Quote:
Originally Posted by Squinky
I'm thinking of obstructions that won't let you progress further into the story unless you solve them. Things that get you stuck and make you reach for the walkthrough, in other words.
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Yeah, total agreement here; sorry, didn't intend to make it sound like an argument. I was just saying that in any new game, sometimes just learning what limitations the gameworld possesses can be the puzzle. I mean, there are traditional puzzles, sure. But every so often, you get a game like the aforementioned Facade, where you literally are a "stranger in a strange land", in which just basic conversation and understanding become the greatest puzzles, as opposed to "slip newspaper under door to get key", lol. I guess that's why I find your idea so fascinating.
Two other games come to mind, as well. Gabriel Knight 1 had the interesting "tape splice" recorder, which made a really innovative puzzle out of dialogue, in many interesting combinations. And oddly enough, LSL: Magna Cum Laude, a mostly-tedious game that nonetheless had a rather interesting take on dialogue. It had icons at the bottom of the screen, and the player had to "swim" toward icons, to make the conversation continue. There were some pretty varied responses a player could get, as it was solely up to them where to swim and what icons to choose. It was a neat design in a game that seemed pretty "blah" in other ways.
Anyway, as a writer myself, I look forward to seeing this in development. Far too few games have compelling dialogue these days, and I sorely miss seeing it in games. Good luck with it!!
