Game features

[Shrineerune]

I'd love to hear what game details or features make a game particularly interesting for you to play, and an example of a game (either current or classic) with those features or details if you can think of one. (I'm mostly thinking about computer games here, but table top games would also be fun to hear about.)

For example, I really like games in which I feel that I'm a part of the story but my part in it isn't predetermined. An ancient example of a game that I loved for that reason was Moonmist (http://www.mobygames.com/game/sheet/gameId=1364/) (this link takes you to a description of it at MobyGames). I liked being able to investigate things entirely uniquely, and interact in text with other characters in meaningful ways that developed both their character and the mystery I was investigating.

I also loved that this game came with a lot of real life stuff to add to the experience like a book of ghost stories pertaining to the place, "handwritten" letters from the friend that lived there (thus giving you a real reason to be there), and a tourist brochure. I liked that these things weren't just eye candy, they provided important clues to how to approach game challenges. I've found that this is something many games that I love have in common, there are some real life elements that you buy that help you to feel fully immersed in the story and are not written or presented merely as game instructions or collector's pieces that solely are for looks.

How about you?

[Jishia]

Eye Candy, I always loved Weapons, and it may sound funny but I joined EQ back in Kunark Era, that was all i've seen of EQ and the selling point to me was seeing the Graphic for the Wurmslayer.. that did it.. and I was never the same ever since :wink:

[Naelaen]

Yeah, getting a new weapon and seeing it on your character is made all the more better if it actually looks cool. Now all the need to do is get some nice new graphics for bows :)

Same with spells, always nice to see new spell effects.

I think the real pull of the game is the depth of lore, the items and worlds you can explore and the people who you play with and make the game enjoyable.

[FuzzyBear]

Character customizability -- From the quirks in Arcanum, to the facial detailing in SWG, to the armor dyes and " profile" in EQ. It's one thing I can never get enough of.

Interesting NPC's -- From Depth of Character to Well-written script. Baldur's Gate II did this well. (Minsc was a favorite)

Quests -- These tend to work better in semi-linear games, because all the designers have to do is place something somewhere along the path, and leave it to you to decide what it's for. EQ has so many zones that spoilers are almost a necessity these days.

Equiptment -- The more, the merrier.

Monetary Curve -- It's not a huge factor, but the closer it is to stable, the less likely I am to quit a game outright. Ultima Online fixed their monetary problem by offering a high-end market with rares and Player-sold housing. In my opinion, this is one of the few areas universally where EQ needs a bit of work. (by that i mean it's class/race independant) At the lower end of the game (> 30) You can't make money fast enough, and at the higher end (60+) You don't have anything to spend it on, except twinking.

Community -- Single player games are fun at times, but having a few thousand other people adds an unequalled dynamic element.

Anyway, that's what I look for, and thanks to EQ, i've saved hundreds of dollars a year that was normally spent on other games. :)

[Dr.Gonzo]

Interactive character equipment and environment. I want to be ablle to do and see stuff with my character.

I'd like to see more sheathed weapons in games, and a posable cloack in EQ.

[Kaldolur]

I agree with most of the replies listed so far... I was a "late bloomer" as far as PC games go - but had thoroughly enjoyed table-top gaming of all sorts (RPG's, Games Workshop, etc...). The one thing I looked for more than anything was VARIETY. I wanted the game experience to be different every time I played it.

The first PC game I bought was 'Might & Magic'. Because of my inexperience with computers at the time, it seemed to satisfy my need for adventure. The last 3 editions (VI, VII & VIII) had some interesting situations and quests - but I soon found out that no matter what my 'group composition' was, the game was pretty much always the same. I quickly learned shortcuts around certain parts of the game - and within a few months was starving for something better.

When I first picked up EQ on the shelf (Kunark had just been released), the guy at the counter told my wife "Don't let him buy that if you ever want to see him again!" :) He was simply commenting on the addictability of EQ - but he hit the nail on the head because it was EXACTLY what I had been looking for. The endless supply of quests, the interaction with player-characters, the myriad of armor and weapons... all feed my insatiable hunger for an ever-changing, interactive adventure.

Kaldolur Britebeard
Vazaelle

[Pike Tha Blodd]

content, content, content

it can look like tha almight 'liquid monkey ass' but if the content is there, well scripted NPC's, involving story of some kind, anything that remotely resembles content (EQ does this very well, no two zones look alike, lots of different stories going on, lots of history, Earth and Beyond tried and did good till the guild leader missions (newbie quests) ran out, then the game got major dull) then im there

pretty is okay, but graphics are one of the last things on my list, since console gaming i have regarded anything that is beautiful as crap, if its pretty it cant be fun

[Dravvan]

I like a good combination of story, stuff and cash. Baldur's Gate (I and II) both have it, and reaching back further, so did Betrayal at Antara and Betrayal at Krondor, thou BaA had really dumb -looking icons for the characters, BaK followed Raymond Feist's story quite well.

