Top 10 Weird Rules of Video Games

This forum is for off-topic discussion. You may talk about all things non-AGDI related here. No links to warez, abandonware, and no Flaming please.

Moderators: adeyke, VampD3, eriqchang, Angelus3K

Post Reply
Message
Author
Renodox
Defense Minister Status
Posts: 560
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2002 2:00 am

Top 10 Weird Rules of Video Games

#1 Post by Renodox » Sat Feb 25, 2012 9:44 am

Yes, this is me and not my brother. Anyway, I wanted to have this posted on another site, but they want more than just the list, they want explanations for each one. However, I wanted to run this by a few test audiences to see what they think before I put more effort into this. Let me know what you think:

10. Rideable animals are expendable. You can always find more.

9. Touching bad guys is harmful to your health.

8. It's possible for a human to naturally be so big and fit that bullets can't kill him.

7. It doesn't matter where you're hit. Even strikes to foot can beat any opponent.

6. Getting punched or bit hurts just as much as being cut with an axe or getting shot.

5. Stamina is never a problem. Even fighting entire armies of enemies won't tire you out.

4. Women can move faster and jump higher than men.

3. Being fat makes you stronger than being muscular.

2. Eat everything. Even stuff you find in trashcans and lying on the floor.

1. Bad guys always disappear when you kill them.

MusicallyInspired
The Master of All Things Musical
Posts: 4030
Joined: Tue Aug 20, 2002 8:57 pm
Location: Manitoba, Canada

Re: Top 10 Weird Rules of Video Games

#2 Post by MusicallyInspired » Sat Feb 25, 2012 12:28 pm

I find issue with #5. That's not always true. Certainly not in stat-based games. Stamina is a very big issue in a lot of games. And #1 isn't true in a lot of older FPS games.

Renodox
Defense Minister Status
Posts: 560
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2002 2:00 am

Re: Top 10 Weird Rules of Video Games

#3 Post by Renodox » Sat Feb 25, 2012 11:46 pm

I was looking to see if you think I should change around the order of these things. Other "rules" I have in mind:

11. You never have to hold your breath under water. Even if you can't breathe there.

12. Objects, regardless of size or weight, never inhibit your movements.

13. Just touching a first aid kit heals you, you don't actually have to use the stuff inside.

14. "The bigger they are, the harder they fall" isn't true.

15. It's necessary to take the whole gun rather than just the ammunition.

16. You never have to use the bathroom, even after days of eating and drinking.

Let me know if you think any of these are more "worthy."

Renodox
Defense Minister Status
Posts: 560
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2002 2:00 am

Re: Top 10 Weird Rules of Video Games

#4 Post by Renodox » Sun Feb 26, 2012 2:21 am

Top 10 Weird Rules of Video Games

10. Rideable animals are expendable. You can always find more.

The most famous of these, of course, is Yoshi from the Super Mario Brothers series. How many times have people jumped off his back sending him to fall to his death just to avoid falling themselves? And it doesn't matter, because you just find him again later in the game. But there are also the dragons that you find in the Golden Axe series. They too are abandoned or attacked and eventually you find another one so what does it matter? Strangely, no matter what you do to these animals they don't seem resentful about it either. So they seem to be quite expendable.

9. Touching bad guys is harmful to your health.

Nearly every platformer has this rule in place. You walk around the screen and just coming into contact with the enemy hurts your character. WHY? Most of the characters that are in these games just walk around at a normal pace and don't seem altogether threatening. A good example of this: Met from Mega Man. It's a hard hat that lies on the ground. And yet, if you walk into it even when it's not even shooting at you, you get hurt. Why would that hurt you? Do you stub your toes on it?

8. It's possible for a human to naturally be so big and fit that bullets can't kill him.

This is a rule that tends to pop up in first person shooters. There are a number of terrorists that run amok shooting at you with big guns and you can shoot them in the head with your gun which can range from a simple handgun to a shotgun. But does this kill them? No. They get a little hurt but they don't die. Strangely, they usually aren't wearing helmets either. But somehow, they are able to withstand multiple shots from bullets. Even after they lose the fight, they usually don't drop dead either, they will fall down off their vehicle or give up the fight but your character will still walk up to them and discover they're alive! They've been eating more than just their Wheaties.

7. It doesn't matter where you're hit. Even strikes to the foot can beat any opponent.

Biggest staples here are fighting games and first person shooters, but some platformers are in there as well. Take the Time Crisis series for example: you shoot your enemies anywhere, even if it's on the leg or the foot the enemies just fall over and die. Unless you're using mercury bullets that's probably not going to kill someone. Then of course, in fighting games you almost always have a low kick option. The character gets kicked on the foot or the leg and they still get hurt. If you're really good you can beat the opponent into a knock out with just low kicks to the foot. Kind of odd that they'd get knocked out from getting hit on the foot. Strange anatomy isn't it?

