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AGs Mechanics

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Classic AGs esp. with extra mechanics have always been a hit or miss for me, or at least let me put it this way; if the mechanics are subtle and the adventuring elements of how you solve the puzzle are still shinning i feel very good about it, but if the game relies heavily on these mechanics i feel kinda betrayed or let down, confused and maybe irritated.

Ex1: Whispers of a Machine has smart mechanics, no doubt about it, but i feel them were heavily involved in every bit of the gameplaying, and that not it only, they were introduced with same the pace from start to the end, i know someone will argue that they start with only three features and then chapter by chapter they are increasing, but that does not change that they were heavily involved from the very begining with whether they are three or six.

Ex2: Overclocked has this tiring tape rec feature that needs you to listen to every dialogue you had with those patients to find out some triggers that push the game forwards, and tho they are tiring but its still minimal and fun at the start, only gets tiring after 60-70% thru the game. it might be overused from some perspective but you always knew why exactly you were stuck at, and then referring to a walkthru in these situations become easy and never felt like cheating, but more skipping a mini-game of some sort.

Ex3: Memoria and its the magical spells feature was exactly set in the right amount, they even had different smart approaches to how they fit into the gameplaying too, or how they used to solve a puzzle, and never felt you needed to use those spells on everything or anything like that when you are stuck, you knew exactly when there is a puzzle that is concerning them, and the question that remains is which and how, and that exactly perfect for me and doesn’t change the classical gameplaying pace but adds an extra kick, which exactly what these mechanics meant for.

that is me, how do you feel about these mechanics? and what are the smartest and likable you have encountered?

     
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I kind of enjoy games trying out some new game mechanics, even if it doesn’t always work that well, at least it’s an existing example of such design.

What I don’t like at all, is if some puzzle all of a sudden requires completely new puzzle solving mechanics, in the worst cases the game not even hinting at the possibility of such being possible.

To give an example: from the very beginning well past the midpoint of the game, puzzles are solved using the old-fashioned item on item mechanics. But then, without any explanation, one puzzle is solved using the mouse pointer to guide a NPC to another location. That is so uncool.  Thumbs Up

     
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Joined 2012-03-24

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Advie - 05 June 2020 05:47 AM

Classic AGs esp. with extra mechanics have always been a hit or miss for me, or at least let me put it this way; if the mechanics are subtle and the adventuring elements of how you solve the puzzle are still shinning i feel very good about it, but if the game relies heavily on these mechanics i feel kinda betrayed or let down, confused and maybe irritated.

Ex1: Whispers of a Machine has smart mechanics, no doubt about it, but i feel them were heavily involved in every bit of the gameplaying, and that not it only, they were introduced with same the pace from start to the end, i know someone will argue that they start with only three features and then chapter by chapter they are increasing, but that does not change that they were heavily involved from the very begining with whether they are three or six.

Ex2: Overclocked has this tiring tape rec feature that needs you to listen to every dialogue you had with those patients to find out some triggers that push the game forwards, and tho they are tiring but its still minimal and fun at the start, only gets tiring after 60-70% thru the game. it might be overused from some perspective but you always knew why exactly you were stuck at, and then referring to a walkthru in these situations become easy and never felt like cheating, but more skipping a mini-game of some sort.

Ex3: Memoria and its the magical spells feature was exactly set in the right amount, they even had different smart approaches to how they fit into the gameplaying too, or how they used to solve a puzzle, and never felt you needed to use those spells on everything or anything like that when you are stuck, you knew exactly when there is a puzzle that is concerning them, and the question that remains is which and how, and that exactly perfect for me and doesn’t change the classical gameplaying pace but adds an extra kick, which exactly what these mechanics meant for.

that is me, how do you feel about these mechanics? and what are the smartest and likable you have encountered?

Whispers of a Machine to me had a glut of wonderful mechanics that were far in excess of what was needed -  yes they were smart & likeable & plenty to incorporate into future games - hint!  Laughing

In Overclocked I have to agree that listening to the tapes was very tiring but also compelling if very intense but for sure they were an interesting & unique ‘mechanic’ of the game which I appreciated.

Out of the games that you’ve mentioned although I liked Memoria it’a not a game that I’m tempted to play again soon & I truly don’t remember any memorable ‘AGs Mechanics’ in it?

     
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This topic comes close to another thread I had started about character power, so I have some stuff to say XD

I haven’t even beaten day 1 of Whispers of a Machine, but I love the three separate choices for most dialogue, and that seems to be a mechanic in and of itself, but then also there’s like hidden ink style with the scanner, which I don’t mind.  I think this is a good contrast to casual-big fish type of games where the same mechanic is often used, but to less cohesive effect because it’s not as integral to the story/character the way it is in the Whispers.  Watching people’s wavelength thingy while you interrogate them adds a thin but satisfying way of keeping the player engaged during dialogue.

This is all on top of traditional inventory puzzles, with a great atmosphere and characters <3

I noticed taking notes seems to happen all on it’s own though.

I wish Whispers had the blackwell mechanic of needing to cross-reference notes that either contradict or corroborate each other.  I think it was genius in blackwell series, and I seriously felt like an investigator, but one time I got stuck in the game because I completely forgot I could cross reference notes.  The game just didn’t require me to do it often enough, and so I forgot about it entirely.  Contrast the notes mechanic with Joey’s “powers” that are just his inventory, not a new mechanic, just using an old mechanic in a slightly different way.

I’m excited to try Memoria, but I’m still stuck in Nirutvena in Chains of Satinav.
I do appreciate the character powers in Chains of Satinav, but their use is so incredibly limited, while their description is very vague. I understand one is a shatter spell, and one a repair spell, but it’s like this magical fantasy game.  That’s all I can do?  I remember obsessing over previews of Chains when I was younger, and while the preview pointed out the powers, I was just so baffled.  How could those two little medallions with unclear symbols be spells or powers?

I would be beside myself in joy if Memoria expands on that system to include more varied powers and spells.

This is something that I think Quest for Glory does amazingly well is provide you with a group of skills and mechanics in addition to inventory to solve the problems you face.  I fell in love with RPGs long before Adventure games, so maybe I’m biased to love games with RPG mechanics.

[EDIT]  I just bought overclocked, so I’ve not yet booted it up, and I can’t really comment on it, but I did want to say that games like system shock, or even oxenfree often allow you to explore and listen to things at the same time.  To me that’s the key.

I stopped playing The Longest Journey because I just could not sit there and listen to April Ryan read an entire book to me.  If I could have continued walking around and exploring my surroundings AS I listened to recordings, tapes, etc then it feels a lot less overwhelming.

     
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Another game to consider appropriate to the thread which I found a little different at the time is Contradiction.

     

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Joined 2010-11-16

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Im currently playing through disco elysium, and it brings to mind a mechanic that i wouldnt mind seeing more in adventure games: skill checks. It comes with a lot of baggage.. it needs a system for how you get these skills and what you do to advance them. But its very rewarding when done right, particularly if your actions in the world are influencing the success of those checks (maybe you can repair a machine based on your natural talents, but if you read a book about it the check becomes much easier, and if youve convinced a mechanic to come with you its basically guaranteed). Of course to some degree the player can keep reloading until they make an unlikely check.. but thats up to the individual experience.. when done right with lots of varied checks and options it works. (cant make the repair the machine check? go try to make a different check somewhere else, maybe you dont actually need the machine)

     

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