Would having more actions, special, items be better? Would Tetris be more fun if it has new types of things? It does seem so but would it last the test of time like the original? Well what is original if the designer makes a game and put every type of thing imaginable, and then someone else makes the same game but puts less and strips it to the bare minimum? Street fighter 2 has the bare minimum but Marvel vs. Capcom2 has far more things which would make it the standard but not be the bare minimum. Another example is Castlevania in how the original was basic but it is not as fun compared to the newer action/adventure/RPG version SOTHN. But I don't see space shooter adding on an adventure/RPG element. Well are we going to the standard of how games should be, what the style is, or are many not updating much and making clones?

Adding funky little powerups and other twists to tried-and-true vintage games is a common tactic for amateur game development, but IMHO it doesn't usually fly well. More often than not, there's little thought to play-balancing of the different "features", with the result that random chance becomes more important than skill. This is doubly true when designers try to compensate for overly powerful powerups by making them rare; it means that you have a (say) 5% chance of being killed through no fault of your own, simply because your opponent got lucky and picked up the ULTRA-SUPER-MURDER-DEATH-MODE powerup.

I think powerups should be fitted into the game concept from the beginning, integral to the level design, and well-tailored to the game's motif. That's the only way to make them work.

I think a lot of the allure of games like Tetris stems directly from their simplicity, and that adding a whole bunch of powerups, even in the original design, might detract from that. For casual gamers (a large part of the core Tetris fanbase, I reckon) all the powerups and specials and bonuses might just get in the way of playing the game.

For games that try to portray something complex, having a wide range of items and actions is necessary. I think its more a case of starting with a simple core game, and then adding more details, for example in Quake, it's looking and shooting, but then you have different weapons, ammo for those weapons, health and armour. Then theres different monsters with their own different weapons. There's a static environment, but then there's doors, keys, buttons, platforms and so on. Quake 2 adds extra things like ladders and glass windows.

The point I'm making is that they start with a simple concept which is the main basis of the game. All the other items added must not change the main principle behind the game - this is the limiting factor on items and actions. However you can add as many items as you like, so long as not all of them have a major effect on the gameplay. You'd start with the things that augment the idea of the game, until you have enough, and any more either have no effect or make the game worse. Then move on to things with a more subtle indirect effect.

Therefore tetris tends not to benefit from items added because the core gameplay is so simple that the added items have too much of an effect and shift the focus of the game dramatically.

It depends on the kind of game and what you are adding. If you just start to add things to your game because you think they are 'cool', you will end up spoiling the game.

Supposing that your game has a way in which it should feel, difficulty, amount of skill needed and etc, you might add things that get you closer to your objective. So I think that if it doesn't adds anything to what you want to achieve, it's a bad idea to add something.

hey Warsong are the mod/staff playing a joke on you?
i tried to rate you up because you actually started an interesting thread that didn't catch fire within the first two posts.
well when i rated you up and your score is still 0.

maybe you're in the negatives and we can't see it [sad]

but back on topic, lots of items and powerups were mostly for 2D old school games especially sidescrollers. now i don't think it's necessary but you don't really need to bring excitement to the game or even push the game along. graphics and effects do that all for you. the pseudo-realism is what pulls gamers in nowadays. unfortunately there's not a real need or use for the Spread Gun powerup when you can just shoot the sniper on the roof and take his actual Spread Gun.

powerup's or items are generally game design devices...
They can help balance the effectiveness of say...each race, or each weapon, and so and so forth....

In counterstrike 4 example...
Sniper Rifle V Shotgun
-Open plane map.. i would bet on the sniper rifle
-enclosed map... shotgun (though there are some crackshots upclose with awp)

The sniper rifles are so powerful that most times u only need to get hit once by them... hence the designer uses the pricing system as a device to stop sniper rifles ruling (aka they cost a lot more).. wether this works is debatable but you see the logic

You have to ask what these items/powerups add ... are they overcomplicating things.... a game is made up of objectives and rules... items/powerups have rules of their own... hence more powerups/items means more game rules, means more complex...

But then again ...if a game is to simple and lacks depth.. the player becomes disinterested... My example/opinion of this would be a racing game around an oval track..for say 20 laps...

All this can be simplified to a ratio
boredom/skill
-to skillful/hard a game and u get frustrated eventually and walk away
-to boring/simple and you explore all the possibilities/range of the game fairly rapidly, and walk away...
most players feel robbed if they can't finish the game they are playing eventually...


anyway.. i could voice my opinions allday but i just seen a lady pass my window, so i havta go tell her all this stuff :/ ..case i ferget or sumthin

Yes and no. Too many games add "special actions" that add to the complexity. New keybinds, new abilities, etc. Double jumps, feign deaths, key-comboes, etc.

Now, alternately, more-of-the-same is a good thing. The difference is between _content_ and bells&whistles. Nobody wants an FPS with 60 keybinds to memorise- but an FPS with 60 different weapons to play with would be fun.

If you can add content without adding complexity and confusion, do so. Otherwise, don't.

i love power ups in those 2D space or airplane games where its overhead veiw and you fight hordes of badies. i like those ones where you collect like 10 or more power ups and you just button spamming and launching huge lazers a missles. i plaid those arcade games so much back in the day. ive also played ones though where the power ups just give you like a faster gun, and you dont get anything better that that, i didnt like that. i liked getting a friggin load of power ups and unleashing the wicked cool graphics on everything in my path. and then you get hit with like one little fireball, and all 15 of your power ups go flying out and you have to race back in and try to get them all back