Hi, people. I want to discuss with you some of my thoughts. I was playing Darkwood for a while and know what do I like in this game more and what less. So my favorite and memorable moments in this game are scripted . It is prologue, dream sequences, huge pig meeting, etc. This is when story of Darkwood is sharing with you, catchy sounds playing around and world not being static. But what about open world gameplay? It is good to have freedom in your movement, it is good to have random situations being generated.
Maybe I was playing chapter 1 for too long and I understand that most of things are still on development but I should admit that wondering around in it's current state is too boring for me except old forest biome. Let me explain. Developers did a good job to simulate different forest areas. Meadows are peacefull, empty and most boring. All that you doing is scavenging resourses to became enough powerfull for surviving in the next areas. Most of locations around are not give you anything except resources. The only entertainment here is crushing some skulls with nailed planks. Next area, young forest is more interesting. It gives you some signs about in what kind of dump are you happy to be. There are located main story related locations like a Pig Shed, Chicken Lady house, Piotrek, etc. Also, there are dark areas, creepy corpses and rifts.
And then - old forest. This is where my fingers always sweats. No need to tell you, there are most creepy locations, most creepy enviroments, sounds and most dangerous enemies. 70% of all storytelling and scripted events are going there.
But I dont want Wizards to do everything creepy and dangerous. Game should have peaceful tutorial locations like meadows. But what developers did:
1. They concentrated biggest parts of storytelling on the most deep and dangerous area.
2. First area have boring locations and lots of empty space.
3. There are nothing to do in the open world exept wandering around and killing everything, nothing happens.
What Wizards could do:
-- Add more story and lore related locations on meadows and forest biomes.
-- Do more side quests.
-- Add random triggered situations like meeting with savages patrol that you can stealthy avoid or run away.
-- Do some visual work to make good looking areas between points of interests even more beautiful and various.
Also I would prefer to fully scripted but entertaining game more than huge open world with nothing happening.
Tell me what do you think.
Open world or scripted corridors? What is better?
Open world or scripted corridors? What is better?
Last edited by ShadyS on Sun Mar 01, 2015 8:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Open world or scripted corridors? What is better?
mine too.i secretly wish that chapter 2 will be one huge ass village full of narrow spaces where it is hard to run and things like that.my favorite and memorable moments in this game are scripted . It is prologue, dream sequences, huge pig meeting, etc. This is when story of Darkwood is sharing with you, catchy sounds playing around and world not being static.
or some big ass underground bunker with only "night mode on"
sorry
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Bandwagonman
- Posts: 10
- Joined: Wed Aug 06, 2014 5:21 am
Re: Open world or scripted corridors? What is better?
I always imagined there'd be a chapter that takes place in an urban setting over run with nature, or whatever you call the crazy trees and mushrooms. The plague? Whatever. I jokingly refer to this city as Daar Quud.
Re: Open world or scripted corridors? What is better?
Looking back at the trailers, they pretty much explain what I like most of this game.
Take this trailer for example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSjnDKBLZbc
Mechanics VS. Scripts
It's a blend of game mechanics and storytelling at the same time. You do get series of events presented to you but you are not bound to tackle them in a certain way. My highest wishes would be that the game is implemented in such a way that you feel like you are in one of those nightmares, where you are aware of it being a nightmare, and you just need to find a way to get out of it.
I know it's a "nightmare" to blend generic mechanics and scripted events and still make it feel natural. And to make it as fluent like in one of those trailers would take ALOT of time. My hopes are that the wizards can get as close to the experience presented by the trailers as possible.
Night time
Something that struck me when rewatching the trailers was the way the night was handled. Without a well you have to drink of and without the mechanics where you simply lose health when in darkness, the game becomes much more interesting. I think devs should move back towards this state, where the player is much more free in terms of how to play the game, and not as much forced to play in a certain way.
It should be very hard at night, but not so much a scripted certain death as it is right now. In the current build, you could never get the same kind of experience as is presented in that trailer. What I am asking for is that, when you look at that watch and it says 21:00, and you are kilometers away from your current "safehouse", instead of thinking "I might aswell reload the game because I didn't follow the rules and I'm doomed to die soon..." you should be thinking "Oh crap, this is gonna be incredibly hard and I will probably die like the rest of the times I tried this, but maybe I'm good/lucky enough to survive this night".
Please don't misunderstand me thinking I want easier gameplay, actually I think surviving at night is too easy right now. What I'm asking for is more dynamics and therefore possibilities to allow the player to learn how to circumvent the (from the beginning seamingly certain) outcome.
Edit
To further clearify my point. It's much better to let the player be able to fight everything, even thou some things are so hard that it's impossible to beat; Rather than making the player know, like with a timer that ticks down, that it is impossible to beat.
