Insider - 10 bits of good game design from 2017 (Patreon)

So, every year I do a video in December where I highlight some cool bits and bobs from the year’s games. In 2015 I looked at bits of good game design, in 2016 I looked at innovative ideas, and for 2017 I shifted gears and did a video about 5 cool levels from the past 12 months. 

However, I did initially plan to make this year’s video be about design, mechanics, and innovative ideas and so did plenty of research and thinking on that subject. And so, in this insider post, I want to share a big ol’ list of things that might have made it into that video. 

Starting with...

Interactive audio diaries in Tacoma

If you’ve played a game in the last 10 years, you’ll have heard an audio diary. In a game like Bioshock, the citizens of Rapture apparently recorded their thoughts on cassette tapes and then scattered them all about - leaving you to find and listen to them, and maybe a learn a thing or two about life in an underwater dystopia.

They’re cool, but they’ve also become a bit cliche, which is why it was rad to see a fresh take on the concept in Tacoma (from Gone Home creator Fullbright).

In this game, audio diaries come alive with holographic projections of the spaceship’s crew. These old conversations are played out in front of you, as brightly coloured ghosts walk and talk their way around the environment. You’ll easily recognise characters by their colour and body shape, which makes tracking the game’s six-or-so characters effortless.

The conversations will often break off, leaving you to follow just one or two characters into a room - only to rewind the whole scenario with a touch of a button, and then follow a different set of characters into a different space. There are other ways to play with the projections too, that you can discover for yourself.

It’s a really interesting way of doing the whole “forensic storytelling” thing that games do so well. Definitely one to check out.

AI that learns from you in Echo

Echo, from a team of ex Hitman developers, is a freaky sci-fi stealth game where you’ll have to think very carefully about every action you perform.

That’s because your enemies are all clones of you, who watch what you do and learn from it. So if you kill your enemies by shooting them, don’t be surprised to see your enemies start carrying guns in the near future. They’ll watch and copy the way you move, kill, use the environment, and finish challenges.

It’s got a good and clearly definied system for all this. When the lights are on, the clones watch and record your actions. Then the lights dim, and you’re no longer being watched so you can use whatever tactics you like without repercussions. Then the lights snap off, and come back on - and the clones can now do whatever you did in the previous session.

It’s a creepy and uncomfortable set-up, but it really makes you think about your every move and lead to some truly tense moments for me. Not an easy recommendation (it’s got a ridiculously long and self-indulgent intro, and the game gets a bit samey) but it’s definitely an intriguing game.

The Plug-in Chip system in Nier Automata

Nier Automata has a system where you can attach chips to boost things like your health, or your attack power. And you can only install a limited number of them. Which isn’t too different to systems with badges, rings, and gems in other games.

But what makes Nier really cool is that the chips also do things like show your health bar, the mini-map, enemy health bars, and information on your current objective. And you can pull these chips out, and replace them with chips that improve your attack or hacking abilities.

It’s an interesting twist on things. You’ve probably seen games where people (i.e. “me!” suggest you turn off the HUD or remove the objective markers. Nier encourages and rewards this practice, giving you some combat advantages if you give up some of the hand-holdy information on screen.

Just… don’t pull out the OS chip. That’s an android’s central system and yanking it out is not a good idea…

Adaptation in Shadow of War

Shadow of War added some clever new wrinkles to the awesome Nemesis System from Shadow of Mordor. One of the best is a new adaptation system, where cheeky Orc baddies can develop new behaviours to deal with players who abuse certain tactics.

Here’s how it worked for me. I came across a big ugly brute with a massive great shield. I started leaping over his shield and stabbing him in the back, over and over again, as I whittled down his health. But then, the blighter adapted! He was onto my whole shield-leaping game and would knock me back whenever I tried to bounce over his bonce!

In the end I had to come up with a new idea on the fly. I exploited some environmental stuff like exploding barrels, and used Shadow of War’s Vanquish-esque sliding mechanic to whizz past this brute and launch an arrow into his pimpled buttocks. Score!

This was a great way to deal with a dominant strategy and created a really surprising and memorable moment.

The cargo plane in Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds

There’s lots to love about PUBG, but the plane is such a simple little idea that has a big impact on how the game feels.

So, in this 100-person free-for-all shooter, you start every match on a cargo plane that flies across the map in a random direction and bearing. At any point, you can jump out and then parachute down to the ground before you start playing.

