Sometimes a game introduces a mechanic that is so good that others take it and use it for their own titles. For example, after the first Gears of War, third-person shooting became very popular for a while, so many games started using open-world cities after Grand Theft Auto 3.
But not every great video game feature or mechanic starts a trend. Some games introduced some very clever ideas that other developers for some reason didn't try to copy. Here is a list of some that we thought would become the industry standard.
Middle-Earth: Shadow Of Mordor – The Nemesis System
The Nemesis system is one of the most original features to be seen in the game in many 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 on the bottom level, while the most important enemies are on the top. Still, it doesn't stay that way. For example, if a low-level grunt can beat you, it goes up in rank. So the hierarchy is constantly changing.
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This adds an extra dimension to any battle, especially when the rogues you've faced remember you, adding a bit of personality to otherwise standard enemies. This system seemed likely to become much more common when Shadow of Mordor was released, until Warner Bros. they didn't patent the mechanics, meaning no one else could use it.
Red Faction – Destroyable environments
Technically, destructible environments were a trend at one point, due in part to the Red Faction series. As a result, you started seeing it in games like Battlefield: Bad Company and various other entries in the series. However, it was only a short trend. This is surprising, as it really seemed like destructible environments would become commonplace at this point.
After all, being able to create holes in walls like you can in the original Red Faction is wonderful. But it never caught on like it should have. Technical limitations probably played a role in this.
Left 4 Dead – Director of Artificial Intelligence
When you play the campaign in Left 4 Dead, you are tracked by the in-game AI. If you're doing really well and getting through things fairly easily, the game will start sending more zombies your way, including special infected. This is to make things challenging and rewarding.
However, it doesn't just hit when you're doing well. If it takes too long or you hang around too much and don't move on, the game will send hordes at you to get you moving. This is a unique type of dynamic difficulty that could work well in similar types of games.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot – Defeat low level enemies without fighting
One of the most annoying things in an RPG is when you level up a lot and still have to fight low level goons. Yes, you win fights easily, but these encounters feel like a waste of time. Several games have devised ways to speed up the process by allowing you to win instantly.
The best version is in Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, where you can just fight your way through low level enemies and instantly get rewards for defeating them. You don't even have to stop. The game will slow down just a bit to show that you've knocked someone out. It 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 in the game you control Raiden, a cyborg ninja with exceptional sword skills. These skills are best displayed when using blade mode. This mode allows you to slow down time and gives you the ability to manually slice through an enemy in any direction.
It means you can land really accurate punches and cut off limbs with ease. Afro Samurai had similar mechanics years ago, but it was a lesser-known game, so it wasn't a surprise that it didn't start a trend. You'd think people would copy this idea from Metal Gear Rising though.
Mass Effect – Your choices have consequences in the sequels
The consequences of the decisions you make are usually felt in the same game. However, in Mass Effect, your save data will carry over between all three numbered items. So when playing the third game, you can lose characters because of choices you made two games ago.
While this isn't always perfectly implemented in Mass Effect, it's a great mechanic because it gives your decisions even more weight. Some titles allow you to set up your universe by choosing choices you've made in previous games, but they rarely make it this far. Impressive choices that carry over between games have rarely been seen since Mass Effect.
Dead Space – Dietary health bar
Video game HUD screens can be hit or miss. Some look fantastic and give you all the information you need, while others fill the screen and prevent you from appreciating your surroundings. The developers of Dead Space found a way to cut down on the clutter by making your health bar part of your character's suit.
So you can always see how your health is doing by looking at your character's back. More importantly, it fits seamlessly and feels like a natural integration into the suit. While this isn't the only example of a diet health bar or HUD in games, the concept is still rare.
Resident Evil 2 – Zapping System
The original Resident Evil 2 features four separate stories, spread between two characters. There's Leon A, Leon B, Claire A, and Claire B. To experience the full story, you have to play one character's A story and another character's B story. In the process you will notice that they connect through what is called a switching system.
This means that even though they are separate runs, the actions you take in story A will affect story B. For example, there's one point in story A where you can turn on some throttle to weaken certain enemies, but if you do so, then running B will make a certain boss more deadly. So you can make things harder or easier for yourself. It's a neat trick to encourage multiplayer, so it's a shame other games don't do it.
LA Noire – Use of facial technique
One of LA Noire's main selling points was the realism of the game's faces. They were so far behind what other games were doing at the time. But it wasn't just about how real they looked; it was about how it was used from a gameplay perspective.
Since this is a detective game, you will spend a lot of time interviewing suspects and witnesses. And sometimes you have to find out if they're lying to you. The only way to do this is to study their facial expressions, which is where facial technology really comes into play. It was an innovative concept that you'd think few other games have attempted since.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas – Dynamic Weight and Muscles
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was released back in 2004. Still, it has mechanics that haven't been seen in many games. This is a dynamic increase in weight and muscle mass. In this game, you can make the main character, CJ, visibly gain muscle by exercising a lot and gain weight by eating too much without burning it.
This means you can physically change your character's appearance in a natural and dynamic way. Since San Andreas was such a popular game, you would think that many other developers would have added this mechanic to their games.
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