Lazy Design

     I understand making a game is hard, but you seriously cannot cut corners during the process. It's called being lazy. Granted, laziness might have actually invented a few things (i.e. the TV remote), but so far it hasn't helped game design. From what I have seen, there are several ways a game can be lazily designed, and when it happens, the player's experience is dwindled down to absolute boredom from lack of engagement.

      Ever notice how a mob looks just like another mob, just purple instead of red? This is what we call a “palette swap.” The model isn't changed except for the color textures. In some games this is acceptable due to limitations, but the majority of companies can do better. They can have a different model built for the enemy, even if it looks a little similar. Giving them attack variety helps as well. Maybe make them do something crazy such as wield two weapons and attack twice as fast.

      Another example of being lazy is repeating boss fights. Sure, your typical first boss might go across the screen a few times, fall down, take a hit, then repeat the same mistake two more times before it dies, but this better not happen again. When it happens again with a very slight difference in tactics, it just becomes boring. You can kill that guy with a glazed over look on your face. You could probably beat him up with your eyes shut! Bioshock Infinite did something like this with a boss. They have you fight a spirit who sends waves of enemies after you and periodically attacks you herself. They have her show up once, and again, and once more. If her tactics were a lot more varied between encounters (or you only had to fight her once), she would be a good boss. However, she is remembered for the wrong reasons.

      Does that level look a little familiar? It has a night filter so that it takes place at night as opposed to the day? That is a level repeat. Keeping with the theme of the world is fine, but making it look virtually the exact same with a moon instead of a sun isn't viable. Just level repeating in general gets annoying. I noticed in One Finger Death Punch the scenery changes and the game modes have some variety, but there are a ton of Mob Rounds and too many levels to progress through. It is at this point I just want it to be over with.

      How about those mobs that die in one hit? You aren't necessarily overpowered. The AI just sucks. Terribly. They have bad accuracy, run straight for you, and take too long to aim. These enemies provide virtually no entertainment other than free potshots left and right. That gets old after five or so minutes. Don't be afraid to make the player have to change their strategy to win a fight. 

 

      Music? Yes, even music can be lazily done. Just look at the Rambo game that recently released. There is a part where this epic flourish of music comes in, then fades out only to repeat itself on an endless loop. Feels like the developers found an mp3 file with a nice part, ripped it out, then slapped it into the game with little though given. 

 

      Story? Even the story can suffer. In some cases, having a careless narrative hardly affects the game, especially if it is in a genre with very little emphasis on story. Story behind Pac-Man? Beats me. He munches on dot shaped crackers until he runs across a Power Pellet (a.k.a. Jawbreakers), then sends those ghosts back to hell? No clear narrative, but no one cares. It worked for that game. As for other games that try to rush the story or fail to explain certain events, those are the lazy narratives. Rushing a story might make sense in an action game where you need to know what is happening quick so you can jump back in the gameplay, but skipping critical details leaves the player lost. Best bet is to make the story simple and easy to convey. If it is meant to be deep and emotional, take things slow and carefully explain everything. Spewing out random words with no coherent meaning makes no sense and hoping the player will figure it out later doesn't help matters.

      Developers get lazy from time to time because either the game they are working on has a short window of time before it gets released or the employees might be working on a game they really dislike. It might be their job, but they're mostly artists. Artists are just naturally lazy and need a schedule to keep up their work. Even I get lazy and procrastinate with stuff I don't like doing such as making this model chair. As of writing, I have blueprints, but no actual model standing yet. Which reminds me, I should get to work on that... tomorrow.