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What is it that makes great games great? Why are some games so irresistibly brilliant that you really want to cover them in chocolate and eat them? (Or is that just me?)
It’s all because of the X-Factor.
The X-Factor can be anything pretty much. Anything that makes a game fantastic to *you*. Perhaps it’s a little Easter Egg or maybe a mode of play. It could even be a secret area or a certain level. Anything that draws you to a game and makes you want to play it like you want to punch Jamie Oliver right in his pukka face. Again and again. And again. And again. And once more for good measure.
For me, if games follow the FUCIT rule, then they can’t go far wrong.
Funny
Unconventional
Clever
Imaginative
Totalitarian (I’ll explain later)
Funny: Humour in games is a *very* strong drawing point for me. Games don’t have to always be funny, but if they are it’s fantastic. This is one of the reasons why I (and many others) loved Conkers BFD so much. Despite the humour being more… Ahem… Adult, I laughed me head off more than once at this game. It would be a fantastic game without the humour but it’s soooo excellent with it in. Another example: recently I was playing Paper Mario round a friends when I came to the point of uncovering the Koopa Troopa’s devious disguise, I was laughing so much I nearly fell off my chair. Humour just makes you enjoy the game that little bit more. It’s also a great anti-depressant! :-D
Unconventional: Mould breaking, unorthodox, original… whatever you want to call it, it is a huge stumbling point for many games these days. It’s very rare to see an original concept in games nowadays. Pikmin will undoubtedly be mould breaking and that’s one of the reasons why it appeals to me so much. (That and the fact that the player gets to order cute little Pikmin to their death by attacking massive garden monsters :-D) If you manage to come up with an original idea then you’re nearly always onto a winner. The gaming public are always on the lookout to try something fresh instead of same old same old clones all the time.
Clever: This can be in many senses. Good AI for one, decent puzzles for another... There are many many ways in which a game can be clever and it’s always good when they are. If a game has good AI then it’s not going to be a walkover to complete which is good, you get your money’s worth. Decent puzzles... Again, you get your money’s worth out of the game and makes you proud of yourself when you complete it.
Imaginative: Kind of the same as Unconventional, but not quite. With imagination applied, the same ideas that have been used in countless games before can be put forward in a new way. An old concept can be transformed into a new one; all you need is a little imagination. Again, I’m going to go to Pikmin for my example. Real Time Strategy games aren’t anything new, but Pikmin is so imaginative, so original and so different that it creates a whole new genre!
Totalitarian: Probably not the best choice of word, but I can’t find anything better that begins with T to describe addictiveness :-D. Totalitarian means dictatorial and some games that I have owned have completely dictated my life. Whether I got to school on time, what time I went to bed, how much TV I watched, whether I got my homework in on time… All of that was dictated by my love for Mario World once. It was so addictive that I just couldn’t stop playing it. I was playing from literally the moment I woke up, to when I had to go to school. From when I got home from school till dinner. From the end of dinner till bed... And then, when I completed it… I played it again! I was *that* hooked on Mario World that I even dreamt about it. Addictiveness is a major point in games. If you aren’t instantly grabbed and pulled into the game by the collar, then it probably isn’t that good. A game should always suck you into its world and make you believe you are there. In short, games should be more addictive than chewits.
RBS’ Final Thought™: Any or all of these things can be X-Factors. And any or all of these things are what I look for when playing a game. If none of these things are included in the game, then I won’t like it. If none of *your* personal X-Factor’s are in a game, then, chances are, you won’t like it. Simple as that.
RBS
It’s all because of the X-Factor.
The X-Factor can be anything pretty much. Anything that makes a game fantastic to *you*. Perhaps it’s a little Easter Egg or maybe a mode of play. It could even be a secret area or a certain level. Anything that draws you to a game and makes you want to play it like you want to punch Jamie Oliver right in his pukka face. Again and again. And again. And again. And once more for good measure.
For me, if games follow the FUCIT rule, then they can’t go far wrong.
Funny
Unconventional
Clever
Imaginative
Totalitarian (I’ll explain later)
Funny: Humour in games is a *very* strong drawing point for me. Games don’t have to always be funny, but if they are it’s fantastic. This is one of the reasons why I (and many others) loved Conkers BFD so much. Despite the humour being more… Ahem… Adult, I laughed me head off more than once at this game. It would be a fantastic game without the humour but it’s soooo excellent with it in. Another example: recently I was playing Paper Mario round a friends when I came to the point of uncovering the Koopa Troopa’s devious disguise, I was laughing so much I nearly fell off my chair. Humour just makes you enjoy the game that little bit more. It’s also a great anti-depressant! :-D
Unconventional: Mould breaking, unorthodox, original… whatever you want to call it, it is a huge stumbling point for many games these days. It’s very rare to see an original concept in games nowadays. Pikmin will undoubtedly be mould breaking and that’s one of the reasons why it appeals to me so much. (That and the fact that the player gets to order cute little Pikmin to their death by attacking massive garden monsters :-D) If you manage to come up with an original idea then you’re nearly always onto a winner. The gaming public are always on the lookout to try something fresh instead of same old same old clones all the time.
