History SerendipityWritesThePlot / VideoGames

** A very eerie example was the lack of the World Trade Center in the New York skyline. Due to memory limitations, the sections of the skybox including the World Trade Center had to be removed in favor of mirroring the other half of the skyline, and the creators justified it saying that they had been destroyed in a terrorist attack before the game started. Keep in the mind that ''[[HarsherInHindsight the game came out in 2000]]''. [[note]]It's not ''that'' prescient, mind -- people forget this because 9/11 eclipsed it, but Al Qaeda operatives had already attempted to bring the World Trade Center down with a truck bomb in 1993.[[/note]]

* When the Platform/{{Xbox}} was first approved for development, creative director Horace Luke was asked to start sketching concepts for what the physical product could look like. In the moment, he quickly discovered that all of the color markers on his desk were empty, except one: Green. The final version of the Xbox naturally evolved a lot from those initial sketches, but the black and green color theming was something that stuck ever since the beginning.

** When ''XIV'' was remade, the zones were a lot smaller than they were in 1.0. This was done to cut down on the maze-like/huge open fields where players could easily get lost and also due to the limitations of the Playstation 3. By the ''Stormblood'' expansion, development of the Playstation 3 version came to an end since the game was simply too much for the console to handle. Players who upgraded to a Playstation 4 were able to transfer their game over free of charge.

** When ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' was [[VideoGameRemake remade]] for the Platform/NintendoGameCube as ''The Twin Snakes'', just about all of the dialogue was re-recorded, despite most of it being identical to the original/PlayStation version (and it even uses [[RoleReprise all of the same actors]] to boot, thanks to Creator/DavidHayter's insistence). While it makes sense to account for [[HeKnowsAboutTimedHits different buttons and such]], Hayter mentioned in an interview that the original game's dialogue was recorded in an apartment hastily converted into a recording studio. If those recordings were used for the remake, the [=GameCube=]'s higher quality audio format would reveal other noises the microphones picked up, including ''traffic outside the apartment''.

* The ''VideoGame/{{Tenchu}}'' games take place at night because it was easier on the [=PlayStation=]'s processor.

* [[http://all-things-andy-gavin.com/2011/02/02/making-crash-bandicoot-part-1// This series of blog posts]] by the creators of ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot'' describes how the limitations of the hardware of the original UsefulNotes/PlayStation dictated almost every design choice, from level design to character design to even [[CrateExpectations one of the mechanics the series is most known for]] (which in turn named the character). Basically, Crash turned out the way it is because technology sucked at the time.

** The original arcade game had a chubby, mustachioed Mario (then known as Jumpman) wearing a hat and overalls due to technical limitations. The technology at the time would not have been able to show Mario's hair sticking up when he fell, a mustache would be easier to show than a mouth at that resolution, overalls were the only piece of clothing that could also be seen with 1981 graphics, and only square hit boxes were possible. These same traits would later come to benefit Mario again in his UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 outings, which have aged considerably better than other early 3D games as a result.

** Averted with ''VideoGame/LegoCityUndercover''. The original UsefulNotes/WiiU version was strictly a single-player only experience. In 2017, the game was ported to numerous other consoles, now boasting a two-player mode. Rather than altering the existing story to accomodate a second protagonist, Player 2 is completely absent from cutscenes and is represented by a second [=Chase McCain=] during gameplay.

** The original ''VideoGame/MetalGear1'' on the UsefulNotes/{{MSX}}2 was originally envisioned as a top-down shooter. However, the hardware limitations of the platform meant that too many sprites on the screen would start to make the picture flicker. The game was thus re-tooled to focus on ''avoiding'' enemies and combat, and an iconic stealth franchise was born.
** When ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' was [[VideoGameRemake remade]] for the UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube as ''The Twin Snakes'', just about all of the dialogue was re-recorded, despite most of it being identical to the original UsefulNotes/PlayStation version (and it even uses [[RoleReprise all of the same actors]] to boot, thanks to Creator/DavidHayter's insistence). While it makes sense to account for [[HeKnowsAboutTimedHits different buttons and such]], Hayter mentioned in an interview that the original game's dialogue was recorded in an apartment hastily converted into a recording studio. If those recordings were used for the remake, the [=GameCube=]'s higher quality audio format would reveal other noises the microphones picked up, including ''traffic outside the apartment''.

