Most of us have been playing games our entire lives, which means we are no strangers to certain video game mechanics like loot systems, fetch and carry quests, and arena based battles in the middle of nowhere.
There certain things that happen in video games these days, where they are so predictable that without even a tutorial, we can already foresee them coming.
Tap button to open things
Since the dawn of gaming, it has been a staple mechanic, the tapping of the button. This has been used for thousands of games, as you are about to open a box or even lift up a door, you would then be prompted to tap a button as fast as you can.
Here we would sit and tap our hearts out, as it is the 769th box we have opened today, so we tap the button even faster to try and speed up the opening to get it over and done with.
Needless to say, the developers did not even program the box to open faster with faster taps, they open all the same.
Faster taps mean faster opening
Spoiler Alert! Enemies are coming
Many third person, cover based shooters make a habit of this. You have now entered a room with boxes and tables flipped on its side, and you are supposed to believe that there are no enemies headed your way.
Meanwhile, you can see right through the façade as the cover around room is a sure sign that enemies will be coming your way soon. Be it as soon as you enter the room, or on your way out.
Another clear giveaway is when there is an ammo box in the room where there are supposed to be no enemies around. Yes, developers, because the ammo box will be useful while we are shooting the walls.
All this cover just happens to be here
Protect me while I take 3 years to hack this terminal
We have all had to escort those darn NPCs around a game, and at certain stages we have had to rely on their “amazing” hacking or drilling skills to open a door.
This is where the cliché comes in, as the area is normally safe until they start hacking. They then “accidentally” trigger an alarm or make a loud sound, which alerts the enemies in the area.
You now find yourself protecting these NPCs while they take their jolly time unlocking the door to the next area. It always amazes me how much harder the terminal is to hack when there are hordes of enemies around compared to when it’s just you and him.
You have a blade that can saw steel, but I will kill the enemies!
Broken Chase Scenes
I have seen this often in Call of Duty, where we the game is supposed to have its James Bond moment in a quick-time chase scene. Well, this scene does not always go the way it is intended as its broken mechanics end up ruining the experience for you.
Instead of you making the jump in the 0.3 second window you have to make it, you end falling to your death. Uncharted has also fell victim to this as you would be in a car driving through a town, only to bash into a fruit cart cemented into the ground and die by gunfire.
We all love an exhilarating chase scene, but when you keep dying in the same spot due to bad game design, then it kind of ruins the experience.
How many times did you have to restart this mission?
You cannot use this weapon
You have just beaten the hardest boss you have ever encountered in the game. His weapon, which he delightfully killed you with 24 times, is now next to his body, just lying there. Do you think you could pick it up and use it? No!
You have spent the entire game mastering a two-handed, double bladed axe, and your skill level is probably higher than his. This however, does mean you have the skill to pick up the weapon and use it.
This is a common mechanic which often lets us down. If the developers spent so much time creating a badass weapon for the boss, then why can we not just use it too?
Fetch and Carry quests
RPGs love making us run around like complete morons, and the bigger the world, the bigger the great trek. So you have just picked up 4 quests which see you venturing to the other side of the map to kill 25 chickens, help a lady farm carrot, collect water, and deliver a letter.
Its only takes you 2 hours to get all this done, and half of that is getting to the location. You now get back to turn all the quests in and get told that you need to head back to the area which you came, to collect even more water.
You now enter your quest tab and quietly abandon the quest and never talk about it again.
WoW, enough said
What game mechanics are you just tired of dealing with? Let us know in the comments and forum.
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