Desired Trivialities That Games Lack

[Alphizzle]

Greetings C&R Community,

The purpose of this thread is to discuss the small details often desired by gamers from some of their favourite titles. These are trivialities that are often lacking in many games.

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NPC TRIVIALITY: A Sense of Identity:
I tend to notice that NPCs lack a sense of identity, mostly when playing Sandbox and Open World games. Whilst titles such as GTA V attempted to rectify this issue by having NPCs drive from location to location, park their vehicles and get out, the game still failed to communicate a genuine sense of identity. With this being said, I admire the approach taken in Watch Dogs, where a simple phone hack reveals a unique and engaging NPC profile, further enhancing the level of immersion. In addition, I absolutely adore Dishonored's approach, via 'the heart,' which reveals secrets and backstory on all NPCs and Environments. Of course, I cannot raise this point without praising the Nemesis System from Shadow of Mordor, which excels in adding a sense of identity to NPCs.

ENVIRONMENT TRIVIALITY: Shop Fronts:
Once again, this triviality is mostly concerned with Sandbox and Open World games. This is where the majority of environments within the game are closed off to the player. Whilst this is of course due to memory limitations, I look forward to what the future has in store for Sandbox and Open World Games, given that Crackdown 3 looks to lay the blue print such games, via utilising the cloud.


These are two of my desired trivialities in gaming, what are yours?

[Craig]

Dishonesty or just being wrong.

Every rumour the townsfolk speak of always ends up being true, every little detail. It would be interesting to have to track down where a rumour started and if they're trustworthy.

Though I think more recent games I've yet to play are hopefully better at handling this.

Also not counting Castlevania II.

[Joshihatsumitsu]

I do notice the closed off areas in open world games, especially in GTA where the majority of the buildings are essentially boxes that represent buildings rather than being buildings. Of course, like it's been mentioned, technical limitations, so that's an understandable concession.

While I'm struggling to think of an original triviality, some that I've appreciated in games so far would be the way that the Yakuza series includes a lot of real world products in the game. Going to a bar and ordering Suntory Whisky just like you can in real life in Japan... very nice touch. And I when I was in Naha in Okinawa I made a conscious effort to visit Makishi Public Market, which is somewhat recreated in Yakuza 3. It was so interesting being in an environment in the real world that I had only previously experienced in a game.

And the intricate details of the towns and cities in The Persona series. I love the Tanaka's Amazing Commodities, and the music that plays in June's is very reminiscent of the ear-worm music that slowly drives you insane as you go floor to floor in any Yodabashi in Japan.

Both those examples I like, but then I do love Japan, and am counting down the days until next August for my next trip, where I have booked a few nights in Yakushima, a little island I first came across in Persona 3. I can't help but see how it compares.

[Craig]

Yakushima is the one Princess Mononoke is based on, isn't it? Always wanted to visit!

Metal Gear is great for real world products, if somewhat at odds with the time period in 3.

[Joshihatsumitsu]

Yakushima is the one Princess Mononoke is based on, isn't it? Always wanted to visit!

Metal Gear is great for real world products, if somewhat at odds with the time period in 3.

Yep, Yakushima is the very same place. Should either be very humid or raining!

The iPod in MGS 4... I think Japanese made games tend to do details very differently to western developers, though that may be a gross generalisation as I've got no hard evidence go back that up!

[MagicianArcana]

I'm used to playing with inverted camera controls and it's kinda frustrating when games don't give me that option, or only allow me to invert the Y axis. Why only the Y? If only one axis is inverted I get confused.

Also I'd love to see more games that allow the player to add their own music. This is probably something that wouldn't work well with a lot of games though. Especially games that focus on a well-crafted single player experience. But I had a lot of fun making my own playlist for J-Stars on the PS3. My friends and I really liked battling to our favorite video game OSTs and anime openings. It's a feature that I think would be fit for a fair amount of multiplayer games.

[Joshihatsumitsu]

Also I'd love to see more games that allow the player to add their own music. This is probably something that wouldn't work well with a lot of games though. Especially games that focus on a well-crafted single player experience. But I had a lot of fun making my own playlist for J-Stars on the PS3. My friends and I really liked battling to our favorite video game OSTs and anime openings. It's a feature that I think would be fit for a fair amount of multiplayer games.

That just brought back memories of playing NBA 2K5 on the original Xbox, and adding Sonic Youth to my custom soundtrack... my that was a long time ago...

[MagicianArcana]

That just brought back memories of playing NBA 2K5 on the original Xbox, and adding Sonic Youth to my custom soundtrack... my that was a long time ago...

Ah I didn't 2k5 had that. It's a feature I didn't know some games had until I played MLB 09 The Show.

It's so great to have if you're not a big fan of the game's default soundtrack. 09 The Show had maybe 2 songs I liked.

[Flabyo]

On the original Xbox it was an OS level feature. Any game could chose to allow the users own music to play. It made Burnout Takedown way more entertaining.

Over the years the feature has gradually drifted away.

[MagicianArcana]

Oh now that you mention it, I think I remember people talking about how they could add their own music on the Xbox version of GTA San Andreas and wishing I could do the same on my PS2 haha So I figured it was an OS thing and the PS2 just couldn't do it as easily.
I never did buy San Andreas, but it was still a feature I wanted to have on some of my PS2 games. Like Tony Hawk!

[ratsoalbion]

The Xbox had a built in HDD, the PS2 and GC didn't - simple as that when it came to the play your own music feature.

[MagicianArcana]

Ah right that makes sense. I was a Playstation kid at the time, but the built in HDD was something I was jealous of. My PS2 memory cards kept running out of space!

[Joshihatsumitsu]

Desired trivialities... again, something that already exists, but I'd like to see in other games (preferably successfully) is little arbitrary but fun secrets. And the one I'm thinking of particularly is the fully functioning Geometry Wars arcade cabinet in the garage of Project Gotham Racing.

It's ultimately a triviality, but what a fun addition! Mini games within games isn't that rare, but the effort that went into that example as compared to the dismal QUB3D in GTA IV (which I'm being a bit harsh on, but the point still stands) makes all the difference.