I like being able to see where my characters are in battle and I do love the ability to stop combat, think a moment, make my decisions and go from there. (I suck at a split-second tactitician stuff in RL)

And as much as I enjoy the BG games, I really do prefer first-person perspective. Its a little more personal in my eyes.

Walk in beauty
Dravvan

[Kaylen]

I like huge worlds. Just travelling across them does it for me. I also don't like boundaries - I like to interact with my huge worlds. I can run up the Wizard Spires and jump off of them if I wanted to. The only time I ever feel there are boundaries in EQ is when I bump into a zone wall, and I like that. Running into a tree doesn't make me feel like there's some force keeping me from touching it - I just can't go through it because it's a tree. Not many games can get this right.

For non-MMO games, I like anything with an editor. WarCraft, Neverwinter Nights.. everything.

[Satarus]

Content: Various continents to travel to, local hangouts where you can always meet your friends at, and a variety off dungeons, open areas, and cities and such.

Itemization: Equipment for all levels and has stats to meet your needs/playstyle. HP mean nothing to the group druid, but can let you solo the entire WW scar dragons.

Quests: This is were EQ lacks, good quests that don't have to always look up the spoiler sight cause you got no clue what to do. Only few good quests in EQ are the coldian ring quests (have 9th ring) the shawls. a few armor quests, and the epics.

NPC scripting/events: I know i loved the 10th ring war when i first did it. SoE took that idea and went with it. Some of the encounters are pretty good, while others are just tedious. Also what i liked about a few other games is the NPCs weren't just static stand there and do the same thing as everyone other NPC. Good NPC interaction makes for a fun game to explore.

[Xatkin Tanlonikan]

I wish I could interact with NPCs and PCs around me in ways other than beating them to a pulp and talking to them.

I love the sheathed weapons idea. It'd be awesome if you pulled out your dagger next to a merchant and they freaked out and called for guards.

[Satarus]

In morrowind, you could talk to any NPC, provided they didn't want to kill you. You simply clicked a topic that appeared in the menu, and they would give their responce. That way you could get directions from anyone, as well as learn about the town/area you where in.

[Kaylen]

I really would like more things to do with NPCs than "get a quest from it or kill it". There's not much else to do.. if you hail it and it doesn't respond, may as well kill it. (This is talking about EQ, here)

[Velenka]

Like Jishia said.... Eye Candy. That could be water that looks like real water (ICO anyone?), elaborate armor, my sexy character or a side of barbarian beefcake.
Playability. Duh. Running into bugs in game for me is like having the backdrop collapse during the most climactic part of a play. I like being lost in my alternate reality and having to deal with bugs or having the game crash is a really big deal to me.
Character creation/development. From deciding what haircolor my character will have to unlocking self-discovery storylines... it's all gold. I love it. So many folks have mentioned Baldur's Gate already, and I just thought I'd throw my chips into the pile.
Friends... yup, the creme de la creme :) I actually like soloing alot of the time in my online games because my playtime is usually very limited (1 hour time block in EQ, are you kidding?), but being able to say hi to my friends, see what they're up to, what they've accomplished... yes, I'm a big fan of the chat-room-with-graphics kinda games :)

[Xorekill]

Eye Candy is always nice. Morrowind pulled me just based on the massive landscapes alone. The fact magical items looked...well...magical....helped.

Roleplaying events are also nice...random events which can greatly influence your gaming experience. Fallout and Baldur's Gate I and II both did a fine job of such events.

[Rhiamon Fatesealer]

One thing about SWG that I totally love, is how much you can customize your character. Hair color, eye color, lip size, eye angle, etc. In comparison, FFXI was very disappointing because you only got to choose between like 4 different faces, and each of those only had 2 or 3 hair colors you could pick. Friggin bleh.

[John Dyne]

Tradeskills, tradeskills, tradeskills. If they're good and they're challenging, I'll enjoy it. I prefer to get what I need, sit down in a bar or something, and make sandwiches and pass them out to others.

This is where WoW tradeskills make me shudder. Sure, there's some stuff I have to run out and hunt for baking in EQ, but none of it involves m delving into a dungeon just to get Rare Meat #5 and make Rare Sandwich #3. If that's the case, then tradeskillers seem to be boned, since if they don't want to hunt, they'll have to pay out the wazoo (Like on SWG).

