GameCyte

Last week, we discussed seven games in which the options menu wasn’t merely a place to adjust your TV display, but rather the key to unlocking the full potential of some truly stellar titles. While the post was primarily meant to inform gamers of the remarkable possibilities they might have overlooked in their own collection, I’d also wondered if I might convince a budding developer or three that in-game settings deserve more than an afterthought.

However, I realize that it’s not enough to point at Genji, explain how awesome realistic surround sound can be and then expect every developer to score their game in full Dolby Digital — just as it’s still inconceivable that games will fulfill every tenet of David Wong and Haimoimoi’s brilliant Gamer’s Manifesto, even three years later. We’ve made progress, but the choices that will truly change games require time, effort and foresight.

But what if there were changes that developers could implement, right now, that would address some of gamers’ biggest peeves with a minimum of fuss and bother? I think there are — and you’ll hopefully soon find them in the in-game settings menu.

The following six settings have several things in common. They all address a topic of considerable annoyance to gamers; they all deal with functionality that currently exists in games; they all challenge the notion that the developer knows best. And, in my honest opinion, they should all appear in every title made from here on out.

1.) Difficulty adjustment

I understand that not all titles have different levels of difficulty — some games have ADD dynamic difficulty adjustment, and others simply pray you don’t play long enough to realize that the use of the word “difficult” in combination with the game’s title is socially unacceptable. But if your game does have easily distinguishable levels of difficulty, then why on earth would you make the player suffer through the entire game in order to unlock them? If gamers find it too easy, they’ll quit bored; too difficult and they’ll quit frustrated — but either way, you’re alienating part of your audience.

And if you think the solution is to give gamers a single, binding choice at the very beginning of the game — based on arbitrary terminology like “Easy,” “Medium” and “Hard” — you’ve got another think coming. We don’t want to find, hours into the game, that the only way to appropriately challenge ourselves is to start from scratch. Instead, give us a simple difficulty slider in the in-game options menu, and we’ll thank you from the bottom of our depreciated heart containers.

Dishonorable mentions: Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword, Viewtiful Joe

2.) Fully remappable controls

Personal key bindings are an integral part of PC gaming, and for good reason — with upwards of eighty keys even on a tiny laptop, and frequent, intriguing deviations from a “normal” configuration readily available, remappable bindings are practically required. By comparison, modern console gaming controllers only have thirteen buttons, a D-Pad, and a pair of analog sticks — but don’t be fooled into thinking that personal bindings are thereby unimportant. As I explained last week, even ostensibly intuitive control schemes like that of Soulcalibur II may end up half-baked, to say nothing of those titles that have convoluted or, Zeus forbid, counterproductive layouts. And what if your audience decides they want to use a peripheral?

Also — whether you survey hand size or personal preference — gamers aren’t one-size-fits-all.

Considering that remapping controls is a simple matter of changing variables, and the payoff is an opportunity for your audience to happily fix your own lack of foresight, the bang-for-the-buck is tremendous; and so there’s no excuse not to include fully remappable controls in the options menu.

Dishonorable mentions: Protöthea, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Puzzle Quest DS

3.) Adult content toggle

Don’t get me wrong, adult content in gaming is fantastic. Personally, I sleep better at night knowing I’ve flattened half a dozen virtual prostitutes, chainsawed some Locust troops in half and engaged in mythological offscreen coitus. But for those would would enjoy Grand Theft Auto, Gears of War and God of War far more if the blood, profanity, nudity and simulated virtual sex was stripped out, they should have that option… and if you have to censor the games anyway to sell them abroad, you might as well leave kids — and parents, who might like to get some gaming in before their kid’s bedtime — a toggle switch if it turns out they’d like the same.

Oh, and no need to record fresh dialogue — just bleep the bad words out like they do on TV.

Dishonorable mentions: Grand Theft Auto IV, God of War series

4.) Removable distractions

The HUD is a wonderful tool for fighter pilots, spaceship captains and cyborgs, and when I one day join the real-world ranks of all three, I look forward to using my own HUD to perform complex tasks like remembering to call my girlfriend before 9PM.

If your game does not involve the aforementioned technologically enhanced products, you have no business forcing the player to use a HUD, no matter how streamlined. Let us turn it off as desired.

Also see: words superimposed on the screen.

Games that got it right: Ico, Assassin’s Creed

5.) Soundtrack control

Music is a beautiful thing, but taste in music varies widely — and much as I love the homicidal lil demolitions expert, every time I hear a repetitive, sickeningly upbeat Bomberman tune I want to rip my ears off. This must end. While on Xbox 360 I could just fire up a custom soundtrack, the wonders of the American legal system, combined with Nintendo’s lack of foresight on the storage front, means that listening to my own music isn’t bloody likely anywhere else. What to do? At least let us turn off the songs we don’t like and only listen to the rest. A simple toggle for each song would be nice — if you’re feeling generous, let us pick the frequency at which our music plays, Super Smash Bros. Brawl style.

Burnout Paradise would seem to be one notable exception to the custom soundtrack rule… we’ll find out if there were any compromises on July 10th.

Games that got it right: Burnout series, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, GTA: Liberty City Stories for PSP, Xbox 360 titles

6.) Automatic replay recording

What with modern physics engines and emergent gameplay, precious moments like this are likely occuring around the world, every day. Spectacular wipeouts, huge pileups, amazing kill streaks, feats of skill and random insanity — these are the moments gamers live for… but I can’t count the number of times I’ve done something amazing and then realized I’d never be able to share it with a soul.

If game developers took advantage of huge console hard drives and proven technology to provide players with automatic replay recording, these precious moments would never be lost. Just be sure to let us specify how much hard drive space to devote to video capture…

Games that got it right: Halo 3, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, many RTS titles on PC

Questions? Comments? Did we miss your favorite must-have game option? Drop us and your fellow readers a line, right below.

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