Top 10 Game Design Innovations of 2007

[jromero]

Courtesy of our friends over at Next Gen (http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8302&Itemid=2&limit=1&limitstart=1):


Portal takes the cake.

What else can I say? It reminded me why I design games. It’s simple, it’s beautiful, it’s elegant. All the touches are just right. More than that, it’s innovative, it allowed us to step into a new gamespace, to play with a mechanic that’s never before been done. Who knows if we’ll see this mechanic used again (probably not to this extent) but it doesn’t matter, they pushed the mechanic to the limit. The game itself was just a deep exploration of the mechanic. It gently unfolded all of the ramifications of the rules, ushered the player through a complete examination of the emergent properties of the ruleset and forced them to think in a new way. Thus to me it is the designer’s game of the year and the most refreshing piece of gaming I’ve experienced in a long time.

I can't think of a more deserving game to be listed as number one. What do you guys think?

[Ink Asylum]

The first person to say "Prey did portals first!" gets a Companion Cube suppository.

[51|RandoM]

Another person who thinks portals is what made Portal good. People just can't see the forest for the trees sometimes.

[SPBTooL]

The first person to say "Prey did portals first!" gets a Companion Cube suppository.I think Unreal was the first to use a 2d surface that allowed movement back and forth from one location in 3d space to another without loading.

[Mozain]

Random, I can't tell if you are referring to Ink (Which I don't think is the case) or the article, because the author actually goes on to talk about how the game having portals has nothing to do with why it's number one on his list.

[AeroHudson]

If I were to pick them it would be something like this.

Achievements and Gameplay: Unlocking gameplay function in games (i.e. Mass Effect and Dead Rising) is pretty darn cool and I hope to see more of it in future games.

The Wiimote: I know, technically last year but this was the first full year where we got to see where devs would take it. So far, not bad...not bad at all.

Portal: What he said!

Forge in Halo 3: The ability to play in a game while editing the maps and then sharing those same map variants with friends is just awesome!

Replay Save Functionality in Halo 3: The first time I paused the action and zoomed to anywhere in the replay wowed me beyond belief. Great feature.

Plasmids in Bioshock: This opened up so many different options of taking out baddies that I still haven't tried all of the combinations.

Perks from COD4: Who knew you could have RPGesque tweaks to your character in a FPS and in MP no less?

Puzzle Quest: who knew that a puzzle game coule be so engaging and actually tell you a story?

I can only come up with three that are notable for me. I checked out this list after making up my own and I wasn't too far off from the article. Nice post!

[kid cabelgo]

I like the list a lot, and it really makes me appreciate each item on the list more. The Eve thing intrigued me quite a bit actually. The idea of a game having a lifespan of 30 years or more is such a fascinating concept. The idea of there being a genuine history within the virtual universe is sooo cool.

[Ink Asylum]

Random, I can't tell if you are referring to Ink (Which I don't think is the case) or the article, because the author actually goes on to talk about how the game having portals has nothing to do with why it's number one on his list.

Yeah. Check the actual article. He actually gives them the top spot for hiring the team of students that made Narbacular Drop and giving them the resources to bring their idea to a higher level. The gushing about the Portal mechanic is sort of a secondary award.

As for my post, I'm just tired of people mentioning some game or another that had a portal somewhere, so Portal isn't as innovative as people say.

[Wolvie]

Portal is the best puzzle game ever, and just falls short of getting my GoTY vote. Mass Effect has that. Anyways, Portal rules, that is all.

[51|RandoM]

Plasmids in Bioshock: This opened up so many different options of taking out baddies that I still haven't tried all of the combinations.

It is called alt-fire in every other game.


Perks from COD4: Who knew you could have RPGesque tweaks to your character in a FPS and in MP no less?

Anybody who played BF2.

[51|RandoM]

As for my post, I'm just tired of people mentioning some game or another that had a portal somewhere, so Portal isn't as innovative as people say.

Portal is only innovative if telling a good story is innovative. Sometimes, in this industry, it seems like it might just be.

Add the portal mechanic to an FPS, and code AI that can deal with it and I'll hang an innovation award around your neck. Adding a first-person viewpoint to an ancient puzzle mechanic? Not going to get the award from me.

...and I liked Portal quite a bit, but only for the story elements and art direction.

