Health Resolution Progress
Since my post on Gaming Challenges about a week ago, I've been going to bed at a much more reasonable time, anywhere between 9:30 to 11:45 PM. On average, 11:00 PM, so I will try aiming between 10 to 11 PM this week.
Perhaps I've been doing so well is that the video game I'm playing, Odin Sphere Leifthrasir, though extremely fun, does not quite have the gripping story like my favorite RPGs, so it was easy to stop playing the game and head to bed.
Even so, since I've been quite consistent with sleep, I might add light exercise. I'm fortunate to have stairs, so I'm thinking of going up and down the stairs (total 10 stairs) 10 times consecutively at least once daily.
Gaming Pet Peeves
As I was playing Odin Sphere Leifthrasir, I was thinking of my gaming pet peeves, since the game ranks your battles, and this type of ranking is definitely one of my pet peeves. I feel it takes away from your style and how you want to fight, because in order to get the highest ranking, you have to kill the enemies as quicky as possible, and to include as many attack combinations as possible. Even so, at least with Odin Sphere, you can redo the battle stage if you want a higher ranking.
In terms of pet peeves, I'm listing other ones that are subjective and/or features that game developers actually think gamers want. Therefore, the obvious "bad" game design such as poor frame rates, bad graphics, no variety of enemies, inputs lagging, poor story and character development, and so forth will not be in this list of pet peeves.
So, definitely, battles being ranked is one of my pet peeves.
The other is my biggest pet peeve of them all: motion control, motion control, motion control! It makes sense to have motion controls in Wii Sports, but not where you fight enemies. It's just as visceral to press R1/R2 to attack then it is to sway your arms using a remote (which rarely gets registered accurately), so I don't see how motion control can add to the gameplay, and in fact, they detract from the action.
When I was playing the remastered version of Twilight Princess on the Wii U, my friend went to the bathroom when I got to the point where I have to fight a mini-boss, and my friend said it was "very difficult". When he came back, I was onto the next event, and he was surprised that I killed the boss so quickly, and he asked me how. I said that all I did was press the button "A". My friend said when he was playing it, he would fall off the bridge so many times because he didn't wave his arms just so, as the original incorporated motion controls. Clearly, my friend didn't find it fun or satisfying when he finally killed the mini-boss.
Further, because of the heavy motion control elements, I cannot play Skyward Sword.
I also hate escort missions, but they're invariably placed in quite a few video games, but they're not nearly as bad as motion controls.
I also hate missable achievements and trophies, and ones that require you to be online. I find online achievements and trophies especially awful because it forces people to have an XBox Gold or Playstation Plus membership, unless you play games on PC.
I prefer not to have achievement and trophies linked to difficulty level, but I don't mind them as it does add challenge to the game.
I hate bosses who have 1HKO moves, which I think adds artificial difficulty and is quite unfair. Even if these moves can be avoided, I see this as mostly frustrating, and not satisfying challenges.
As for QTEs, which most gamers dislike, I think it makes sense to have them, but only as the very last attack flourish, where you press a button that leads to a cutscene where the boss dies. This use of QTE is very well-done and cathartic in the Bayonetta and God of War series.
I'll probably think of more pet peeves that game designers feel are really good ideas, when most of us find them the opposite. Do you agree with this list, and what are some of your gaming pet peeves?
The How of Happiness Review
Since my post on Gaming Challenges about a week ago, I've been going to bed at a much more reasonable time, anywhere between 9:30 to 11:45 PM. On average, 11:00 PM, so I will try aiming between 10 to 11 PM this week.
Perhaps I've been doing so well is that the video game I'm playing, Odin Sphere Leifthrasir, though extremely fun, does not quite have the gripping story like my favorite RPGs, so it was easy to stop playing the game and head to bed.
Even so, since I've been quite consistent with sleep, I might add light exercise. I'm fortunate to have stairs, so I'm thinking of going up and down the stairs (total 10 stairs) 10 times consecutively at least once daily.
Gaming Pet Peeves
As I was playing Odin Sphere Leifthrasir, I was thinking of my gaming pet peeves, since the game ranks your battles, and this type of ranking is definitely one of my pet peeves. I feel it takes away from your style and how you want to fight, because in order to get the highest ranking, you have to kill the enemies as quicky as possible, and to include as many attack combinations as possible. Even so, at least with Odin Sphere, you can redo the battle stage if you want a higher ranking.
In terms of pet peeves, I'm listing other ones that are subjective and/or features that game developers actually think gamers want. Therefore, the obvious "bad" game design such as poor frame rates, bad graphics, no variety of enemies, inputs lagging, poor story and character development, and so forth will not be in this list of pet peeves.
So, definitely, battles being ranked is one of my pet peeves.
The other is my biggest pet peeve of them all: motion control, motion control, motion control! It makes sense to have motion controls in Wii Sports, but not where you fight enemies. It's just as visceral to press R1/R2 to attack then it is to sway your arms using a remote (which rarely gets registered accurately), so I don't see how motion control can add to the gameplay, and in fact, they detract from the action.
