Jo
Skunk
Forest Ranger
Posts: 2,024 
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Post by Jo on Apr 21, 2024 22:29:21 GMT
I'm replaying one of the lesser MCF games, Moth to a Flame, and I started whining to myself about things that annoy me in games. So I decided to whine here and invite everyone else to whine, too.
Here's my probably incomplete list:
1. I am so annoyed when I open a game and have to sit through or click out of the same graphics highlighting the devs and/or the same graphic introduction to a game. Eipix is the worst. Now they have a very nice cinematographic prelude for Eipix games but after I've watched it a couple of times the thrill is gone and I just want to play the darned game. That goes for a game introduction. Some of them are very good and do an excellent joy of setting the stage for the game. But why can't it be included only when one actually starts the game and is never seen again. When playing from a save point, one has already seen it and it is useless.
2. Overly loud music that is not cinematic. Now I realize that an effective sound track for a game can be quite expensive. But if you don't have the budget just include non-intrusive mood music. The worst game I've played, or tried to play, for this was Oxenfree. It is a fully voiced game but the music was so loud, no volume adjustment available, that I couldn't follow the conversations. It also had problems with the subtitles consistently showing. And then you were presented with dialogue choices that stopped the conversation. Oxenfree is highly rated and I was really looking forward to playing but quit after about an hour in because I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! I really do like game music. It sets the mood but, unfortunately, if badly done my mood becomes "ANNOYED".
3. Bad signposting. Signposting in a game is when you're given a clue as to what you should do next. It's when the main character says "I can't leave yet" and you know you have something else to do in a particular area. Or "It's missing something" and you know you have to look for a gear because there are other gears and a blank spot. This also includes instructions for mini-games. In HOPA games, I just skip the darned thing if I can't figure out what to do. In a straight adventure game, it makes me go hunting for a walkthrough. Sometime it's a "Doh" moment because I'm a dolt and sometimes it's a "I would have never figured that out" moment. I swear I've played games where I believe that the devs are sadists and they've made things so obtuse and nebulous that only a certified psychic could intuit what to do in an attempt to have a "no hand holding" difficult game. And don't close off a game area until everything is done. I don't want to start over just because I missed something and now I've fallen into a hole and I can't get back out. No Permadeath! I play games for fun. If I wanted to be stressed out or to wander about aimlessly and hopelessly lost I'd go to Costco on a Saturday.
4. Let me figure some stuff out. Now I know it sounds like I'm contradicting what I just said in#3 but there's a difference. Identify a problem and let me search for the solution. Don't give me a shovel and then let me go around looking for a hole to dig. Let me find some suspicious looking ground, say to myself "I should dig that up" and then go look for a shovel. I don't mind not being able to pick something up until I need it. "Where did I see that shovel?" Figuring out the solution makes me feel more immersed in the game and that I'm being clever in figuring it out. More satisfaction for me! I realize there's a fine line between hand holding and giving nudges but a good game won't over-use either one.
5. Give me, as the player, a payoff when I've completed a task or a mini-game. Some new inventory item or something that advances the plot. The worst game I've ever played for ignoring this was Still Life. There's a quite complicated robot maze puzzle. It took me most of an hour to map it. It was a one step forward, wrong turn, start over puzzle. It seemed necessary at the time so Kate, the protagonist, can get into a records room for more plot details. After completing it, Kate announces that someone has already been in the records room and removed all relevant documents. It was an interesting puzzle and kind of fun to do but it had no point in the game. Needless to say, this drove me from annoyed to livid. In a game if I'm a good girl I want a treat, a reward for my effort.
I'm sure there's more things that annoy me but I've gotten tired of my whining. Your turn!
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pennmom
Bear
Chief Ranger
[TI0] IT'S FIVE O'CLOCK AND ALL'S WELL
Posts: 16,570
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Post by pennmom on Apr 22, 2024 20:11:34 GMT
Jo, you may have opened up a huge can of worms with this thread lol!
I hate sticky note code answers. What's the point of the task if they give me the answer the second the safe or whatever pops up?
In HOPA games. I hate when someone or something is in dire need of my help, like drowning or in a burning building but in order for me to help them, I have to complete a mini-game, and solve a few problems in the next scene before I can save them. (is it bad that I feel a more urgent need to save animals over people?)
I like some of the older HOPAs "hint" systems where you had to work for the hint, or solve a somewhat vague riddled clue to get your aha!  moment.
I recently replayed Dark Mysteries: The Soul Keeper and it had a really cool hint system.
