Denuvo is apparently an anti-tamper thing that tries to remember which computer you were playing the game on and forces a reauth if you are playing on unfamiliar hardware/OS/etc. I think? Anti-tamper in the sense of basically keeping someone from editing the executable.
So I decided to play the Sonic fangames Before The Sequel and After The Sequel (so called because they're a prequel and sequel to Sonic 2 respectively), since they're generally well regarded. Thoughts after beating both of them:
BTS is... ok, I guess. The controls are weirdly floaty, it swaps between Sonic and Tails after every zone, which kinda breaks the flow, it suffers a pretty bad case of programmer art, and Sonic's level design is pretty basic and uninspired for the most part (shoutout to Fortress Flow Zone though, which is basically Hydrocity Zone with a permanent Bubble Shield). Also the boss fights are utterly awful, even if one of them is set to In the Hall of the Mountain King. And I can't forgive the final zone for being a budget (and buggy) version of Flying Battery Zone, because I adore FBZ.
On the other hand, I genuinely like Tails' level design (aside from his final zone, which is the buggiest zone in the game by a long shot. I got stuck inside a cloud.), since it seems to be a little more willing to be complex and take risks, like his first zone being a Sonic version of Yoshi's Island's Touch Fuzzy, Get Dizzy, and his second zone (my favourite zone in the game) being based on Hidden Palace, Wood Zone, and Dust Hill Zone. In addition, the (heavily Sonic CD influenced) soundtrack is great.
Final verdict: At least it's better than SMB2.
Now, ATS is a whole different beast, in that it's actually really good. The level design is leaps and bounds ahead of BTS, Sonic and Tails are now seperate campaigns entirely, like in the official games, it's way nicer to look at at, and the soundtrack has moved to a more S3&K-like style (which I honestly prefer to Sonic CD, but YMMV).
The controls are way tighter, and the bosses are actually fun to fight (even if the maker's fetish for Sonic Advance 2's auto-scrolling bosses still shines through at points). Favourite zones are Technology Tree Zone (gotta go fast), Moon Mansion Zone, and Storm Station Zone (which is what a FBZ style zone should be,and is actually pretty reminiscent of Mania's version of it, including the lightning rod grids). Also the second zone is a sugar refinery, which is pretty original as far as platformer levels go.
There's a few niggles I have with it, but they're pretty minor. Cyan City Zone isn't that great, Act 2 basically acting as a way to show off the author's OC (Spark the Electric Jester, who actually had his own game released this year), and Act 3 has you spend most your time hovering above fans and dodging floating spike balls. Also Redhot Ride Act 2 is really really orange. But other than that, yeah, the game is great, and honestly, I'd put it up there with the official games.
Western-produced sci-fi third person shooters are hardly uncommon. Japanese third person Final Fantasy/anime-aesthetic shooters are not as much of a thing though (except maybe as F2P online games). So at least for me that's what makes it feel weird.
You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
I can't wait to try out the "Laundry Day Stuff" pack when one of my sister's friends buys it for some inexplicable reason
To borrow Chris Franklin's phrasing, the weapon durability in Breath of the Wild isn't a "crowd pleaser" but I think it's ultimately the glue that holds the game together.
I do think the presence of a very weak high/infinite durability weapon as a sort of universal backup might have served the game well in terms of accessibility, though.
No. I know the Master Sword regenerates but I think there should have been, say, a spell that conjures up a weak sword for the player, or maybe just make tree branches appear more often and have higher durability
Make this hypothetical weapon available early on but not the very beginning so the player still has to spend time getting creative with weapon usage such that they won't feel compelled to default to the weak backup weapon
Tree branches appearing around is kind of how it works. Or once you get the bow or other weapons you can just shoot a random bokoblin. Or even metal gear your way to getting bokoblin weapons. There are options.
But practically speaking after the first hour or so I didn't have a ton of problems with weapons. There's just so many opportunities to take more - after all you break weapons fighting enemies, and other than fucking Keese almost all enemies carry weapons.
And yet I remained stressed out about it through like 80% of the game, so hey, good job there nintendo
That's what I meant about accessibility! The game is delicately balanced so that you never *really* will run out of weapons, but the game constantly creates anxiety about running out of them. This is compelling on its own, I think, but accessibility takes a hit as a result.
I'm saying the game takes a hit to accessibility in the name of atmosphere. Ultimately I think this works for the most part, but I wonder if there might have been a way to maybe soften the blow a little bit.
Capacity for a person to enjoy the game or mechanic as intended. I have a very broa definition of the term.
