Open thread!
What's a bad game design decision in a game you love? Something that compromises other parts of the game, or weakens the narrative, or is otherwise just really clumsy or awkward or out of place?
@starkatt The new Creation Lab thing they did that mimics Frostfall is okay, but it doesn't work right with Campfire, so meh. Definitely more immersive when you're worried about the weather, though!
@starkatt The entire magic system in Final Fantasy 8 - it actively punishes you for using it by making gaining magic tedious and spending magic hurt you.
@Soreth wow, that sounds hideous.
@starkatt Yeah, it's just really hideously bad design. Makes the game play... well, you're not really using magic.
@starkatt The Witness.
@starkatt Narrowing it down slightly, the design of the final puzzle doesn't respect my time. There's a lot more to it, but that's the biggest part. Any game that makes me sit and wait for forty-five minutes, during which I can take no action, is not well-designed by my standards, even if the theme of the game is one of mindfulness and observation.
My submission: fast travel in Skyrim.
The game is supposed to be this enormous, inhospitable country, and the way fast travel is implemented reduces the functional size to "get off at the nearest metro stop and walk three blocks".
Thankfully, mods.