6. Getting punched or bit hurts just as much as being cut with an axe or getting shot.

This is notorious in First Person Shooters. Anyone who's played them has played at least one where you get five or so hits that you can take before being taken down. And of course, you will have enemy after enemy using a number of attacks on you. Most games have those characters that will pop up just in front of you and punch at you, or slash you with a knife and SOMEHOW this does just as much damage as if you get shot by a gun-toting enemy. Good example: House of the Dead. There are plenty of creatures that will just bite you. Yet, somehow, you are no more or less hurt from that than if an axe wielding zombie takes a successful slash at you.

5. Stamina is never a problem. Even fighting entire armies of enemies won't tire you out.

In just about any game outside of RPGs hero characters just don't get tired. How many times have players gone through six or more stages filled with legions of enemies coming out at you? Does Mario (who's invariably depicted as being overweight) ever get tired of all that running and jumping? Does Sonic have to stop and rest after running for miles at top speed? Have you ever seen Haggar from Final Fight have to stop and take a break even though he's fighting an entire gang out of a whole city without a rest? Nope. Somehow people just don't tire out in games.

4. Women can move faster and jump higher than men.

Okay, most people know about this one in fighting games, be they beat-em-up sidescrollers or tournament fighters. You find yourself fighting through a bunch of male bad guys and they are pretty strong but they have a very much grounded fighting style and are almost never faster than your character. Then, suddenly, you find the first women fighters. Suddenly, you are fighting against a grasshopper that's almost twice as fast as every male and can jump half a screen's length. In most cases, if you fight as a female or against a female character, the greatest assets are speed and jumping capability. Are there any slow, clumsy women fighters in the games? I've not found one.

3. Being fat makes you stronger than being muscular.

Oh, sure, the final boss characters are usually big, muscle men types but almost every beat-em-up fighting game has its fat guys. And what remains consistent about fat guys? Are they slow, easily tired out, weak from lack of proper exercise types? Nope. They're able to take more damage than almost any other character. Furthermore, they can usually leap an impossibly high distance into the air and crush you with their incredible weight. Leg strength is never a problem. Even if these people don't jump, they can charge: an ability lost on most characters and ram into an opponent with more force than any other. Even if first person shooters, if you have a variety of body types for enemies, you'll usually encounter not a muscle man throwing barrels, but a big fat guy throwing them.

2. Eat everything. Even stuff you find in trashcans and lying on the floor.

Yes, this happens most often in the beat-em-up sidescrollers but there are other games. The Castlevania series has this in which you just pick up and eat food that drops to the dark, dank and slimy floors of the castle. Then there are some first person shooters like Wolfenstein where you eat dog food and meals lying on the floor and they heal you. Does no one in video games know about the five second rule? Maybe to them it's the five year rule. Somehow, no one ever gets sick from eating food that lies on the floor. They don't even get hurt from eating old hamburgers that they find when they smash a trash can. What the heck? I'll just eat some trash!

1. Bad guys disappear when you kill them.

This is it! The ONE thing that has remained throughout the HISTORY of games! No, not every single game but every nearly every genre has this rule. Even the first video games where you could kill your opponents had this rule. Remember Asteroids? The alien ship would explode if you hit it. Do the pieces remain floating around in space? No. They disappear. Go ahead a few years to Super Mario Bros. You kill the Goomba, and after it lays on the floor for a second or two, it disappears. How about RPGs? Let's take Fire Emblem: you kill the enemy, they may say a few words, but they fade away and disappear. In first person shooters like Area 51 you kill the enemies and they disappear in a splash of blood. Beat-em-up sidescrollers, you say? How about Double Dragon! The enemies fall to the ground and flash a couple times and then they disappear. Even the modern day games have this happen: Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword a game that's just recently out has this rule. You kill your enemies and they disappear in a flash of purple smoke. Where do the characters go when they disappear? Who knows? But that's how you know you killed the character: they disappear. If they don't disappear, they're not dead.

Renodox
Defense Minister Status
Posts: 560
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2002 2:00 am

Re: Top 10 Weird Rules of Video Games

#5 Post by Renodox » Wed Feb 29, 2012 12:39 am

It WORKED! :rollin My Top 10 list made it to the site's featured lists! People did think it needed pictures and a bit more writing but it was featured today, February 28th! Thanks for the feedback!

Post Reply