[Question] Unique game mechanics -- The best and the worst

Interesting topic, but I can't help thinking that it's going to be very difficult to come up with many good, especially great, game mechanics that haven't been used in loads of games since they first appeared, or at least first gained recognition (for example, I don't know whether Halo was the first to limit you to only carrying two weapons, but certainly that mechanic has been adopted in many games since).

I could certainly name lots of game mechanics I liked and the first times they really caught my eye, but I can't think of any that would be considered unique these days.

I mean, one of the first games to impose a sense of consequence on proceedings, and a feeling of ownership over your characters that I remember was Cannon Fodder. If one of your guys died you could still complete the mission but that guy was dead. But they had names, they were your guys, and the death of one of them was permanent. I remember replaying levels to save my guys.

One of the very first games to suck me into this pastime was Zelda: A Link To The Past, which incorporated many game mechanics that have since appeared in many subsequent titles (the grappling hook that's already been mentioned above would be one), but it was the central concept of the dark and light world. Not only a neat concept that expanded the gaming world far beyond what you initially expected, but it was how those two worlds linked as well. This too has been used, or a version thereof, in a number of games since, not least of all Ocarina of Time.

More recently I've also enjoyed stuff like and increasing level of interaction, like Dead Rising's "weaponise the environment" attitude, though I'm some earlier attempt at the idea could be found. Also, it's an idea appearing in a number of up coming titles, Bourne Conspiracy and Splinter Cell: Conviction amongst them.

As I was trying to say in the BioShock thread, the point is that game mechanics will very rarely be 'original', but it's how a game takes ideas, concepts and mechanics and weaves them into an experience that matters. I can think of a lot of instances of very good use of certain game mechanics that are by no means unique or original, but that doesn't stop their execution being entertaining and involving.

You can give a whole bunch of people the same marble block to carve from, but not all of them will make you a David.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by GoldfishX

The worst: Easily/no-contest/undoubtably the Resident Evil 3D controls...

That would be the game's controls, not the game's mechanic. I agree, the Resi Evil controls could be pants, and the whole concrete feet when using a weapon (something Dead Rising is shamefully guilty of) was, and is, rubbish. However, they're not game mechanics.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Qwarky

I never really had any issues with Resident Evil controls. Complaining about them has to me always been akin to complaining RE4 doesn't have a strafe or that Super Metroid doesn't have dialogue in it.

I don't know if that was also aimed at me, but I agree, there's no point complaining. The controls did the job adequately and were catered for within the game, and I love all of the Resi Evil games. However, I'd certainly be inclined to point at the control system as an area that could be improved, but not one detrimental to the overal enjoyment of the games. The concrete feet thing is slightly more annoying in Dead Rising because you need aiming most when facing the very agile human opponents, but again, it doesn't actually make the game less enjoyable to play.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.