Comment on Rockstar has some of the most restrictive mission design I've ever experienced
mox@lemmy.sdf.org 2 weeks ago
I loved the environments in RDR2, but holy hell, the missions’ persistent denial of player agency drove me up a tree. Railroading like this is annoying in the best of cases. I could tolerate it in The Last of Us, which limited the places I could go but offered a wonderfully engaging story in those places and never dropped a 10-ton FAIL anvil on my head for trying something creative. But in an open world game (a genre that I like because I’m encouraged to find creative solutions) I find it unforgivable.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance drove me away for similar reasons. I like games where the challenge comes from learning how to work with available tools and moves, developing my skill with them, and figuring out how to use them most effectively. Making progress that way is satisfying. KC:D chose polar opposite of that, interfering with my ability to control my character until I slogged through seemingly endless “training” sessions. It had nothing to do with developing my skill as a player, but instead just arbitrarily denied me agency. I hated it, and since the reports I’ve read suggest that the sequel does the same, I won’t be buying it or anything else by those game designers.
I guess my point is just to let you know that you’re not alone. :)
MrGabr@ttrpg.network 2 weeks ago
I dropped KCD 1 after ~30 hours for the same reason as you, but at least KCD has some justification - the whole point of the game is to be an ultra-realistic simulation of medieval life, a roleplaying game in the truest sense of the word.
Your character starts out not even knowing how to read, even though you, the player, obviously do to interact with the GUI. He’s the son of a blacksmith who never would have learned anything else, so he, the character, has to spend time learning basically everything, even if you, the player, already have it figured out.
You and I think that design is unfun. Clearly, though, there’s an audience for it, as KCD 2 sold something like a million copies on launch day and instantly recouped their development costs.
mox@lemmy.sdf.org 2 weeks ago
Yes, I’m aware of that justification. I like the idea in principle, but it doesn’t hold water in this game, because the mechanics they used to simulate ultra-realism are not realistic at all. Picking up a weapon in real life doesn’t impose a state of bodily malfunction where you have about as much control of yourself as a blind drunk standing on one stilt. I’ve used swords and bows. Even my very first time, there was never a point where I suddenly found my arms or legs failing to work at all. The implementation here is a ham-fisted attempt at best.
It seems so. If some people enjoy slogging through those mechanics, then I’m happy for them. I have better things to do with my time.