Take this trailer for example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSjnDKBLZbc
Mechanics VS. Scripts
It's a blend of game mechanics and storytelling at the same time. You do get series of events presented to you but you are not bound to tackle them in a certain way. My highest wishes would be that the game is implemented in such a way that you feel like you are in one of those nightmares, where you are aware of it being a nightmare, and you just need to find a way to get out of it.
I know it's a "nightmare" to blend generic mechanics and scripted events and still make it feel natural. And to make it as fluent like in one of those trailers would take ALOT of time. My hopes are that the wizards can get as close to the experience presented by the trailers as possible.
Night time
Something that struck me when rewatching the trailers was the way the night was handled. Without a well you have to drink of and without the mechanics where you simply lose health when in darkness, the game becomes much more interesting. I think devs should move back towards this state, where the player is much more free in terms of how to play the game, and not as much forced to play in a certain way.
It should be very hard at night, but not so much a scripted certain death as it is right now. In the current build, you could never get the same kind of experience as is presented in that trailer. What I am asking for is that, when you look at that watch and it says 21:00, and you are kilometers away from your current "safehouse", instead of thinking "I might aswell reload the game because I didn't follow the rules and I'm doomed to die soon..." you should be thinking "Oh crap, this is gonna be incredibly hard and I will probably die like the rest of the times I tried this, but maybe I'm good/lucky enough to survive this night".
Please don't misunderstand me thinking I want easier gameplay, actually I think surviving at night is too easy right now. What I'm asking for is more dynamics and therefore possibilities to allow the player to learn how to circumvent the (from the beginning seamingly certain) outcome.
Edit
To further clearify my point. It's much better to let the player be able to fight everything, even thou some things are so hard that it's impossible to beat; Rather than making the player know, like with a timer that ticks down, that it is impossible to beat.
Re: Open world or scripted corridors? What is better?
I like trailers and this one specially too. It contains many elements that wasn't added from start but later. This gives me some hope that we will see rest of elements in game later with content updates. Also I was impressed by walking out in the night time and don't understand drinking from well mechanics. I would find surviving and barricading in random places on my long trip more enjoyable than requirement to return to special house every night. If well drinking has some secret backstory then we should get rid of it in the next chapters.
Re: Open world or scripted corridors? What is better?
I kind of agree the # of contrivances at night have really built up.
1. You have to drink from the well.
2. You have to have light of some form for the shadows.
3. You have to kill the bug so he doesn't make your house uninhabitable.
4. You have to stay alive from whatever the events through at you.
With the event system now, I really question if #1 is still necessary. There realistically isn't an option other than staying in a house at night anyways. So, we're going to be at houses whether the well tells us we should be or not, unless we have a death wish. Removing it would greatly increase our flexibility as to where we go and where we stay the night. You could stay the night at the Underground Entrance if you're so inclined, or hide in the hedge maze. #3 would also be less of a pain in the ass if you weren't shackled to the same houses at night time. We could get rid of the well full healing you mechanic too, which would make the game a lot more dangerous. Maybe add in a little health regen when the day starts over. I get the health regen is there because every night is intended to be a fight to survive and they're giving you a leg up. But for me it more helps to correct for mistakes made during the day.
All in all, in trying to create a satisfying and balanced night time experience, yeah, I feel like they've drifted away a bit from what was shown in the trailers.
I've been on the fence about well since they've been introduced. If they WERE to remove them, I'd say add a stove to every house that had a well as sign this is intended to be a "main" hideout.
1. You have to drink from the well.
2. You have to have light of some form for the shadows.
3. You have to kill the bug so he doesn't make your house uninhabitable.
4. You have to stay alive from whatever the events through at you.
With the event system now, I really question if #1 is still necessary. There realistically isn't an option other than staying in a house at night anyways. So, we're going to be at houses whether the well tells us we should be or not, unless we have a death wish. Removing it would greatly increase our flexibility as to where we go and where we stay the night. You could stay the night at the Underground Entrance if you're so inclined, or hide in the hedge maze. #3 would also be less of a pain in the ass if you weren't shackled to the same houses at night time. We could get rid of the well full healing you mechanic too, which would make the game a lot more dangerous. Maybe add in a little health regen when the day starts over. I get the health regen is there because every night is intended to be a fight to survive and they're giving you a leg up. But for me it more helps to correct for mistakes made during the day.
All in all, in trying to create a satisfying and balanced night time experience, yeah, I feel like they've drifted away a bit from what was shown in the trailers.
I've been on the fence about well since they've been introduced. If they WERE to remove them, I'd say add a stove to every house that had a well as sign this is intended to be a "main" hideout.