In theory, I like the idea of an adventure game that has unwinnable states, like a virtual adaptation of a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure book. But in practice that leads to a lot of time spent retreading the same content over and over and that just isn't fun. For me, at least. I'm sure there are people who don't mind, in which case, I can understand liking those fail states.
see that's why you need a rewind feature to emulate the choose your own adventure book technique of "flipping pages"
I have been enjoying the new King's Quest game. Each episode is short and since I wait and grab them when they go on sale I don't feel ripped off.
The old Sierra games were terrible in design quite frequently. "What, you mean that pie that I got at the VERY beginning of the game that seemed inconsequential is really the most important item to get past a bear that doesn't appear until near the very end!"
If you used the pie any time between that, the game was impossible to finish.
you also get a prompt at one point where your character is hungry and you need to decide on whether to eat
the pie
part of chicken leg
the entire chicken leg
if you eat the pie you're fucked, you'll need it later to fight a yeti
if you eat the entire chicken leg you're fucked, you'll need part of a chicken leg later to escape from some harpies
when you're in the bird's nest ( a timed sequence which you can't repeat or return to) make sure to grab the gold pixel beside you, before you are rescued from the harpy nest
it is a golden locket that must be used to make a character trust you in the final act of the game, if you do not have it you will be trapped in an endless maze
That was all specifically King's Quest 5. I think the only other of the Quest games that had a non winnable state was Space Quest 2 if you didn't send away for the whistle.
SQ1 was unwinnable if you saved after being grabbed by the facehugger near the start of the game (it wouldn't kill you until several screens later)
KQ2 was unwinnable if you crossed the bridge leading to the magic door one too many times (you were only allowed to cross the bridge exactly as many times as was needed to beat the game; crossing it once more would make it collapse)
KQ3 had a number of unwinnable states, most of which resulted from failing to act quickly enough to beat the wizard who's holding you hostage at the start of the game or from not crafting the spells you needed to beat the game before you progressed to the point that you couldn't go back to the magic workshop
KQ4 was unwinnable if you escaped from being swallowed by the whale without grabbing the item in the whale's mouth, or if you didn't act quickly enough to solve puzzles that could only be solved during daytime/nighttime before the in-game clock progressed past sunset/sunrise
QFG1 was unwinnable if you saved after entering the brigand fortress and didn't have the dispel potion on you, or if you angered any of the NPCs who help you make the dispel potion
QFG4 was unwinnable if you didn't talk to the domovoi before the end of night 5
most if not all of Sierra's adventure games prior to KQ6 and SQ5 would put you in unwinnable game states without either a) warning you in advance that you were currently incapable of solving the upcoming puzzles or b) immediately informing you that the game was now unwinnable
Dude in front of me had glasses and seemed to be fine?
I didn't take notice of their size
There were people in the Gamestop where I tried the PSVR that had glasses, and they all said they had no problems.
Having tried both the Oculus and the PSVR, the latter is definitely lighter and more comfortable. The only quibble for me was that it covered my nose a bit, making it rather itchy. Like with the top straps, there's probably ways I can adjust it so it's more comfortable.
I tried the demo with the shark. Didn't make me tear the headset off screaming, but my tension did rise a bit with having a big creature like that in your face. Plus I just plain love being able to turn my head in any direction and see something different.
In theory, I like the idea of an adventure game that has unwinnable states, like a virtual adaptation of a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure book. But in practice that leads to a lot of time spent retreading the same content over and over and that just isn't fun. For me, at least. I'm sure there are people who don't mind, in which case, I can understand liking those fail states.
see that's why you need a rewind feature to emulate the choose your own adventure book technique of "flipping pages"
An unwinnable state that gives you a different experience than the correct path and once it kills you lets you go right back to the place you fucked up would be fine, IMO. An unwinnable state that is the exact same game as you get doing it right except you get a "fuck you" at the end is supremely dumb.
My friend is working on a roguelike game you can play if you want to. (It has free demo)
In theory, I like the idea of an adventure game that has unwinnable states, like a virtual adaptation of a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure book. But in practice that leads to a lot of time spent retreading the same content over and over and that just isn't fun. For me, at least. I'm sure there are people who don't mind, in which case, I can understand liking those fail states.
see that's why you need a rewind feature to emulate the choose your own adventure book technique of "flipping pages"
An unwinnable state that gives you a different experience than the correct path and once it kills you lets you go right back to the place you fucked up would be fine, IMO. An unwinnable state that is the exact same game as you get doing it right except you get a "fuck you" at the end is supremely dumb.
The thing about the "branching paths" design of CYOA stories, though, is that it's not just a single branch. You can take multiple paths that don't lead directly to a fail state. It's not a binary pass/fail, sometimes you'll take a branch that will lead you to a bunch of different "bad end" options further down the line and you have to back up really far to get back to a better option. And in a book it's not a huge deal because you can just bookmark each branch and skip around as needed, skimming to refresh yourself on any details you may not remember. But in a game it's a bit harder to do that because you can't just "skim" gameplay.
I think radiant historia was bad about it because it was always just right choice and wrong choice and the wrong choice was an immediate short bad ending cutscene then rewind to the good choice
Or you go the Virtue's Last Reward route where almost all of the branching paths were necessary in order to get the "true" ending (and also to fully understand what the hell was going on).
