Details in games

[Ysavvryl]

I've been thinking a bit lately and wanted to talk about something: the little details in video games. These are things that don't really affect much, won't change the way you play a game. But when a game is rich in details, or has some really nice ones, I find that I usually have a better opinion on the game overall. So what details from various games do you really love?

Pikmin: I adore how the Pikmin sound! They're already cute, but they'll start singing as they're following the captains around. But if you happen to leave one behind, it'll give such a sad disappointed yawn. sad

Okami: Man, this game is chock full of lovely details. I'll mention two. One is how Ammy tends to fall asleep when someone's given a large amount of exposition. The other is how grass and flowers spring up behind her when she runs! Only they're withered in areas of strong evil power.

Darkstone: This is a Diablo clone that's not that bad but not that good either (I never got the chance to play Diablo itself). But there's one point...

show spoilerhide spoiler

when some townspeople turn to stone, the chicken running around town turns to stone too!

Dark Cloud 2: I like the amount of detail that went into houses and buildings. Like you go in a bar in the first town and it's decorated with a car! Or there's a house with many pumpkins, which belongs to a shopkeeper who has a pumpkin holding his shop sign (as well as a giant watermelon in the store).

LoZ: Wind Waker: Zelda games tend to have many interesting details. So I'll just mention one: the way the grass reacts to the movements of the winds. It's such a nice touch, giving extra atmosphere.  

[Poeden]

I'll commend you on this, it's a very interesting concept for a thread. Hoping it'll get some life in here for once.

And honestly... there are so many of these I literally don't even know where to start. I mean, little details that show how much the creators cared about the game and how much fun they had making it are one of the most important cornerstones of charm, and charm is pretty much the most significant thing in gaming for me. So... pretty much every game I adore is full of this kind of thing.

For example, Chrono Cross. Among countless other things like subtle cameos from Trigger that you'd have to be a Trigger fan to identify, what stands out the most has to be the text frames. There are highly detailed text frames hidden throughout the game in clever places that don't really add anything to the gameplay, but it gives a purpose to collectables and gives you a text frame for just about every environment.

The first two Fable games are also full of small jokes and references that make exploration very rewarding. Even down to little things like the writing on tombstones and item descriptions.

Then there's little things like the visuals for certain games. Shadow of the Colossus, for example. Just the look of the style and graphics is absolutely mesmerizing and gorgeous. It's incredibly captivating and artistic, but never distracting.

But no matter how many I list... I'm going to feel weird leaving so many off. @_@  

[Ysavvryl]

Poeden

Thanks! I hope it gets some talk started too.

Yeah, charm can do a lot for a game... and there's some games I think could have done with a bit more charm. Every game that I love has something along these lines. Even NPC chatter; I love NPC chatter and games that do it well meet my approval.

Ah, Chorono Cross... I sort of love the game, but I have so much trouble making myself beat it. It's been a while since I played through it, so I'm not entirely sure why. Maybe it's the huge cast that seems overwhelming, or Miguel (that fight makes me give up on the game more often than any other fight). But I love how beautiful it looks, and it has cool details too. I also love that window extra; more games need to do that! I also like all the wildlife and creative non-enemy animals in it. Although Chrono Trigger had cuter cats! xd

Another game with lots of details is Rune Factory 3. Again, NPC chatter is great, but one of the best minor things is how expressive Micah is. After playing so many games with mute and/or stoic heroes, it's refreshing to see one so lively and cheerful. Especially in the save/load screen, he can be really cute there.  

[fairy-phoenix]

If you want a game that has put a lot of detail in it's graphics, than you certainly can't go wrong with... Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch for the PlayStation 3. I have to admit that the once again Studio Ghibli has shown why some people consider them to be legendary, not only is there a lot of detail in the areas you travel to but also the over world is quite detailed that you can see the waterfall flow or the sands shifting into the quicksand.  

[Angelicstubborness]

I like the little things they put into games. It helps keep you interested.  

[Ysavvryl]

Osamabinballin

I love it when a game portrays firearms correctly: not only in the weapon model but also reloading, way it sounds when fired, the way its held. BF3, Medal of Honor Warfighter, and Rainbow Six Vegas(kinda) portray firearms very accurately and I gotta hand it to the devs for taking the time to research their guns before they put them into the game.

Showing their research is always a good thing. Although I wouldn't know about the guns myself. But I happen to like mythology and folklore, so I always like it when games get that right.