stuff we just let slide

[Blaze163]

Anyone ever noticed that there are certain things in our beloved gaming world that don't really make a lot of sense but we just kinda ignore it? There's a lot of stuff we really should question but for the sake of keeping the plot flowing or just out of sheer laziness, we ignore it. I started thinking about it while I was playing Final Fantasy 8 last night and there are quite a few examples I can think of. See what you think, and feel free to add any more you think up.

- When you summon something in Final Fantasy, cast some ridiculously overpowered spell such as Ultima or Apocalypse while saving a city from enemy soldiers or something, why is it nobody in the town ever questions that you've basically nuked the town or set a dragon loose, probably causing more damage than the enemy did? I accept that the game can't provide different responses depending on exactly how you beat a boss, but someone really should question this.

- In Final Fantasy 8 again, why is it that the mayor's wife in Fisherman's Horizon has the cheek to lecture you about the stupidity of violence when she's sat two feet away from an Ultima draw point? Nobody ever seems to question this. She's claiming to be a pacifist while sat on a stockpile of what essentially boils down to nuclear weapons. Conflict of interests much?

- Is Princess Peach the only woman in the entire mushroom kindgom? I'm all for romance and going to the ends of the earth for the one you love, but when she's being kidnapped literally every twenty seconds or so by the same bad guy, is it really worth sticking around? Especially when she never puts out. And is it just me or does she seem a little too easy to capture? One might conclude the reason why she never gives Mario any action is because Bowser's worn her out. Would explain why he has seven kids and Mario has none. There are other fish in the sea, Mario. Just a thought.

- Why are the heroes always reasonably good looking? Ever see a ginger swordsman with terrible acne leading the charge against the evil empire? Again I understand the importance of aesthetics from a gaming standpoint but you'd think you'd see at least one ugly team member once in a while. Come to think of it, why does the heroine always have breasts bigger than her head?

- Since when did aircraft hold upwards of 80 missiles?

- Why is it characters in many games have impressive super powers but can't swim?

- The rebounding health meter: what the fuck. What was wrong with the good old fashioned health meter? Curse you Halo for F'ing up every FPS in your wake. Personally I hate it as a gameplay mechanic as well as a concept. I can maybe forgive it in Halo because you could argue the suit has some sort of regenerative technology built in, but what's MW2's excuse?

There must be more than when you really take a close look at it, it makes no damn sense. I recognise that games have to have certain limitations due to gameplay mechanics, but we really need to question these things once in a while. Anyone else got some?

 

[Deleted_171835]

- The rebounding health meter: what the fuck. What was wrong with the good old fashioned health meter? Curse you Halo for F'ing up every FPS in your wake. Personally I hate it as a gameplay mechanic as well as a concept. I can maybe forgive it in Halo because you could argue the suit has some sort of regenerative technology built in, but what's MW2's excuse?
I doubt you would really want to play MW2 with a normal health meter.
With the damage the enemies deal, you would be dead in no time at all.
QUOTE(Blaze163 @ Jul 31 2010, 06:31 PM) - Why are the heroes always reasonably good looking? Ever see a ginger swordsman with terrible acne leading the charge against the evil empire? Again I understand the importance of aesthetics from a gaming standpoint but you'd think you'd see at least one ugly team member once in a while. Come to think of it, why does the heroine always have breasts bigger than her head?

Because men play videogames.
Simple.

 

[Rydian]

Invisible random encounters.

They could get away with it in the NES days because of hardware limitations, but if chrono trigger could do it, then a fucking playstation game can do it. They can just get away with it because we're used to it. :\

 

[_Chaz_]

I agree with these.


- Why is it that after saving the world from any assortment of crazy powerful enemies, often in clear sight mind you, does no one in the world (or even in the town it took place in) acknowledge you any differently than a common civilian?

 

[yuyuyup]

There are Daisy and Rosalina not just Peach

 

[luckwii]

-Or how about this. Think of all the games where you are saving the people from the bad guys. For instance their village is in danger. Then, they have the balls to charge you for weapons, armor, and magic.

