isiolia wrote:MrPopo wrote:
That's the kind of thinking that has led to unskippable in-game tutorials. In my day you read the manual, and if you didn't you'd miss out on some cool tricks. When I make a game I create an entire package for the player to experience. If they skip out on some of that package then I think it's ok for them to have a reduced enjoyment of the rest.
I think it's more the line of thinking that results in things like automaps, quest logs, and other player guides.
To me, some games do warrant a little exposition, and it can be hard to work that in without making the player sit still for a little. Even if it's not a cutscene per se, you might have to sit in the conversation window, or not walk away from a character who's talking.
However, if you implement solid player assists, someone can reasonably skip through all that and not be lost. They can look in their quests and see oh, Good Queen Talksalot wanted me to retrieve the treasure from this cave on Hellafaraway Mountain. I haven't been there yet, because it's not on my map...but it's this direction. Seems simple enough.
Those same mechanics also serve to help players jump back into a game they haven't played in a while.
I see what you're saying, but I disagree somewhat. Quest log, sure, I agree there. Both from a "I don't remember which quests I've picked up" and a "it's been a while since I've played" standpoint. But even then, it depends on how you implement the quest log. An entry of "Dsheinem wants me to collect three troll skulls" is very different from "Dsheinem, an NPC in the BST forum, wants me to collect three troll skulls, which can be found on the second page of the Off Topic forum". Sure, the latter is handy if you haven't played in a while, but you can accomplish the same thing by having the Dsheinem NPC give you a quest reminder if you talk with him again.
Auto maps are also interesting. You've got a few different kinds. There's the Wizardry style where you only uncover where you go and in particular Wizardry titles that feature it I consider to be a good thing. Sure, you could draw out the map yourself, but automapping ends up removing a chore (though Etrian Odyssey makes it fun). And in the case of large games like Oblivion trying to make the map yourself is an exercise in futility; you'd need a full on degree on cartography. The other style of automap is the Zelda OoT style, where the given area you're in has its structure fully known. Sometimes you don't know the structure of a room until you go in it, but once you do you instantly know that it's shaped like an eldritch abomination or a simple circle. Again, this ends up being similar to the Oblivion case; the rooms are of irregular shape and so mapping them yourself is difficult.
However, one problem with auto maps is the recent prevelence of the map marker for every objective. It makes sense sometimes. The location of a town is well known so it makes sense that the NPC was able to mark it on your map. But the location of a piece of loot out in the wilderness? It's especially egregious when the market points to a living creature and the marker moves over time. It removes all sense of exploration and discovery and instead gives you "go to the point on your map, then do stuff". I think this is a bad thing. If I need to hunt down a rampaging baloth I'm ok with you telling me "he was last sighted in the vicinity of the giant stone statue" and marking that on my map. But then it should be up to me to find this creature once I get there.
In-game tutorials seem like a separate issue to me - though also not one I usually have much issue with.
If they're skippable I don't mind them. Especially if you can skip them piecemeal. For example, I should be able to skip the movement controls since I've been playing video games since I was 5 and know how to handle a controller. But your interesting alchemy system that relies on a puzzle game? That might be good to show me.
Blizzard Entertainment Software Developer - All comments and views are my own and not representative of the company.
