Yakoob on 9/11/2013 at 00:50

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I've been posting on (http://koobazaur.com/play-games-hate/) my game design/ devblog that there are some games I know I won’t like, but still buy and play. Why? Because many games have some gameplay mechanic or narrative technique deserving recognition regardless of my personal preferences. Figured might be an interesting topic to discuss.

For those too lazy to click my link, here's my list:

Lone Survivor
Why I hate it: Dislike the SurvivorHorror genre for its limited gameplay and “forced” sense of weakness and vulnerability.
Why I play it: Shows that a 2D, pixel-art game can be moody, scary and tackle adult subjects well. Interesting narrative too.

FarmVille
Why I hate it: Pointless time waster designed to be as addictive and exploitative as possible.
Why I play it: The de-facto role model for a highly popular and successful social game. The addictive game mechanics, as evil as they might be, are brilliant in their design. Great study case for gamer’s psychology.

The Last Express
Why I hate it: Hate point & clicks for often arbitrary and illogical puzzles always leading me to using a walkthrough
Why I play it: Addition of a real-time component was very unique – one of few games which story and outcome may change solely based on being in the right place at the right time!

AntiChamber
Why I hate it: Not a fan of puzzle games in general (don’t have the patience).
Why I play it: Some very unique and mind-bending trick with the first-person perspective often making you feel you’re genuinely part of the puzzle.

Binding of Isaac
Why I hate it: Roguelikes tend to bore me quickly with their repetitive nature
Why I play it: Good example of a simple but polished game that knows what it’s best at and just focuses on it. Interesting premise and story as well that appeals to my own twisted sense of humor.

Tiny and Big: Grandpa’s Leftovers
Why I hate it: Platformers, again, are not my genre.
Why I play it: The “cutting giant stones” mechanic + real-time physics lead to some great gameplay scenarios. First genuinely unique use of physics since Half Life 2.

The Path
Why I hate it: (Deliberately) terrible controls and overly ambiguous story.
Why I play it: One of the first indie experimental/artistic titles trying to show games can be more than just games. The controls, as much as I disliked them, also showed how gameplay can be a part of the game’s message.

So what's your list?

june gloom on 9/11/2013 at 01:06

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[video=youtube;vCsMR13TJ9M]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCsMR13TJ9M[/video]

Briareos H on 9/11/2013 at 01:17

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As a gamer, there are enough examples of good game design out there that you don't have to force yourself to slog through shit in order to give recognition to a mechanic.
As a game designer, it makes no sense anyway to play those games as there are enough LPs and short videos demonstrating the core design elements to study them without having to play the games themselves.

That being said, I completed a lot of games while still hating them, mostly sequels out of hope they would redeem themselves and at some point be more like their predecessors. Sequels like Final Fantasy 9, Quake 2, Red Faction 2, Crysis Warhead and Crysis 2, The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, Fallout 3, Thief: Deadly Shadows, Penumbra: Requiem, etc.

Other games I feel like I should play because everyone is gushing about their design, I quit very rapidly if I find they suck (Braid and Recettear, I'm looking at you), or I end up enjoying even if I wasn't convinced at first (Trespasser, Gone Home, Lone Survivor).

Muzman on 9/11/2013 at 06:59

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Hate is too strong, but Bioshock became a chore. Especially for one of the supposed greatest games evarr. It's just an awful feeling game: squishy controls, tiring flarey visuals, audio that's just dumped on your ears with lots of reverb like no one gave a shit.
I only really noticed I never wanted to go back there when forcing myself to play Bioshock 2 (which I haven't yet).

But I must respect the backstory and world building effort that's gone into it (if not the actual plot you play through, which remains idiotic).

On a similar tone, GTA IV. I think it really lost me when I had to confront that first baddie by the river, under the bridge and the tool-tip pops up in the middle of the scene (after not really having any for ages). It's a tense dramatic stand off, lots of heated words and anger and history and the guy trying to let go of the past has the gun and *poink!* "You can execute people. Just press..." blah blah. It hovers on the screen while the animation of the two characters continues forever; him shuffling back and forth, me with my gun trained at his head, waiting.

This is the dumbest shit ever, videogames. You should be ashamed of yourselves.

Anyway, the city is insane. That ramshackle feeling of stuff being built on top of itself over decades, centuries even. It's too small but it manages to disguise it. It's not just a little too hyper-real and convenient like so many others. Amazing. The game is terrible. The 'not-game' sandbox is suicidally dull and I already wore myself out on that in GTA3 anyway (still like to play it). Incredible city though.


I'll have to think about this a bit. Back in the day I used to finish everything and have probably forgotten all the rubbish I forced my way through.

Ed. Oh god Vampire:The Masquerade:Redemption . Yeah everyone's forgotten this one by now. It plays like a pile of crap but it did look nice. The story wasn't too bad either, even though it tried to shoe-horn as much from the P&P as it could just because, jumping through time for no real reason. Couldn't decide if it was a Diablo clone or a proper party based RPG,

Max Payne 1 & 2. Yes yes. The gimmickry helped the first one a lot but soon enough you notice that it's really all about IIiii ammmm veeeeeeeerrrryyyyy sslloooooooooowwwwwwwwlyyyy crrraaaaaaaaashhiiiiiiiingggggggg iiiiinnttoooooooo thhhhheeeeeeee waaaaaaaaaaallllllll aaaaaaannddd ssssslllliiiiiiiidddiiiiiiiiiinggg toooooooo tthhhheeeeeeee ffflllloooooooooooooorr about 80% of the time and thinking the enemy should be pointing and laughing by this stage. It (both of them really) relied very heavily on shooter mechanics, so the enemies get more armoured and the guns get "better" and the whole point of John Woo style gun ballet is lost when you're behind cover going for headshots with your rifle.
They are pretty stylishly done though, and the first one in particular is very atmospheric. But it still felt very long, despite being one at the forefront of shorter games as a trend. The second I barely remember at all so maybe it doesn't even belong on this list.

icemann on 9/11/2013 at 11:20

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Games I hated but played anyway:

* Might and Magic 1 & 2, 1st game much more so. Played it due to my stubbornness and wanting to play through the entire series, and to see how the series changed from game to game. Was/is very interesting to see how the games improved as the series progressed and how 1 change to the formula can completely change the overall gameplay experience.

* Assassin's Creed: Revelations - I LOVED Assassin's Creed 2 and Brotherhood and for that reason I played through Revelations even though I hated it quite early on as I wanted to see how they finished off the Etzio and Altair stories, and I will say that despite how bad Revelations is, it does end well atleast.

An example of a game that despite my determination to get through due to the awesomeness of earlier games but couldn't bring myself to complete it as the game was so fucking horrible:

* Command and Conquer 4 - Absolute clusterfuck of a game. I love C&C and Red Alert to death but even that couldn't keep me going. They changed the game beyond recognition other than the FMVs. Got through the 1st four levels then couldn't stand it anymore. Uninstalled and will NEVER play again. Grrrrrr.