From my review on Steam:
One of my favorite features of this game is an unusual Hint Feature. If you click on the Journal, there will be a series of 4 different Objective Hints. For example: A picture of Ward's bag appears with a brief synopsis that Ward had been collecting symbolic stone pieces but that several pieces were missing. The Hints will explain the tasks that have to be completed to fulfill the objective one at a time, and you'll get new hints for each task required. The first HINT explains- "With the can opener from the supply truck in front of the bank, I could open the dog food can" This is such a cool feature because sometimes you just get a "duh" moment when playing a game. Sure, you can still click the hint button, but that will just show you where to go, or what inventory item to use in a particular scene, it doesn't explain why you are doing a particular task.
So this is kind of to your point above. Sometimes you just draw a blank and want a little guidance until you get that aha moment and figure out what you are supposed to do versus hitting a hint button that leads you to the exact area while circling the task and the inventory item to use.
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Jo
Skunk
Forest Ranger
Posts: 2,024
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Post by Jo on Apr 22, 2024 21:20:19 GMT
I hate sticky note code answers. What's the point of the task if they give me the answer the second the safe or whatever pops up?
I guess because I'm an old adventure game player, I don't feel like I'm doing my part unless I take notes which includes drawing pictures in my primitive way. I keep paper under my key board all the time. Can't remember what game this was.
And I had to buy a desk lamp so I can see my notes on the Win 11. It clamps on the edge of the counter and is very handy.
So I agree whole heartedly! "I'm not an idiot! I know how to write that code down!"
I love, LOVE, hints that are incremental. Most of time that little nudge is all you need. And I hate the hints that tell you how to complete the entire task. Just point me in the right direction! Years ago my youngest son would look up a walkthrough on line an give me a hint when I was stuck. I did the same for him. But he grew up and moved out. I have yet to find and train a new hint master.
I'm downloading Dark Mysteries: The Soul Keeper from BF as we speak!
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Post by orionsrose on Apr 22, 2024 21:23:31 GMT
Jo, pennmom, Oh yes, I think this could be can of worms too!  I agree with everything you both have mentioned so far. The too loud thing really gets me since I have issues with noise. The intros are always on a separate volume from the rest of the game and you can't adjust them anyway until you're in the game so you start a new game at night when everyone else is in bed and you end up blasting the house awake! Clicks that don't work. This is mainly found in TMs I think and in theory it's a glitch, but it is part of my other pet peeve of recent years...lazy work by devs. This habit some devs have gotten into of recycling old stuff like images/music/actions even when they don't fit the new game. Or forgetting their storylines and just changing things that don't make sense. Or not bothering with all the glitches. It makes the games feel like they were rushed and no one really cared to do their best. It makes me, as a customer, wish I hadn't wasted my money on their game. Games that are too frantic or stressful to be enjoyable. Again, this mostly relates to TMs and M3s probably (but pennmom, you made a point about having to save someone, but do a bunch of other stuff before you can and that adds to stress for us empathetic people). I'm currently playing the Heart's Medicine series that I never got around to earlier. I have to say, I'm an expert at these Delicious-related games. They are/were pretty much my favorites in the TM world. But these HM games are so frantic, depressing, and stressful, that not only am I struggling for the first time ever to complete levels, but I'm not having much fun because I'm so stressed by the end of each level. Once I'm finished, they're all getting deleted from my computer because I won't ever play them again. Questionable ethics in games. I know, I know, it's just a game, but that doesn't mean I like to normalize stealing, lying, hurting others, etc. In general, the characters we play are "the good guys" so why are we forced to do questionable things to get ahead in the game? For some reason the robbing camel caravans in the New Yankee games really bothered me, but I know there have been tons of other instances over the years. This also includes rude, racist, or sexist dialogue or jokes as it falls in with questionable behaviors. The way women are drawn/designed. This has gotten MUCH better over the years so I can't complain too much. But it still bothers me when I see it and it really gets to me when I play older games which often seem like they were designed by hornball 13-year-old boys not grown adult men who should know well enough to be showing women proper respect, AND recognize who their target audience is with their games. Stupid storylines. Make it make sense or don't have it at all! I probably have a lot of other pet peeves, but that's all I can think of to add at the moment.
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Jo
Skunk
Forest Ranger
Posts: 2,024
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Post by Jo on Apr 22, 2024 21:48:23 GMT
orionsrose, You made some good points. Male vs Female like this?
I don't play RPGs but I do know that a female warrior should not be wearing 5" heels into battle. And don't even get me started on some of the anime out there.