When I was playing the remastered version of Twilight Princess on the Wii U, my friend went to the bathroom when I got to the point where I have to fight a mini-boss, and my friend said it was "very difficult". When he came back, I was onto the next event, and he was surprised that I killed the boss so quickly, and he asked me how. I said that all I did was press the button "A". My friend said when he was playing it, he would fall off the bridge so many times because he didn't wave his arms just so, as the original incorporated motion controls. Clearly, my friend didn't find it fun or satisfying when he finally killed the mini-boss.
Further, because of the heavy motion control elements, I cannot play Skyward Sword.
I also hate escort missions, but they're invariably placed in quite a few video games, but they're not nearly as bad as motion controls.
I also hate missable achievements and trophies, and ones that require you to be online. I find online achievements and trophies especially awful because it forces people to have an XBox Gold or Playstation Plus membership, unless you play games on PC.
I prefer not to have achievement and trophies linked to difficulty level, but I don't mind them as it does add challenge to the game.
I hate bosses who have 1HKO moves, which I think adds artificial difficulty and is quite unfair. Even if these moves can be avoided, I see this as mostly frustrating, and not satisfying challenges.
As for QTEs, which most gamers dislike, I think it makes sense to have them, but only as the very last attack flourish, where you press a button that leads to a cutscene where the boss dies. This use of QTE is very well-done and cathartic in the Bayonetta and God of War series.
I'll probably think of more pet peeves that game designers feel are really good ideas, when most of us find them the opposite. Do you agree with this list, and what are some of your gaming pet peeves?
The How of Happiness Review
Oh, I can think of a few. Something that has really bothered me with recent trends in games, is the Female Protagonist tag on steam. Now I want feminism and equality as much as the next guy, I do think it's a problem that girl's just didn't get as much exposure as guys did, and I'm glad we're doing something to remedy that, however we've started doing it for all the wrong reason's I believe. It's started becoming a selling point for games to have a girl headliner.
ReplyDeleteI feel like it's at it's best when you don't make a character a girl for any real reason, they just so happen to be one, same with the other way around. You shouldn't make these things a trait, a note on their character, without good reason. I look to film in this regard because they do it quite well. They have a pretty good mix of men and women, and oftentimes it doesn't really matter. You could cast a lady in Dr. Who and it could be fine, you could cast a guy in Lucy and it could be fine. The only times they go into specifics, seems to be when they plan on doing something with the story that wouldn't make sense otherwise, such as the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Where making lizzy a guy wouldn't have the same impact in a rather heartbreaking scene in the film.
Another one, is games taking parts from other games, without really understanding what makes them tick in the first place. It is painful seeing so many games using the cardgames booster pack model of microtransaction, without understanding that it just doesn't work in most games. In card games, you still care about the little things. That common you have 3 more of, well now you have a playset for your deck should you need it. That voiceline from an overwatch lootbox? Well fuck, kinda feels like it's just there to dilute the pool and make lootboxes less important in single's, And overwatch is one of the better one's!
Shoutout to publishers who always seem to ruin everything too, I remember when Pre-order's were good, I remember when microtransactions weren't abused, I remember when cosmetic's were abused. Launch night, the new call of duty's just came out, the queue goes out the door, everyone's just their to pick up their copy of the game, maybe some people are chatting and laughing and having a good time, maybe the store's making a night of it like how Wizards of the Coast still do for their cardgame releases. It was a really good time, a really fond memory, and it bothers me we can't have that anymore because it all has to make money doesn't it..
completely agree with you there, they should focus on making a well-rounded character, and not build the character around the gender! That certainly goes the same with male characters, not just female leads. a one-dimensional male lead is just as bad as a one-dimensional woman created just to "gain sales" and look "progressive".
DeleteI feel the same way about gameplay. the story must be fleshed out first, and then the gameplay, where I think developers tend to put in the gameplay, and make the story around it.
That's a great point you have there, using popular game mechanics without understanding why it works. I think microtransactions may be a necessity given game development costs, but it should be used like in tomb raider, where you CAN buy card packs, but you can still get them if you get a certain rank in the game. In other words, for those who don't want to grind or make S-rank or whatever to win these cards, you can buy them.
I hate microtransactions where the only way you can get them is if you buy them, and cannot be won in-game. Even worst is the Nintendo amiibo system where not only must you get the amiibo to get the content, but even if you want the content, you can't buy the amiibo due to unavailability, which is the worst of both worlds. at least have the amiibo available for collectors, but let the same content be purchased digitally (if you want to make the amiibo limited availability).
so the really greedy publishers are ruining the fun of gaming--they should focus on making a great game--it may not do well, b/c who knows what succeeds, but I noticed that great games, even if they sell only a few copies like Demon's souls, they get a cult following, so that the next game blows up huge like Dark Souls and the Witcher series.
Same goes with exclusive content only bought at certain stores. I think publishers should make all DLC content available either through purchase, or winning them in-game.
my friend's local gamestop always has lines of people outside for CoD, but I never stopped in to see if they were chatting and having a good time. However, near that gamestop is a place where gamers actually come in and buy beverages and such to share games (table top, video games, etc), called Gamers Heaven, which I must look into.