[Citizen Philip]

I don't remember when, but the RTS mechanics of Company of Heros and Dawn of War need mention.

[J Arcane]

Number 5 is a load of bollocks. EVE is hardly the first game to go through a graphical overhaul in it's lifetime, UO has done it twice, and EQ1 has done it quite a few times at this point.

[Ink Asylum]

Add the portal mechanic to an FPS, and code AI that can deal with it and I'll hang an innovation award around your neck. Adding a first-person viewpoint to an ancient puzzle mechanic? Not going to get the award from me.

Why does it have to be in a shooter to be innovative? Putting it into a first-person perspective is enough for me. There are plenty of 2D mechanics that feel completely different when put into a first-person view, and many that haven't been attempted because of the difficulties in translating the experience effectively.

Look at RTS games. For years and years played in the "floating god" perspective. Making an RTS game work in a first person (or over the shoulder perspective, like Sacrifice) perspective is innovative.

[silv]

What made portal beyond great was the story telling. The portal was just a cool mechanic to make a puzzle game out of.

I'm not saying it wasn't designed extremely well, it was.

However the story is really what drove Portal to be what it is.

[CptTripps]

Making an RTS game work in a first person (or over the shoulder perspective, like Sacrifice) perspective is innovative.

God I loved that game.

[Ink Asylum]

God I loved that game.

Heh. Damn straight. Awesome concept. I loved playing with unit combinations and formations, making myself a moving squad of death.

I never played the multiplayer in that game, though. Didn't know anyone else at the time that had it.

[Voodoo]

Look at RTS games. For years and years played in the "floating god" perspective. Making an RTS game work in a first person (or over the shoulder perspective, like Sacrifice) perspective is innovative.

The Battlezone series is great at doing this. If only other developers had caught onto this concept...

[Baron Samedi]

No Galaxy? List of Fail.

[CptTripps]

Heh. Damn straight. Awesome concept. I loved playing with unit combinations and formations, making myself a moving squad of death.

I never played the multiplayer in that game, though. Didn't know anyone else at the time that had it.

I still have it, and it's still installed :) The online was actually a blast.

[AeroHudson]

It is called alt-fire in every other game.


Anybody who played BF2.

It doesn't mean that these two things aren't innovative. Bioshock really made plasmids front and center more so than any other game. You could mix and match those plasmids in a way that would completely change the way you play through the game. You could focus on being a melee (sp?) specialists with several of the tonics and active plasmids just for one example.

I also think COD4 made perks and the leveling system more of a core part of the MP gameplay than any other title before them. They perfected that model.

Just my 2 cents.

[SPBTooL]

...Look at RTS games. For years and years played in the "floating god" perspective. Making an RTS game work in a first person (or over the shoulder perspective, like Sacrifice) perspective is innovative.Mmmm, Battlezone (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battlezone_%28computer_game%29).

[Varsity]

Replay Save Functionality in Halo 3: The first time I paused the action and zoomed to anywhere in the replay wowed me beyond belief. Great feature.

That's been around since Doom, pal. Welcome to PC gaming.

[nixpayn]

No Galaxy? List of Fail.

I agree. The whole notion of turning the gamer around on a z-axis and then y.. then x... and not letting one be the constant is pretty damn innovative.

[Telefrog]

That's been around since Doom, pal. Welcome to PC gaming.

No. It hasn't. You were never able to detach the camera from your avatar to get a view of the whole battle. You were never able to rewind or pause.

You definitely couldn't take snapshots and film clips and trade them over an integrated system built into the game.

Sorry, your example is not the same. The Halo3 system, for all it's warts, is pretty damn awesome.

[[GH-SC]Ryctor]

Every 6 months a console game regergitates some mechanic that's been around for years and its instantly deemed innovative. Man console gamers seem to have long term memory loss.

[Wolvie]

Add the portal mechanic to an FPS, and code AI that can deal with it and I'll hang an innovation award around your neck. Adding a first-person viewpoint to an ancient puzzle mechanic? Not going to get the award from me.


