feature creep in modern game design

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Viktor OpenGL 22 Oct @ 4:24am

How many people do actually like when a lot of games have a full blown checklist of features?
Like, look at action games nowadays, and a lot of them have:
- leveling via experience gaining, leveling up stats, unlocking perks and abilities.
- upgrade system for weapons and equipment.
- leveled and randomized loot system (like in diablo, or borderlands)
- gathering resources and crafting items, like medkits, ammo, and even equipment,
- hunting for secrets, like figurines, unlockable art for ingame gallerym and other vanity items.
- secondary objectives and side quests, just for the sake of grinding extra progression points (resources, experience).
- bethesda-style stealth system, where enemies don't alert instantly, but wait for alert bar to get filled.

and there are "oldschool" games where all you can do is move, jump, shoot and collect health/armor/ammo.

obviously, both are extremes, and probably the optimal balance of features lies somewhere in between.

what's your idea of perfect balance between barebone design and feature creep?

my perfect design is when a game throws a new item at the player rarely, but the item has a huge impact on overall gameplay, and is fun on its own, like a gravity gun in half life 2, or a double jump boots in doom 2016. if a game throws a dozen of such items at me during 20-30 hours long playthrough, i will be more happy than having all those thousands of soulless color coded weapon drops in borderlands.

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Karl Rich 22 Oct @ 5:30am

The more features the better, as long as they are well-made.

Midori's Ghost 22 Oct @ 5:43am

It's hard cause most of those features are nice. I will say I don't like it when every single game has an "instinct" feature that lets you activate epic senses and see through walls especially when it doesn't really fit the theme of the game. It was quite jarring in Mafia the old country

Dracoco OwO 22 Oct @ 5:47am

They should really stop season pass, this ruined most online games. You know where you have to farm every day to unlock everything like it's ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ work. Making your game a chore isn't fun.

Devsman 22 Oct @ 6:13am

I dunno, sometimes I like it, sometimes I don't. I think it depends on how well they ended up doing it all. Like, better no minigame than a crappy one.

Quite possibly the most feature-intensive game I've played is Yakuza 5, and lemme tell ya, it's nuts and I loved it.

Corvus XIII 22 Oct @ 6:18am

Originally posted by Dracoco OwO:
They should really stop season pass, this ruined most online games. You know where you have to farm every day to unlock everything like it's ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ work. Making your game a chore isn't fun.

There was a game I loved and stopped playing a little while ago. It had loads of arena style fighting lots of campaigns to redo and optimsie and difficulty levels it was brilliant BUT it was two to three hours a day 'work' just to sort of stay on daily tasks.
Lots to learn loads of characters lots of variety it was my dream but the work load was too much.

I now cannot recall its name but you could have dwarves, yu could have orcs you could have elves and monsters and you had so many cool campaigns for them alone and levelling up and deciding on skills and armor level ups all brilliant!
But it got like work.

Even now months if not a year ? later I miss it.

Originally posted by HxE:
How many people do actually like when a lot of games have a full blown checklist of features?

Taking Operation Wolf as an arcade game and turn it into pc, that could do with slightly of what you are talking about. Larger Magazine options, more red dot, little bit of health increases.

Borderlands 2 Got Things Right. Could do with more places and could turn it into a multi planet experience, but I'd say Borderlands 2 got it right.

Alpha Protocol another game where you build your character into your style.

I would not want Operation Wolf to become Borderlands 2 or Alpha Protocol because there is something nice in its simplicity.
Get it going and bam your firing away.

It is why I like the Megadrive games I can just stick paperboy 2 on and have a blast - even when I rage quit and come on here in a bad mood. - I am a very bad loser on that game same with Battletech and Desert Strike.

Then there is Mordheim, A very involved game if you want it to be.
It pisses all over battle chess. Medieval gang warfare in a warhammer setting?
This game can make you scared of losing your members if you are not thinking and get arrogant and then wham bam sorry for missing limb mam!
That has a lot of customisation on the squad and characters for each faction.

I would not want any of them changed because they fill their places very well. With exception to operation Wolf but its been a long time since i played that.

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Date Posted: 22 Oct @ 4:24am

Posts: 5

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