4 ms·

The Museum of Simulation Technology may actually turn out pretty good [1]. There's a sort of paradox with game development that revolves around a gameplay mecha

The Museum of Simulation Technology may actually turn out pretty good [1]. There's a sort of paradox with game development that revolves around a gameplay mechanic. The mechanics really have to be rock solid, so that gets polished out first; polishing takes a long, long time. But it also has to be engaging or else it isn't worth playing. The direction taken for SuperHot is so unexpected (to me at least) that I was hooked. The jury is still out on tMoST, but it's still rather early in, and you can already see a lot of improvement and style between the early tech demo and the small trailers. Notably, I think there is a bit of a genre trap, where this kind of mind-warp game is stuck playing out in certain stories. I'm utterly a sucker for this sort of game, so I'm getting it no matter what. But it'd be nice if it knocks it out of the park. [1] https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rN1jmsnq-iM https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rN1jmsnq-iM

rl3 11y ago
>Notably, I think there is a bit of a genre trap, where this kind of mind-warp game is stuck playing out in certain stories. My thoughts as well. The trap you mention is typically a linear environment with a solid-yet-comical (or whimsical) narrative, ala Portal. That allows the featured game mechanic to be introduced at an optimal pace, effectively realizing more milage out of it. It's also the safer and more conservative route. As a little thought experiment, I wondered how the perspective mechanic in tMoST would work in a completely different genre, and I figured it'd be pretty entertaining in say—an agent-based MMO simulator. I mean, just imagine watching a bunch of simulation agents wander about the map, trying feverishly hard to properly size objects to their liking. That seems as if it would at least be amusing. Bonus points for proper physics so they can accidentally crush each other with giant, oversized objects.
- HCIdivision17 11y ago
  Plonking that idea into a brawler-style melee game would be great. Especially if you could change the game dymanics: big players have more health, but small players can't be hit; two players fighting over one object tug-of-war style; guns shoot bullets with odd distance mechanics. I could see that being a fun one-off game.

rl3 11y ago

>Notably, I think there is a bit of a genre trap, where this kind of mind-warp game is stuck playing out in certain stories. My thoughts as well. The trap you mention is typically a linear environment with a solid-yet-comical (or whimsical) narrative, ala Portal. That allows the featured game mechanic to be introduced at an optimal pace, effectively realizing more milage out of it. It's also the safer and more conservative route. As a little thought experiment, I wondered how the perspective mechanic in tMoST would work in a completely different genre, and I figured it'd be pretty entertaining in say—an agent-based MMO simulator. I mean, just imagine watching a bunch of simulation agents wander about the map, trying feverishly hard to properly size objects to their liking. That seems as if it would at least be amusing. Bonus points for proper physics so they can accidentally crush each other with giant, oversized objects.

HCIdivision17 11y ago
Plonking that idea into a brawler-style melee game would be great. Especially if you could change the game dymanics: big players have more health, but small players can't be hit; two players fighting over one object tug-of-war style; guns shoot bullets with odd distance mechanics. I could see that being a fun one-off game.