"Please don't turn off your computer when you see this symbol." XD

Very well said. I came in to post about "mobilitis" but you beat me to it! Let's hope there are still game makers brave enough to cater to the niche of us who like owning actual content-rich games.

Only console I ever owned: http://handheldempire.com/game.jsp?game=2074 so compared to that any pc past 2005 is a godlike machine.

There is some "reverse consolitis" as well; in particular, the adoption of skill point systems, once the domain of WRPGs, in JRPGs. (I have posted before about why I don't like such systems.)

(By "reverse consolitis, I am referring to effects that PC games have had on modern console games.)

I hate limited saving. People who grew up on console games treat that crap as normal, or even tell me repeating content over and over "adds to the challenge." I think it's ridiculous though, and want games to respect my time and real life obligations. Games like Dark Souls that get praised out the wazoo are literally built around the idea of repeating the same stuff over and over... I don't get it.

I'm not a massive FOV nut, but super small FOVs like 65 or whatever do drive me nuts and make the game feel weird. That hasn't really been an issue in a long time though, thankfully.

I hate short LOD distances with lots of pop-in. I find it extremely distracting. Luckily most games offer expanded LOD for PC, but sometimes they don't and it's maddening. As much as I love Hitman 2 right now it draws shadows in super close, with no setting to alter that, and it's annoying.

Last thing I can think of is menus that aren't mouse friendly. Some games still do this, which is baffling consider PC versions now often make up 1/3rd of sales. Just let me use a mouse in the menus FFS.

The xbox 360 forced it's crap controller on PC gaming when even the PS3 had a superior one with all analog buttons and motion control at the time.

Lack of developer options to tinker with games settings.


Some console features can improve PC gaming i.e menus and UIs that have been intelligently designed and easier to use instead of lazy bloated interfaces because the PC has more keyboard buttons.

I think it makes sense to disallow saving in the middle of a challenge, or alternatively make saving save your stats but not your position (so you still have to start the challenge over).

With that said, this only works provided that:
* Challenges are short.
* The game does not require you to wait in between loading the save (or respawning at the checkpoint) and attempting the challenge (games with pre-boss cutscenes are an offender here, like one particular Final Fantasy 19 boss with a 5 minute cutscene before a three phase boss that players are likely to lose (on the third phase) on their first attempt).

I used to be a console hater..... what sparked my intense hatred of consoles was this.... every time i walk into a game store, the section for PC games got smaller to make more room for console games! GRRRRRGGGNNNGGGGRR

But then i was betrayed by PC games and became a console supporter!!

These days if you want to play PC games with your family, you have to buy an individual copy of the game for each computer your family will use - (that never used to be the case back in the old days).

So because of the above, i say screw PC games! Its much cheaper and easier to get a console to entertain the family.

Yeah, in a game like Super Mario Bros. you wouldn't want saves in the middle of a level, I get that. I also think well placed checkpoints are fine, I've played a finished a lot of FPS games with those. In a game like Dark Souls though, where you save at a specific spot and have to run through the same stuff over and over when you die or quit... it's just tedious to me. Games like that should have quicksave, IMO.

Quick Time Events

"Press X to not die" and "Press F to pay respects" have become notorious.

Its rather difficult to become immersed in cutscenes if you are constantly primed to press a specific button at any time, especially if pressing the wrong button in the heat of the moment skips over dialog or bypasses the cutscene entirely.

About saving, I say you should be able to save scum however much you want, with the possible exception of special very hard difficulty settings, and saving and loading shouldn't be restricted unless there's a good technical reason why the game can't properly save (or load) that particular state. Games can track it if they want to add some pressure (I think Deus Ex tracked number of saves and Blade of Darkness gave a rating according to average saves per level), but still let it be the player's choice, whether to care for those counters/ratings at all, what if any limits to impose on themselves, and where to use those limited saves if they do want to limit them.

As for the original question, yeah, what's been said, controls and UI (I have a mouse and a keyboard, let me make proper use of them!), saving restrictions, QTEs... Regarding the graphical issues mentioned, I'd list the complaint as reduced options, and that isn't just limited to graphics, so let people adjust settings according to both preference and system, taking the game from running on the least powerful it can manage (and/or as un-"flashy" as it can be for people who for some reason prefer that) to showing off all it has if the rig handles it and the player desires it. Then, of course, reduced size, length and complexity, but how much that is due to consolitis and how much due to the developers just wanting to make things easier, or likely even more so publishers wanting to get releases out ever faster, not sure.

Why should that be? You can install GOG games on all compatible PCs in your household, and Steam has this family sharing thing AFAIK.

MP could be a problem - but that was the same problem in the past with serial numbers - in that case you had to buy multiple copies even back then (or just the serials).

About saving, I am of the opinion that the term "save scum" should not be used, as it implies that saving and reloading is somehow bad.

Pfft, word police. Call it reclaiming the term then :p

There's definitely hardcore players of certain games/genres who look down on saving anywhere, yeah. I think they're a very small number that devs should ignore though, personally. At least in my chosen genres (RPG, FPS, Stealth, Adventure). Stealth games especially require quicksave IMO, because one tiny false move can ruin a whole level.