Topic: Your gaming (opposite of) pet peeves

@nessisonett It drives me nuts. If the character is humanoid, I want them to be responsive.

Although obviously I'll be more understanding when it comes to games where the characters are supposed to be slightly unwieldy for reasons and/or older games where they were still figuring out 3D controls.

@Ralizah You reminded me of the YouTube video of the reenactment of what it would look like if real people moved like video game characters, complete with walking into walls and the exaggerated rhythmic breathing. 😂 I think it was specifically referring to Yakuza, but it would apply to all.

I have liked how in FF7R I notice if you bump up against another character while running around that Cloud does this little side-step animation which adds a level of realism whilst keeping you from getting pinned behind Barrett in a narrow walkway.

I also liked how Persona 5 did it where the NPC just immediately become ghosts when you need to run through them and so crowds never slow you down. 😄 It’s that “sacrifice a little real-life physics and natural law in order to keep the game fun.”

Speaking of in-game dialogue, NPCs lamenting your death is one cool thing, but I think it was during Uncharted 4: A Thief's End where I first encountered conversations between characters that would naturally pause if you walked away, and then resume when you returned. As somebody who never wants to miss anything potentially important or funny, I'd waste ages in older games standing around, listening to scripted chats. Having the freedom to make Nate jump out of his Jeep, grab a collectible, and then come back to hear Sully say "Now, where was I? Oh yeah, so there was this thing..." was a very nice touch indeed.

And yes, I'll agree with others who've mentioned design decisions in supposedly-realistic games that bend, or even break, immersion for the sake of maintaining fluid gameplay. Instant mount summoning in Horizon: Zero Dawn and Ghost of Tsushima is a godsend.

@lolwhatno Yep. Seems to instantly summon whatever the nearest mountable robot is without having to override. Dramatically improves the experience of navigating the open world late game.

@Th3solution Some of the people in those videos you mentioned exhibit insane levels of bodily control in order to pull off the illusion of stilted 3D character movement IRL.

One game with an amusing lack of collision physics that comes immediately to mind is Xenoblade Chronicles X, because you can literally walk around the gigantic hub city in that game and cars will pass right through you. I felt like I was playing a ghost, lol.

@RogerRoger Yes, this! I’m with you in that I always want to hear every little bit of dialogue and am prone for stopping my character and taking my hands off the controller while I listen to some exposition because I’ve had many a time that dialogue was interrupted by a scripted moment and then the first conversation (or funny story, or inner monologue, or whatever) is gone forever. God of War does that too where if you jump out of the boat while Mimir is telling a story then he’ll resume when you come back in a very natural way. Such a nice touch.

It’s funny because while playing FF7R yesterday there was a point where I was wandering around Section H of the Midgar reactor in which Barrett actually interrupted and spoke over himself. 😂 He was making some of that idle chit-chat and then I walked upon a part which triggered a scripted line and so two Barrett voices were talking at the same time 😂

@lolwhatno That's awesome! I'm glad it's been recognised and implemented in other games. I hate the feeling of having missed something because I'm moving too fast through an environment.

@Th3solution I've experienced many bugs, glitches and issues regarding incidental dialogue before, but I don't think I've ever had a character talk over themselves! Worst I've had is a few background NPCs continuing their conversation after I've triggered a cutscene, meaning their idle chit-chat has inadvertently drowned out important story information. Almost makes me wanna turn on subtitles!

@RogerRoger I’m not a subtitle person either. FF7R has a pretty cool function though where you can enable or disable subtitles for main characters separately from side NPC’s you’re walking past. So I have subtitles turned off for the main action, and on for the side conversations. Even that is a little distracting, but at least I can pick up tidbits of what the townfolk are saying as I walk around without having to stop and listen.

@Th3solution Wow, that'd be real useful in so, so many other games! That is a nice touch!

opposite of pet peeves ? i guess i could answer by saying the ''little things'' i appreciate about games

1. like u said - smooth transitioning . if a game can make smooth transitions without seemingly loading or showing a loading screen , thats really nice.

2. in-depth options that basically let you tailor the game to your personal preferences and experience ( colorblind filters , sensitivities , contrast/brightness , FOV , SFX volume , full button re-arrangements , etc ) this is probably the best one for me .

3. Amazing soundtrack - even though video game music is something thats recognized and appreciated , i think it matters even more though . imo it adds a lot to the game like charisma , atmosphere , and makes for an unforgettable experience . good music can make you remember a game fondly and makes you nostalgic . see sonic fans .

so yeah , i think i answered that right . the ''little'' things that i appreciate , but doesn't matter to me overall .