Baically a lot of people's first complaint about the game is weapon durability, even though it's absolutely necessary for the game's moment to moment emotional arcs. This is because the emotions it creates, namely, constant anxiety, also make the game unappealing to some people. A few mechanics could have been added to ease this constant feeling of anxiety without necessarily undermining those aforementioned emotional arcs. Or at least, I think they could have, but I'm not a game designer.
While weapon durability is generally not a LoZ thing and that might turn off longterm fans, as someone who hasn't played the game yet, I feel that it works fine enough from how it's described.
There is a problem with 'git gud' mechanics being off-putting for players not used to that sort of challenge. You see that occasionally in Darkest Dungeon spaces - people who get freaked out about losing all their heroes and don't realize that there are safety nets on every difficulty except Stygian. But as long as the safety net *exists*, I can understand one not telling the player they exist.
anxiety is the point. You start the game naked with no word of explanation and continue into a tutorial where you die of hypothermia and your stick is no match for robot lasers. The entire plot of the game is that you already fought and lost, and now you're in a worse position and are almost certainly going to die.
I knooooooooooooooow but what I am saying is that hitting the player with all those feelings from the very beginning, and so constantly throughout, makes it inaccessible to enjoy the game for some, and I don't think that loss was entirely necessary for the game's atmosphere.
I knooooooooooooooow but what I am saying is that hitting the player with all those feelings from the very beginning, and so constantly throughout, makes it inaccessible to enjoy the game for some, and I don't think that loss was entirely necessary for the game's atmosphere.
giving them a magic weapon or something would have been a major neuter. there was no need to water down the game.
I don't think that's the only thing they could have done, it was just a suggestion.
I am *just saying* that something about the weapon durability rubbed some people the wrong way, and that bugs me because its the root of a lot of that game's compelling systems, and I wish there was something that made those systems more appealing to that group of people.
And my point is, I kinda get the feeling- but I'm not a game designer- that there *might have been* some room to add features *similar to but not exactly* like what I suggested without watering down the experience significantly.
And it doesn't really affect my own experience that much. It just always gives me pause when people describe the exact thing that makes a game compelling as a flaw, and I care a lot about accessibility.
I remember this one guy who was like 'okay, Darkest Dungeon wold be a fine game, but what the heck is up with the stress mechanic, I am paralyzed with fear'. And everyone else was like 'dude, the stress mechanic is literally 66% of the gameplay, what the hell are you smoking'
At some point, you gotta come to terms with the fact that not all game mechanics are made for all players. The beauty of BotW then us that it has such a range of mechanics that people can enjoy it even if one of the minor mechanics is a bit of a sticking point.
Now I'm thinking about the time mechanic in Lightning Returns, where the concept of it existing puts people off playing the game, since they have no way of knowing it's actually super lenient.
Comments
It was made by the people who made SecuROM.
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
What makes a game like The Last Story, a JRPG with shooter elements feel so much weirder than Mass Effect, a WRPG shooter hybrid?
Or is it just me?
that's an anime-art FPS
http://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/0/1474222595291437802/
Mirage: Arcane Warfare was free on Steam yesterday I think.
I do think the presence of a very weak high/infinite durability weapon as a sort of universal backup might have served the game well in terms of accessibility, though.
jeez
I mean, Metroidvanias are pretty short most the time.
Baically a lot of people's first complaint about the game is weapon durability, even though it's absolutely necessary for the game's moment to moment emotional arcs. This is because the emotions it creates, namely, constant anxiety, also make the game unappealing to some people. A few mechanics could have been added to ease this constant feeling of anxiety without necessarily undermining those aforementioned emotional arcs. Or at least, I think they could have, but I'm not a game designer.
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
There is a problem with 'git gud' mechanics being off-putting for players not used to that sort of challenge. You see that occasionally in Darkest Dungeon spaces - people who get freaked out about losing all their heroes and don't realize that there are safety nets on every difficulty except Stygian. But as long as the safety net *exists*, I can understand one not telling the player they exist.
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
some of my best friends are Keese!
I am *just saying* that something about the weapon durability rubbed some people the wrong way, and that bugs me because its the root of a lot of that game's compelling systems, and I wish there was something that made those systems more appealing to that group of people.
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
I remember this one guy who was like 'okay, Darkest Dungeon wold be a fine game, but what the heck is up with the stress mechanic, I am paralyzed with fear'. And everyone else was like 'dude, the stress mechanic is literally 66% of the gameplay, what the hell are you smoking'
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead