10 Needless Video Game Features We Could All Do Without

7. Invisible Walls

Games are becoming increasingly more cinematic and story focused as the industry grows older, as such anything that could break the tension, immersion or suspense of a game's story is to be avoided at all costs. One classic video game fault that still occurs in modern games is that of the invisible wall or barrier. Decent video game design will have visible limits, such as walls, locked doors or obstacles that prevent progress to unplayable areas, but some developers have been as lazy to just make them blunt, transparent barriers that you can't walk past. The inherent problem with invisible walls is that they make you entirely aware of the fact that you're playing a game - it literally is the fourth wall that can't be broken. When we see a huge, expansive environment in the background we'll naturally want to explore it, not being able to do so without good reason makes feel cheated as customers. It's not a huge blunder as they don't affect game-play, but it's a very unprofessional practice that shows how much care, time and thought was put into the game - presumably very little if there are hidden walls everywhere.