This gives every game a really bombastic beginning, it solves a lot of problems with spawn points, it adds some extra tactics into how you begin the match (jump soon and get a head-start, or wait it out and land where it will be a bit quieter?), and it lets you survey the area where you’re about to begin from a huge birds-eye view. Nicely done.

Alex Wiltshire’s got an article on the subject, with thoughts from Playerunknown, right here. 

The Gloo gun in Prey

Man, Prey’s got tonnes of great design. Turning into a banana. The mimics. The spiral weapon wheel. The interconnected design of Talos-1. I should have done a video on this game…

And then there’s the Gloo gun! This is a really clever multi-purpose weapon that is super duper versatile. I mean, you can use it to freeze enemies in place. To temporarily fix faulty electrical wires. To create defensive walls. And to build crazy staircases that let you futz with the level design and basically go anywhere you want.

It’s a real embodiment of the immersive sim philosophy in a single weapon, and almost as cool as the gravity gun from Half Life 2. Rock on, you strange gunk-spewing cannon. 

Unfinished maps in Hollow Knight

The fabulous Metroidvania Hollow Knight does some clever stuff with maps. When you first enter an area, you won’t have a map at all. You’ll be wandering around in the dark, not knowing what’s in front of you and having to create a mental map of where you’ve been.

When you finally get the area’s map, from a bug dude called Cornifer, it’s a hasty incomplete sketch with some suggestions of places you might want to check out. It’s only when you next save that it starts filling in the map properly with a record of where you’ve explored.

Oh, and to see where you are on the map you need to buy and equip a special compass badge. Maybe, like the chips in Nier Automata, you’ll skip it, do your navigation in your head, and use the spare badge slot for something else?

All in all, this system creates a really nice mix of letting you feel lost and alone, like a really classic Metroidvania. And then giving you more help and guidance like a more modern take on the genre. Top notch.

Ki Pulse in Nioh

It’s been described as Nioh’s take on Bloodborne’s rally system. Basically, after you perform an attack you can hit the stance button to do a Ki Pulse and restore some Ki (stamina, essentially). If you really nail the timing, you can get back loads of stamina.

This adds a huge extra skill for advanced players to learn. With deft use of the Ki Pulse you can keep combos going for ages as you instantly restore your stamina between big hits. But on the downside, losing stamina sucks way harder than in Dark Souls - in Nioh, you can’t do jack when you’re knackered so relying too much on Ki Pulses is a big risk.

Anyway, I suck at this game so just go watch Turbo Button’s video for more. 

Zero-gravity locomotion in Lone Echo

Developers still haven’t nailed locomotion in VR. Teleportation’s goofy. Normal movement makes my tummy go wobbly. Some of the best games just glue you to the spot.

But Lone Echo did a bang up job… by getting rid of gravity. The game takes place in space (in tiny spaceships, big ass space stations, spooky corridors, and on the side of asteroids) and you get about by pushing yourself off walls, by climbing from handhold to handhold, and by using your Iron Man-style boosters.

It makes for a game where simply moving around is a really interesting challenge, that feels amazing. Even if the goals are a bit boring (moving boxes, doing menial chores, solving simple puzzles), you’ll want to do them because moving from place to place feels so much fun.

There’s even a section where you must rocket down a corridor past lasers and moving platforms which is so goofy and game-y but it was lots of fun and I’d love to see the idea expanded upon in the future. 

Making GIFs in Opus Magnum

Opus Magnum - the latest problem-solving puzzler from Spacechem developer Zachtronics, is all about personal solutions. Your ramshackle operation for creating airship fuel is going to look completely different to your pal’s - especially if you were chasing optimised code and they were more interested in constructing a machine with a tiny footprint.

So, naturally, you’ll want to share your creations and the game’s easy peasy GIF maker makes it effortless to record your solution and then pop it on Twitter for all to see. 

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So there we go! There’s more I could talk about. I heard lots of good stuff about Pyre’s liberation system, so I obviously need to go back to that game. Same with Hellblade, which apparently does really clever stuff with sound a little later into the game. I could also talk about Mario’s cap or loads of stuff in Zelda but I covered them in their own videos. 

So please leave your ideas in the comments below. And now, it's time to start cataloging ideas for 2018's video!