Sometimes a game introduces a mechanic that's so good that other people end up using it in their own titles. For example, after the first Gears of War, third-person cover shooting became very popular for a while, and after Grand Theft Auto 3, many games began using open world cities.
But not every great video game feature or mechanic starts a trend. Some games have introduced some very clever ideas that other developers haven't tried to copy for some reason. Below is a list of some that we believe will become industry standards.
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor – Nemesis System
The Nemesis system is one of the most unique features seen in gaming in years. The way it works is that all the enemies you fight in Shadow of Morder are part of a hierarchy. So the standard grunts are at the lowest tier, while the most practical enemies are at the top. But it doesn't stay like this. For example, if a low level grunt can beat you, your rank will increase. Therefore, the hierarchy is constantly changing.
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This adds an extra dimension to every fight. It adds a bit of personality to regular enemies, especially since the bandits you face remember you. It seemed like this system would become much more common when Shadow of Mordor was released, until Warner Bros. patented the mechanism, preventing anyone else from using it.
Red Faction – Destructible Environment
Technologically destructible environments were a trend at one point, partly due to the Red Faction series. As a result, we started seeing this in games like Battlefield: Bad Company and various entries in the series. But that was only a brief trend. This is surprising, as it felt like destructible environments would have become the norm at this point.
After all, it's nice to be able to create holes in walls like in the original Red Faction. But it hasn't caught up the way it should have. Technical limitations are likely to have played a role in this.
Left 4 Dead – AI Director
When you play the campaign in Left 4 Dead, the in-game AI monitors you. If you're doing really well and taking things relatively easy, the game will start sending more zombies your way, including more special infected. This is to keep the work challenging and rewarding.
However, we do not only intervene when things are going well. If you take too long, or if you're manipulating too much and not making progress, the game will send a bunch of you to move. This is a unique type of dynamic difficulty that can work well in similar types of games.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot – Defeat low level enemies without fighting.
One of the most frustrating things about RPGs is that even though you're very high level, you still have to fight low level goons. Yes. Although fights can be easily won, these encounters seem like a waste of time. Some games have considered speeding up the process by giving them the ability to win instantly.
The best version of this is in Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot. The game allows you to rush through low-level enemies and instantly receive rewards for defeating them. There's no need to stop. The game just slows down a bit to show that you've knocked someone down. This really should be a standard feature in RPGs.
Metal Gear Rising is one of the most action-packed games of its generation. This is because it is a game where you control Raiden, a cyborg ninja with excellent swordsmanship. These skills are best revealed when using Blade Mode. This mode gives you the opportunity to slow down time and manually slice through enemies in the direction you want.
This means you can land really accurate attacks and cut off limbs with ease. Afro Samurai had similar mechanics a few years ago, but it was a lesser-known game, so it's no surprise it didn't start the trend. But you would have thought people would have copied the idea from Metal Gear Rising.
Mass Effect – Your Choices Affect the Sequel
The consequences of the decisions you make are usually felt within the same game. However, in Mass Effect, your save data carries over from all three numbered items. So when you play the third game, you could lose your character due to choices you made two games ago.
It's not always implemented perfectly in Mass Effect, but it's a cool mechanic because it gives your decisions more weight. Some titles allow you to set up your universe by choosing items from previous games, but this is rarely of much use. Not since Mass Effect have such impactful choices been carried over from game to game.
Dead Space – Diet Health Bar
Video game HUDs can fail. Some look fantastic and give you all the information you need, while others clutter the screen and prevent you from appreciating your surroundings. Dead Space developers found a way to reduce confusion by making health bars part of the character's suit.
Therefore, you can always tell the state of your health by looking at your character's back. More importantly, it fits seamlessly and feels like a natural part of the suit. This isn't the only example of a health bar or HUD in the game, but the concept is still rare.
Resident Evil 2 – Zapping System
The original Resident Evil 2 included four separate stories that unfolded between two characters. There are Leon A, Leon B, Claire A, and Claire B. To experience the full narrative, you must play one character's A story and another character's B story. During this process, you can see that they are connected through something called the Zapping System.
This means that even if it's a separate playthrough, the actions you take in the A story will affect the B story. For example, there are moments in the A story where you can turn on the gas to weaken certain enemies, but doing so will make certain bosses more deadly in the B story. So you can make things harder or easier. It's a neat gimmick to encourage multiple plays, but it's a shame that other games don't do it.
LA Noire – Uses of Facial Tech
One of LA Noire's main selling points was the realism of the faces in the game. It was far better than what other games were doing at the time. But it wasn't just about how real they looked. It's about how it's used from a gameplay perspective.
Because this is a detective game, you'll spend a lot of time talking to suspects and witnesses. And sometimes you just have to find out if they're lying to you. The only way to do this is to study facial expressions, and this is where facial skills really come into play. This was an innovative concept that I thought a few other games would have tried since then.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas – Dynamic Weight and Muscle
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was released in 2004. However, this game has a mechanic that you don't see in many games. It's dynamic weight and muscle gain. In this game, the main character, CJ, exercises a lot, noticeably gains muscle mass, and even if he overeats, he does not gain weight.
This means you can physically change your character's appearance in a natural and dynamic way. Since San Andreas was such a popular game, one would have thought that many other developers would have added this mechanic to their own games.
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