Ancient puzzle mechanic? Prey is the only other game that did what portal did. Thats a whopping TWO games, and Prey came out only a year or so ago, not so ancient. Also Prey didn't let you decide where the portal was placed, you just walked through them, like glorified doorways. In a sense they were no better then the teleporters in Halo 1.
Portal on the other hand was something different as it let you play with physics and figure out complex puzzles by projecting portals, THATS why it's innovative. Just because someone thought of an idea first doesn't mean someone can't do it better or in an innovative way.

Ryctor;1146035']Every 6 months a console game regergitates some mechanic that's been around for years and its instantly deemed innovative. Man console gamers are fucking stupid.

And your a PC snob. And an asshole to boot.

[Telefrog]

And your a PC snob. And an asshole to boot.

Not to mention that Portal's lead platform is PC anyway. :D

[AeroHudson]

That's been around since Doom, pal. Welcome to PC gaming.

Maybe you haven't checked out the Halo 3 functionality. Being able to pause the action and zoom around the replay in real time is not something that has been done before. You can do this not only with your replays, you can do this with anyone's replay.

Not sure where that rocket came from? Pause the action and zoom around the level to find out. Want to share that replay with all of your friends? Check! DL it to your file share and then send IM's to your crew to have them check it out.

This replay functionality goes way beyond just saving a replay and watching it. It's like no other replay functionality ever for any platform.

[[GH-SC]Ryctor]

And your a PC snob. And an asshole to boot.

I also club baby seals.

Edit ~ I love my 360, but i dont kid myself when I see a game claiming something as "innovative" yet I've seen it a year or 3 ago on the PC.

The COD4 Perks is a perfect example. Fuck Magic Carpet 2 was doing that shit in 95....

[AeroHudson]

I didn't know this was a PC vs. Console innovation game thread? Not sure how it morphed into that. I think everything that has been mentioned so far has taken gaming in general to greater heights. I could give a crap whether it happened on a console or a PC personally.

[Mr.Green]

Ryctor;1146035']Every 6 months a console game regergitates some mechanic that's been around for years and its instantly deemed innovative. Man console gamers are fucking stupid.

You know what I like about Evil Avatar? People like you are a small minority.

[[GH-SC]Ryctor]

You know what I like about Evil Avatar? People like you are a small minority.

I edited my original post for you Cupcake. You can unwad your panties now. :rolleyes:

[Daouzin]

Ryctor;1146070']
Edit ~ I love my 360, but i dont kid myself when I see a game claiming something as "innovative" yet I've seen it a year or 3 ago on the PC.


I dunno, I'm pretty sure fashion designers would consider a new style that is reclaiming a look from 30 years ago, but improved innovative.

Anyway, Portal has more going for it then just it's portal gun.

[bKangy]

You know what I like about Evil Avatar? People like you are a small minority.

He has a point, it's just poorly expressed and concluded badly... loads of people's "omg innovation" favourites have been seen long before on popular PC games.

[[GH-SC]Ryctor]

He has a point, it's just poorly expressed and concluded badly... loads of people's "omg innovation" favourites have been seen long before on popular PC games.

I <3 you too bK

lol

[CptTripps]

I thought this thread might have some good points being made, guess I was wrong.

[[GH-SC]Ryctor]

I thought this thread might have some good points being made, guess I was wrong.

Point - Most game mechanics being deemed "innovative" this year are really really old and have been in many games before.

[51|RandoM]

Crysis has a great new innovation, I'm shocked it isn't on the list.

They call it: "Hand".

With it you can pick up things and throw them, etc., like oh... say... the gravity gun in HL2, but the innovation here is that they don't make you use the hand for every puzzle, it is just an option.

[Ink Asylum]

Crysis has a great new innovation, I'm shocked it isn't on the list.

They call it: "Hand".

With it you can pick up things and throw them, etc., like oh... say... the gravity gun in HL2, but the innovation here is that they don't make you use the hand for every puzzle, it is just an option.

Orange Box killed your dog, right? It's ok. You can tell us.

[51|RandoM]

Orange Box killed your dog, right? It's ok. You can tell us.

Orange Box is great, what are you talking about?

[KingGorilla]

The first person to say "Prey did portals first!" gets a Companion Cube suppository.

Super Mario Bros 2 (Doki DOki Panic) did portals first.

[Mr.Green]

Ryctor;1146094']I edited my original post for you Cupcake. You can unwad your panties now. :rolleyes:

You know the second thing I like most about Evil Avatar? The ignore list feature.

