This Old Neon Forum

Submitted by VictorViper, this category asks what game has the most innovative mechanics! Whether that's ground-breaking early games that invented new genres or brought them to video games for the first time, or newer games that somehow managed to change the formula, how you interpret the question is up to you.

Most Innovative Mechanics

Feel free to discuss your votes in this thread.

One of the things I keep thinking about with these polls, especially with them living on the main site now, is that we'll be more accountable for the results. If a game like Breath of the Wild somehow wins in this category (which would be akin to Einhander winning a Best Super Mario Bros. Game category), we'll have to publish the results and look foolish.

Anyway, I haven't voted yet, but here are some thoughts!

Poll 1 of 6
A Mind Forever Voyaging (1985, PC)
ActRaiser (1990, SNES) - this had the god game / sim elements combined with action
Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty (1992, PC) - arguably the second RTS, just behind Herzog Zwei (which is also nominated and has a bye into the next round)
Gradius (1985, Arcade)
LittleBigPlanet (2008, PS3) - first crafty building-the-world game
Pokémon [Diamond/Pearl] Version (2006, DS) - I must be missing something here... possibly one of the least-innovative games I can think of? I want to see someone argue for it, though!
Rock Band (2007, Multiplatform) - I'd put this behind Guitar Hero in terms of innovation (in the next bracket)
Shadow of the Colossus (2005, PS2) - whole game of puzzle bosses
Star Saga: One - Beyond the Boundary (1988, PC) - one of the earlier games to bring P&P role-playing to computers, supplemented with massive printed-out rulebooks
Superhot VR (2017, Multiplatform) - VR thing


Poll 2 of 6
Bubble Bobble (1986, Arcade)
Demon's Souls (2009, PS3) - I nominated this for the crazy underlying world tendency system that changes when you beat bosses and die, for the unique multiplayer system that it spawned (summoning allies and being invaded by griefers), and the overall atmospheric use of online multiplayer (sending messages and seeing ghosts of other players) - very innovative reimagination of what playing alone with other people could mean
Dyad (2012, PS3)
Guitar Hero (2005, PS2) - playing with instruments
M.U.L.E. (1983, C64)
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2003, Multiplatform)
Shinobi (2002, PS2)
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (1991, Multiplatform)
Super Mario 64 (1996, N64) - for being a 3D platformer, I guess? There were a few before this.
Super Metroid (1994, SNES) - powerups unlocking backtracking paths?

Those are going to be my two easy votes for this category.

Poll 3 of 6
Braid (2008, Multiplatform) - rewind time as a platforming mechanic
Doom (1993, PC)
Elite Plus (1991, PC)
Katamari Damacy (2004, PS2) - collecting a ball as a puzzle-platforming mechanic
Kid Icarus: Uprising (2012, 3DS)
Metal Gear (1987, MSX2)
Sid Meier's Pirates! (1987, Multiplatform)
Super Hexagon (2012, Mobile/PC)
Super Mario Kart (1992, SNES)
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017, NS) - took a bunch of ideas and mechanics from existing games and put them into the 20th game in a series

Poll 4 of 6
Beat Saber (2018, PC/PS4)
Crypt of the NecroDancer (2015, Multiplatform) - rhythm-based roguelike
Halo: Combat Evolved (2001, PC/XB)
LittleBigPlanet (2012, Vita) - like LittleBigPlanet, but portable and a few years later - does someone want to elaborate on what sets this one apart from the original?
Mark of the Ninja (2012, Multiplatform)
Mighty Switch Force! Hyper Drive Edition (Steam)
Sid Meier's Civilization (1991, PC)
SpyParty (2018, PC) - very unique spin on PvP - one player has to try to blend in with a bunch of NPCs while the other player has to watch the party from afar and try to determine who the real person is
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (2000, N64) - spin-cycle narrative

