What game mechanics do you love and hate?
What game mechanics do you love and hate?
I love hearing about unique takes on game mechanics. Someone recently convinced me that limited inventories are kind of abused currently and that unlimited inventory systems would give more player choices.
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I hate not being able to pause a game, particularly a single player game. I think Elite Dangerous solidified my hatred of this, by not telling you the game is still running when you're on the "pause" menu.
"B-B-BU-BUT it's a simulation and you can't pause real life so it makes it more real"
It's a game, even if it's a simulation game. It's a toy for grown-ups. A very nice and fun and relaxing toy, but a toy nonetheless. It's not more important than a phone call, call at the door, crying child, hungry cat, partner who needs a hand with something etc.
This probably extends to being able to save anywhere and rejoin later, but I think that one is covered pretty well by everyone else :)
The problem with Elite Dangerous is that it is basically an online game, even in solo play and they never bothered to figure out a way for solo players to pause.
This is true for all of the examples of this problem that I'm aware of.
It also seems to keep cropping up in janky 3D Unity games, "We can't allow pause because it breaks all the physics".
Soulslikes can't be paused and it has nothing to do with online play. Fromsoft just hates working adults.
I think it probably has something to do with online play, though, since Fromsoft's multiplayer model revolves around invasion. Granted you can turn it off, so obviously there should be a pause option, but I have a vague hunch that the two issues are related from a dev/engineering perspective.