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Games are filled with clones. Stereotypes, traditions, which few break and fewer recognise. Petty little things which are standard in the industry, but things which could make a game groundbreaking. I’ve listed a few, but I’m sure there are plenty more...
1) Right-handedness -
One in ten people are left handed, apparently. Now tell me, how many first person shooters are there on the market? Two hundred? Probably around that mark, give or take. Now of those, how many lead characters hold the gun in their left hand, rather than their right? Very few. Characters holding guns, gadgets, and other weapons in their right hand is standard in games. Now tell me, have you ever played a game where the lead character holds it in their left hand? Probably not. Unreal Tournament and Hal Life are the only examples I can think of where you can choose. No matter though.
2) Hearts -
Apparently, our ‘life’ in games such as Zelda is measured in hearts. Excuse me if I’m wrong, but don’t we only have one heart? Or are these super heroes genetically modified to have twenty of these vital organs? I think it would be much more sensible to measure it in other factors - perhaps by stress (which is a viable cause of death), or blood-loss (being shot doesn’t kill you unless it hits an organ - it’s often through blood loss). This could make open wounds which are bleeding lose you life progressively, and only with the aid of a bandage and iodine can the bleeding stop. It’s stupid measuring life in hearts because people only have one heart. And once it’s packed in - you’re dead.
3) Magic Potions -
In Zelda, how many potions would you drink throughout the game? A hundred would be okay as a guess. An average bladder could hold what, two bottles worth. In Zelda, I’ve never seen link go for a tinkle. In fact,, I haven’t seen this ‘feature’ in any game. Think of it, you could limit the amount of potions you can take not by unwritten rules, but by the amount your bladder can hold. Take a leak and you replenish yourself. But no, toilet based functions, strangely, aren’t incorporated into games these days...
4) The evil clone -
Sure, you could say it is purely down to a console’s processing power. But the fact that in games, most enemies are exactly the same is a bit stupid. I’m sure that infiltrating a baddie’s base wouldn’t have you killing a hundred people with the same face. I was more of the opinion that people were unique. Obviously not when it comes to animating bad people. Oh well - we can always guess that Don Giovanni has got a genetic lab stashed out the back of his mansion somewhere. Sort of, Attack of the Clones style.
5) Grey -
The colour grey isn’t very nice. To me, that is. In games though, it is the token colour, the rule not the exception. From grey corridors in grey warehouses, to grey roads raced by grey cars. Not very colourful, hey? Well, from my experience, I’ve seen black asphalt, grey concrete and “so weathered they’re white” roads. Gran Turismo, Ridge Racer and Project Gotham obviously haven’t been enlightened to the fact that roads aren’t exactly the same colour everywhere in the world. It seems stunning that they can find the same pigment for Japanese roads as they can Australian. Oh well.
6) Menus -
In my opinion, menus are not necessary. Grand Theft Auto 3 and Vice City introduced me to the fact that since it was a single player game, only one person is likely to play it. Loading straight into the game is a good idea. In fact, I can only thing that menus are necessary when selecting things such as multiplayer - pause menus aren’t necessary. I remember SNES and Mega Drive games which would literally pause the game when you pressed start. No fancy ‘pause’ written lavishly across the screen - just a statue-still screen. No, I think menus are the poor-man’s excuse for having lots of options.
7) Gems -
What’s up with gems? I mean, the only reason they’re so valued in games where you collect things is that gems are associated with value. What if the most prized value of the game, the object sought after by you and your enemies alike turned out to be a lump of pyrite. Great. No, collectables ought to be a bit more imaginative. The easy way out would be to collect coins, gems or a special type of fruit. Not imaginative, not fun.
I suppose there are many games which follow the same pattern. From Mario Kart to Doom, there are poor games masquerading as good ones; like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. A lot of it boils down to gender and race issues too - I’d say 95% of games have got white male protagonists. The minority, where the main character is a woman, is usually just as a sex symbol. Stereotypical boundaries in gaming need to be broken down. Not for political correctness, or for the sake of more females in gaming ;-), but because it’ll enrich the gaming experience. Let my sister play as a female character in Final Fantasy if that’s what she really wants - but that’s not available to her. This shouldn’t be a complaint - gaming has learnt a lot from trial and error of decades past. I just think that, while some traits typical in gaming have gone, there are others which oughtn’t still be here. And I’m adamant you’ll all agree with me.
