31
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
this post was submitted on 04 May 2025
31 points (100.0% liked)
games
20984 readers
265 users here now
Tabletop, DnD, board games, and minecraft. Also Animal Crossing.
-
3rd International Volunteer Brigade (Hexbear gaming discord)
Rules
- No racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, or transphobia. Don't care if it's ironic don't post comments or content like that here.
- Mark spoilers
- No bad mouthing sonic games here :no-copyright:
- No gamers allowed :soviet-huff:
- No squabbling or petty arguments here. Remember to disengage and respect others choice to do so when an argument gets too much
founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
Sure but you're not doing anything interesting during the walking bits. Most of the corridors are just kinda pretty in a repetitive way, usually characters aren't saying anything to develop themselves, there isn't any play it's the corridors of an art gallery, the spaces between the exhibits.
Media tends to cut away from the dull parts of travel in order to express it as a sequence of highlighted challenges. Video game worlds tend to be extremely compressed and abstract for this reason. Like if you go play a link to the past there aren't many areas where you solve the same challenge as a prior screen and there are only a couple with no challenge to overcome or thing to meaningfully interact with. That game still feels like an epic journey.
A difference in lotr is that you aren't required to do stuff and each vista is unique.
I guess what baffles me is there are no interesting decisions. I am never thinking or playing as there are no choices or consequences. Seeing another red tree or whatever is like oh ok. It isn't telling a story, it's not giving me insight into the culture of the land, it's not teaching me mechanics or letting me practice, it's not providing room for character dialogue it's just a red tree and 10 costume bucks.
That they give you a sprint button is the game admitting that they know this is boring. there is literally a fast forward through the movement button, that it isn't a toggle or default speed is itself strange.
Something being there because it's there is not really a reason to sink Dev time and resources into it.
Most games with a sprint involve decision making. Usually something like a timer or stamina system with some mechanical implication for depleting it. E.g. if I travel faster now I won't be prepared for combat later. This balances player concerns about moving fast when feeling safe or fleeing, while making it interesting by punishing reckless use.
Most worthwhile game mechanics are like this. Sometimes things are just there for play, like jumping in MMOs which largely just allows playful social expression in an otherwise extremely limited media. Emotes in multiplayer games serve a similar purpose despite having no obvious mechanical link.
One case for a sprint without mechanical trade offs is player movement control. Less relevant on games with a controller input but sometimes there. Usual practice to to have a run/walk toggle button though, and just build the world scale so running feels good in almost all circumstances and turn it on by default.