I thought we might all give our opinions on what we like and dislike about games. I know that some of the game companies visit this forum or people they know do. Let's list all the things we like and don't like in the games we buy. I can tell that they are receiving our feedback by the absence of timers lately. Most of us will buy every GOOD game that comes out... so lets help them make them.

I'll start with:

DON'T: just throw a lot of garbage into a room and tell us to "fetch".

DO: Blend them in so that at first glance the room looks fairly uncluttered. Example: A pencil running down the woodwork of a window, or a bird in a wall painting, etc. etc.

DON'T: not give us an option for timed or relaxed

Anyone else?

I'll chip in a few.

Let us think for ourselves whenever possible.

Adults do play these games, so please, remember that.

I like clear graphics. Not necessarily colourful all the time, but clear.

For HOGs the items should be place and time appropriate. "Sleepy Hollow" is a very good example.

It would be nice if the games were replayable, change things around a bit when the same person is playing again, and allow the same person to play again. Not all games will let the original player start over.

Flo

1. I prefer IHOG's
2. I need to have a choice between timed and relaxed.
3. I prefer mysteries.
4. I need clear graphics.
5. I appreciate good background music.
6. The ability to skip a minigame is important to me.

Return to Ravenhearst is an example of what I call a "good" game.

Teddo

Don't make objects too small to see.
Remember that some people are gaming on laptops and what is visible on a 24" screen isn't necessarily going to be visible on your average laptop, especially the 12" and 13.3" versions.

I like a variety of games.

On hogs: please don't make where it is just click on the smallest object and in the darkest areas. Give me a good story line and some puzzles to solve to break up the searches. Prefer something that will go with the story.

Match 3: Make these unique please. Favorites are puzzle hero and the venice one where clicked on as many matching tiles as possible.

Time managed: Like first farm frenzy the best. Like being able to finish a goal even if takes longer. Also liked magic farm. One that at the end of the day could make bouquets and also had some goals.

In general some good music that can listen to for a couple of hours straight. A good story line that draws you into that world.

So far I agree with all but the music, I never listen to it, I always put on my own music.

I hate cluttered HOG's and won't play them. I like detailed ones (especially mysteries) like Return to Ravenhearst, but I also like cartoony ones like Natalie Brooks or the ones where you have a picture of the object but its broken inot peices (Magic Encyclopedia).

I want puzzles that are logical - and not too hard but not too easy. If they are too hard I get frustrated, please give us skip buttons! We aren't all good at every puzzle.

Here's my big one...

If you are going to give us a sequel... make it even better than the first! There is nothing worse than waiting for a sequel (whether its Supper Granny or a HOG) and it falls flat. If that first one was spectacular, really wow us with the second, we'll wait for it if we have too, don't throw us some garbage thing that is only a tiny bit like the first.

For HOG's:
I prefer interactive type or find pieces/parts of object that work to accomplish a puzzle or something else.

I don't like little tiny itty bitty things that is almost impossible to find especially when there is...

The Timer, please, please, please, make it optional. Some like the rush, but I like to enjoy the game without looking at the timer every minute or two checking it.

For Match-3:

Power or special squares to do other things, not just matching, matching, matching.

And I think overall, I like variety in mini-games, backgrounds, and music that doesn't loop in a 30 second loop. The IHOG's are probably my favorite casual games with puzzles, mini-games and hidden objects that lead to other puzzle things to do.

Oh, and I like some replay value to it. It is disappointing to have a game, like it, and it is only an hour or two long and not much else to do with it until you forget how to play it and try it again.

Koalanut

I prefer I-HOGs over HOGs, but there are more HOGs than I-HOGs. I also prefer a relaxed or timed mode, clear graphics, and maybe a magnifying glass or flash light for hard to find items. Some of those games are in the darkness (part of the game) and it's almost impossible to find the objects.

I don't care much about the music - I usually turn it down as it distracts me from the game.

I played one game where you had to click the middle of the pointer on the object instead of the tip. That was bad. I kept having wrong clicks until I realized what it was doing.