1) Right-handedness -
One in ten people are left handed, apparently. Now tell me, how many first person shooters are there on the market? Two hundred? Probably around that mark, give or take. Now of those, how many lead characters hold the gun in their left hand, rather than their right? Very few. Characters holding guns, gadgets, and other weapons in their right hand is standard in games. Now tell me, have you ever played a game where the lead character holds it in their left hand? Probably not. Unreal Tournament and Hal Life are the only examples I can think of where you can choose. No matter though.
2) Hearts -
Apparently, our ‘life’ in games such as Zelda is measured in hearts. Excuse me if I’m wrong, but don’t we only have one heart? Or are these super heroes genetically modified to have twenty of these vital organs? I think it would be much more sensible to measure it in other factors - perhaps by stress (which is a viable cause of death), or blood-loss (being shot doesn’t kill you unless it hits an organ - it’s often through blood loss). This could make open wounds which are bleeding lose you life progressively, and only with the aid of a bandage and iodine can the bleeding stop. It’s stupid measuring life in hearts because people only have one heart. And once it’s packed in - you’re dead.
3) Magic Potions -
In Zelda, how many potions would you drink throughout the game? A hundred would be okay as a guess. An average bladder could hold what, two bottles worth. In Zelda, I’ve never seen link go for a tinkle. In fact,, I haven’t seen this ‘feature’ in any game. Think of it, you could limit the amount of potions you can take not by unwritten rules, but by the amount your bladder can hold. Take a leak and you replenish yourself. But no, toilet based functions, strangely, aren’t incorporated into games these days...
4) The evil clone -
Sure, you could say it is purely down to a console’s processing power. But the fact that in games, most enemies are exactly the same is a bit stupid. I’m sure that infiltrating a baddie’s base wouldn’t have you killing a hundred people with the same face. I was more of the opinion that people were unique. Obviously not when it comes to animating bad people. Oh well - we can always guess that Don Giovanni has got a genetic lab stashed out the back of his mansion somewhere. Sort of, Attack of the Clones style.
5) Grey -
The colour grey isn’t very nice. To me, that is. In games though, it is the token colour, the rule not the exception. From grey corridors in grey warehouses, to grey roads raced by grey cars. Not very colourful, hey? Well, from my experience, I’ve seen black asphalt, grey concrete and “so weathered they’re white” roads. Gran Turismo, Ridge Racer and Project Gotham obviously haven’t been enlightened to the fact that roads aren’t exactly the same colour everywhere in the world. It seems stunning that they can find the same pigment for Japanese roads as they can Australian. Oh well.
6) Menus -
In my opinion, menus are not necessary. Grand Theft Auto 3 and Vice City introduced me to the fact that since it was a single player game, only one person is likely to play it. Loading straight into the game is a good idea. In fact, I can only thing that menus are necessary when selecting things such as multiplayer - pause menus aren’t necessary. I remember SNES and Mega Drive games which would literally pause the game when you pressed start. No fancy ‘pause’ written lavishly across the screen - just a statue-still screen. No, I think menus are the poor-man’s excuse for having lots of options.
7) Gems -
What’s up with gems? I mean, the only reason they’re so valued in games where you collect things is that gems are associated with value. What if the most prized value of the game, the object sought after by you and your enemies alike turned out to be a lump of pyrite. Great. No, collectables ought to be a bit more imaginative. The easy way out would be to collect coins, gems or a special type of fruit. Not imaginative, not fun.
I suppose there are many games which follow the same pattern. From Mario Kart to Doom, there are poor games masquerading as good ones; like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. A lot of it boils down to gender and race issues too - I’d say 95% of games have got white male protagonists. The minority, where the main character is a woman, is usually just as a sex symbol. Stereotypical boundaries in gaming need to be broken down. Not for political correctness, or for the sake of more females in gaming ;-), but because it’ll enrich the gaming experience. Let my sister play as a female character in Final Fantasy if that’s what she really wants - but that’s not available to her. This shouldn’t be a complaint - gaming has learnt a lot from trial and error of decades past. I just think that, while some traits typical in gaming have gone, there are others which oughtn’t still be here. And I’m adamant you’ll all agree with me.
