Game Design Crimes

[blackmage_nuke]

I also like the double check message that comes with saving and exiting a game.

I dislike enemies that scale with the character.

[Dat Matt]

Yea fetch quests are bad and tedious, especially when the drop is stupidly low. I mean if it's for a quest I need 20 or so of them, I shouldn't have to kill a billion of the smurfers. Also goes for stupidly rare monsters with stupidly rare drops

This links back into my point about wanting to grind for stuff. Linking the above to FF12 and the Danjuro Dagger. Most powerful dagger in the game, something stupidly low like 0.5% drop from a rare monster. I spent about 5 hours over 2 days trying to get this one weapon, and my god was it satisfying when I did. If I had to get it for any other reason bar my own desire to have all the weapons, I wouldn't have done it or quit the game at that point.

It comes back to if it's your choice to do the grind or not. I enjoy it when it's my own decision to do so.

One mechanic that doesn't get enough hate is the 'follow this guy - but don't get too close!' mission, usually complete with a 'spook-o-meter'. Apparently, calmly pulling up behind the target car at a red light and waiting to continue puts the freaks up any potential crims far more than a car performing several handbrake turns in the middle of the street around 100 yards back, banging into several cars and knocking over fire hydrants in the process.

Another good game for this was Deadly Premption. There was a "Tail this guy" mission where you weren't allowed out with 50-200m away from him. Any closer you'd spook him, and further away and he'd get away. So I stayed at around 60m, blasting my horn and police siren flashing my lights on and off. Apparently that didn't draw his attention, but getting 10m closer would.

[Mercen-X]

Apparently, calmly pulling up behind the target car at a red light and waiting to continue puts the freaks up any potential crims far more than a car performing several handbrake turns in the middle of the street around 100 yards back, banging into several cars and knocking over fire hydrants in the process.

Ye olde?

In games with multiple controllable enemies: Game over when one single of them dies, even if every single other character has a revival spell or item available.

Which games have controllable enemies?

[Mirage]

Looks like I used the wrong word. I meant controllable characters.

[I Took the Red Pill]

Escort missions where the NPC has terrible AI. If you're being forced to keep another person alive its nice if they run away from the enemies at least.

On this note, when you're escorting someone or walking through town with someone and you're forced to walk at their pace and listen to their drivel. Even worse is when you run a bit ahead and they yell "where are you going?!" and stop dead in their tracks until you come back. I'm getting a bit annoyed thinking about it actually.

[Mercen-X]

When dialogue options other than "yes" are considered non-canon. Further, when dialogue options have little-to-no impact on the conversation, let alone the story.

[Madame Adequate]

I wish games would knock it off with the underwater escort quests where the NPC swims at a snail's pace and keeps stopping to talk to you with QTE-filled dialog

[Psychotic]

Random mandatory stealth sections where discovery means game over. Fair smurfing enough if I was playing Splinter Cell, but I'm not playing Splinter Cell precisely because I think that sort of gameplay is trout.

[Flaming Ice]

Random mandatory stealth sections where discovery means game over. Fair smurfing enough if I was playing Splinter Cell, but I'm not playing Splinter Cell precisely because I think that sort of gameplay is trout.

Yeah, that's what makes shooters boring too...you cant run out and blow everything up or you die Shoot, chicken, shoot, chicken.....

When dialogue options other than "yes" are considered non-canon. Further, when dialogue options have little-to-no impact on the conversation, let alone the story.

Especially when the no option is pretty much the same as the yes option...they go right back into the same dialog......and sometimes the answer is almost identical just a couple words different.

[Mercen-X]

Yeah, I mostly hate when a character keeps saying "Quit stalling/kidding around" until you choose "yes."

[Formalhaut]

Yeah, I mostly hate when a character keeps saying "Quit stalling/kidding around" until you choose "yes."

It's like in every Pokemon game when your offered the Pokedex, and its a yes/no response. Saying no loops you back to the same question...

It's just an illusion to make you think you have choice, when you really don't. I don't like either.

[Vermachtnis]

Yea, that is pretty annoying. But, I like how in Golden Sun: The Lost Age, if you keep saying No, the Old Man calls you out on it and says something like, "Disagree all you want, but you're doing it." And of course at the start of the first game, saying No actually means No and you don't go on an adventure and the game ends.

[Flaming Ice]

Also when they give you obscure things to do like click on some object that you'd never guess in 10 years that you'd need to care about it in the first place.