[Ink Asylum]

Orange Box is great, what are you talking about?

It just seems like lately you've just been attacking Portal, TF2, and the Half Life 2 series wherever it's mentioned.

[bKangy]

Ryctor;1146110']I <3 you too bK

lol

:P Sorry, you did kinda flame about 98% of the site readership

[51|RandoM]

It just seems like lately you've just been attacking Portal, TF2, and the Half Life 2 series wherever it's mentioned.

I'm expressing a different opinion. The cake is a lie.

[Varsity]

No. It hasn't. You were never able to detach the camera from your avatar to get a view of the whole battle. You were never able to rewind or pause.

You definitely couldn't take snapshots and film clips and trade them over an integrated system built into the game.

Sorry, your example is not the same. The Halo3 system, for all it's warts, is pretty damn awesome.

Fine then. It's been around since Quake. If that's not true either, it's DEFINITELY existed since Half-Life.

[Citizen Philip]

Ryctor;1146147']Point - Most game mechanics being deemed "innovative" this year are really really old and have been in many games before.

The new criteria for innovative is: cannot be older than yourself by 10 years, and highly financially successful.

[CptTripps]

I'm expressing a different opinion. The cake is a lie.


I can respect that 100% and actually have always valued your opinion Random. You just seem a bit more aggressive in your opinions lately.

[KingGorilla]

Am I the only one who really liked the Weather mechanics in STALKER?

[AeroHudson]

Fine then. It's been around since Quake. If that's not true either, it's DEFINITELY existed since Half-Life.

Uhhhh...false. Go back and really spend a good 30 to 60 minutes with the feature in Halo 3 and you will see that it is very different than what you are referring to. It is truly one of the WOW! features of the game.

[Blog]

Fine then. It's been around since Quake. If that's not true either, it's DEFINITELY existed since Half-Life.I can't speak for the original Quake, but I used to run a Quake II server that recorded the matches and had all the "movement within the playback" features of Halo 3.

Granted, H3 lets anyone record a full-level game while QII would only let the servers do it (players could record too, but it would only include visible elements and objects within line of sight). H3 also supports a pretty sweet sharing system for said files.

I think what some folks are balking at is taking ideas from the days of yore and adding content to said idea then polishing it and calling it innovation. Innovation is a tricky thing to define, and really is a personal thing for each of us.

Are Portal's portals innovative? I say yes, from a first-person perspective creating them is indeed innovative. There have been first-person games before that had stationary portals and others with user-placed teleporters, but Portal improves on all that.

Are Halo 3's recording features innovative? Not in and of itself, but it sure feels like it when you combine it with the in-game file sharing network. More games should have such a seamless way to share user-made content outside of the game play, but still within the game itself.

Are CoD4's perks innovative? No way. Tailoring your digital avatar with custom skills/tools has been a multiplayer staple for years. That's a perfect example of adding a lot of polish to an existing game mechanic.

[Mr.Green]

I'm expressing a different opinion.

Random? Expressing a different opinion? No way!

:p

[KingGorilla]

I don't know what you guys are arguing about. The replay features have been a staple of RTS titles for a long, long time. It is how you learned to play online, you recorded and played back, or download, or shared recordings of games.

[Telefrog]

I don't know what you guys are arguing about. The replay features have been a staple of RTS titles for a long, long time. It is how you learned to play online, you recorded and played back, or download, or shared recordings of games.

1. Not in FPS games.

2. Trading/editing not integrated into the game itself.

Recording and playback in a game isn't innovative per se, but the implementation is damn revolutionary.

[KingGorilla]

I do not see how putting it into the game, to share, is any sort of innovation. It seems to be Bungie's way of getting around Microsoft not having a browser on the system. Going to the company's web page for it was always fun.

And there are tons of Mods available for recording games if you are in a Clan. So it has been done before. Maybe it is just another instance of a company finally catching up to what the community has been doing for itself for years.

[AeroHudson]

Are Halo 3's recording features innovative? Not in and of itself, but it sure feels like it when you combine it with the in-game file sharing network. More games should have such a seamless way to share user-made content outside of the game play, but still within the game itself.


