The Weekend Debate: Design Trendsetters

cinematic/interactive story telling, seeing an amazing CG intro is good but it takes u out of the game especially if the in game graphics suck, ever since half life games have been telling their story in a much better interactive way or a more cinematic way like the uncharted series

R3 to melee in FPS games, this provides a quick way to melee in a very fast flowing game .

Probably crosshairs, they’ve been around for ages and its hard to find a game that dosen’t use them. Forget regenerating health not being realistic what about the white marks hovering in front of your face. Sometimes I just play hardcore on battlefield 3 to get rid of the crosshairs whats the point in having sights to look down. And the crosshair is always in the middle of the screen so it’s not that hard to guess where the bullets going to impact.I don’t know why people never complain about the crosshairs is it because you’ve never not used them. Also ironsights were a game changer but I’m beginning to waffle so will stop, not check speeling, and push submit.

Sandbox open world games! The games that let you go where you want and when you want! They made the games feel more realistic…

Cinematics. Using Movie developers to create powerful and gripping cutscenes really enhances games, as seen in the likes of Uncharted. Cinematics helps to make guns not just fun to play, but fun to watch aswell. And when cinematics is combined with amazing graphics, you get a truely amazing experience that will continue to be used and grown upon throughout the years.

I think cooperative (co-op) have regained alot of its former glory all thanks to the online multiplayer features built into games today. Back in the days with coineating arcades multiplayer often existed more as competition players inbetween. In the 90′s co-op started its rise to glory with local co-op infront of the tv’s. But in the 32-bit era I think developers where to focused on the potential of strong singleplayer experiences (story, music and graphics) that alot of the multiplayer goodies suffered. But all this changed with the current generation where titles today flex with strong co-op features as main sellpoints to the enduser. Games that in the beginning was singleplayer focused followed up with new itterations where the multiplayerpart was extended with strong co-op features (im looking at you Resistance and Uncharted)

So to sum it all together…. CO-OP!

interactive loading screens

as most games have load screens – the ones that give you something to do other than watch the loading screen – particularly LONG loading screens – ahem Dead Rising 2 which was atrocious by not providing anything other than overly long loading screens

back on the ps2 in We Love Katamari – you could move the kings head everywhere creating trails and words by movement

however in Skyrim its far more sophisticated – the use of analog sticks allows you to closely inspect both the front and back of the items on the load screen (yes move close up with left stick and turn around with the right one – the designers made it so check them out the detail on the items most people won’t notice is amazing)

for me its the little things like that

also large open worlds that allow me to explore as opposed to linear ones – now if you will excuse me – me and my good buddy Cicero have some questing to get back to

Greatest design choice IMO was Play/Create/Share whether with Little Big Planet, Mod Nation Racers or Infamous 2. More of it I say

i think Uncharted series influence most of the Gaming world by design and mechanic system

3D

Crosshairs and Aiming have a huge impact on how you play the game and without them you would be oblivious as to where you were shooting and this would develop a huge impact on the way the game would work. Also sniper rifles would be close to useless seeing as the sight/crosshair is the core functionality of the gun and without it you’d be a sitting duck!

Destruction just seeing a massive fight goin on with buildings crumbling also player count eg MAG it adds to the realism

online gaming has had the biggest input to gaming, making it a more entertaining and social experience,with a whole host of genres to choose from, without that option of connectivety games would have become stale and boring fast but online gaming opens up a whole new world of fun and opportunitys for both gamers and developers imaginations.

I guess free roam is my number 1 games like WOW that let you go wherever you want are so popular because of that IMO the bigger the world the better – I hate being limited in anything. And i love to explore number 2 is defo destructive environment like inthe new FROSRBITE engine. Also number 3 MULTIPLAYER makes the game a completely different adventure.

These modern choises in games, have theire ups and downs, as everything. Whilst the Character leveling system, special perks for each level up and weapons may offer replayability value, in order to keep the player being rewarded for the effort he put in, but also grant a strategic side, even if the game doesnt require strategic thinking. Thinking which perks offer you best results to your gameplay, also having a weapon limit (example 2 or 3) does the same job, offering a strategic side to the game. Other modernities in gaming such as the health regeneration, may cut down the frantic pace of a game, while the player needs to take cover and wait a bit before going into action, that also can cut down the adrenaline, games without health regeneration are usually fast paced games, placing the player into an almost fear situation when his health is low, and he needs to move to a certain location to get a health pack.

Honestly I miss games where you just played, every player was equal, and the outcome of the match would depend of the skill of each player. Maybe We will have something like that in the near Future.

Something that blew me away the first time I did it in a game, and has since frustrated me no-end when I find it missing, is SWIMMING!

For years, playing Mario, Sonic, Commander Keen, and then later in games like Doom, Duke Nukem, Dark Forces- water was instant death no matter how you looked at it.

Then came Tomb Raider. I prepared to fling my controller across the room and overturn my Playstation after falling into a pool, when Lara popped her head out and began treading water, waiting for me to guide her to shore. I could take her under the surface- and there was a breath meter!

Water was just water. It wasn’t the molten-lava it had always been.
Years later I picked up GTA: Vice City on PS2. I miscued a jump badly and headed for the water-ways. I hit the water, prepared to laugh it off and swim to shore for a shoot-out, and drowned like I’d been dragged down by the Kraken. Or Assassin’s Creed, where a guy can survive a Swan Dive off a 200ft church tower, but cant get his feet wet.

