Jeff Cannata - Blog - New Rules: Video Game Edition

Thursday

Jun252009

New Rules: Video Game Edition

Hey game developers! Here are a few rules I wish you'd use when making your next game:

1. Never, under any circumstances, use a countdown timer in your mission. What a cheap, frustrating way to add "urgency." Seriously, you can't think of a more interesting way to challenge me than to put a clock on the screen? Lame.

2. Be smart enough to know when I'm safe to quit. If I literally JUST saved my game and am now exiting to the main menu, don't tell me "Any unsaved progress will be lost." Why isn't the game smart enough to know when I've saved and when I haven't? Any simple word processing program since 1982 has that feature, can't a highly advanced video game system do the same?

3. And while I'm at it: Have a smart checkpoint system! Don't want to just let me save the game anytime I want? Ok, I can live with that. But you'd better not force me to sit through the same cutscene twice, or get back into a car just to drive to where the mission starts, or re-complete any objectives that were part of a mission. Anytime the game updates me on my situation, there should be a checkpoint.

4. Minimize the time between when my character dies and when I can get back to playing. My frustration level is in direct proportion to how long it takes between dying and trying again. Granted, I'm no expert on the intricacies of game programming, but if I've just been running around the Big Library, why does the game have to re-load the Big Library when I restart? Isn't it there all along?

5. Don't ever make me defenseless. I know you're in love with your snazzy rag-doll physics, but please, if something knocks my character back and triggers the rag-doll animation, don't also make him vulnerable to being shot at the same time. I'm so happy I survived the blast that rolled me down the hill, but I'm riddled with bullets from enemies on the way down, completely unable to defend myself. Frustrating!

Have any more rules you'd like to see added to this list? Reply below!

Thursday, June 25, 2009 at 08:00PM

56 Comments

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Reader Comments (56)

A little late to the game, but I'd like to add a rule that nearly EVERY game needs to pay attention to. If you have a "splash screen" with the options to start a new game or load an existing saved game (that covers 99% of the games out there), please give us intelligent selection. If there is an existing save, have the cursor default to "load existing save", if not have it default to "start a new game". Seriously, is this that hard? I can't count the hours I've wasted because I accidentally chose the default of "start a new game" thinking that the game would default to the right choice. Come on developers, it will take an extra three or four lines of code max!!!

August 23, 2009 |

DrSketch

Jeff, I agree with most of your points, but just to let you know the "any unsaved progress will be lost" message is actually a requirement from Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft. Games have a very specific set of rules they must follow in terms of warnings, menu icons and button functionality. (For example, on every PS game "x" accepts and "o" goes back or cancels.) These rules are uniform and consistant between every game, regardless of developer (except for MGS for some reason) and must be followed to the letter or the game will not get approval from the console manufacturer.

I'm sure it would be easy for the developers to ditch the "unsaved progress" menu, but they are not allowed.

And to be fair, most people are idiots at least some of the time. Including myself. One time, despited innumerable repeated warnings throughout the years, I turned off my console while the game was saving. So the constant reminders are there for a reaon, even if we don't need them most of the time.

August 25, 2009 |

Brad

Finally getting around to reading your blog...gotta get it in my RSS feed.

Wanted to comment on number 4. I'm going through this with MASS EFFECT'S F'ING UNSKIPPABLE CUT SCENES!

I had two points that I kept dying only to reload and be forced to watch a 30 second introductory cut scene only to be party wiped in 2 seconds! So annoying!!!! FIX IT BIOWARE!

October 15, 2009 |

T. Ryan

I might not be able to go back to this point whenever I want, but at least if I need to get up and go I can do so without wasting the last 30min of play time.
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December 31, 2009 |

apolonia

Agreed with all your rules except maybe the last one. Why should you be invulnerable to guns if you are rolling down a hill?

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Great post my friend i agree with your words and your rules mainly with this one:Never, under any circumstances, use a countdown timer in your mission, it sure can be good if game developers will follow these simple rules

February 16, 2010 |

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I am really very impressed and I also know the lameness that is the unstoppable cut scene. The save points should be after the cut scene. Also, I don't like RPGs that have the only save point right before you go into the dungeon.
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Every point just had me think of the broken ass game that is LOST PLANET.

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