SLASH'S PROFILE

Here and there. I don't do research so much to get everything factually correct (although I do research to avoid incorrectness, if that makes sense). But thanks to Wikipedia's article-linking system, I often get a lot of inspiration for thematic ideas in my games.

For example, over the past weekend I was looking up "punk" on Wikipedia (as in the clique/group) and I started browsing through other sorts of cliques and genres, and I realized they were crazy and unique, and really fit into the theme of my game. It wasn't so much for factual accuracy as it was for inspiration and ideas.

On a side note, I've found that sometimes the best way to get inspiration and do research is to see things in person, or experience them in a different way (reading a novel, watching a movie). Different types of media can project the feeling of a theme, place or thing very differently and you'll look at them in a different light, and maybe that'll be good for your game.

author=Solitayre
Actually, trips in SSBB aren't random. Certain abilities can cause you to trip if you get hit by them. That isn't to say they aren't very stupid.

This is true - many moves can cause you to trip and are balanced around that mechanic. Diddy's banana peels are meant to cause tripping whenever they hit. In addition, down-tilt attacks have a random % chance to trip a standing opponent on a hit.

However, there is also a small, random chance to trip whenever you SMASH the control stick, i.e. when running, using a side-special, or using a side-smash attack, and this is completely out of the hands of the players. The only way to not risk a trip is to never SMASH the control stick, which removes 4 abilities from your repertoire and your ability to run :P This seems like it falls right under your description of unnecessary randomness.

author=kentona

author=slashphoenix
It's such a letdown when you collect something vastly important and all-powerful to help you, but really all it does is push the plot forward. When I collect the orbs or the crystals or the sage medallions or whatever, I want to feel like I'm using the power from that item to help me, because that's what anyone with half a brain and an ancient relic would do.

But that's not what Gandalf advised...

Pfft! Gandalf!

"oh hey look at me i'm gandalf yea i'm an immortal wizard from another land yea i can create fire and explosions but i think i'll smoke my pipe and give vaguely sagacious advice instead oh you wanted help well i could smite something but here's a funny-looking firework okay i'm gonna ride away on the world's fastest horse good luck"

PHOOEY ON GANDALF

You could make a villain who wants to be killed in the coolest way possible so he goes down in history.

Crystals can't hold up a game on their own, but they work as a basic plot device if they are used to introduce the meat of a game, like characters or fighting. If your fighting system is a blast, then the use of a generic plot device may be acceptable. That being said, if you use a generic plot device to introduce generic battles and generic characters...