For me, Swimming = game changer. No designer should ever consider leaving it out.

i’m probably gonna be abit to late to the discussion to with this as i’ve been busy trying to catch up on games due to my ps3 HDD crashing and having to replay several new games over again.

If ever there was a great game mechanic it can from GTA3 going from top down style to massive open world 3D and has paved the way for many great open world games since. Having said that i guess there a quite a few changes in a number of different genres that really have helped to evolve games but i think it’s not so much certain mechanic in games that have been the most resposible in changing the way we play but the hardware and controllers. Thanks to Sony we have had CD-rom games that have evolved to blu ray thanks to forward thinking in terms of hardware and many other thing like the original dualshock pad. Its these things that have forced the industry to become as competative as it is and force designs accross the board to really think outside the box.

damn i really wish there was an edit button. lol

The only thing that has vastly contributed to gaming today is the way designers put personal feelings and next level personalities into characters. That means as a player you can experience the true emotion or situation the character is going through. Btw this game looks amazing.

Straight up non of these schemes would be possible without the duel shock controller.

often imitated there is a reason why 2 front and 2 back shoulder buttons combined with 2 analog sticks complete with an L3 and R3 combination is the perfect control scheme.

running via R3, shooting from a shoulder button, using a shoulder button to quick scope. non of this would have been possible if not for the innovation sony took.

others have replicated with a simple move on the analogue stick, but the duel shock controller is just classic. a testement to great controller design and im not kidding, will probably go down in gaming history as the layout that became the most famous.

I feel the increased significance of online multiplayer has had the most impact on gaming this generation. The fact that Call of duty, the highest selling franchise this generation has become so popular, because of its online portion alone proves that online multiplayer engages gamers like never before. When you dig deeper into this multiplayer formula you can see why it has become so significant. Call of Duty 4 introduced an incredibly addictive but ultimately rewarding multiplayer perk system that rewards gamers for doing well while punishing gamers for doing bad. FPS games have also included an rpg style progression which in turn enhances the online experience. I am a single player guy but I can see the major impact online gaming has had on the entire gaming community while also introducing new people to the hobby.

Commandofin posts 117/121 Are you for real???
You dismiss my comment as a bad addition to games then a few posts later put it up as you own idea.
I can’t decide if that was a deliberate pee-take or you just have the memory span of a goldfish.

Online gaming on consoles by far! This has revolutionized gaming aa we know it. Earlier you had to go the pc route or connecting consoles to get the mp experience but as of today all you is plug it in your net to play with million other people, no experience like the last one. Psn/xbl is what changed the gaming world to what we know today, its only the beginning and im looking forward to introduce online gaming to my future kids.

/Muzillatotem

Online gaming on consoles by far! This has revolutionized gaming aa we know it. Earlier you had to go the pc route or connecting consoles to get the mp experience but as of today all you is plug it in your net to play with million other people, no experience like the last one. Psn/xbl is what changed the gaming world to what we know today, its only the beginning and im looking forward to introduce online gaming to my future kids.

Thanks!

dam it I cant even find my comment

Dammit!

Was hoping to get into this one.
I am well excited for StarHawk, and the opportunity to actually help with a closed, invite only beta was an exciting one.

Maybe next time!

i believe that the restricted inventory of two guns and a belt full grenades brings a whole world better strategy to games instead of hoarding all you can into an bottomless invisible bag!?

DayDanny666:
I admit I didn’t think about skinner box until I read yours but where you were prasing it I made a note about how it has changed games from being fun because of gameplay, but being fun because we get rewarded for every few seconds (or so its supposed to work).
But don’t worry, I didn’t get any code because I wasn’t commenting PS3 or its games but gaming in general. Sure someone threw saving which is pretty game changer but it was mentioned twice, saving and autosaving.
For console controllers getting dual analogs wasn’t really special because console controllers were catching up with mouse and keyboard.
Many of the examples were taken from this gen and comparisons to PS3 games.

I meant KillyBamb. Where the heck I got DayDanny666?
Edit option please.

congrats to those that got a Starhawk code. played it at eurogamer and i’m really keen to see crazy MP working in action.
I’m also jealous as having been one of the first people to purchase Warhawk off the store many moons ago and put hundreds of hours into it. i do feel its a shame that those people who’ve played Warhawk recently are rewarded more so than the orginal comunity,

cool

Any ETA on those codes?

@DKShadow

I just got mine right now so I’d say the ETA = very soon (if you still haven’t got it).

Anyway, thanks for the code. Time to unleash my bug spray

Got the code, thanks!

WOW! Thanks!

I actually got a code. lol nice!

See you guys online!

Touch screen. It’s now in almost every phone and handheld game console. Even the vita has it! It’s now coming to home consoles like the wii U. In my opinion it’s changed the gaming world and has made 99p casual games so successful.

My favorite leap in gaming is the ability to skip cutscenes. Play FF7 through again and you’ll know what I mean

The game should have first the HUD and second a realistic thing like water lava fire etc I enjoy games like COD and Haze GTA ratchet and clank third thing they must have some kind of fantasy and relisticsy like crysis 1,2 it’s perfect like it got an HUD and some science fantasy like u got a ****** suit that allow you to get clocked be undead with the super armor. I know my post is really small but I want to really try this game I can’t buy it sadly cause I’m going to buy the ps vita so If I didn’t get a starhawk code I’d really like for the game developers to make a game like starhawk or starhawk on PsVita and thank you….

What happened to EU uncharted 3 preorder buyers who were meant to get the code for this?