Additions That Changed Gaming As We Know It

Given the fact that you are reading this, I assume you like games. Not the most intellectual remark I made for the day, but it is the thought that counts. Gaming is full of ideas that are continuously being built upon. These additions may not be something revolutionary today, but the first time they popped their head out into our world, everybody stopped in their tracks thinking: “I’ve never seen something like this before.”

Like I said, this may not be something for you to go bonkers about today, but this was once the pinnacle of gaming and all of its pixelated counterparts. We should all thank the developers and their grandmas for their creative ideas that changed the gaming landscape forever. (Please note: Not in any particular order.)

Drum-roll, please. (Unfortunately we are all out of drum-rolls, please add the necessary sound effects manually.)

 

Slow-Motion Gameplay

Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. Slow-motion is great depending on the game you are referring to. Some games have nailed the slow-motion idea perfectly (no innuendo intended), while some games have tried and ultimately failed. The whole idea of slow-motion in games has been tried and tested in various forms. Max Payne, F.E.A.R., TimeShift, Total Overdose, Alan Wake. These are all titles that introduced slow-motion gameplay to the gaming audience, but each of these games did it in a different way. Speaking out of personal experience, I really enjoyed the slow-motion gunplay in F.E.A.R., it introduced a twisted horror story with you possessing super soldier reflexes. Total Overdose made its mark on my gaming wall, not for the semi-open world or the narrative or the graphics, but for the insanely fun gameplay. Alan Wake didn’t have the amount of slow-motion as, let’s say, Max Payne, but the whole dodging in slow motion made it something different and intriguing. Depending on your personal taste, this will either be something groundbreaking or an unnecessary gimmick.

 

Introducing Cooperative Gameplay

Who doesn’t love co-op? Seriously? No one. Full stop. End of story. The gaming industry and its multiplayer component existed primarily out of competitive and pulse pounding gameplay, causing friends to hate each other, which led to stabbing your BFF with the nearest pointy object. Depending on the amount of frustration you experienced at that particularly given moment, your weapon of choice would differ. It ranged from the average everyday kitchen knife to the very keyboard and / or mouse you are playing with, with the occasional controller thrown into the mix, that would end up as the next blood-stained object the court will show in the event of your inevitable conviction. That’s why the good ol’ gaming geniuses added co-op to the mix. To keep us captivated in another way and into a more relaxed gaming mode, we began playing cooperative games and it is something that stuck and I, for one, am extremely thankful. If you would like to be recommended a co-op inspired and fun-filled time, I strongly recommend games such as Trine 1 and 2, Resident Evil 5, Gears of War and Borderlands. You won’t be disappointed.

 

Hypnotizing Art-Styles

“Don’t judge a book by its cover.” It’s one of the most over-used and familiar idioms that have graced our eardrums, and it’s been used over and over for a reason. Some of the most attractive people are capable of wretched doings, while the ordinary people that won’t win any beauty-pageants are the people that make life worth living. All that being said, great looks doesn’t hurt, gaming or otherwise. In gaming, good looks alone won’t define and make it an extraordinary experience. It will change an already great game into something special. It doesn’t have to be super-ultra-awesomely-realistically-looking to make it great. The really memorable experiences come from something we’ve never experienced before. It makes us grateful for the existence of eyeballs. Thinking back to the first time I played Prince of Persia from 2008 and Borderlands, I’m still stunned by what the art people did with those games. By also playing Trine 2 the other day, I was so entranced by those visuals, I wanted to devour my TV, it just looks that great.

 

Open World/Sandbox Games

Prostitutes! Yes, I have your attention, thank you. The Grand Theft Auto series is responsible for popularising open world games, more specifically Grand Theft Auto III. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with games that makes use of a more linear and level based experience. Open world games have given us, the gamers, a huge amount of freedom and control. What’s more fun than running around the humongous city in a bunny suit and battering people with a sexually orientated weapon? The amount of choice in some open world games is staggering and overwhelming, with so much of activities that are of no use to the story. Activities such as these are sometimes fun and perhaps add to the whole open world feeling, for instance, the hunting in Red Dead Redemption. If you’re not a dedicated animal activist, you can run around with your beloved horsey and shoot all the animals that you lay your eyes upon. Please note that when you are doing nothing but killing animals the whole time and skinning them for the mere reason of cold hard cash, with days passing you by, please see a mental physician. Go out there and enjoy all the lovely open world prostitutes… I mean landscapes.

 

Regenerating Health 

Stumbling into the distance, vision getting distorted, desperate, realising you are entering the dark void of death, you stumble over a First Aid Kit. You’re saved! Take all this and add the necessary orgasm-like sound effects that signifies that you’re healing yourself, and we’re talking about old-school gaming goodness. It’s very rare that you find a game nowadays without regenerating health. There has been some debate regarding “regenerative health / healing” and whether it’s good or not. I would love getting hurt in real life and just waiting a few seconds for the pain and red-like vision to go away. No, I don’t want to get hurt. I’m just saying that I… Please stop interrup… I just want to te.. Are you done interrupting me? May I continue? Thank you. What I was trying to tell you is that it would be really nifty if you could heal that quickly from a gunshot wound in real life. You and your friends can play “Real Life Deathmatch”, but without the “death” part. Forget what I said. Regenerating health is nifty and makes the search for med-kits obsolete. Let’s move on, you impatient lunatic. (For future reference: Please do not follow death inspired advice from this person.)

 

Cover-Based Gameplay 

Games that utilise cover as a gameplay mechanic are nothing new, but if you rewind to a kingdom far, far away in 2006, Gears of War made cover-based shooting a darn fun idea. Sure, you ducked behind cover in the past, but Gears of War did it incalculably well. The same kind of cover-based shooting can be seen in lots of third-person shooters, for example, the Uncharted series. Epic Games have done a stupendous job with their take on this widely known and super successful play-style. Get your appendages at the end of your arms on titles such as Gears of War, Uncharted, Vanquish and Red Dead Redemption. You won’t regret it. (I’m not getting paid to promote these titles. I’m just happy to talk about them.)

 

Conclusion

Now it’s your turn to tell me what additions that were added to games, make you all giddy and foment.