While there have been many variations in overall focus, gameplay and features in MUDs, some distinct sub-groups have formed that can be used to help categorize different game mechanics, game genres and non-game uses.

Machinima productions can remain close to their gaming roots and feature stunts or other portrayals of gameplay.

Pre-rendered scenes can require more digital storage space, weaken suspension of disbelief through contrast with real-time animation of normal gameplay, and limit interaction.

The game worlds in all of the Might and Magic games are quite large, and a player can expect each game to provide several dozen hours of gameplay.

The gameplay as Nights is not completely 3D: players can only fly in the 2D plane of the screen, with their actual motion through the level determined by the automatic camera angle at that point in the Mare.

The gameplay in Quake was considered unique for its time because of the different ways the player can maneuver through the game.

It can be played either with the original 2D graphics or with new 3D graphics, and has added co-op gameplay functionality.

A major element of gameplay found in Rise of the Triad is the many hazards that the player can encounter in the environment.

It is used to add humor to games, but can also have an effect on gameplay such as improving the strength of other attacks.

Courtesans also provide a gameplay mechanic in the two games, main character Ezio Auditore can hire small groups of courtesans that can be used to escort the assassin without being noticed, and to distract hostile guards.

Physically modelled environments, unit interactions, and diverse unit behaviours combine to create a gameplay experience in which realistic battlefield interactions can and do occur.

During gameplay, the player controls only one team member directly, and can see stats for that member and all units on the Heads-Up Display.

The gameplay is similar to the original Legend of Zelda for the NES: the world is viewed from a top-down camera angle, it is divided up into many different squares that can fit on the screen, and the main character can move up, down, left, and right across the screen.

This is likely to have inspired gameplay in Mario platformers from this point on, in which enemies can be defeated ( or stunned ) by hitting blocks on which they are stood from underneath.

Holding " hole " cards allows players to view them more quickly and thus speeds up gameplay, but spectators watching over a player's shoulder can communicate the strength of that hand to other players, even unintentionally.

In this way, players not taking a turn can still enjoy the gameplay, whilst party favors can embellish the party atmosphere.

Furthermore, talking to a variety of local people that although will not progress the narrative, can greatly enhance the player's understanding of the plot and / or gameplay mechanics.

The player's success or failure in these scenes can affect the flow of gameplay as well as the current cutscene.

Warren Spector, former lead designer at Ion Storm, stated it was " not possible to squeeze this much gameplay into a single game " and " no game has done a better job of showing goals before they can be attained, allowing players to make a plan and execute on it ".

* In the popular Indie Game The Binding of Isaac, all of the Major Arcana / Minor Arcana Tarot cards can be found and used during gameplay.

* In the popular Indie Game The Binding of Isaac, all of the Major Arcana / Minor Arcana Tarot cards can be found and used during gameplay.

The publication listed the game as the second " worst movie game ever ", citing it as an example of how poor gameplay can bring negative reception to strong licenses.

Finally, dropping prices of home computers like the Commodore 64 had caused many to believe that buying a home computer was a better investment because it provided more detailed gameplay and could be used for other purposes such as word processing.

Since only one tech may be " researched " at any given time, the order in which technologies are chosen makes a considerable difference in the outcome of the game and generally reflects the player's preferred style of gameplay.

First was the Roller Controller, a trackball packaged with a port of the arcade game Slither, a Centipede clone and meant to be used with some dedicated games like Victory or to enhance the gameplay of previously published cartridges which benefitted from its trackball system ( like Wargames ).

In the Command & Conquer real-time strategy games, both the gameplay and storyline revolve heavily around the introduction to Earth of an extraterrestrial mutagen called Tiberium via meteor, which displays strikingly lifelike behaviours such as self-replication, evolution, and homeostasis, without undergoing anything like common carbon-based metabolic cycles, and which appears to be colonising the Earth, converting it into an environment unsuited to carbon-based biology.

These cannot be collected and provide no gameplay or score bonus.

These cost from 0 to 3 or more points depending on whether they should be considered Frequent, Major ( or even " Twice Major ", for especially powerful abilities that significantly affect gameplay ) and / or Versatile.

The games are designed to be non-linear and long in gameplay length.

Some products supplied by manufacturers may not be intended to be awarded at all, and are instead just used as part of the gameplay ( such as the low-priced items used in several Pricing Games of The Price Is Right ).

With the Odyssey², each game could be a completely unique experience, with its own background graphics, foreground graphics, gameplay, scoring, and music.

Another aspect of the game to have been praised is its gameplay, which Thunderbolt has described as the " deepest most addictive ... to be found on the SNES console ".

