10 Resolutions for PC Gaming

[maxster]

Stop with the obnoxious DRM. If people are going to pirate your game, they're going to pirate it. Reward the people who buy your games. Make it more convenient to be a customer than to be a thief.

Don't release games until they're finished. People will forgive you for moving a date back for quality, they don't forgive you for rushing out an unfinished game.

Don't forget that not everyone has brand-new hardware. Make sure your games will work on the hardware that people have today.

Fun trumps graphics. Nintendo is doing well because they remember that games are supposed to be fun. The latest blood spatter particle effect won't beat out a fun game.

Expansion packs should not be glorified patches. This is like #2. If your game does have bugs, fix them in an update, don't charge for them in the form of an expansion pack.

Help Jack Thompson find a real hobby.

Please make a sequel to Planetscape: Torment.

Make better user manuals.

We don't need every movie to have a game tie-in.

Don't make me be on-line to play your game if it's a single player game.
Happy New Year!

 

[CP5670]

Good points, but nobody is going to listen.

 

[TheSlamma]

Nintendo games are fun? I thought it was because people enjoy beating a dead horse. (for what reason I don't know)

 

[fords8]

Nintendo, is aimed for the younger people. OH, and my wife!

 

[tigersty1e]

Keep the prices at 30-40...

What's this $50-60 price tags? We already payed top dollar for our equipment. Didn't Crysis come out at $60? No more!!!

If you make a multiplayer game, make sure you include voice support in-game.

Dont' screw up console ports.

Make sure you offer plenty of graphics options.

 

[EvilComputer92]

New games have always been at $50. Crysis was $50. Only console titles are $60 for some reason.

 

[tigersty1e]

Originally posted by: EvilComputer92
New games have always been at $50. Crysis was $50. Only console titles are $60 for some reason.

I must be a cheapskate because I've only been buying my games at 30-40.

 

[Bateluer]

Originally posted by: maxster


Please make a sequel to Planescape: Torment.

Absolutely not. You can't mess with perfection. If you want an RPG in the Planescape setting, check out Rogue Dao's NWN2 modules.

Originally posted by: EvilComputer92
New games have always been at $50. Crysis was $50. Only console titles are $60 for some reason.

The latest console titles need to offset the cost of R&D on the consoles, plus the cost of licensing.

Development costs are rising for both PCs and consoles though, too many people just want flashy graphics.

 

[jonks]

1900x1200
1680x1050
1440x900
1280x1024
1200x800
1024x768
800x600

That's what I thought this thread was about. oops.

 

[Chriscross3234]

Originally posted by: EvilComputer92
New games have always been at $50. Crysis was $50. Only console titles are $60 for some reason.

Fallout 3, whenever it comes out, is currently going to be released at $59.99 for pc...

 

[Wuzup101]

Originally posted by: sirjonk
1900x1200
1680x1050
1440x900
1280x1024
1200x800
1024x768
800x600

That's what I thought this thread was about. oops.

That's exactly what I thought when I read the title too...

 

[SexyK]

Originally posted by: sirjonk
1900x1200
1680x1050
1440x900
1280x1024
1200x800
1024x768
800x600

That's what I thought this thread was about. oops.

But that's only seven resolutions .

 

[TheVrolok]

Originally posted by: SexyK

Originally posted by: sirjonk
1900x1200
1680x1050
1440x900
1280x1024
1200x800
1024x768
800x600

That's what I thought this thread was about. oops.

But that's only seven resolutions .

I prefer 1920x1080 anyway!

 

[Throckmorton]

I just want freaking EA to start supporting widescreen resoutions

 

[mindcycle]

I agree with the DRM/copy protection thing. I didn't buy a lot of games a year or two ago specifically because they all had starforce CP. Glad that crap CP isn't around much anymore. Or is it?

 

[Thump553]

Your rules are very valid (except I have no idea who Jack Thompson is). Look at Blizzard Entertainment-they pretty much follow these rules and are one of the biggest, most profitable software houses out there-all on the basis of a half-dozen or so great, well crafted games.

 

[potato28]

No more retarded console-ized menus. I have to agree with Thump, Blizzard is one of the only companies to do all of the above. I'd say Valve, but they have Steam as a "successful" form of DRM.

 

[DangerAardvark]

Here's a few from the January Games for Windows that I found apt:

Play something else other than your own game.