Usually I prefer background ambiance to music. I don't like annoying sounds like someone snoring or coughing or a fly buzzing, etc. But things like the wind howling or a thunderstorm or sleet or the sound of a river or waterfall or even the sound of an antique merry-go-round in the distance are nice background.

I'm just beginning to play Casual Games.

I know that HOG is hidden object game.

But was is I-HOG?

It is an Interactive HOG. One that you find the pieces and may have to use some of them in order to open things etc.

Ana

An I-HOG is an interactive hidden object game where you use an item you find to find another object, solve a puzzle or put items together to create an object. MCF: Return to Ravenhearst is an I-HOG.

I want to add to the list of what I like in casual games is a unlimited hints and no penalty for clicking too much. Sometimes my mouse clicks when I don't mean to click and it is annoying to have the game scold you or take something away for that extra click.

I also hate timers. I love a choice between relaxed and timed. I love mysteries and fun characters. I don't care about the music and sounds since I use options to turn them off. I did not like the way the Sleepy Hollow game kept thinking I was using a hint when I clicked on an object shape so I did not buy it. I do not like HOGS that take you back to the same location to look for the same objects over and over again like Mystery PI: The Vegas Heist.

I like interesting characters that make me smile like the girl in Book of Legends who yelled at her brother. And of course a good story that does not require a lot of reading is the icing on the cake.

Also a way to skip mini games is necessary, important, and fantastic. There are some puzzles that I am just not good at like the chessboard in Dream Chronicles II where it was a Simon like game. I finally had to delete the game because I was never going to finish it since I could not get past that one puzzle.

I Love the Timers on most games I think it makes the game more exciting,to try and beat the time I also like the idea of skipping mini games especially if they are the same ones over and over

I have recently become addicted to HOGS and my biggest peeve is when they give you the same scene with the same objects in it again and again. The lists of thing to find may be different but since the scene is the same it quickly becomes rote finding the objects. And like everyone else I MUCH prefer IHOGS!

I like both HOGS and I-HOGS. I also like options so I can turn off the music and skip the really hard (frustrating) puzzles. Unlimited hints and different scenes throughout, with hidden objects matching place and time period, as in Sleepy Hollow (a 5 star game!), not like some of the objects in the first Ravenhurst that belonged in the electronic age. And, no blurring. Clear, precise, graphics. Not so easy I get bored, not so hard I give up. More hidden objects (the reason I play HOGS) and less puzzles. It would also be nice not to have such complicated games (Museum, Pompeii)you can't play without a wt. I personally like games I can figure out on my own, with a hint, or two, to help me put the right stuff together.

I love the Story and that is ultimately what keeps me playing.

I Hate Timers so the option to not be timed is wonderful. I have never used it, but the option to skip a puzzle is also fantastic--relieving the frustration of thinking I won't be able to progress.

I love the interactive ones like the new RTR and Azada 2, and I also like the "description clues" that BFG used in MillionHeir--which I know is not for the PC--but is to me, more fun than the straight PC Hogs.

I really like having to interact with an item to use it such as break the mirror in MillionHeir and we saw some similar things in Madame Fate. They make me think in a fun way.

Great question, NYLady!

For HOGs (and IHOGs), I don't like muddy graphics. If a game is unattractive, I'm not going to spend time staring at it. Ditto for bad music. Good music makes a good game so much better!

I also like the option to skip a mini-game, even with a penalty. And I appreciate when hints are more on the generous side.

I like when a game is "enriched". The Little Shop games are a good example. There's the storyline game mode, then you can play 'blitz' mode, and then there are the trophies. Little Shop games give a lot of playtime, excellent bang for the buck!

I also love TM games. For me, fast and strategic works best! I like when you can click to queue up actions, but then unclick to clear the queue. I like "rewards", like the deco choices in Diner Dash 2, but it's also fun to choose upgrades that affect game play. Trophies (like Delicious - Emily's Garden) and gold/silver levels make for a lot of replay-ability, and that can make me decide whether or not to buy after an hour's demo.

In any game, storylines are not that important to me, so unless the storyline is very short, I appreciate it when I can skip it.