Trends and mechanics you are glad to see largely gone from gaming

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

We love gaming and we love our nostalgia googles, often seeing them as one and the same... But, sometimes, that isn't enough to soften or disguise a truly crappy mechanic or devise, even in retrospective.

What are some of those things that you are glad to see (largely) gone from gaming?

Mine are:

- The "signature" Sierra-style "ability" to permanently screw yourself by putting your character in an unwinnable situation, yet not realizing it until hours later.

- Controls so cryptic, you absolutely need the manual in order to even play the damn game.

- Games that cannot be played without the intended controller, yet offer alternatives that barely do a damn thing (Microsoft's Flight Simulator was infamous for this, DEMANDING a joystick in order to fly the planes, yet allowing you to use mouse and keyboard as an option anyway, even though they barely worked).

What are your picks for this crooked altar to gaming crap?

 

[Jayonnaise6105]

I am quite nostalgic for Guitar Hero, but it was a pain in the ass needing all the different peripherals to get everything out of the games. At least after World Tour introduced drums & microphone, anyway.
Somewhat related side note: how in the blue heck are disposable batteries still a thing?! You still need them by default for Xbox controllers, but most everyone else has moved on to rechargeable USB controllers.

 

[bjork]

I was watching someone play a game called Steel Ranger on Commodore 64, it's a newer release in the style of Metroid. When they cleared out a room, they stood still and their health regenerated. I thought that was great. I would still probably pick original Metroid as my favorite in that series due to how isolating it feels, but if you didn't have to grind health? Man. But I feel like I've seen a several games that either let you regen that way or have plenty of stations around to let you refill, and that's a great thing.

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

Somewhat related side note: how in the blue heck are disposable batteries still a thing?! You still need them by default for Xbox controllers, but most everyone else has moved on to rechargeable USB controllers.

SO true.

You don't want to have a wired controller? Fine, but you should absolutely provide a more standard way of using your pad that isn't reliant on something that could shut down your game without warning. I mean... this was made by Microsoft, aren't they the undisputed kings of "one-size-fits-all"?

 

[Jayonnaise6105]

SO true.

You don't want to have a wired controller? Fine, but you should absolutely provide a more standard way of using your pad that isn't reliant on something that could shut down your game without warning. I mean... this was made by Microsoft, aren't they the undisputed kings of "one-size-fits-all"?

That's why they sell a separate adapter that turns their disposable battery controllers into USB charging ones

 

[Vexicrypt]

Inhumanly fast QTEs and crazy mashing sections. Yeah QTEs are still funny in interactive movie games (Quantic Dream, Supermassive, Telltale) and a bit of mashing can really make you feel the struggle and tension but anything more than that becomes an annoying trial & error fiesta.

 

[qw90700]

- Necessary platformer levels

- Popularity of the isometric genre

- Quick time events for everything

- Crazy characters

- Amnesia and multiple personality generic shit

The ones I wish were gone:

- "I'm looking for someone/something" plot

- Revenge plot

- American culture

- Fan service for horny people

- Souls BS (can't even pause the game outside of combat yo)

- Anime shit

- Nonsense sense of difficulty

- Interactive story program aspects

- Weird placement of guns in FPS games (guns seems so weird yo)

- Wrong sense of art (I don't care about what you think about world or genders lol)

- Brainwashing

- Real-life political and cult BS

 

[Jayonnaise6105]

Inhumanly fast QTEs and crazy mashing sections. Yeah QTEs are still funny in interactive movie games (Quantic Dream, Supermassive, Telltale) and a bit of mashing can really make you feel the struggle and tension but enything more than that becomes an annoying trial & error fiesta.

I've never beaten MGS Peace Walker entirely on my own because of the button mashing torture scene. I know what they were going for, but it becomes less of a skill issue and more of an accessibility issue after a while. I physically cannot do that section!

I don't mind QTEs sometimes, but I will turn them off if given the option. Thankfully, some more modern games like Insomniac's Spider-Man give you that option.

 

[qw90700]

I don't mind QTEs sometimes, but I will turn them off if given the option. Thankfully, some more modern games like Insomniac's Spider-Man give you that option.

Or it's good that you can switch mashing to "hold the key" ones in some games.

 

[Turbo Kid]

2D games not having a D-pad option. I played a 2D beat 'em up a while back that mapped movement to analog only and it made dashing (double tap forward) really uncomfortable.

With some exceptions, I'm not a fan of games using analog sticks for anything other than moving (left stick) or moving the camera (right stick)

I'm kind of tired of parrying in action games. I'm not against its inclusion, but lots of games make it mandatory to master now and the timing is usually really annoyingly tight.

