I need a game that gives me a summary of past notable story events and a quick “get back to speed” mini tutorial when I don’t play it for a long time, not this.
Right. I remember playing final fantasy 7 in the 90s. I softlocked myself by being underpowered for a boss, but unable to grind.
Turned it off, and when I turned it back on 5 years later, I was in a different area. No idea when/how J got there, but clearly I went back and did SOMETHING, but now had no idea where to go, or what to do.
I’m not starting over, but also, I’m not going to figure this out.
So now we’re 20 years later, and I have no idea where that memory card even is.
Picked up Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story like 10 years later after giving up on it as a kid and had NO fucking idea of what I was doing. I remember removed about the hard as fuck train minigame/mini-boss fight you have to do (perfectly, mind you) that I thought I couldn’t beat for the life of me. But I got back and was in a completely different area, not knowing how to leave or get back to where I needed to be.
I really need to beat that game, it was my first M&L side game…
So realistic. I also forget protagonist’s abilities if I take too long a break. I forget the story, too
Punish players for reducing their screen time. Fucking brilliant.
In fairness, he also made a game where you win by taking two weeks off.
Okay, that adds some interesting perspective and depth to his thinking. Thanks!
Hideo Kojima: I hate gamers… so much.
Gamers “We love you, Hideo Kojima!”
This is the motion blur of gameplay design. I already forgot what the fucking buttons do, leave me alone
Fucking dumb idea. It isn’t like the player themself won’t forget this stuff already.
Welp, fuck that. I already don’t like permadeath, why add decaying game progress? Fucking waste my damn time…
Definitely not for all players. Depending on implementation, I could like this, but it needs to be almost like a mini tutorial to get you back in. Not a grind.
I feel like that already happens with all my games.
Breaking 4th wall here. Just add this game to the list I avoid by this crazy bastard.
Obviously not great if it’s punitive, but if it introduces new creative gameplay or story branching, it could be cool.
This feels like a Peter Molydeux tweet
Man fuck you Kojima
lol isn’t he the asshole who doesn’t let you turn off the terrible music? get fucked bro
It’s also the asshole that made you watch a Monster add the whole game, while charging triple A prices.
dude takes himself a little too seriously while selling out to monster energy drinks of all things
This is a feature of Escape From Tarkov. Your trainable skills decrease to a minimum if you don’t use them, even if you’re playing regularly. I tend to like effort-based progression more than point spend, so this is a sound idea depending on how it’s implemented.
Western gamers and especially americans are just devestated when a game doesn’t preserve their progress forever, Once Human being the prime example in recent years. People couldn’t see past level-playing-field reset periods and decided it was theft, so by the time they added permanent scenarios (which are basically like every ARK pve no wipe server: unplayably bad) the damage was done.
it’s criticized in general as a dark pattern that encourages toxic habits and is anti consumer. it is secondarily a problem because aint nobody got time for that shit.
Skill loss itself is fine, the problem is to make it based on RL time. It’s a game, not a job; you shouldn’t need to clock in/out regularly to enjoy it. (Tamagochi had the same issue. Except it was character loss.)
I didn’t play Escape from Tarkov but two good examples come to my mind:
- RimWorld - colonists have ~10 trainable skills. They lose skills over time, faster at higher levels. This encourages specialisation, so when shit hits the fan the game cripples you even harder. (Fuck you, Randy.)
- Nethack - your character gradually forgets spells over time; to avoid it you need to either re-read consumable spellbooks, or use the spell often (thus using precious mana). It’s all about resource management, hoard spells and you’ll get yourself killed in no time, but if you prioritise useful spells you have a better chance of survival.
In both cases the player is always losing something, even with correct gameplay, and they feel sensible once you ask “why” the skill loss is there. But neither demands you to treat it as a job, it’s all in-game time.
MUDs and early MMOs used to have skill rust. It sucked and was universally hated. There’s a reason most games don’t implement something like this, but developers seem to insist on bringing up long-buried ideas and calling them innovation.
Tarkov is a live service game. Which has its own ups and downs. Tarkov has benefits of having some things progress while you are offline. Things happen at the server level while you’re gone.
Not every game needs to be a live service game though or try to use live service features in a single player offline game.
Unless there is a very specific reason in the game mechanics why in game time is 1:1 with real time, it doesn’t make a lot of sense except to be divisive and a discussion point.
I’d be fucked lol, I go months between playing some games