The aspects of style and gameplay from Super Mario Kart that have been retained throughout the series have led Nintendo to face criticism for a lack of originality but the franchise is still considered to be a beloved household name by many, known for its familiar core gameplay.

The second modern role-playing game published, it was written by Ken St. Andre to be a more accessible alternative to Dungeons and Dragons and is suitable for solitaire, group, and play-by-mail / post gameplay.

Its gameplay influenced the design of first-person shooters for years after its release, and it is widely considered to be one of the greatest computer games of all time.

The objective of a point of order is to clarify uncertain aspects of gameplay: particularly to allow disputes over penalties to be resolved.

Black Isle Studios had planned a third series to be set in the Dalelands and be a PC exclusive hack and slash game with pausable real-time gameplay.

Interplay suggested that the demonstrated gameplay engine would be well-suited to the Dungeons & Dragons license which it had acquired from SSI.

The staff of Amiga Action wrote that the " attention to detail and the finely tuned gameplay cannot be faulted.

The semi-sequel Yoshi's Story was released for the Nintendo 64 and featured similar gameplay, but is generally considered to be of a lower quality.

In some cases informative documents not in the traditional FAQ style have also been described as FAQs, particularly the videogame FAQ, which is often a detailed descriptions of gameplay, including tips, secrets, and beginning-to-end guidance.

The game was highly praised by reviewers who, for the most part, described the gameplay as fun and engaging.

" " Destructoid editor Jim Sterling described Bowser's gameplay as " brilliant comic relief ".

Author Steven Kent described the game as " infamous " within the industry, citing " primitive " graphics, " dull " gameplay, and a " disappointing story ".

Operation Flashpoint's gameplay varies significantly depending on the player's role, but the game is best described as a tactical shooter with significant vehicle elements and minor real-time tactics elements.

Marble Madness inspired other games that feature similar gameplay based on navigating a ball through progressively more difficult courses ; such games are often described in terms that relate them to Marble Madness.

Yotoriyama has described the game's concept as expressing " fun and diversity in weapon combat ", citing the contrast in how one weapon would affect gameplay compared to another and how they would react to each other upon clashing.

The gameplay of Crystalis is perhaps best described as having Zelda-style combat blended with traditional role-playing video game spell-casting and earning of experience points.

* Blue Max, a World War I flying game for the Commodore 64 and 8-bit Atari computers, had a similar isometric perspective and similar gameplay, and was described by one reviewer as " a souped-up version of Zaxxon.

Amiga Power described how review copies had only been released to the press a few days before the game went on sale, and concluded by stating that " it's probably because the graphics are good that the game plays so poorly-every move the robots make takes so many frames of animation, and so much memory, and so many months of rendering with 3D Studio, that it simply wouldn't have been possible to make the gameplay any more complicated than it is.

A Computer Gaming World preview described the game as " the best that galactic conquest can offer ", and summarized its type of gameplay as " 4X ", meaning " eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate ".

With Twin Galaxies founder Walter Day in attendance as the official referee, Younger's gameplay employed the controversial " box pattern ," which was described in Chasing Ghosts: Beyond the Arcade, a documentary film screened at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.

Though described as an MMORTS, Shattered Galaxy < nowiki >' s </ nowiki > gameplay is closer in flavor to a real-time tactics game.

Conversely, long-time critics of the series complained that Exile continued to prove that Mysts slower gameplay did not belong in the fast-paced modern game market ; GameSpot editor Greg Kasavin described the Myst series as having lost its relevance.

A Gamespot review by Elliot Chin described it as the most frustrating game he had ever played with " boring gameplay and annoying bugs ".

Following the release of the game, the game's general bugginess and perceived mediocre gameplay, along with the lack of features described in most of the game's reviews and the game's own documentation led to a minor backlash against the computer game magazines of the time by consumers who bought the game based on their reviews.

Amstrad Action described it as a " stunningly original concept " and praised its addictive gameplay, calling it " without doubt one of the best three games available on the Amstrad ".

Dark Forces < nowiki >'</ nowiki > gameplay has been described as " challenging " and has generally received praise.

GameSpy described it as " much more than a pinball game ", describing its gameplay mechanics as " unique ".

The gameplay described below represents the format used from 1977 to 1986.

Other modes of gameplay have different starting conditions or goals for the player to meet, but the basic features described above apply to all modes.

Their latest release was World in Conflict, which has been described in interviews on the company's official website as a further development of the real-time tactics gameplay formula from the Ground Control games, but set on Earth during the late Cold War.

The gameplay has been described as " Dig Dug meets Tetris.

In 2009, Phoronix described version 2. 5 of Nexuiz as the best open source FPS they had played, with refined gameplay and graphics that take advantage of modern hardware.