This is the exact same instinct that drives us to run away from the obvious path first. “Clearly that’s where the final boss is. Let me just check what’s down this way first…”
“…oh no wait, there’s a point-of-no-return ledge here. Ok, so maybe that other way was actually where the secret was. I’ll go back…”
“…hmm, there’s another ledge on this side too. Let me just put in a save point and…ok, yeah, this one is the final boss. Let me reload and check the other path…”
“…ugh, it restarted me way back here? And respawned all the enemies when I reloaded? That’s frustrating…”
Modern games have gotten super “hand-holdy” to the point where it’s fucking annoying… but one QOL improvement that I will take every time is when games prevent you from moving forward in a story because you missed something and moving forward means you’ll miss it forever.
I get it, and when I was younger I was all about that shit… But I’m too old for that shit lol
This, plus looking at a tiny little toe-sized piece of unexplored minimap on the opposite side of the world and thinking, “but what if there’s something important there?!”
Only in games that make it clear what you’re supposed to sell. I know games these days usually don’t allow it, but all it takes is selling a necessary item once…
Oh this one’s not me. For the first hour maybe but I get really picky really fast because it’s more efficient to just find a new place to take the best loot from. Especially in something like Skyrim where the goons just respawn forever.
I play games this way too, but I feel like the bigger factor in my playtime way higher than necessary is that I don’t want to miss any dialogue so I talk to every NPC until they repeat themselves. Most of the time that’s the second time you talk to them so I definitely get a lot out of that.
In Breath of the Wild after the tutorial plateau, players are supposed to go between the two big mountains that are easy to see and easy to pass for a beginner. There they find a steed and this weird korok guy.
I on the other hand decided to go the direct route up a steep cliff where two guardians wait to tell you that this is not the way. After I snuck past them, which took me about 2 hours and like 20+ retries, I nearly stopped playing cause “the game was so hard”.
I have a bachelor in game design btw…
I still remember being really mad I missed the “added effect” materia in the original FF7. You can never ever go back to that cave, so if you don’t turn around to pick it up you never get it. Pain.
Yeah… I felt that. Hard. I need to actively tell myself it’s not worth wasting so much time. Other times I just can’t be bothered and I mindlessly waste time checking everything cause it somehow feels like less work.
This is the exact same instinct that drives us to run away from the obvious path first. “Clearly that’s where the final boss is. Let me just check what’s down this way first…”
“…oh no wait, there’s a point-of-no-return ledge here. Ok, so maybe that other way was actually where the secret was. I’ll go back…”
“…hmm, there’s another ledge on this side too. Let me just put in a save point and…ok, yeah, this one is the final boss. Let me reload and check the other path…”
“…ugh, it restarted me way back here? And respawned all the enemies when I reloaded? That’s frustrating…”
“…THEY BOTH. LED. TO THE SAME. EXACT. PLACE.”
Modern games have gotten super “hand-holdy” to the point where it’s fucking annoying… but one QOL improvement that I will take every time is when games prevent you from moving forward in a story because you missed something and moving forward means you’ll miss it forever.
I get it, and when I was younger I was all about that shit… But I’m too old for that shit lol
“But what if the developers don’t think it’s important but I’m going to wish I had it? I’ll go ahead and check anyway.”
This is why I have 120 hours in 40 hour games.
This, plus looking at a tiny little toe-sized piece of unexplored minimap on the opposite side of the world and thinking, “but what if there’s something important there?!”
This, plus dragging every scrap of loot back to town to sell, no matter how bad the value/weight ratio is.
Only in games that make it clear what you’re supposed to sell. I know games these days usually don’t allow it, but all it takes is selling a necessary item once…
Borderlands 3 added an “auto-sell loot below [x] rarity” option, and it is amazing.
Oh this one’s not me. For the first hour maybe but I get really picky really fast because it’s more efficient to just find a new place to take the best loot from. Especially in something like Skyrim where the goons just respawn forever.
I play games this way too, but I feel like the bigger factor in my playtime way higher than necessary is that I don’t want to miss any dialogue so I talk to every NPC until they repeat themselves. Most of the time that’s the second time you talk to them so I definitely get a lot out of that.
…during the bg3 character creation
Accidentally going the right way is so infuriating.
Especially if you get too far and the game takes control of your character to start a cutscene before you can turn back around.
In Breath of the Wild after the tutorial plateau, players are supposed to go between the two big mountains that are easy to see and easy to pass for a beginner. There they find a steed and this weird korok guy.
I on the other hand decided to go the direct route up a steep cliff where two guardians wait to tell you that this is not the way. After I snuck past them, which took me about 2 hours and like 20+ retries, I nearly stopped playing cause “the game was so hard”.
I have a bachelor in game design btw…
This is why I like saying “average person” when I talk about specific topics.
People who study the art are much more attuned and go out of the ordinary. Like directors when they watch movies.
There’s an old adage that says “doctors make the worst patients.”
I wonder if the same is true for game devs making the worst players.
WTF I don’t come here to be attacked like this
It’s ok. We’re all here for each other.
No we’re not. You two are on your own.
I still remember being really mad I missed the “added effect” materia in the original FF7. You can never ever go back to that cave, so if you don’t turn around to pick it up you never get it. Pain.
I never even saw the “Alexander” summon materia until I played the game as an adult. Despite having the official Brady Games strategy guide.
Yeah… I felt that. Hard. I need to actively tell myself it’s not worth wasting so much time. Other times I just can’t be bothered and I mindlessly waste time checking everything cause it somehow feels like less work.