Poll 5 of 6
After Burner (1987, Arcade)
Comix Zone (1995, Genesis) - comic panels platformer
Fatal Frame / Project Zero (2001, PS2)
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (2017, NS) - XCOM but with Mario? Seems like the opposite of innovative to me, unless someone wants to elaborate
Pac-Man (1980, Arcade)
Proteus (2012, Multiplatform) - open world, goalless exploration on a procedurally generated island
Return of Obra Dinn (2018, PC)
Super Mario Galaxy (2007, Wii) - 3D platforming on spheres
Super Meat Boy (2010, Multiplatform) - seems unabashedly uninnovative, but I'd be happy to entertain a pitch for this one
Trace Memory / Another Code: Two Memories (2005, DS)

Poll 6 of 6
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (2007, DS)
World of Goo (2008, Multiplatform)
WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$ (2003, GBA)
Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord (1981, PC) - probably the first D&D-based computer RPG - doesn't have the rulebook-reliant design of Star Saga, but it gets points for being first
The President Is Missing (1988, C64)
WarioWare: Smooth Moves (2006, Wii)
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998, N64) - because it's 3D? I don't get this one.
The Lords of Midnight (1984, C64)
Wolfenstein 3D (1992, PC)
Zork: The Great Underground Empire (1980, PC)

I was a little bit shocked to see some of the nominations for this one myself. As the person who suggested the poll, I'll do what I can to explain my nominations in hopes of better lining everyone up with the spirit of the thing.

Poll 1 of 6

Rock Band (2007, Multiplatform) - If you want to give Guitar Hero its due here, that's fine but remember if it boils down to who came first, then Guitar Freaks by Konami came first by years. Rock Band brought the BAND to the table. An innovation so significant it speaks for itself.

Superhot VR (2017, Multiplatform) - Earned my vote. Amazing.


Poll 2 of 6

None of mine in here. Demon's Souls got my vote for myriad small reasons, the world tendency system a big one among them (though it was a mechanism I despised). The Souls Series' signature multiplayer started here as well.

Poll 3 of 6

Braid (2008, Multiplatform) - rewind time as a platforming mechanic is the main deal here, but the execution was immaculate and the way it subverted the usual platformer mechanics really seals it.

Katamari Damacy (2004, PS2) - Unusual use of the dual-shock's sticks for control, unusual mechanism for gameplay, unusual game!

Super Hexagon (2012, Mobile/PC) - This is a maze game when you get right down to it. Speed, shape, colour and music all come together to make for a flawless "in the zone" experience. You press left or right.

Super Hexagon got my vote.

Poll 4 of 6

Crypt of the NecroDancer (2015, Multiplatform) - this took a basic roguelike core and slapped a rhythm game over it, if you want to reduce it to its basics. Like Super Hexagon though, the execution of the concept resulted in something supremely playable and enjoyable, and which plays like nothing else out there (before or since).

Please don't let Halo through.

Poll 5 of 6

After Burner (1987, Arcade) - This one was selected very specifically for its incredible deluxe mechanical arcade unit. This game was a RIDE as much as it was a game, and when you factor in that AB was a bad ass, Yu Suzuki masterpiece, it was something that sticks with you forever. I still go out of my way to play this if I see it.

Super Meat Boy (2010, Multiplatform) - quickstarts after death have influenced all precision platformers worth their salt after SMB set the world's thumbs on fire. And the backbenching of those deaths into a gory post-victory montage is still one of the best rewards in gaming.

Poll 6 of 6

Zork: The Great Underground Empire (1980, PC) - hard to really encapsulate this one, but it's certainly one of the earliest text based adventures, which is something in itself. This one's pretty weird, definitely hilarious, and has had a lasting impact on a bunch of great game designers, not to mention on me!

VictorViper wrote: ↑25 Feb 2019 16:38 Poll 1 of 6

Rock Band (2007, Multiplatform) - If you want to give Guitar Hero its due here, that's fine but remember if it boils down to who came first, then Guitar Freaks by Konami came first by years. Rock Band brought the BAND to the table. An innovation so significant it speaks for itself.

