you always just don't rely on CG only trailers with no game play at all. When you think about it, there really wasn't much of a false advertisement. Speaking of Dead Island I don't think the second game is ever happening. It got announced back in 2014, and they still nothing to show for it. As far as I'm concerned, the games canceled. If anybody wants a first person zombie game, just get Dying Light 2.
 
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There are still people who won't let that go. Sorry y'all, you're dumb enough to fall for the hype train when there hadn't even been any game footage yet. That is why you always just don't rely on CG only trailers with no game play at all. When you think about it, there really wasn't much of a false advertisement. Speaking of Dead Island I don't think the second game is ever happening. It got announced back in 2014, and they still nothing to show for it. As far as I'm concerned, the games canceled. If anybody wants a first person zombie game, just get Dying Light 2.
I just think it's really poor advertising to advertise your game as something it isn't. At the least it means there was bad communication between the devs and advertisers.
 
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I just think it's really poor advertising to advertise your game as something it isn't. At the least it means there was bad communication between the devs and advertisers.
Which is why you shouldn't put 100% trust into CG trailers and make assumptions on promises that may or may not be there. Don't get me wrong, you still have a point, but there are people who just took it way too far with their reactions.
 

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Which is why you shouldn't put 100% trust into CG trailers and make assumptions on promises that may or may not be there. Don't get me wrong, you still have a point, but there are people who just took it way too far with their reactions.
I long since learned "If it doesn't have gameplay footage, it's not a real trailer". Sure, it's cool if the trailer is also the opening Cutscene(Dark Souls 3, please stand up) but it doesn't tell me much about it, especially since the pre-rendered cutscene normally tends to have meaningful differences from the actual game(Also Dark Souls 3).
 

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I long since learned "If it doesn't have gameplay footage, it's not a real trailer". Sure, it's cool if the trailer is also the opening Cutscene(Dark Souls 3, please stand up) but it doesn't tell me much about it, especially since the pre-rendered cutscene normally tends to have meaningful differences from the actual game(Also Dark Souls 3).
Exactly. You would think after the 6th and seventh generation of consoles, people would learn this. But unfortunately, no, there are people still falling for this or going into the trap.
 
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Exactly. You would think after the 6th and seventh generation of consoles, people would learn this. But unfortunately, no, there are people still falling for this or going into the trap.
I remember fun examples such as Assassins' Creed 3. In the trailer, you see what is presumably the battle of bunker hill. The same battle happens in the game and while there are some things that a similar, in general the actual gameplay version is very different, down the very battlefield itself and god forbid you try to play the actual mission like the trailer. You'll die pretty fucking fast.


 
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XsjadoBlayde

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When games put so much money and talented work into their graphics, detail, visual design etc but then utilise constant gameplay mechanics requiring a vision mode that darkens, greys out, blurs, blackens etc the screen to an obscured bland mess so you can learn all the most important plot points and world building details. Such culprits include, but are not limited to: Witcher 3, Cyberpunk, Batman Arkhams, Ghosts of Tsushima, and many many more.

Evidently it's entirely possible to keep these scanning modes without sacrificing the player's ability to take in all the visual detail, as Horizon Zero Dawn finds a pleasing middle-ground with the funky triangle/hexagon bubble of wobbly pink lines being relatively unobtrusive. And other games deploy a sort of 'highlight' function on its own too. Understandably it is most likely useful when it comes to accessibility for the visually impaired, so mayhaps a toggle option?

Also I'm no fan of the same effects to show you're near death too. Not quite as annoying as the Zelda heart beeping, but I distinctly remember one game making everything dark and black 'n white while I stumbled all over the place squinting for anything to regain vision, but to no avail, making any combat a more visually frustrating chore than it ever needed to be.
 
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Gergar12

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Those annoying God of War puzzles took me forever to Google. Not a fan of puzzles.
 

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Reminds me of what might be the first trailer that really stood out to me as aiming for that effect -


Nothing in the actual games ended up anywhere near that kind of dramatic tone though; at least not of the first three I actually played.
Dom's whole story kind of fits the tone of the music even during his sacrifice where Mad World Plays in the background. Sometimes I feel like the first three games were meant to change to tone of how we saw shooters from being goofy hyperviolent spectacles to dramatic violent spectacles that Warhammer perfected. The revelation of how human greed can get that it breaks the earth beneath it
 

Agema

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When games put so much money and talented work into their graphics, detail, visual design etc but then utilise constant gameplay mechanics requiring a vision mode that darkens, greys out, blurs, blackens etc the screen to an obscured bland mess so you can learn all the most important plot points and world building details. Such culprits include, but are not limited to: Witcher 3, Cyberpunk, Batman Arkhams, Ghosts of Tsushima, and many many more.

Evidently it's entirely possible to keep these scanning modes without sacrificing the player's ability to take in all the visual detail, as Horizon Zero Dawn finds a pleasing middle-ground with the funky triangle/hexagon bubble of wobbly pink lines being relatively unobtrusive. And other games deploy a sort of 'highlight' function on its own too. Understandably it is most likely useful when it comes to accessibility for the visually impaired, so mayhaps a toggle option?

Also I'm no fan of the same effects to show you're near death too. Not quite as annoying as the Zelda heart beeping, but I distinctly remember one game making everything dark and black 'n white while I stumbled all over the place squinting for anything to regain vision, but to no avail, making any combat a more visually frustrating chore than it ever needed to be.
I have a sort of issue with "highlighting". I am well aware of the potential frustration of trying to "find the object" / "find the interactable scenery" - pixel hunting on RPGs and adventure games of yesteryear sometimes erred to the obscure - for which it is an obvious remedy. But I also find it strangely unfulfilling in games that everything you can do glows with a little light when you aim the cursor at it, like you've got some ever-present helicopter parent to remove any risk that you might have to grow up, be an adult and do things for yourself.
 