 

[secreto7]

- Necessary platformer levels

- Popularity of the isometric genre

- Quick time events for everything

- Crazy characters

- Amnesia and multiple personality generic shit

The ones I wish were gone:

- "I'm looking for someone/something" plot

- Revenge plot

- American culture

- Fan service for horny people

- Souls BS (can't even pause the game outside of combat yo)

- Anime shit

- Nonsense sense of difficulty

- Interactive story program aspects

- Weird placement of guns in FPS games (guns seems so weird yo)

- Wrong sense of art (I don't care about what you think about world or genders lol)

- Brainwashing

- Real-life political and cult BS

I'm sure you have much more

 

[Jayonnaise6105]

2D games not having a D-pad option. I played a 2D beat 'em up a while back that mapped movement to analog only and it made dashing (double tap forward) really uncomfortable.

With some exceptions, I'm not a fan of games using analog sticks for anything other than moving (left stick) or moving the camera (right stick)

I'm kind of tired of parrying in action games. I'm not against its inclusion, but lots of games make it mandatory to master now and the timing is usually really annoyingly tight.

I get that. I've gotten stuck in some action game tutorials for like 10-20 minutes longer than I should have just because it'll be mandatory you do a parrying tutorial before moving on. Parrying is overrated!

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

That's why they sell a separate adapter that turns their disposable battery controllers into USB charging ones

For reals? Daaaaamn.

 

[qw90700]

I'm sure you have much more

It's not even 1% of my power!!!! lol

 

[Jayonnaise6105]

For reals? Daaaaamn.

Yep!

 

[secreto7]

Hmm, I think I remember that from when I wanted to buy an Xbox One controller for my PC.
It wasn't clear what version was what, what had batteries, what had vibration, etc.
It was a hassle and costly and I'd just ended up buying a RedDragon.

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

Yep!
View attachment 103653

Huh.

Fuck it. I'll riot. Wanna riot? ;D!

 

[Jayonnaise6105]

Huh.

Fuck it. I'll riot. Wanna riot? ;D!

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

View attachment 103656

Ice Bear! It's been a while, buddy XD

I used to love that show.

Big fan of how quickly you went along with it, too ;D!

 

[Ferik]

It's not gone yet, but I'm getting real sick of skill trees and stat level ups in what should be straightforward action-exploration games. Donkey Kong doesn't need a skill tree, Nintendo. Neither does Lara Croft, Crystal Dynamics.

Unlockable power ups tied to the collectibles is fine. But do it Metroid or Banjo-Kazooie style.

 

[bjork]

- Wrong sense of art (I don't care about what you think about world or genders lol)

It's art, there is no such thing as wrong. Please don't reply with an essay

 

[BinaryMessiah]

SO true.

You don't want to have a wired controller? Fine, but you should absolutely provide a more standard way of using your pad that isn't reliant on something that could shut down your game without warning. I mean... this was made by Microsoft, aren't they the undisputed kings of "one-size-fits-all"?

Microsoft's answer to this was that 20 years from now you won't need to buy a bespoke battery for the controller and it will work 20 years from now. You can also remove the batteries to prevent leaking and corrosion. They are technically correct. You can also buy rechargeable AA batteries. It's not that big of a deal. They also sell play and charge kits.

I think it's just cheaper for MS to manufacture, and now with inflation, they can make more of a profit. It's insane that Xbox controllers are the same price as a DualSense and don't do nearly as much.

 

[qw90700]

It's art, there is no such thing as wrong. Please don't reply with an essay

I don't consider philosophy an art form because...

lolol

 

[RustySK]

I keep thinking of tropes that used to annoy me only to realize that I simply stopped playing the kinds of games that were prone to those tropes and that I thus have no idea whether those tropes are actually gone these days.

Mandatory, lightning-fast QTEs maybe? Or crafting systems in games that absolutely do not need crafting systems?

 

[Segadude113]

We love gaming and we love our nostalgia googles, often seeing them as one and the same... But, sometimes, that isn't enough to soften or disguise a truly crappy mechanic or devise, even in retrospective.

What are some of those things that you are glad to see (largely) gone from gaming?

Mine are:

- The "signature" Sierra-style "ability" to permanently screw yourself by putting your character in an unwinnable situation, yet not realizing it until hours later.

- Controls so cryptic, you absolutely need the manual in order to even play the damn game.

- Games that cannot be played without the intended controller, yet offer alternatives that barely do a damn thing (Microsoft's Flight Simulator was infamous for this, DEMANDING a joystick in order to fly the planes, yet allowing you to use mouse and keyboard as an option anyway, even though they barely worked).

What are your picks for this crooked altar to gaming crap?

Yeah that's why I loved LucasArts adventure games so much. I practically grew up playing those. My aunt had one of the King's Quest games on her PC which was also the first time I played Space Pinball. I got stuck and died. I was like, yep. I'm sticking with LucasArts. lol Space Pinball was at least fun though!