I agree with pretty much everything else in your post, and I stand happily corrected on Super Meat Boy.

With Guitar Hero vs. Rock Band, I see the expansion to the whole band as a naturally progression moreso than an innovation. I think the concept of playing the instrument as the controller is the real leap forward with these games (and Guitar Freaks wasn't nominated).

Turning it into a great multiplayer BAND social experience is a leap in its own right, of course, so I'm happy for people to vote for either of these games according to what's in their hearts... but these arguments are all going to come roaring back if they have to go up against each other.

I nominated the following (plus a few that made it into round 2)

Lbp vita - touch controls especially the back touch pad stuff was really cool hence why I nominated it over 1.

Mario + Rabbids - I'd never seen dash attacks in an xcom style game and it's the first game I've seen with such customizable skill trees. Being able to reset at no cost was my big reason for nominating it. (this was a bit of a stretch I guess)

TLOZ Phantom hourglass it's the first game I remember that used the touch controls to walk around and use for attacks. Also a kinda a spoiler but this mechanic also was fantastic.

Spoiler

The puzzle that required you to close the ds to solve blew my mind as well.

however the main thing was the combat and movement controls

Was Diamond and Pearl the first to include online battling could that be the reason it was nominated?

Other things I could think of are touch controls, snow, I believe some back end stuff changed around gen 4 too.

Nonetheless nothing super different from Emerald.

Slurmee wrote: ↑25 Feb 2019 16:57 Was Diamond and Pearl the first to include online battling could that be the reason it was nominated?

Other things I could think of are touch controls, snow, I believe some back end stuff changed around gen 4 too.

Nonetheless nothing super different from Emerald.

Warcraft 2 had online battling in 1995. There were several touch-controlled games on DS before Diamond/Pearl, and even some innovations in touch screen gaming before the DS came out.

As I said in the chat, adding old/existing mechanics to a specific series doesn't make them innovative, at least in my opinion. I love Final Fantasy Tactics, but there's no way I would vote for it here simply for adopting age-old turn-based grid-based tactical mechanics into the Final Fantasy series for the first time.

Kong Wen wrote: ↑25 Feb 2019 17:04

Slurmee wrote: ↑25 Feb 2019 16:57 Was Diamond and Pearl the first to include online battling could that be the reason it was nominated?

Other things I could think of are touch controls, snow, I believe some back end stuff changed around gen 4 too.

Nonetheless nothing super different from Emerald.

Warcraft 2 had online battling in 1995. There were several touch-controlled games on DS before Diamond/Pearl, and even some innovations in touch screen gaming before the DS came out.

As I said in the chat, adding old/existing mechanics to a specific series doesn't make them innovative, at least in my opinion. I love Final Fantasy Tactics, but there's no way I would vote for it here simply for adopting age-old turn-based grid-based tactical mechanics into the Final Fantasy series for the first time.

Oh I meant first in the pokemon series. I'm really hoping we're missing something

Slurmee wrote: ↑25 Feb 2019 16:49 TLOZ Phantom hourglass it's the first game I remember that used the touch controls to walk around and use for attacks. Also a kinda a spoiler but this mechanic also was fantastic.

Spoiler

The puzzle that required you to close the ds to solve blew my mind as well.

however the main thing was the combat and movement controls

That mechanic wasn't new, it was already used in Another Code: Two Memories.

Slurmee wrote: ↑25 Feb 2019 17:11 Oh I meant first in the pokemon series. I'm really hoping we're missing something

You are missing something!

The Physical/Special split (https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Damage_category). Very important to the Pokémon PvP meta.

Having said that, it's a very in-series innovation. It's not something that could really be borrowed by the industry as a whole. ie, it's a very important change to the Pokémon series and improved it a good bit, but it won't get my vote because it had no industry impact, IMO.