As gamers, we've all noticed that when one game does something really cool and original, other games begin copying it. The first example to likely comes to your mind when I say this is the Zelda lock-on system. Since Ocarina of Time employed that game mechanic, countless other games have copied it in some way. I, personally think that's great. If its a good idea and it makes the game fun, then why not? But there are some great game mechanics that have never been used outside of the game(s) they originated in. That's what this blog entry is about, game mechanics that I'd like to see used more often

This one may seem insignificant, but its a mechanic that I think a lot of action, adventure, and platformer games would benefit from if they employed. It's a subtle mechanic that I've only seen in Power Stone, and even then it was still somewhat underused. In the game, when you approached any object up to waste high like a barrel or a table, pressing the control stick towards it would cause your character to quickly roll across it. That may seem insignificant, but it just seems to add a really cool Hong-Kong action movie feel to it that I find irresistible. It feels cool, it looks cool, and it would make movement in cluttered areas quite a bit easier. I can imagine it coming in handing in various action scenarios too. Like if a there's a chase level and the guy running from you goes through a place with a lot of tables like a restaurant. Instead of having to jump over each table, you can just roll over it without losing your momentum. Please people, start putting this in more games!


You can totally roll over that.

Another cool thing I've seen once and then have never seen again is the invention system from Dark Cloud 2. In that game the main character, Max, had a camera that you could take pictures of things with. You could then combine those pictures to form an ideas for an invention. Then all you have to do is get the materials to build it. This is how you got most of the weapons, items, and accessories in the game. The invention system was really deep and addictive and encouraged exploration because some pictures could only be taken in certain places. It was a really cool gameplay device that I would really like to see again.


Max likes to build stuff.

That's all I've got to say. If you have some ideas I'd love to here them .