Agreed. To add to that, even though some replay features have been out there, 2 distinct differences / additions are present in in Halo 3. First is being able to freeze the action and / or move to any point on the map while its playing or while it's frozen. Couple that with how the dev team accomplished this and condensed these files into small 2 to 5 MB bits is also innovative in my mind. They are not saving videos they are saving game data and loading it into already existing maps and in game engine.

I would call that innovative from an end user experience and development perspective.

[NationalKato]

Another person who thinks portals is what made Portal good. People just can't see the forest for the trees sometimes.

That's not what I read. Start from the "It gently unfolded..." part of the quote and it appears he's explaining the good design of the game, not just the portals. Anyone can create a portal gun. You're confusing his definition of design.

[Citizen Philip]

You know why there is no attempt to copyright *enter your favorite game mechanic here*, 'cause it has been done to death. It's great you found a new feature you haven't seen before, but not being part of the original (or an earlier version) use of said feature shouldn't effect your ability to enjoy it.

Trying to claim some sort of new relevance, or claim to originality after the fact makes you look dumb. Just enjoy it, appreciate the history of the feature, and perhaps its previous uses (if you care) or STFU and play your game.

I recall this one time, while playing paintball and some geezer tried to get elitist (with his shitty camo, dinky gun and a chest full of pwnd-paint), that he was part of the original 'single-shot' bolt action paintball crowd and we were all playing his sport.

[bapenguin]

It just seems like lately you've just been attacking Portal, TF2, and the Half Life 2 series wherever it's mentioned.

That's Random's "thing"

Goes against the grain just because. Some people call that trollling, he calls it a difference of opinion.

[KingGorilla]

That's Random's "thing"

Goes against the grain just because. Some people call that trollling, he calls it a difference of opinion.

I respect it, but anyone who gets sick of the Zero Point Energy Field Manipulator is just not right in the head.

[Ink Asylum]

That's Random's "thing"

Goes against the grain just because. Some people call that trollling, he calls it a difference of opinion.

I don't think he's trolling. I understand he doesn't like the game. I've just come to expect him to appear whenever someone praises Orange Box or one of its components.

[dbh1973]

I don't think he's trolling. I understand he doesn't like the game. I've just come to expect him to appear whenever someone praises Orange Box or one of its components.

So, Random's lying when he says:

Orange Box is great, what are you talking about?

And anyone who thinks Plasmids are innovative needs to sit down and play some RPGs.

[Xerxes]

Am I the only one who didn't find Portal all that amazing. I mean the game didn't get funny until it was ending. The boss fight didn't even involve a boss dance. I did the same thing over and over again. My absolute joy came with "Still Alive" the ending song. I even put it on my Ipod.

[Ink Asylum]

Am I the only one who didn't find Portal all that amazing. I mean the game didn't get funny until it was ending. The boss fight didn't even involve a boss dance. I did the same thing over and over again. My absolute joy came with "Still Alive" the ending song. I even put it on my Ipod.

Yes. You are the only one.

[Magnanimous Gnome]

Am I the only one who didn't find Portal all that amazing. I mean the game didn't get funny until it was ending. The boss fight didn't even involve a boss dance. I did the same thing over and over again. My absolute joy came with "Still Alive" the ending song. I even put it on my Ipod.

Does anyone know where I can easily find the song for download? I checked Valve's site but didn't see it there. I was hoping they would just have it up somewhere.

[Xerxes]

Does anyone know where I can easily find the song for download? I checked Valve's site but didn't see it there. I was hoping they would just have it up somewhere.

I can't find the exact site I got it from but I seen these on youtube.

DOWNLOAD THE MP3 HERE:
http://rapidshare.com/files/61557794/Jonathan_Coulton__Portal__-_Still_Alive.mp3
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=P56QRZ2I
http://www.destroyed-beauty.com/Portal.mp3

[Magnanimous Gnome]

I can't find the exact site I got it from but I seen these on youtube.

DOWNLOAD THE MP3 HERE:
http://rapidshare.com/files/61557794/Jonathan_Coulton__Portal__-_Still_Alive.mp3
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=P56QRZ2I
http://www.destroyed-beauty.com/Portal.mp3

Thank you!!!!!! :)

[Xerxes]

Thank you!!!!!! :)

This was a triumph.
I'm making a note here: HUGE SUCCESS.
It's hard to overstate my satisfaction.