Pet Peeves?

[mhwombat]

I'm a new member, although I've been lurking for a while. I hope I've posted this message in the right place.

I am developing a commercial game that will be released in less common languages such as Irish, Welsh, and Euskara. I want to make the highest-quality game I can, so I've been playing games trying to figure out what works well and what doesn't. Based on my own pet peeves, I've drawn up a list of guidelines I want to follow in designing my game. But it would really help me to hear from others about what they like and don't like in games.

So, does anyone have any comments on my...


Game Design Guidelines

Before the game starts, tell users how to interact with objects in the game. To use an object, do you click and drag it to where you want it, or click on it and then click where you want to use it, or...?

Give users something very simple to do first, so they can be sure they understand how to use/combine objects in your game.

Don't make users go "pixel hunting".

The cursor should change to let users know they are over an object they can interact with.

Figuring out what needs to be done is fun (e.g. I can "saw" the rope using the edge of the key...). Working out the mechanics of your user interface (...but only if I click on the right pixel) isn't fun.

Don't make the user start over after a mistake, or backtrack excessively. Users want a mental challenge, not a test of their patience.

Everything the user has to do should be somewhat logical. (I played one game where clicking on a cat made the computer work. I'm still trying to figure out that one.)

Don't make users have to do things twice unless there's some logical reason. Having to "talk" to someone more than once to get the right information is OK; that happens in the real world too. But having the phone work only after you've clicked on it eleven times is just silly.

Don't assume the user has the speakers on. A game should be playable with the audio turned off. But at the very least, tell the user if the game requires sound.

[smjjames]

Don't assume the user has the speakers on. A game should be playable with the audio turned off. But at the very least, tell the user if the game requires sound.

This is ESPECIALLY important for hard of hearing and deaf ppl. I hate it when games use spoken speech and don't have text. Most of the time there is text, but still, there are games that don't have text for the speech.

[rosiemay05]

This is ESPECIALLY important for hard of hearing and deaf ppl. I hate it when games use spoken speech and don't have text. Most of the time there is text, but still, there are games that don't have text for the speech.
i agree, bcoz i wear hearing aids myself i find it easier if the game has text as sometimes the person may not hear the instructions or clues etc clearly enough,
well good luck with the game:clover: , im sure it will go well. ;)

[Raiden Author]

make it fun make the ending good

i palyed a recent game where the games ending was u find the box and it was empty and that got me mad so plz i beg u make a good ending

[CovLad4Life]

This is ESPECIALLY important for hard of hearing and deaf ppl. I hate it when games use spoken speech and don't have text. Most of the time there is text, but still, there are games that don't have text for the speech.

I am deaf completely so i use a bionic implant so i can hear but im still hard of hearing so i am anoyed with games with no text :(

btw how do u do spoiler tabs??? :evil: = me :D

[Raiden Author]

person above me i wish i new cause im confused also....

[Unregistered]

Everything the user has to do should be somewhat logical. (I played one game where clicking on a cat made the computer work. I'm still trying to figure out that one.)
.

That was a play on words - you use a MOUSE to make the computer work so in this case, they used a CAT - get it?

Anyhow, good luck on the game design.

For a reasonably good and simple game design, check out "The Dead Case" - if you want to see/examine - you select the eye - if you want to use something - you select the hand icon - the interactions with the other characters are through speech (text)

Another one is the recently posted French Canadian "Fair Ground of Mysteries"- I found that I could solve the puzzles through common sense and logic without the need to speak or understand French - if you check out the thread though there are lots of people complaining about it being in French, but honestly, the game could be played completely without speech but so many people are playing games using walkthroughs that they've forgotten how to think

[TheCuban03]

Another one is the recently posted French Canadian "Fair Ground of Mysteries"- I found that I could solve the puzzles through common sense and logic without the need to speak or understand French - if you check out the thread though there are lots of people complaining about it being in French, but honestly, the game could be played completely without speech but so many people are playing games using walkthroughs that they've forgotten how to think
Speak for yourself, as far as how easy something is to get through, you don't know how others think, so portraying them as using the forum to get through because they don't know how to think is an unfair statement and not very appropriate.

On topic now, I tend to prefer the games where you click and drag an item to where you need to use it. Also, I respect the people who may be deaf or hard of hearing, I understand it is frustrating when they can't hear what people say and agree that subtitles are in order to satisfy those needs, however I myself do not have a hearing disability and subtitles tend to bother me. Therefore I would suggest having an option to turn on or turn off subtitles.

[smjjames]

unless you use chat bubbles, which is a common way of doing it.

[rosiemay05]

make it fun make the ending good

i palyed a recent game where the games ending was u find the box and it was empty and that got me mad so plz i beg u make a good ending

I know what you mean, it is so, annoying when you have spent ages and ages trying to figure out how to escape and when you finally do its a stupid ending. when game makers create games , they should make the ending as good as the actual game.

I am deaf completely so i use a bionic implant so i can hear but im still hard of hearing so i am anoyed with games with no text :(

btw how do u do spoiler tabs??? :evil: = me :D

To do spoiler tags you can
just press the square speech bubble that has a ? on it when you post a reply, or when you a doing a quick reply just type [ SPOILER=""] wot you want to type [ /SPOILER ]