When I was little we had a Commadore64 and I loved that thing to death. And my dad would play all these old games with us, and we'd try to help him. I remember Karateka, Carmen Sandiago, Superman, Little Computer People, Burger Time...
but the absolute best - the BEST - was Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders.
I fucking love that game and I'm so sad it never gets included in the discussion with all these remasters like Grim Fandango and Day of the Tenticle.
I'd pay $60 full price for just a re-release of it as is. I loved that game.
PSN: mxmarks - WiiU: mxmarks - twitter: @ MikesPS4 - twitch.tv/mxmarks - "Yes, mxmarks is the King of Queens" - Unbreakable Vow
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MaddocI'm Bobbin Threadbare, are you my mother?Registered Userregular
I always liked Maniac Mansion better than Zak McKracken
I don't consider having to play through a sequence I've already done "skimming". If I can't arbitrarily skip content at will, it's not good enough.
have you played Life is Strange
Played, no. But yeah that game's probably about as close as we've come to my platonic ideal of how a CYOA type game should work. Just lacking the proper branching paths. I hope more people chase that game design.
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see that's why you need a rewind feature to emulate the choose your own adventure book technique of "flipping pages"
Yo why does this catman have a huge purple dick
Year of the Hook was even earlier than I thought, cause I'm grappling onto shit within an hour of the start
That catman is wearing a loin cloth because they have an actual society with culture and stuff.
that would still imply an advanced culture.
Literally!
But I already said Kirk.
SQ1 was unwinnable if you saved after being grabbed by the facehugger near the start of the game (it wouldn't kill you until several screens later)
KQ2 was unwinnable if you crossed the bridge leading to the magic door one too many times (you were only allowed to cross the bridge exactly as many times as was needed to beat the game; crossing it once more would make it collapse)
KQ3 had a number of unwinnable states, most of which resulted from failing to act quickly enough to beat the wizard who's holding you hostage at the start of the game or from not crafting the spells you needed to beat the game before you progressed to the point that you couldn't go back to the magic workshop
KQ4 was unwinnable if you escaped from being swallowed by the whale without grabbing the item in the whale's mouth, or if you didn't act quickly enough to solve puzzles that could only be solved during daytime/nighttime before the in-game clock progressed past sunset/sunrise
QFG1 was unwinnable if you saved after entering the brigand fortress and didn't have the dispel potion on you, or if you angered any of the NPCs who help you make the dispel potion
QFG4 was unwinnable if you didn't talk to the domovoi before the end of night 5
most if not all of Sierra's adventure games prior to KQ6 and SQ5 would put you in unwinnable game states without either a) warning you in advance that you were currently incapable of solving the upcoming puzzles or b) immediately informing you that the game was now unwinnable
There were people in the Gamestop where I tried the PSVR that had glasses, and they all said they had no problems.
Having tried both the Oculus and the PSVR, the latter is definitely lighter and more comfortable. The only quibble for me was that it covered my nose a bit, making it rather itchy. Like with the top straps, there's probably ways I can adjust it so it's more comfortable.
I tried the demo with the shark. Didn't make me tear the headset off screaming, but my tension did rise a bit with having a big creature like that in your face. Plus I just plain love being able to turn my head in any direction and see something different.
I'm all in on PSVR. Can't wait for October.
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An unwinnable state that gives you a different experience than the correct path and once it kills you lets you go right back to the place you fucked up would be fine, IMO. An unwinnable state that is the exact same game as you get doing it right except you get a "fuck you" at the end is supremely dumb.
The thing about the "branching paths" design of CYOA stories, though, is that it's not just a single branch. You can take multiple paths that don't lead directly to a fail state. It's not a binary pass/fail, sometimes you'll take a branch that will lead you to a bunch of different "bad end" options further down the line and you have to back up really far to get back to a better option. And in a book it's not a huge deal because you can just bookmark each branch and skip around as needed, skimming to refresh yourself on any details you may not remember. But in a game it's a bit harder to do that because you can't just "skim" gameplay.
My Let's Play Channel: https://youtube.com/channel/UC2go70QLfwGq-hW4nvUqmog
https://mobile.twitter.com/Uchikoshi_Eng/status/741287790130909185
God damnit as a console player I want it so bad
Guys maybe fix the bug where enemies turn basically invisble at night if youre under a light source
but the absolute best - the BEST - was Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders.
I fucking love that game and I'm so sad it never gets included in the discussion with all these remasters like Grim Fandango and Day of the Tenticle.
I'd pay $60 full price for just a re-release of it as is. I loved that game.
have you played Life is Strange
Played, no. But yeah that game's probably about as close as we've come to my platonic ideal of how a CYOA type game should work. Just lacking the proper branching paths. I hope more people chase that game design.
You should check out the 2008 version of Alone in the Dark, it let you fast-forward through sequences you didn't want to play.
it had some really cool ideas but woof
Alone in the Dark.
You had to push a cabinet in front of a window to stop a horrible triangle monster from jumping in.
And then you had to push a chest on top of a trap door to stop a horrible spindly mummy ghost zombie thing from emerging.
It was pretty cool.
And then the demo ended and I don't know what else happened.
fuck those triangles