 

[BORTZ]

I personally love video games that stray from reality alot.

However i can agree with all of these. Like Final Fantasy and any other RPG. The main character must posess a spell or summon that can destroy the entire earth at least once. BUT, a locked door stops the entire party. WTF

 

[Blaze163]

SoulSnatcher, I'm not questioning them as gameplay mechanics so much as something that just plain doesn't make sense. You don't recover from a gunshot by sitting behind a bit of chest high wall for a few seconds. Games such as Modern Warfare are supposed to create a sense of immersion by making us feel like we're actually experiencing what it offers, not just pressing buttons on a pad. The rebounding health meter may work from a mechanical standpoint but it detracts from the sense of realism and reminds me that it's just a game. As such the immersion suffers, detracting from the overall experience. And like I said, it just doesn't make sense, and yet nobody seems to question it.

As for Daisy and Rosalina, if there are other women in the kingdom then why does Mario continue to put up with Peach's stupidity/possible infidelity?

Good one from Chaz. After saving the world, nobody seems to notice or care. Highlighted by the film Advent Children. Cloud saves the world from Sephiroth and Meteor, and what happens? He becomes a delivery boy. No recognition for his efforts at all. Well, at least until my fanfic 'Requiem', anyway. And even then I kept it to a minimum so I could have a decent plot.

The invisible encounters thing was kinda countered by the Tales series, you can generally see the enemies in those games. Same goes for FFXII.

Also, why are all the door handles broken in Silent Hill?

 

[Deleted_171835]

SoulSnatcher, I'm not questioning them as gameplay mechanics so much as something that just plain doesn't make sense. You don't recover from a gunshot by sitting behind a bit of chest high wall for a few seconds. Games such as Modern Warfare are supposed to create a sense of immersion by making us feel like we're actually experiencing what it offers, not just pressing buttons on a pad. The rebounding health meter may work from a mechanical standpoint but it detracts from the sense of realism and reminds me that it's just a game. As such the immersion suffers, detracting from the overall experience. And like I said, it just doesn't make sense, and yet nobody seems to question it.

A realistic Modern Warfare would be horrible. We don't play FPS's for them to be realistic or else they would be really boring. You would die almost instantly after 1-2 shots. There comes a point where there is too much realism. To the point that it becomes annoying. Modern Warfare isn't a simulation shooter. If it was, we would have a reason to criticize the fact that it's not realistic.

 

[Blaze163]

SoulSnatcher, I'm not questioning them as gameplay mechanics so much as something that just plain doesn't make sense. You don't recover from a gunshot by sitting behind a bit of chest high wall for a few seconds. Games such as Modern Warfare are supposed to create a sense of immersion by making us feel like we're actually experiencing what it offers, not just pressing buttons on a pad. The rebounding health meter may work from a mechanical standpoint but it detracts from the sense of realism and reminds me that it's just a game. As such the immersion suffers, detracting from the overall experience. And like I said, it just doesn't make sense, and yet nobody seems to question it.

A realistic Modern Warfare would be horrible. We don't play FPS's for them to be realistic or else they would be really boring. You would die almost instantly after 1-2 shots. There comes a point where there is too much realism. To the point that it becomes annoying. Modern Warfare isn't a simulation shooter. If it was, we would have a reason to criticize the fact that it's not realistic.

Again, you're missing the point entirely. Gameplay mechanic, fine. If it makes the game playable to some people, fine. To each their own. Personally I hate the rebounding health thing and don't see what was wrong with first aid kids in levels a la Medal Of Honour Frontline, but if it works. But it doesn't change the fact that it makes no sense and we just tend to ignore it. How exactly ca you justify a standard soldier regenerating his entire health guage after being shot in the face like he'as a fucking Time Lord from a conceptual level? Nothing to do with gameplay, it just doesn't make sense in the realm of logic. You can't get shot repeatedly and suddenly be fine by sitting quietly for a few moments.

