A Horrible Indie Dev Attempt at a Game Mechanics Database

[Siren2011]

First off, none of this crap is even categorized and divided to belong within their respective genres (though genre crossovers are possible with certain mechanics, but that doesn't excuse the lack of organization). Instead they just clump all the indie games together with no borders between them. Just thinking about it makes my head spin. The shmup mechanics list that you guys made years back, however, is actually useful, neat and interesting.

http://www.squidi.net/three/entry.php?id=109

He's basically describing the "mechanic" roughly as Xbox 360 achievement points, but for MMOs. The only difference here being that achievement points for Xbox games are pointless, but while these are not only dumb, they can be used to increase your healing speed, the number of experience points you take in, or whatever. Shit like that. So unlocking a door can extend your magica bar. WTF?? Hardly something that is even worth mentioning when giving a comprehensive list of game mechanics, no? And sure as fuck doesn't deserve all the pretentious, long winded wording he uses to describe it. All it takes is a couple of lines or so, as demonstrated above (and in the shmup mechanics list).

Have a look for yourselves. It's just a mess. Happy headaches.
http://www.squidi.net/three/index.php

Truth be told, experience points are one of the great gaming mechanics.

A load of bologna, right there. Almost every time experience points are featured in a game, it's usually to mask the fact that the designers did not know how to or just chose not to implement fighting moves that require the player's skill to utilize to his advantage. Experience points do the exact opposite, by shifting power further towards automatic play, rather than player input and dexterity being the driving force of successful play. Kingdom Hearts is a good example of this, in that you are pressing one button through the whole fucking game to attack, but the bosses keep getting tougher. So to combat this, the designers chose NOT to implement a better system, but instead opted to raise the percentage of damage you can deal through pressing this one button ad nauseum to kill enemies for experience points.

It's very obvious that these "scholars" have not played anything outside the realm of their own vacuum of games with no influences (see: terrible "abstract" games). They're attempting to re-write the history of video games to suit their warped visions. To call them gamers is to call a rabbit a gladiator.

[louisg]

My biggest problem with indie games is that I don't get the impression that the authors played anything but computer RPGs or maybe FPS games. Computer games in general are all about gaining experience points, buying stuff at shops, leveling up your character (instead of leveling up your player ), quicksave/quickload, and that sort of thing. There was a point in my life where I realized that games for consoles tended to be a lot tighter, more thoughtfully designed, and all-around more professional than the PC and Amiga games I grew up with. I don't think a lot of independent game authors have yet hit that point, which is a shame.

(didn't read the article)

[MadScientist]

The site seems to be one guy throwing up a bunch of ideas for game mechanics that he's thought of. That seems to be the height of it. Yet, the rant in the opening post of this thread appears to be under the impression that the site is intended as some kind of authoritative and exhaustive database of game mechanics created by self-proclaimed scholars/revisionist historians of video games. I don't see that there's anything to really get angry about, but it's the internet and I guess you're not cool unless you're raging against something or someone.

[Siren2011]

...but it's the internet and I guess you're not cool unless you're raging against something or someone.

What? This has nothing to do with "being cool". (As Gaijin Punch said previously, "no one here is cool".) I'm doing what any other normal person would be doing and venting my annoyances with someone who is a bad artist. Even if those mechanics are "self-conceptualized," then he is still making himself open to being ridiculed given the fact that they are really, really dumb ideas that do not make for great games. At least the one's I've read, anyway. What on earth is wrong with that?

If someone wishes to add to the discussion (Like louisg did), then I am more than ok with that. But laming up my thread is rude. Thanks.

[MadScientist]

Sorry, your first post was the one that 'lamed up the thread'. The guy (whether his ideas are any good or not) was in no way trying to create a "Game Mechanics Database" as you state in the title, so the entire premise of the thread was suspect from the start. You completely misconstrued what he was trying to do and then went on a rant about it. Ho hum.

[Siren2011]

Ok, I can't argue against that. But at least I have the balls to admit that my thread was based on my misunderstanding. Which is more than I could say of 90% of the self-righteous assholes who practically live in cyberspace.

Mods, do whatever the hell you want with this thread. I couldn't care less.

[MadScientist]

The guy's site is pretty ugly anyway. You can always laugh at that.

[Drum]

lol

[Udderdude]

The real rage is right in the opening paragraph of the guy's site

This is my attempt to document three hundred different gameplay concepts of my own creation.

Pretty much everything there has been done before in other games. And most of them are crap ideas to begin with.

[ancestral-knowledge]

1) Noone knows what the fuck the term indie stands for. For me it's a fucking excuse like "I know my game fucking sucks but you can't compare it to super mario bros 1 (famicom) because i labeled it indie.".... needless to say that 99% of so-called indie games are way worse than super mario bros 1.

2) The games are horrible.

3) Noone gives a shit about self-thought categorizations of game mechanics that a grade schooler made.

4) Mechanics alone are pretty useless. Noone gives a damn who was the first company that invented a thing called "the force" which could be attached to your spaceship. Everyone remembers the games were it was done right though.


the site is good for a laugh ...

[Drum]

4) Mechanics alone are pretty useless. Noone gives a damn who was the first company that invented a thing called "the force" which could be attached to your spaceship. Everyone remembers the games were it was done right though.

Speak for yourself. I give an assload of damns about that stuff. I'd love a serious attempt at a game mechanic db. I'd contribute.

[Siren2011]

4) Mechanics alone are pretty useless. Noone gives a damn who was the first company that invented a thing called "the force" which could be attached to your spaceship. Everyone remembers the games were it was done right though.

You're joking, right? *blinks twice*

I've sat for hours looking at the shmup mechanics list having a great time remembering which game had what, and which I haven't seen before. Stuff like that is interesting.

[ancestral-knowledge]

Don't take this too serious .

But yes, i think game mechanics as for themselves are rather not interesting. I don't really care what was the first vertical shmup or the first danmaku. I understand that there are many people in this forum that are obsessed with mechanics but i find these discussions very boring. I don't care about scoring so maybe this is why i don't care about mechanics too much. Let's face it: This is a forum where people read 120 pages long threads about a scoring mechanism in some shmups like Ketsui or ESPGaluda 2 just in order to raise a number in the upper right corner... that's pretty autistic if you ask me (No offense intended here, i'm pretty autistic myself). The game has to be good. I don't like complex scoring mechanisms for the sake of themselves.

However I do think a mechanic database would be good to find some games of a genre/ mechanic you really like.

[FIL]

The author of the site seems to not know whether they're categorising mechanics, aesthetics or even genres.