@Applied-Mediocrity said in Just Souls Things:
@Groaner said in Just Souls Things:
we cannot compare user experience or can't be critical of differences or shortcomings therein
A mechanic does not become a shortcoming solely because you don't like it.
Yes it does. We're talking opinions here, and in the realm of opinion, anything can be a boon or shortcoming. I have justified my position, anyone who disagrees is free to respond to my arguments or advance their own.
Elden Ring has stupid shit going on, starting with the fact that it's once again a shitty console port.
I think we're all on the same page with respect to that.
I recently mentioned the artbook and soundtrack. Both are Unity engine executables, and fuck all do they, but show Start (the slideshow or the muzak player), Language and Exit. Unless some intern was tasked to make them for training purposes, it's a patently stupid way to do it. I made some presentations this way (that didn't have to be handed in) in college, because I was flexing my leet coder brain muscles and showing off. It was also patently stupid.
Maybe Unity was all they knew? This intern theory probably makes the most sense, since you don't want to overload the valuable guys with low-risk stuff.
I disagree. Someone who's put in thousands of hours over a wide variety of genres and titles has a far more valuable opinion than someone who's sitting behind a controller for the first time, particularly when it comes to game design and its implications.
And I have ranted around here myself that developers should be forced to play games at work, certain amount of time per day, so that they know what kind of shit everybody's making.
I agree. As someone with a gamedev side gig, I feel market research is important, which is another reason why I elected to jump into this game.
I hoped that would be a learning experience, but @Tsaukpaetra graciously explained - and I had to agree - that there's certain amount of cargo cult in the industry, and these little things (that make the whole) that piss me off aren't even considered. It's just how things are done, and that's how it is. Nobody gives a shit about your wisdom of ancients. Nor mine.
Such a status quo might be depressing... BUT:
It means that if you are a freelance game developer, you have a huge opportunity, since the big boys are too busy constructing airstrips from coconut husks to innovate. Punish them for their complacence.
But assuming somebody did:
If they want to cater to their existing customer base, your opinion might be valid. Or it might be biased. I think it's 50/50.
Something something opinion something asshole something.
I don't expect FromSoft to read this thread, nor do I expect them to make any business decisions from here. They have what they believe to be a winning recipe, and they probably don't want to touch it. I'm here only to register my disapproval of certain aspects of their product(s).
If they want to sell it to the new guy, your experienced opinion will most likely be worth bupkis. In fact that is why many tutorials suck a flaccid one. It's very difficult for someone experienced to get the mindset of a new player. Worse, someone new to videogames as a thing.
This is why I have procrastinated on making a tutorial for my game. The thought of having to explain how to press WASD is horrifying. At least, horrifying without a UI/UX team to handle those horrors.
My favorite pony Pathfinder had and keeps having issues with it. Ain't nobody who hasn't already done so is going to read the 600-page Core Rulebook (which isn't even implemented right anyway), not to mention the rest of the tomes, to understand all the "spooky action at a distance" (said @Benjamin-Hall). And yet you must teach your new players somehow, coupled with the ways how videogame differs from tabletop.
Some games really only work with a "fit in or fuck off" model. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.
a game is so heavily-influenced by RNG
I would guess the d20 is probably the most recognizable tabletop element next to the standard deck of cards and the d6.
Usually effective strategies exist to mitigate the element of chance. They may not be obvious or even intuitive.
Right, I have no problem with RNG driving certain processes in games. There's a hell of a lot of randomness in a Diablolike, but if you play your character prudently and are wise with your equipment, stats, and skills, you will usually do very well.
Contrast this to Darkest Dungeon, where you can have a well-equipped party of excellent composition, and then through RNG the boss makes your entire party afflicted and your party wipes soon after through no obvious fault of the player (especially since the player more or less loses control of afflicted characters, and afflicted characters generally cause snowballing affliction in the rest of the party).
Players, in general, should be rewarded for performing correct actions, and punished for incorrect actions.
Said correct actions are perfect dodgerolling for iframes and exploiting various kinds of grind. Your reward is being able to continue playing the game. Tough bloody bastards, them japs. Damn thing is they made such good cameras.
Yes, and that's dumb for reasons I mentioned earlier. There are better ways to make a game hard, and victories more satisfying.
@Groaner said in Just Souls Things:
Mount & Blade series has had far better horseback fighting
Ass. Creed, MGS V, Twitchers and Red LED Redemption also have mounted combat. Which one sucks horsecock more than either Elden Souls or Mercedes Benz Men & BlacksMount & Blade?
That's a good question, but outside the scope of this discussion. We're talking specifically about Darkborne Ring against the TaleWorlds guys (who, incidentally, know how to make good controls for a PC game. Which really isn't all that hard if you've played say a half dozen FPSes with mouse and keyboard).