Thanks everyone for your thoughts so far. Let''s keep ''em coming.
quote:
Original post by Voodoo4
do i smell Ernest Adams here?
Kudos to Voodoo4 for catching my sneaky act of plaguerism! I did "borrow" that example of an obscure puzzle from one of Ernest Adams'' articles on Gamasutra.
------------------------------ Changing the future of adventure gaming... Atypical Interactive
------------------------------Changing the future of adventure gaming...Atypical Interactive
Voodoo4: Thanks... I really do like imposing my 2D view on people. Really gives a whole new perspective on things. And you are original in the meantime
Personally I don''t care what the graphics are like as long as the game engrosses me. By that I mean that I WANT to play it till the end. Don''t get me wrong, I do like nice graphics, but I feel they are very much secondary to the whole feel of the game. As for the puzzle types, it depends on the sort of game, if the game is a silly comedy game and the lampshade has a big warning sticker on it stating it''s incompatibility with tracked vehicles then I''m all for using it with the bulldozer, but if the game is serious then don''t do it. Basically just keep the basic feel of the game consistent.
The most annoying thing about adventure games is the ''cop-outs'' that designers tend to use in order to prolong the game experience, such as pixel small objects. The most important thing is story.
Action games...I enjoyed Resident Evil 2 (playstation), sorry but RE3 sucked. (used the same gfx engine)
1) Do you prefer 3rd person, 1st person or a hybrid?
Honestly, I like 3rd person better, but maneuvering around walls, small structures, and walking across the Grand Canyon on a 2x4 can be very dificullt w/ a keyboard or a digital joystick! So maybe if the viewdistance, distance from the screen to the characters feet, was constant, might help a bit. If anyone played the Black Cauldron (1985) for Tandy 1000, they know where i''m comin from.
2) "Real-world" puzzles, or "Use lampshade w/ bulldozer" puzzles?
Shadowgate is dead, let it go. I like puzzles, but MYST was too much! (i''m comparing the puzzles, not the 1st/3rd person thing here) I had to buy the strategy guide, I hate games like that! Jus make sure you move a character and interact w/ the "Real-world" or i''m not playing it.
1) Do you prefer 3rd person, 1st person or a hybrid?
For adventure games: certainly, 3rd person, with a positionable camera (if 3D).
2) "Real-world" puzzles, or "Use lampshade w/ bulldozer" puzzles?
Not necessarily "real world", but "realistic" puzzles. Like, if I come to a door with a brass lock, marked "Dangerous Gas: Keep Out!", I want to have a brass key and a gasmask before I enter the room. Not really puzzling, but it makes sense, y''know?
3) Any thoughts AT ALL!!!
Adventure games are storybooks in which YOU play the main role. So it goes to reason that you should make a difference. Making a game that is simply puzzle-solving isn''t really an adventure, is it? To me, adventure means exploration, avoiding lethal dangers (or using my head to circumvent them), fighting (if that is part of the game), and generally making my actions and choices advance the plot (rather than advance the game mechanics).
- 3rd person - real-world uses for unusual objects.
Gimme alternate ways of solving puzzles. Let me open doors with keys. Let me smash doors open with axes. Let me shoot the locks off of doors with an assortment of ludicrous weapons. Let me card doors open with a discarded phone card. And so on.
And let me use objects for things other than their main use. I hate when you find a perfectly normal object, and it won''t do anything except the one thing it was meant for, which is to solve a puzzle. Give me objects that are irrelevant. Let me put the lampshade on my head, even though it won''t solve anything. In fact, create easter eggs for when people use objects in weird ways. This is a great way to add humor to the game.