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Games are filled with clones. Stereotypes, traditions, which few break and fewer recognise. Petty little things which are standard in the industry, but things which could make a game groundbreaking. I’ve listed a few, but I’m sure there are plenty more...
1) Right-handedness -
One in ten people are left handed, apparently. Now tell me, how many first person shooters are there on the market? Two hundred? Probably around that mark, give or take. Now of those, how many lead characters hold the gun in their left hand, rather than their right? Very few. Characters holding guns, gadgets, and other weapons in their right hand is standard in games. Now tell me, have you ever played a game where the lead character holds it in their left hand? Probably not. Unreal Tournament and Hal Life are the only examples I can think of where you can choose. No matter though.
2) Hearts -
Apparently, our ‘life’ in games such as Zelda is measured in hearts. Excuse me if I’m wrong, but don’t we only have one heart? Or are these super heroes genetically modified to have twenty of these vital organs? I think it would be much more sensible to measure it in other factors - perhaps by stress (which is a viable cause of death), or blood-loss (being shot doesn’t kill you unless it hits an organ - it’s often through blood loss). This could make open wounds which are bleeding lose you life progressively, and only with the aid of a bandage and iodine can the bleeding stop. It’s stupid measuring life in hearts because people only have one heart. And once it’s packed in - you’re dead.
3) Magic Potions -
In Zelda, how many potions would you drink throughout the game? A hundred would be okay as a guess. An average bladder could hold what, two bottles worth. In Zelda, I’ve never seen link go for a tinkle. In fact,, I haven’t seen this ‘feature’ in any game. Think of it, you could limit the amount of potions you can take not by unwritten rules, but by the amount your bladder can hold. Take a leak and you replenish yourself. But no, toilet based functions, strangely, aren’t incorporated into games these days...
4) The evil clone -
Sure, you could say it is purely down to a console’s processing power. But the fact that in games, most enemies are exactly the same is a bit stupid. I’m sure that infiltrating a baddie’s base wouldn’t have you killing a hundred people with the same face. I was more of the opinion that people were unique. Obviously not when it comes to animating bad people. Oh well - we can always guess that Don Giovanni has got a genetic lab stashed out the back of his mansion somewhere. Sort of, Attack of the Clones style.
5) Grey -
The colour grey isn’t very nice. To me, that is. In games though, it is the token colour, the rule not the exception. From grey corridors in grey warehouses, to grey roads raced by grey cars. Not very colourful, hey? Well, from my experience, I’ve seen black asphalt, grey concrete and “so weathered they’re white” roads. Gran Turismo, Ridge Racer and Project Gotham obviously haven’t been enlightened to the fact that roads aren’t exactly the same colour everywhere in the world. It seems stunning that they can find the same pigment for Japanese roads as they can Australian. Oh well.
6) Menus -
In my opinion, menus are not necessary. Grand Theft Auto 3 and Vice City introduced me to the fact that since it was a single player game, only one person is likely to play it. Loading straight into the game is a good idea. In fact, I can only thing that menus are necessary when selecting things such as multiplayer - pause menus aren’t necessary. I remember SNES and Mega Drive games which would literally pause the game when you pressed start. No fancy ‘pause’ written lavishly across the screen - just a statue-still screen. No, I think menus are the poor-man’s excuse for having lots of options.
7) Gems -
What’s up with gems? I mean, the only reason they’re so valued in games where you collect things is that gems are associated with value. What if the most prized value of the game, the object sought after by you and your enemies alike turned out to be a lump of pyrite. Great. No, collectables ought to be a bit more imaginative. The easy way out would be to collect coins, gems or a special type of fruit. Not imaginative, not fun.
I suppose there are many games which follow the same pattern. From Mario Kart to Doom, there are poor games masquerading as good ones; like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. A lot of it boils down to gender and race issues too - I’d say 95% of games have got white male protagonists. The minority, where the main character is a woman, is usually just as a sex symbol. Stereotypical boundaries in gaming need to be broken down. Not for political correctness, or for the sake of more females in gaming ;-), but because it’ll enrich the gaming experience. Let my sister play as a female character in Final Fantasy if that’s what she really wants - but that’s not available to her. This shouldn’t be a complaint - gaming has learnt a lot from trial and error of decades past. I just think that, while some traits typical in gaming have gone, there are others which oughtn’t still be here. And I’m adamant you’ll all agree with me.