** The similarly iconic {{shoulders|of Doom}} came about in ''VideoGame/MetroidIIReturnOfSamus'' because, it being a classic UsefulNotes/GameBoy game, they couldn't use alternate colors to differentiate between the starting Power Suit and the Varia upgrade as they did in the first game. This look has essentially become her defining outfit, to the point that ''VideoGame/MetroidFusion'' and ''VideoGame/MetroidZeroMission'' are the only games in the series that don't give the massive shoulders with the Varia upgrade or even give her that upgrade from the start. And said games even have reasons for doing so: the former because Samus's Fusion Suit is made up of remnants from her removed Power Suit and the latter because [[spoiler:Samus doesn't get the shoulders until she receives an ancient, but more advanced Power Suit towards the end of the game]].

** To save space, many Kanto locations from ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue'' are inaccessible in ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'' (set three years later in-universe). The town of Cinnabar Island was destroyed by a volcanic eruption, the entrance to Cerulean Cave has collapsed, the explorable area of Mt. Moon has shrunk due to rock slides, and Pewter Museum of Science and the Safari Zone are closed (due to renovations and the owner taking a vacation respectively). Of course, this is to be expected when putting two whole regions into a UsefulNotes/GameBoy cartridge, [[SugarWiki/GeniusProgramming which is a miracle in itself]]. ''[[VideoGameRemake Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver]]'', released for the more advanced UsefulNotes/NintendoDS, added some of the missing areas back in.

* The gameplay of the ''VideoGame/WarioLand'' series, and most of Wario's attributes, were because of the limitations of the original UsefulNotes/GameBoy. The Game Boy had a tiny, monochromatic screen where ScreenCrunch was a frequent issue, and an outdated CPU that paled against other handhelds and home consoles, both of which made translating the kinetic precision platforming of the Franchise/SuperMarioBros series to the handheld a challenge. In response, Wario became a Mighty Glacier who did not run fast or jump high to work with the Game Boy's screen resolution, and his games eschewed common {{Platformer}} tropes like [[DeathCourse Death Courses]] and BottomlessPits in favor of exploring every nook and cranny of levels for coins and treasures.

* When the UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}} was first approved for development, creative director Horace Luke was asked to start sketching concepts for what the physical product could look like. In the moment, he quickly discovered that all of the color markers on his desk were empty, except one: Green. The final version of the Xbox naturally evolved a lot from those initial sketches, but the black and green color theming was something that stuck ever since the beginning.

** The character Hwang (a Korean warrior) was created for the sole purpose of replacing Mitsurugi (a Japanese samurai) in the Korean version of ''Soul Edge'', as, thanks to historical enmity, South Korea used to ban any positive depiction of Japanese samurai in their media. Then Namco decided that they liked Hwang and expanded him into a full character in ''Soulcalibur'', where Mitsuguri was ''once again'' replaced by Arthur, an European samurai.

* The existence of the Soul Calibur in the eponymous ''[[VideoGame/SoulSeries Soulcalibur]]'' series is down to the infamous trademark lawsuits that have been filed due to Tim Langdell of Edge Games, which argue that any use of the word "edge" with relation to video games infringed on his company's name. When Namco attempted to release ''Soul Edge'' in the U.S. under its original title, they were slapped with this, forcing them to sidestep with [[MarketBasedTitle renaming the game]] "''Soul Blade''" and then later "''Soulcalibur''" for the following installment, which it retained from then onwards (an attempt was made during the development of ''Soulcalibur V'' to return the series to its "''Soul Edge''" name but it was rejected). The Soul Calibur was thus introduced as the antithesis to the already established Soul Edge to anchor the newly renamed series to its title.

** Junichi Masuda has said that the rivals in earlier games are more antagonistic due to the pixel graphics limiting what they could express. Putting more emphasis on characterisation through dialogue became more important, with more emphasis on speech over visuals also meaning they could give them a more jerk-ish personality with a less harsh impression on the player.

** Junichi Masuda has said that the rivals in earlier games are more antagonistic due to the pixel graphics limiting what they could express. Putting more emphasis on characterisation through dialogue became more important, with more emphasis on speech over visuals also meaning that a more jerk-ish personality would give less harsh of an impression on the player.