A slightly minor one but I love the "Playstation Studio" screen when loading up one of their games on PS5 and how they are different for each game. I also appreciate the fact that it doesn't seem to load up every time you play the game either!

@Thrillho I don’t know if you’ve yet done the “clear cache” option through the PS5 safe mode, but I did that a few times when I was getting some technical issues with Returnal and it makes the games show that “PlayStation Studio” intro screen again, because yes — after the first load of the game it doesn’t show again. I think the cache must clear automatically from time to time and that’s why it may show again.

@Th3solution I don't know if it's timed or something. I saw it when I loaded Ghost up for the first time today but not the other couple of times I've played (obviously not loading from rest mode or anything).

@Thrillho @Th3solution I think it replays the logo after installing an update, as well. I've seen it in front of Ghost of Tsushima three times now; once at first boot, then twice more after patches dropped.

@lolwhatno It is a wonderful set of games with a great story and interesting combat.

And the decisions you make have the biggest influence of any game series I’ve played; you can have characters in your party die at almost any point with bad choices.

@lolwhatno Ha, sorry I was talking about Banner Saga!

@lolwhatno The classic beginning of that is probably the “Snake. Snake?! Snaaaaaake!!” that characters yell over the radio when you die in Metal Gear Solid.

————

Also, I know you and I were discussing The Last of Us 2 the other day and supposedly Naughty Dog takes it up another notch with that game where the NPCs scream, wail, and realistically cry when you kill one of their comrades. Not having played the game yet I don’t know first hand but that’s what I read.

————

As far as a small thing that I’ve enjoyed while playing Demon’s Souls is the quality of life benefit from being able to send items and equipment straight to storage when you’re out in the field away from the home hub. It’s so nice to not have to fumble through the equipment menus trying to decide which item to drop so you can pick another one up. You can just simply send it magically to storage and retrieve it later when you’re back at the Nexus hub. I hadn’t realized how much time I wasted in other games when you go to pick up an item you find, only to discover you’ve met your weight limit, so you have to waste several minutes fumbling through which item seems the least useful so you can dump it and make room. The menu “send to storage” is so convenient that I’ll literally be standing close to Stockpile Thomas in the Nexus and I just send him storage items from the menu rather than talking to him. 😅. I can’t stand to hear another time about how I’ve “…got a heart of gold…. Blah, blah, blah…” 😂

@lolwhatno Naughty is on another level when it comes to the small attention to detail. And I know they specifically said that they didn’t necessarily intend TLoU2 to be ‘fun” to play, and that they emphasized making the story and actions gripping and impactful.

As far as MGS — you should totally try out the series. Problem is, the MGS 1-4 are locked on older hardware. But if you have a PS3, it’s worth it if you like tactical stealth games with bonkers storylines.

Oh and no — as far as I can tell, there is no selling loot in DeS. But it’s still nice to have it in storage if you ever wanted to try using the item.

@lolwhatno I’m fairly certain I don’t recall murdering any children in any of the games. There is a band of child soldiers in one of them that has a small side role, but I don’t recall actual fighting with them being any part of the gameplay or narrative. I could have blocked it out, but I think whatever you heard or read about that is probably overblown.

Now Quiet on the other hand, the fan-servicey character you mention, is not overstated in the sense she’s probably everything and more than what you’d expect. So if that sort of thing unsettles you then you will have to avoid MGSV, and maybe the whole series, as they all seem to have a female soldier who has a hefty amount a cleavage on display. In most of the entries the fan service is quite tame by modern standards (no overt nudity) but MGSV pushes the boundary the most, since the graphics are most accurate, and Quiet is present for probably 70% of the game as a companion. A couple scenes are awkward with fan-service moments; However, you can choose not to use her as a buddy and it will lessen your, ahem… exposure to her.

Although having a scantily-clad female who can’t speak probably seems misogynistic, there’s a certain narrative purpose that Kojjma has woven into her arc, even if it’s thinly veiled. And I give Kojima credit — I legitimately appreciated Quiet’ storyline and actually empathized with her. And FYI, You can actually unlock a clothing set for her of standard military garb that doesn’t show any skin. I forget exactly how long it takes to unlock though and if memory serves it’s late game.

As for my favorite of the series, it’s probably actually MGSV closely followed by MGS3. For me they have the best gameplay, but they all have their perks. I never actually finished MGS2 though and I have it on my list to do hopefully soon.

And yeah — the storage perk that DeS has was a Bluepoint addition to the remake, I think. FromSoft had you juggling the inventory, akin to Skyrim when you reached max weight limit. Although at least Skyrim allowed you to carry a bunch of things encumbered at a snail’s pace it you wanted to be a pack mule. 😂