Clever: This can be in many senses. Good AI for one, decent puzzles for another... There are many many ways in which a game can be clever and it’s always good when they are. If a game has good AI then it’s not going to be a walkover to complete which is good, you get your money’s worth. Decent puzzles... Again, you get your money’s worth out of the game and makes you proud of yourself when you complete it.
Imaginative: Kind of the same as Unconventional, but not quite. With imagination applied, the same ideas that have been used in countless games before can be put forward in a new way. An old concept can be transformed into a new one; all you need is a little imagination. Again, I’m going to go to Pikmin for my example. Real Time Strategy games aren’t anything new, but Pikmin is so imaginative, so original and so different that it creates a whole new genre!
Totalitarian: Probably not the best choice of word, but I can’t find anything better that begins with T to describe addictiveness :-D. Totalitarian means dictatorial and some games that I have owned have completely dictated my life. Whether I got to school on time, what time I went to bed, how much TV I watched, whether I got my homework in on time… All of that was dictated by my love for Mario World once. It was so addictive that I just couldn’t stop playing it. I was playing from literally the moment I woke up, to when I had to go to school. From when I got home from school till dinner. From the end of dinner till bed... And then, when I completed it… I played it again! I was *that* hooked on Mario World that I even dreamt about it. Addictiveness is a major point in games. If you aren’t instantly grabbed and pulled into the game by the collar, then it probably isn’t that good. A game should always suck you into its world and make you believe you are there. In short, games should be more addictive than chewits.
RBS’ Final Thought™: Any or all of these things can be X-Factors. And any or all of these things are what I look for when playing a game. If none of these things are included in the game, then I won’t like it. If none of *your* personal X-Factor’s are in a game, then, chances are, you won’t like it. Simple as that.
RBS
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Bloody Skankman. I go and post a review and you post this, that shalth win GAD, cos it's about games. Damn the new system to GRIMSBY! ;-)
Lol. :-D
Funny
Unconventional
Clever
Imaginative
Totalitarian
Personally, I always go for Unconventional and Imaginative. Add to that Original and First- that is groundbreaking- and you have my perfect game.
So, now we have:
Imaginative
Funny
Unconventional
Clever
Original
First
Totalitarian
just need an "E" and an "N"
(appologies small kids! But it had to be done!)
Sonic
Unconventional
Clever
Imaginative
Totalitarian
Personally, I always go for Unconventional and Imaginative. Add to that Original and First- that is groundbreaking- and you have my perfect game.
So, now we have:
Imaginative
Funny
Unconventional
Clever
Original
First
Totalitarian
just need an "E" and an "N"
(appologies small kids! But it had to be done!)
Sonic
GasMask wrote:
> Meh. You had a dream about Mario :-D
*Blocks RBS* ;o)
Nah mate, t'was a
> cracking original topic, from the Skankster. OR should that be Santaska :-D
Heh. Cheers.
> Meh. You had a dream about Mario :-D
*Blocks RBS* ;o)
Nah mate, t'was a
> cracking original topic, from the Skankster. OR should that be Santaska :-D
Heh. Cheers.
Meh. You had a dream about Mario :-D
*Blocks RBS* ;o)
Nah mate, t'was a cracking original topic, from the Skankster. OR should that be Santaska :-D
*Blocks RBS* ;o)
Nah mate, t'was a cracking original topic, from the Skankster. OR should that be Santaska :-D
Grix Thraves wrote:
> Funny, Understandable, Concise, Intelligent and can't remember. It WAS a while
> ago. :0)
That's going to irritate me now for the rest of the week until I can
> think of what that T stood for... damn. :0D
Heh. That happens to me. Liek when I was playing a footy match, I suddenly felt the need to know the name of the actor who plays Jim Royle (Ricky Tomlinson obviously) during the middle of the match. I couldn't remember and I got completely distracted... During a Cup match!!!
> Funny, Understandable, Concise, Intelligent and can't remember. It WAS a while
> ago. :0)
That's going to irritate me now for the rest of the week until I can
> think of what that T stood for... damn. :0D
Heh. That happens to me. Liek when I was playing a footy match, I suddenly felt the need to know the name of the actor who plays Jim Royle (Ricky Tomlinson obviously) during the middle of the match. I couldn't remember and I got completely distracted... During a Cup match!!!
Funny, Understandable, Concise, Intelligent and can't remember. It WAS a while ago. :0)
That's going to irritate me now for the rest of the week until I can think of what that T stood for... damn. :0D
That's going to irritate me now for the rest of the week until I can think of what that T stood for... damn. :0D
I've only ever heard Totalitarian describe governments. I like games that make me think so I think that comes under 'C'.
Nice topic Rasta.
Nice topic Rasta.
What did the letters stand for in that one then?
Grix Thraves wrote:
> Don't worry too much, did something simular with how to write a decent topic.
> You were around, but it was a while back. It was F.U.C.I.T too.
Oh... Didn't realise... Don't even rememeber!! Sorry anyway :-)
> Don't worry too much, did something simular with how to write a decent topic.
> You were around, but it was a while back. It was F.U.C.I.T too.
Oh... Didn't realise... Don't even rememeber!! Sorry anyway :-)
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