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I was recently discussing Farcry 2 with some friends and how cool the fire spread system was - And how it essentially was never used again after that title.

Is there a cool feature or mechanic you've seen in a game and hope to see more of?

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[-] gwl 9 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Fun fact: some mechanics never came back cause they got copyrighted and the studio with the copyright went "no, we're not doing that kind of game anymore" and as soon as anyone goes "okay, can we try?" they sue them into oblivion for copyright infringement

[-] JackbyDev@programming.dev 1 points 1 day ago

You mean patent. You don't choose to copyright things or not, all media is inherently copyrighted. This comment is technically copyrighted once I hit send. It sounds like your referring to Shadow of Mordor's/War's Nemesis system being patented.

[-] gwl 1 points 1 day ago
[-] JackbyDev@programming.dev 2 points 1 day ago

Copyright infringement, trademark infringement, and patent infringement are all very different.

[-] gwl 1 points 1 day ago

Cool, but the difference doesn't matter for this context, the result is the same

[-] JackbyDev@programming.dev 1 points 1 day ago

The difference does matter. Two copyrighted games can have similar mechanics. Just look at literally any pair of games in the same genre. First person shooting isn't patented, so anybody can make an FPS game. They patented the nemesis system. Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War are copyrighted.

[-] gwl 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Cool. The result is the same.

To put it simply. I do not care

[-] JackbyDev@programming.dev 1 points 23 hours ago

It's a common misconception. It's not a big deal. Why are you being so defensive about me correcting it?

[-] gwl 1 points 13 hours ago

Vibes across as mansplaining, it didn't add anything to the context

[-] JackbyDev@programming.dev 2 points 13 hours ago
[-] gwl 1 points 2 hours ago

The term has the meaning now of "pointlessly explaining something in a way that's intentionally trying to be detracting of the other party, like a stereotype of a man would do", rather than being locked into gender

[-] gwl 8 points 2 days ago

Did you know Shadows of Mordor copyrighted the Nemesis System and then proceeded to never use it in any other games ever again despite people calling out for it?

That's one I'd like to see

[-] JackbyDev@programming.dev 1 points 1 day ago

Patented, not copyrighted, but I think you double posted.

[-] gwl 1 points 1 day ago

Nah, they're different comments

[-] PeriodicallyPedantic@lemmy.ca 9 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

I really want to see a god game with gestures, like black&white, make the jump to VR

[-] gwl 2 points 2 days ago

I've tried some indie attempts at it, all either so buggy as to be unplayable, terrible controls, or both

Maybe one day there'll be a good one

[-] sturmblast@lemmy.world 30 points 2 days ago

Mods and self hosted servers

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[-] Katana314@lemmy.world 9 points 2 days ago

Take a look at Half-Life 2's old Face Poser software. I feel like you don't see that sort of action-level control much anymore.

Indie studios are evading the need for lipsync entirely, by making simple models, giving people masks, putting them on radio overlays, etc. AAA studios are overengineering it, putting a $4,000,000 actor in a motion capture suit for each of their cutscenes to capture every fine detail as they stare in wonder at the white ping-pong ball in the studio with the sign written; "LOOK HERE".

Face Poser was a good median; it's where the director gets control, but you don't need a vast technical setup beyond animations, some vowel extraction, and some basic know-how. It means that if the director wants to add a criticism "No, character B should give a dubious, unsure look when character A says that", it's something they can apply directly rather than ask the animators to do by hand.

For some reference, old machinima like Clear Skies, or my own "AS" made use of Face Poser.

[-] Lamplighter@lemmy.world 8 points 2 days ago

The scrolling health bar in Eartbound/Mother

[-] PeriodicallyPedantic@lemmy.ca 6 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Vehicle combat games. Which I guess is more like a genre than a mechanic.

Right now it's basically Mariokart or nothing.

Grip came out in 2018, but the physics were really unforgiving (clipping a corner could cost you like 10 seconds as you tumble) and there weren't enough players online.
Which is a real shame because it's gorgeous, fast paced, with effective power ups, and amazing tracks. And a hell of a sound track.