 

[Deleted_171835]

SoulSnatcher, I'm not questioning them as gameplay mechanics so much as something that just plain doesn't make sense. You don't recover from a gunshot by sitting behind a bit of chest high wall for a few seconds. Games such as Modern Warfare are supposed to create a sense of immersion by making us feel like we're actually experiencing what it offers, not just pressing buttons on a pad. The rebounding health meter may work from a mechanical standpoint but it detracts from the sense of realism and reminds me that it's just a game. As such the immersion suffers, detracting from the overall experience. And like I said, it just doesn't make sense, and yet nobody seems to question it.

A realistic Modern Warfare would be horrible. We don't play FPS's for them to be realistic or else they would be really boring. You would die almost instantly after 1-2 shots. There comes a point where there is too much realism. To the point that it becomes annoying. Modern Warfare isn't a simulation shooter. If it was, we would have a reason to criticize the fact that it's not realistic.

Again, you're missing the point entirely. Gameplay mechanic, fine. If it makes the game playable to some people, fine. To each their own. Personally I hate the rebounding health thing and don't see what was wrong with first aid kids in levels a la Medal Of Honour Frontline, but if it works. But it doesn't change the fact that it makes no sense and we just tend to ignore it. How exactly ca you justify a standard soldier regenerating his entire health guage after being shot in the face like he'as a fucking Time Lord from a conceptual level? Nothing to do with gameplay, it just doesn't make sense in the realm of logic. You can't get shot repeatedly and suddenly be fine by sitting quietly for a few moments.

We don't play games for them to make sense. Games are a form of entertainment and like movies and television shows they contain stuff that don't make sense. They're designed that way. If you want a realistic FPS, go join the army. It's a videogame. It doesn't have to make sense.

 

[prowler]

Why are you even playing games at all?

 

[Blaze163]

Ugh. Notice that the title of the topic? Stuff we let slide? We ignore these things for the sake of gameplay. I do too, as a general rule. I'm not saying games have to make sense. I'm just saying that when you sit and look closely, they quite often don't. I'm just asking if anyone else has ever noticed things like this, primarily to pass the time until 101 Ways To Leave A Game Show starts, which in turn kills the time until PSN Night kicks off and I get to rip y'all a new one on Uncharted 2. I play games for fun, escapism, and most of the time a decent story, but every now and then I notice these things.

 

[qwertymodo]

Eating a mushroom makes you instantly twice as tall... trippy much? Or how about the whole Mario pipe concept

 

[LightyKD]

I know this isnt game related but, ever watched an episode of Power Rangers? The rangers are supposed to be saving the world, yet they fight giant monsters using giant robots, possibly causing more damage to the city that way then just the monster alone when they are small. Oh and mind you, buildings are just blown up and the next day everybody is happy go lucky like nothing ever happened. and this happens over the course of roughly 200 ish days in a year for every villain they encounter. By now, the Earth should be a wasteland. The writers don't even bother to create some plot device that explain how life goes on like normal. is it that hard to write in a reverse spell or something?

Just saying.

 

[Fudge]

In MW2, at the end of the game, there is no way Soap could throw a knife with that much force and kill Shepard. In the condition he was in it just doesn't seem possible.

 

[ojsinnerz.]

Regenerating health is the bullshit that killed FPS.

 

[Demonbart]

Regenerating health is the bullshit that killed FPS.

QFT.
At first, if you lost health in an FPS, it was your problem and you had to search for a health pack (if the game was even nice enough to give you that) while still watching out so you wouldn't get your ass handed to you on a silver-lined plate anyway.
Now all you gotta do is take cover and suck your thumb and tadaa! Remember that wound in my leg that made a fountain of blood come out? Guess what, it's all gone thanks to my epic thumbsucking skills!
Something tells me that it's all downhill from here.

 

[LightyKD]

The double jump is something that we gamers ignore the most. Seriously you cant jump in the air, pause while in mid air and then jump again. WTF? It's fun to double jump in games but in no way is it possible.

 

[_Chaz_]

The double jump is something that we gamers ignore the most. Seriously you cant jump in the air, pause while in mid air and then jump again. WTF? It's fun to double jump in games but in no way is it possible.

This!

Also, changing directions when in mid air, stopping, and accelerating?


Fysics Phail.