Gamplay Progression (the world's most exciting thread)

[JibberX]

So I was kicking back, chilling out, trying to play a computer game... like you do, when I was hit with this horrible fear of not knowing what I was doing. Mainly because this particular game did one of those age old gaming things....gameplay progression, the introduction of technique after technique after technique until you've forgotten how to open the map, but can double ultra twist to the mega dimension.

So I was wondering what games you've played that you just wished they'd stopped flipping introducing things...wishing kept the thing simple. See I was enjoying Mario and Luigi, but now I've forgotten how to play it, and there isn't a thck idiots intermediate tutorial mode, which would be handy for my addled brain.

[Papercut]

May I suggest an Eye Toy?



... but seriously, I got well and truly shagged in the water temple of OOT, and never went back. Also, I could only remember half of Dant?'s moves in DMC at once.

However... I don't think this is generally a problem. If games were able to hold your hand at any point, where would the challenge be?

I know if I went back to OOT or DMC afresh I'd crack them, so maybe games should have an 'undo' feature to get you back to the beginning of previous objectives (and switch between them). It's only fair, you've already earnt them.

[Sketcz]

Ahh, the old getting back to crumb trail dilema?
I had the exact same problem with Mario and Luigi, left it for a few weeks, went back and was lost in everything that needed doing. The double act could sometimes be a little too clever at times, and control a bit tricky especially on platforms.

Same with morrowind, fantastic game, but leave it for a week and youll go back and be lost in a rolling ocean of confusion. Classes, attributes, armor, enchanting, levels, 100+ pages of a diary with no search feature, dozens of mini side quests all needing your attention. Sadly, in games like that, the very essence of what makes it so enjoyable, (a complex game world), can end up being its undoing.

I simply give up and move onto something else.
Try a shooter or puzzle game perhaps?

[JammyD]

I can't remember the last such game I've played, Zelda:TWW maybe, but that's because I actively avoid games which pile on the gameplay complexity anymore because I don't have the attention span and it just annoys me anyway.

I prefer games where I can invent my own techniques, because I never forget then. Like I go back to Psyvariar after a few months and I think that I've forgotten everthing I've learned but when I start playing, everything just clicks and I suddenly remember.