I also like customibility, like others. I want to control where my character's hair falls, whether it sticks out at the sides, if his eyes are a little narrow or how his moustache/beard is trimmed.. all that stuff is good for me.

Oh, and Velenka? Nice avatar.

[Velenka]

Wee, thank you :)

And I forgot to list tradeskills----I, too, loved the tradeskills in EQ. My poor, broke cleric just kept getting poorer... lvl 50 and wearing an acrylia tunic *hides her face in shame*.

I haven't given the tradeskills in FFXI much of a chance though, since all of my money goes into buying the most advanced armor for my lvl at any given time, and to spells on the AH... though I *did* fashion some lumber the other day on accident. Will have to look further into woodworking and furniture construction. *drool*

[Kat]

I like character customization myself. The game mechanics have to be at least engaging, but I'm very social in the games. I would be bored by the SIMs. One of the things I liked best about Anarchy Online was the sheer "dress up doll" factor.

Rhia and Velenka, you two are bringing out the competitiveness in me. I'm going to have to get a really good avatar to keep up with you two. :)

[Satarus]

Another thing i liked about Morrowind, was how straight forward most of the quests where, but some like the sanguine quest, you got hints on where some of the pieces where, but others where really hard to find like the one you get for killing an assassin in the telvanni hometown.
Also i liked the spell customization from morrowind. I went through as a caster once, I only bought one spell for each spell effect i needed, and then made spells for my play style. I had small army of minions i would summon from my weapon, and then i would run up and smack the monster with a dmg over time spells, and if the monster hit paticularly hard, i had a few fireballs i would shoot.

[Raven00x]

character customizability...yeah, that's a big one. In mmorpgs moreso than in single player games.

Single player game, you're often taking the role of someone else, out for revenge against the bad guy, out to blow away the aliens and solve the mystery. whatever; you're playing the game as someone other than yourself.

MMOGs though, the only person you're playing as is yourself as you see yourself being in whichever world you're in, so being able to make yourself unique from the three hundred thousand other people playing is very important to the sense of self in the game.

eye-candy. i'm so shallow...if the graphics aren't purdy i'm not overly inclined to play the game. After all, in my private reality i use to escape...people shouldn't have square blocks for hands, should they?

story and background are also nifty...but i can hump along with a less than perfect story.

[demongoat]

Graphics make or break a game for a lot of people these days. Some might disagree but well look at the more popular games, they have good graphics and shoddy storys. Very boring stories, I played a demo of duex 2 or how ever it is spelled it was good looking but boring

What I like is humor in my games if it's the same old recycled stuff in a diffrent wrapper, even if it has the "wow" factor i won't play it long simply beccuse I have better things to do :)


gah need to learn how to type stuff better on here :oops:

Hi i'm new :) :P

[Rhiamon Fatesealer]

*flaunts her shiny new avatar for Brite*

[ancarett]

Tradeskills. I'm a tradeskill junkie and one of the reasons I love DAoC is how tradeskills work there. Consignments allow lower-level players to take a craft and run with it (even make a profit!), that makes a big difference when you're not keen on the levelling grind.

My other big criteria? I must have a pretty avatar. No, really! I have tried trolls and ogres in EQ and just couldn't keep at it. But a barbarian or high elf was just great. Same in DAoC -- I would never make a shaman in the Midgard realm because I didn't like the looks of trolls and kobolds. Trials of Atlantis introduced frostalfs and I'm one happy camper now!

[Shrineerune]

Satarus mentioning Morrowind reminded me of something about that game that I would love to find in other games, the feel of a real biosphere with creatures and plants that you can discover and use in different ways. I like being able to gather materials in Morrowind by walking around and learning to recognize certain plants. Everquest has "ground spawn" too, but I enjoyed how Morrowind made detailed ground spawn that was recognizable at a great distance once you learned about the different plant life in the area. I also enjoyed how you could experiment with the plant life in Morrowind to find out what it was capable of being used for.

Another thing I really like in a game is a sense of the passage of time and variance of weather.

I've also really enjoyed turn based styles of play in which you can command a small group of characters in a battle. I specifically remember another ancient game Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar that was exceedingly simple but stressed thinking over speed. I liked how it combined that turn based thinking battle model with graphics that actually showed the battle and allowed you to make use of the terrain you were on (so you could hide behind rocks for example). I haven't played a lot of modern computer games, but I'd love to find a solo game like that with modern graphics. If you know of one like that, send me a PM and let me know what it is.