1) Right-handedness -
One in ten people are left handed, apparently. Now tell me, how many first person shooters are there on the market? Two hundred? Probably around that mark, give or take. Now of those, how many lead characters hold the gun in their left hand, rather than their right? Very few. Characters holding guns, gadgets, and other weapons in their right hand is standard in games. Now tell me, have you ever played a game where the lead character holds it in their left hand? Probably not. Unreal Tournament and Hal Life are the only examples I can think of where you can choose. No matter though.
2) Hearts -
Apparently, our ‘life’ in games such as Zelda is measured in hearts. Excuse me if I’m wrong, but don’t we only have one heart? Or are these super heroes genetically modified to have twenty of these vital organs? I think it would be much more sensible to measure it in other factors - perhaps by stress (which is a viable cause of death), or blood-loss (being shot doesn’t kill you unless it hits an organ - it’s often through blood loss). This could make open wounds which are bleeding lose you life progressively, and only with the aid of a bandage and iodine can the bleeding stop. It’s stupid measuring life in hearts because people only have one heart. And once it’s packed in - you’re dead.
3) Magic Potions -
In Zelda, how many potions would you drink throughout the game? A hundred would be okay as a guess. An average bladder could hold what, two bottles worth. In Zelda, I’ve never seen link go for a tinkle. In fact,, I haven’t seen this ‘feature’ in any game. Think of it, you could limit the amount of potions you can take not by unwritten rules, but by the amount your bladder can hold. Take a leak and you replenish yourself. But no, toilet based functions, strangely, aren’t incorporated into games these days...
4) The evil clone -
Sure, you could say it is purely down to a console’s processing power. But the fact that in games, most enemies are exactly the same is a bit stupid. I’m sure that infiltrating a baddie’s base wouldn’t have you killing a hundred people with the same face. I was more of the opinion that people were unique. Obviously not when it comes to animating bad people. Oh well - we can always guess that Don Giovanni has got a genetic lab stashed out the back of his mansion somewhere. Sort of, Attack of the Clones style.
5) Grey -
The colour grey isn’t very nice. To me, that is. In games though, it is the token colour, the rule not the exception. From grey corridors in grey warehouses, to grey roads raced by grey cars. Not very colourful, hey? Well, from my experience, I’ve seen black asphalt, grey concrete and “so weathered they’re white” roads. Gran Turismo, Ridge Racer and Project Gotham obviously haven’t been enlightened to the fact that roads aren’t exactly the same colour everywhere in the world. It seems stunning that they can find the same pigment for Japanese roads as they can Australian. Oh well.
6) Menus -
In my opinion, menus are not necessary. Grand Theft Auto 3 and Vice City introduced me to the fact that since it was a single player game, only one person is likely to play it. Loading straight into the game is a good idea. In fact, I can only thing that menus are necessary when selecting things such as multiplayer - pause menus aren’t necessary. I remember SNES and Mega Drive games which would literally pause the game when you pressed start. No fancy ‘pause’ written lavishly across the screen - just a statue-still screen. No, I think menus are the poor-man’s excuse for having lots of options.
7) Gems -
What’s up with gems? I mean, the only reason they’re so valued in games where you collect things is that gems are associated with value. What if the most prized value of the game, the object sought after by you and your enemies alike turned out to be a lump of pyrite. Great. No, collectables ought to be a bit more imaginative. The easy way out would be to collect coins, gems or a special type of fruit. Not imaginative, not fun.
I suppose there are many games which follow the same pattern. From Mario Kart to Doom, there are poor games masquerading as good ones; like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. A lot of it boils down to gender and race issues too - I’d say 95% of games have got white male protagonists. The minority, where the main character is a woman, is usually just as a sex symbol. Stereotypical boundaries in gaming need to be broken down. Not for political correctness, or for the sake of more females in gaming ;-), but because it’ll enrich the gaming experience. Let my sister play as a female character in Final Fantasy if that’s what she really wants - but that’s not available to her. This shouldn’t be a complaint - gaming has learnt a lot from trial and error of decades past. I just think that, while some traits typical in gaming have gone, there are others which oughtn’t still be here. And I’m adamant you’ll all agree with me.