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1. Callum
   Member

   Hey dudes,

   I've got an interview comming up, its not a programming role which is a bit of a bummer, but at the moment I'll take anything I can get! Even design!

   So, I've been analysing the few titles ive been able to play recently and the one thing im really struggling with creativly is the following question:

   What would you remove in order to make the game better?

   So far, my only answer is for china town wars on the DS...I would remove the random cop chases that happen occasionally because they turn out to be more annoying than anything else, and they dont help to immerse the player at all.

   You guys got any ideas? What would you remove from your favourite title in order to make it better?

   Go nuts :) prehaps you'll spark some inspiration in my currently dead brain!

   Posted 2 years ago #

2. DeSpiritusBellum
   Member

   It's a design job? And does it have to be Chinatown Wars?

   I think you should make your answer as extensive as possible. It's my experience with interviews that they love getting more than they bargained for in their advertisement. It's also a good way to show initiative.

   Don't overdo it, just give them a few quick suggestions to make the game better. Don't just stick to removing stuff. See if something can be fixed, or possibly done a different way. Preferably something that'll add immediate quality to the game at little cost.

   It's all about being analytical and concise in a job like that.

   Posted 2 years ago #

3. Callum
   Member

   Aye good points there. Im trying to have an answer to most questions for as many games as I can, its just the question " what would you remove to make a game better" is really kicking me in the balls!

   Also...typo in the topic...I'm such a forum noob! lol.

   And no it doesnt have to be china town wars, it can be any game! It's just the only game I can think of that has something where, if you removed it, it would instantly be a better / more playable game.

   Apparently its quite a popular interview question, I can see why because it really makes you think!

   Posted 2 years ago #

4. Aimless
   Member

   Get rid of the collectible Thermoses in Alan Wake. Unlike the manuscript pages they serve no narrative purpose, they're just a thing to find for finding's sake. If anything they work against the flow of the game, of the plot, as you're encouraged to root around for glowing coffee receptacles rather than adhere to the sense of urgency the game tries so hard to instil.

   A compromise would be to have them only activate once you've finished the game at least once, thus acting as an encouragement for scouring the environment when the narrative isn't fresh and thus not as important. However, the manuscript pages already serve as a similar incentive making the former rather redundant in any case.

   The question's easier than you think, to be honest. Just take anything that annoyed you whilst playing a game — an enemy, a recurring sound, an element of the UI — and get rid of it. Now think about the function it served and how that is either unimportant or could be handled more elegantly.

   Posted 2 years ago #

5. DSB
   Member

   Gratuitous vehicle sections, in non-vehicle-based games.

   If you look at pretty much any game trying to squeeze in a bit of gratuitous vehicle play, whether it's Mass Effect or War for Cybertron (Haven't played the latter, I've just heard the vehicle sections violently critisized) doing two widely different styles of gameplay just never works out. It seems to me like the work involved is way too much for any regular studio to do well, and if you have a solid gameplay idea to begin with, why would you venture away from that?

   Is it really worth polluting a game that's 80% perfectly balanced with a 20% vehicle section that's only going to make it seem more amateurish?

   I'd use Arkham Asylum as a case for how good a game can be when you stick to the fundamentals instead of useless vehicle sections. Everybody knows Batman has a car, a plane and a boat, but Rocksteady didn't take the bait. Instead they made a solid game that existed within it's very own definition of gameplay, without polluting it with lackluster vehicle sections, just so they could put that on box.

   If you really really need a vehicle chase scene of some sort, you can either go the route of some shooters and make it all scripted (with the protagonist shooting rather than driving) which lets you define all the parameters of the drive itself without making an actual metagame, or you can use a little cutscene.

   I'm not a fan of cutscenes, but they are an easy way of jumping the narrative a bit.

   Posted 2 years ago #

6. Callum
   Member

   Wicked points guys. DSB I agree completely...I would also add the increased development costs must be astronomical to get stuff like that working and de bugged..and what for? A second rate side show that no one remembers ?

   Ok Aimless, I've not played Alan Wake, but collectables for the sake of it are a massive hate of mine! I think Crackdown did the green orbs perfectly. The reward of making you jump higher and be able to find more orbs was just enough to make me take time out of the actual story to find them. I think similarily, those poxing fucking herbs in red dead redemption were completely pointless aswell? I think you could sell them prehaps...but I don't recall doing so. I'd cut that out straight away!

   Cheers guys, this stuff is really helping :) keep it comming!

   Posted 2 years ago #

7. Gekidami
   Member

   Who is Jon? And why is he being preped for an interview?

   :P

   Posted 2 years ago #

8. Callum
   Member

   Damn you Geki. You KNOW the 'b' is soo so close to the 'n' on the keyboard!!!

   Thanks for the advice loser face.

   Posted 2 years ago #

9. Christopher Jack
   Member

   Well now i knew what you were talking about with the title, Jon confused the hell outa me :P

   Posted 2 years ago #

10. mington
    Member

    Wear a suit jacket to your interview as standard, but when you get into the interview room, take it off and place it over the back of you chair before sitting down.......yeah, you own that shit!

    Posted 2 years ago #

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