Give us honest system requirements.

Hire real writers to write your game's dialogue.

Learn human anatomy from a book other than those from Marvel or DC.

Design a game box that won't make people think I'm a pervert or a moron if they see me with it.

 

[thatolchestnut]

Originally posted by: potato28
No more retarded console-ized menus. I have to agree with Thump, Blizzard is one of the only companies to do all of the above. I'd say Valve, but they have Steam as a "successful" form of DRM.

I love steam. I love the fact that I can register my games online and I dont need to worry about carrying around a damn cdey/cd around with me. I was very happy when I discovered I could download full versions of the games I bought.

 

[Bateluer]

Originally posted by: Thump553
Your rules are very valid (except I have no idea who Jack Thompson is). Look at Blizzard Entertainment-they pretty much follow these rules and are one of the biggest, most profitable software houses out there-all on the basis of a half-dozen or so great, well crafted games.

Jack Thompson

 

[CitizenSnips]

-Don't think having multiplayer excuses you for making a crappy single player mode. If you're not even going to bother to try for a decent campaign, just make a multiplayer-only title. Inversely, if your game has a great campaign, tacking on a crappy and unfinished multiplayer mode doesn't give you replay value either.

-If you really must have a half dozen little intro videos that load before you even get to the game's main menu, make them skippable. I don't need to see the damn Battlewalker every time I boot up Battlefield 2142.

-Don't hide the stupid CD key. Usually they post it on the back cover of the manual or jewel case, but I've had a couple games that make you search for the lousy thing.

-I just paid $50 for a brand new game, either give me a jewel case or a DVD case or something, but those paper and plastic sleeves are NOT adequate storage. Even more annoying when the CD key is printed on them.

-Please don't be like politicians, promising what you'll never be able to deliver. Don't snow us with tales of wondrous new features and gameplay and then half-ass it at the last minute to make a deadline.

-Please forget the stupid deadline if the game isn't ready yet. I'd much rather wait a couple extra months for a game and have it come out more or less finished than buy something buggy and have to wait for a patch. PC game companies seem to fall back on the excuse of "It's a PC game, it can be patched." Patches should NOT be the norm, they should be a last resort. You don't see console games shipping out months early, then releasing a second version later on that fixes what's broken from the original release.

-Special note to Blizzard: I know WoW has made you more money than god, but some of us don't care for MMORPG's and would appreciate Starcraft 2 sometime before Earth crashes into the sun. Ghost would be fun to play as well while we're bundled up in coats from Hell freezing over.

-If your game has overly long loading screens, give us a progress bar of some kind. A little blinking icon or a flashing LOADING macro do not help. I know it's loading, that's why I'm not currently playing, I want to know when I can actually be playing.

-If the game is a console port, spend more than five minutes in bringing it over to the PC. Resident Evil 4, after already coming to Gamecube, PS2, and Wii, was ported to PC, and features no mouse support. The point, where is it?

-Try something new every once in a while. I love WWII shooters as much as the next guy who's been playing them since the original Wolfenstein, but variety is always appreciated. It doesn't have to even be huge, I rather enjoyed Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault, but if everything in your game has been done before there's not much point to making a new title.

 

[Fenixgoon]

Originally posted by: thatolchestnut

Originally posted by: potato28
No more retarded console-ized menus. I have to agree with Thump, Blizzard is one of the only companies to do all of the above. I'd say Valve, but they have Steam as a "successful" form of DRM.

I love steam. I love the fact that I can register my games online and I dont need to worry about carrying around a damn cdey/cd around with me. I was very happy when I discovered I could download full versions of the games I bought.

the only problem is you can't sell your game to anyone.

 

[Borealis7]

i have two of my own:

1) allow me to save the game whenever i want to.

2) (if 1 isnt possible) for the love of all that is holy and righteous: allow me to skip cutscenes and dialogue!

 

[Aikouka]

Originally posted by: maxster
Make better user manuals.

To be honest, I've complained about the brevity or the lack of user manuals, but I pretty much never read them. It's just something we expect anymore. I think the only user manual that I've ever read was the World of Warcraft manual to read the always great background story. I did find it kind of lame that the Orange Box didn't come with a manual for the PC version. Especially since I had no idea what to play as in TF2.