[-] bert_brause@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago

My friend made this top down racing game with guns. It's free to play in the epic store: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/auto-drive-c2db17

[-] orochi02@feddit.org 2 points 1 day ago

Tf2 nemesis System in pvp shooters

[-] Danitos@reddthat.com 52 points 3 days ago

Fun unlockables by doing some cheat.

Imagine telling a FIFA player that you used to be able to have a dog as referee by doing the Konami code. And it was not behind a fucking paywall.

International Super Star Soccer for SNES had this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYaHPm-yDl8&t=63

[-] commanderschlepper@lemmy.zip 21 points 3 days ago

Dude I miss unlocking fighting game characters. Now they're all purchaseable... Like you literally can't just earn them from beating the arcade mode - that is if the game has an arcade mode to begin with these days

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[-] Aussiemandeus@aussie.zone 4 points 2 days ago

I miss cheats too, I remember my friend at school had cheat codes for gta vice city and I copied them down and took it home.

[-] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 5 points 2 days ago

randomization of stats, on weapons and gear. i feel like that adds interesting elements, diablo 2 for example.

[-] groet@feddit.org 3 points 2 days ago

But that is also the worst part of boarderlands

[-] GenosseFlosse@feddit.org 6 points 2 days ago

Destructible environments like in silent storm. You could remove walls and floors with grenades or mines. Unfortunately it was a bit buggy and slow. Teardown is fun, but it feels like a tech demo.

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[-] EndlessNightmare@reddthat.com 10 points 2 days ago

Horizontal progression. Relatively flat power curve, but you gain more options.

Guild Wars 1 is a really good example of this.

[-] ivanafterall@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago

NFL 2K5 gameplay in a newer football game

Magicka 2 combat in some 3rd/1st person action RPG

[-] slazer2au@lemmy.world 80 points 3 days ago

Nemesis system. But ~~Wanker~~ Warner Bros tossed a patent on it and no one else could use it.

[-] Furbag@lemmy.world 38 points 3 days ago

The nemesis system patents and Namco's loading screen mini game patent are two examples of why game mechanics and features should never be granted an exclusive patent.

Of course Namco's patents expired in 2015 at a time when seamless load screens had become the industry standard.

Who knows what the gaming landscape will look like when people are finally able to get their hands on the nemesis system again?

[-] Atropos@lemmy.world 8 points 2 days ago

I'm currently enjoying a Skyrim playthrough that uses the Nemesis mod. It doesn't have ALL of the features that the shadow series does of course, but I'm really enjoying it!

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[-] gustofwind@lemmy.world 46 points 3 days ago

Split screen coop/multiplayer

Way too many games only let you do multiplayer with one player and have online only coop campaigns

Used to be pretty standard that a guest could play with you online

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[-] B0NK3RS@lemmy.world 56 points 3 days ago

It didn't really take off to begin with but dual screen support like Supreme Commander had with the real-time map overview on the 2nd monitor. It could be a skirmish map or live track map for a racing game, live scoreboard, player status or inventory system.

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[-] rtxn@lemmy.world 40 points 3 days ago

I want to see puzzles that are implemented using the physics engine. And I don't mean "toss the axe in the proper arc to trigger the gate" physics. I mean "stack the bricks on one end of the seesaw to balance it long enough to make the jump to the next platform". Or "use the blue barrels' buoyancy to raise the platform out of the water".

[-] teawrecks@sopuli.xyz 10 points 2 days ago

I think those were mind blowing when I first played hl2, just because real time physics and destruction was novel, but now I think they grind the pacing to a halt. I think they just don't work in an action shooter IMO.

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[-] Aussiemandeus@aussie.zone 4 points 2 days ago

The instant i read farcry 2 i thought of the fire too.

The fire was amazing and gave me interesting ways to burn out enemies in outposts etc.

[-] tatann@lemmy.world 15 points 3 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Tanking with shields (force/kinetic shields in sci-fi games, not physical shields)

I liked when games let you face-tank damage with your shield (like in Mass Effect, before Andromeda where they made shields weak af and even removed shield gating) and not having to care for healing (unless you lose all your shields)

I don't know if it's due to the souls-like trend, but it feels like game developers need to make punitive games nowadays

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this post was submitted on 28 Nov 2025
135 points (100.0% liked)

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