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Onechanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayers having only motion controls as an options. Now the good news is that the controls actually work well enough, but the fact there are no other control options sours it. Makes it hard coming back to the game; especially nowadays that the later sequels and remakes improve the combat even further. Along with better and stylized visuals too. Another thing: Hiding costumes behind bullshit quests where you won't know how to do it or look up on the web. That is PS1 levels of bad and obtuse. I don' know what Tamsoft were thinking with something so stupid. Good thing they axed it in all future games. Which lead to the DLC problem, most know where that dance and song lead to at this point.

Sonic Unleashed - The Were-Hog (the correct should be called Wolf-Hog, but does not roll of the tongue) sections should not exist. If I wanted to play DMC/Bayonetta/God of War, I'll play those, not some average clone which takes up more than 1/2 of the entire game, and the stages become tedious slog padding the further you get. The brawler sections should have been it's own game with completely different character and universe, or a Knuckles spin-off. The combat and style of play fits him so much better, and would have been more preferable. Makes way more sense. SEGA, stop trying to re-invent the wheel. Just let player run around at high speeds, or bring Sonic's side kick, pals, friends, and rivals back again with gameplay. They will become useful again.
 

XsjadoBlayde

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I have a sort of issue with "highlighting". I am well aware of the potential frustration of trying to "find the object" / "find the interactable scenery" - pixel hunting on RPGs and adventure games of yesteryear sometimes erred to the obscure - for which it is an obvious remedy. But I also find it strangely unfulfilling in games that everything you can do glows with a little light when you aim the cursor at it, like you've got some ever-present helicopter parent to remove any risk that you might have to grow up, be an adult and do things for yourself.
Oh definitely. Where possible, I prefer to turn it all off (unless there's scanning involved, something about sci-fi scanning every suspicious object and creature pleases a curious lurking desire within the soul), but some games like Witcher 3 will screw you over in detective quests if you do that, which does not help feel particularly detectivey. It's kind of my main bugbear with every game trying to convince the player they are a very smart detective: you're still just following the glowy carrots on sticks being funneled towards a flimsy pretense of figuring that shit out yourself.
 

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Those annoying God of War puzzles took me forever to Google. Not a fan of puzzles.
In GOW3, there's a musical/rythem game puzzle you have to solve in the mid/late game. I spent way too much fucking time on that puzzle because it just did not work well for me. I don't even mind puzzles but that particular one just came across as obnoxious to me more then like anything else in the damn game.
 
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BrawlMan

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In GOW3, there's a musical/rythem game puzzle you have to solve in the mid/late game. I spent way too much fucking time on that puzzle because it just did not work well for me. I don't even mind puzzles but that particular one just came across as obnoxious to me more then like anything else in the damn game.
Exactly why I didn't bother doing repeat playthroughs of most God of War games. Say whatever you will about the Devil May Cry franchise, but most of its puzzles never went overly complicated. At worse, it was usually some minor tedium. I still say most of the puzzles in God of War 4 are better than a majority of the puzzles from past games.
 

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The proving ceremony scene early on in Horizon Zero Dawn, where you as Aloy, the blonde jock with the heart of gold, and his "friend" the cocky and strong younger sister of a top hunter are gathered together to finally start this anime. We have our cast, can't wait to see how they evolve as people and get into wacky adventures together, I wonder when the obligatory beach/hotspring episode is.
OH. They're dead now. Aloy beats back the enemy ambush, but the rest of the team are just killed off including your mentor/father, and most of the named characters. And I was sitting there like "Wait, did they just kill off the supporting cast? They know Aloy is even in game called awkward and hard to get along with, right? What possible reason did they have to kill off the actual interesting characters and leave us with the awkward one who very specifically needed friends to help her grow and mature?"
And worst of all, they didn't introduce anyone nearly as interesting for the rest of it. I just got bored and stopped playing. They did the great big tragic death scene of the actual likeable characters within the first hour of a 40 hour story, and they never bothered to fill in those roles.
I wouldn't say blonde guy is likeable, or that either him or the girl are any more interesting than most of the other characters in the game, but they're definitely set up as companions for Aloy; Blonde guy is obviously set up as the bigot who will eventually learn the error of his ways and become a cherished friend in the end, and the girl is obviously supposed to be Aloy's first real girl friend of the same age.

And yeah, killing them off at the start of the game pretty much stops Aloy's character arc dead in its tracks. Either the writer wasn't aware of the characters he was writing, or the developer decided to cut this whole character developement out because they wanted Aloy to be a simple Shepard (Mass Effect) type character who just goes around and does missions for random people.
 

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Exactly why I didn't bother doing repeat playthroughs of most God of War games. Say whatever you will about the Devil May Cry franchise, but most of its puzzles never went overly complicated. At worse, it was usually some minor tedium. I still say most of the puzzles in God of War 4 are better than a majority of the puzzles from past games.
I honestly enjoyed the GOW games for the spectacle, pretty much. At least as far as 2 and 3 are concerned. GOW1 had a nice tragedy going for it but I wasn't particular amazed by either the combat or the puzzles(but I'll admit this isn't my preferred genre).

I'm starting GOW4 soon and will surely chime in on it once I get some time in it.