Hype and other pet peeves

One of the main problems with video game marketing is the hype surrounding a product. Instead of telling us "it's an innovative game that will be enjoyable to play," companies (and media doing previews) say things like "revolutionary" and "will change the future of all video games." And what do we normally get? Something completely meh.

Spore is on Fortune magazine's list of "9 top tech flops" for this year. Why? Because it's a mediocre game that was hyped to be so incredible and revolutionary. They released part of the game (a creature creator) months in advance. So people spent this time creating and recreating a variety of creatures they to populate Spore when the game came out. Instead, gameplay was stilted and jumpy and you didn't have much control of your little dude.

Other video game pet peeves:

Breast physics. Yes, breasts bounce and move a little. They do not, however, move that much. If they did, we'd be black and blue and complaining all the time.

Non-sporty sport outfits. No, we do not play volleyball in a string bikini. We might lounge around the beach in one, but we'll put on a sports bra to play volleyball in.

Celebrity games. You are a musician. You are not supposed to be the main character of a GTA clone.

WTF!? storylines. Final Fantasy, I'm looking at you. Do you even understand your own plot?

Video game magazines and websites and their patronizing "Get your girlfriend to play video games" articles. No, I don't want to play Hello Kitty FunFun Happy Land unless it's an entertaining game. No, I don't need dress up features in every game I play. Yes, sometimes I do like a challenging game.

Boring romances. If you're spending the time to put romance in your RPG's, do two things. One, make an equal amount of romantic possibilites for both male and female characters. Two, make at least one possibility for each gender interesting.


I have more pet peeves. Which I think explains why I'm so very picky about which games I play.