I am most bothered by having to feed a critter to another critter. Please don't ask me to feed a mouse to an owl or even a butterfly to a frog. I have to tell myself it's only a game. Some of the devs have gotten around this by having the mouse show up later alive and well. I'm also bothered by wanton destruction - breaking other people's things or slashing a painting.
I don't handle stressful games at all either. Even a timed sequence makes me break out in a sweat. That's why I don't play action games. An adrenaline rush is not at all pleasant which would explain my lack of interest in sporting events.
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pennmom
Bear
Chief Ranger
[TI0] IT'S FIVE O'CLOCK AND ALL'S WELL
Posts: 16,570
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Post by pennmom on Apr 23, 2024 0:10:57 GMT
Questionable ethics in games. I know, I know, it's just a game, but that doesn't mean I like to normalize stealing, lying, hurting others, etc. Yes, and this is the same MO in all HOPAs...we are constantly rummaging through other peoples houses taking coins and anything else we may need to carry on ;) |
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sandy
Hummingbird
Posts: 150
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Post by sandy on Apr 23, 2024 3:00:29 GMT
You guys have already covered most of the things that irritate me, but of course I have a couple more.
Scenarios like where you are a prisoner scheduled to be executed in the morning, Through extreme cunning and a little luck, you find a sharp knife hidden in your bunk. You use it to pick the lock and then start searching for hidden objects while the guard stands right there. You then use these objects to escape the prison but the guard never even notices.
When leaving a game, having to answer "Do you really want to quit the game" 82 times. Once is enough although I can see that two times could be useful only if if you clicked on it the first time by accident. But really, how many times do we need to be asked that?
(Jo, I played Oxenfree and didn't like it all that much and thought about quitting a few times.)
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pennmom
Bear
Chief Ranger
[TI0] IT'S FIVE O'CLOCK AND ALL'S WELL
Posts: 16,570
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Post by pennmom on Apr 23, 2024 12:48:06 GMT
sandy, let's add to that the fact that no one bothered to take away my personal items before imprisoning me 
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Post by lurkercat on Apr 23, 2024 17:07:31 GMT
I hate games that do not give me an interesting puzzle to solve at the end but instead just sort of peter out. And complicated puzzles that force you to start at the very beginning if you make a mistake rather than letting you back up and just delete the mis-step (these really wear on my patience and more often than not result in my skipping them, just 'cause I dont want to repeat 10 or more boring steps for the 15th time just to retry the difficult spot).
And speaking of HOPA's encouraging destructive acts - I just finished a replay of an old game Family Mysteries: Criminal Mindset. At the very beginning, the heroine goes off to a new job...but the intercom to the building breaks...so she PRIES the door of a car in the parking lot away from the frame, so she can insert a hook in to lift the lock button. THEN she steals a tablet out of the car to use to "repair" the intercom. Yes, I'm sure her new employer will love to see his destroyed car door when he leaves at the end of the day. Later, she goes to the home of a friend who needs to see her and, when no one responds to her knock, winds up using a drill to drill out the lock on his car trunk! I'm sure he'll appreciate that destruction too! Sheesh.
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Jo
Skunk
Forest Ranger
Posts: 2,024
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Post by Jo on Apr 23, 2024 18:13:42 GMT
And if a game says you can't steal something while the person is looking/there you do something really underhanded like drug them. I recently drugged a sheriff so I could ransack the police station. Game protagonists obviously have a working knowledge of safe drug dosage levels without measuring because how many dogs have we drugged and left snoring peacefully. If we lived our real lives like games we'd all be in the slammer.
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Post by orionsrose on Apr 24, 2024 22:01:14 GMT
Just finished the last section of Heart's Medicine: Hospital Heat CE and I was reminded of another 2 pet peeves:
1. using graphics of common phobias in unexpected ways that catch you off guard (which for me, can cause a panic attack)
2. games that cheat - you have to do something, but it's actually not possible (due to glitch or actual deliberate programming) and the game penalizes you for it
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Jo
Skunk
Forest Ranger
Posts: 2,024
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Post by Jo on Apr 25, 2024 1:57:02 GMT
Okay, along these same lines, we're all ready to suspend our disbelief in a game. What is a bridge too far that you've run into in a game? What prompts you to say "I can't believe you just did that!"? But you do it anyway because it's in the game.
I think for me it's having to find a tuning fork to break something. "It's really strong glass." In real life the brick in my pocket would work just fine!
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sandy
Hummingbird
Posts: 150
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Post by sandy on Apr 25, 2024 3:23:13 GMT
And games that sneak a damn snake in every chance they get! I REALLY, REALLY HATE SNAKES!!!!!!!
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