LarryG on 6/9/2014 at 02:20
The purpose is to provide mini-games within the mission. Think of them as optional activities you can engage in. As to whether or not it will be fun for you, you'll have to wait and see for yourself when the mission is released.
Tannar on 6/9/2014 at 05:36
I agree with ZB and R Soul, slot machines are boring. :cheeky:
But to answer your question, I'd say of the choices you've listed, number one makes the most sense to me. It might just be me, but I can't see anyone wanting to spend enough time on the machine to make option 3 or 4 likely to satisfy. 2 is OK but 1 would pay out enough to keep their attention a bit longer, I think.
I suspect that the real draw to something like this is the novelty of having it in a Thief mission. You play it a few times, marvel at how clever the author is and appreciate the extra atmosphere it brings to the mission and then you move on. Balboa did a similar thing in The Harlequin with carnival games. They were clever and it was fun to play them a few times but that was it. I seem to recall at least some of them furthering the plot in some way, or making it possible to proceed in the mission, but I could be mistaken. It's been a long time since I played it.
It was fun breaking open the slot machines in Mission X but that's been done and so has lost it's novelty. If that was a serious option, I'd rather see you find a way for the player to rig them than simply breaking them open. That might make them fun to play for longer, especially if what you had to do to rig it needed to be done each time.
I really like Xorak's idea about having a big win cause AI to move around and open new paths for the player, but that may not be necessary or appropriate for your gaming hall. And I agree that alerting the guards in this way would negate the fun of using the machines without getting caught.
LarryG on 6/9/2014 at 08:22
I appreciate all the advice. It wasn't what I expected, but I'm glad I asked! You all gave me things to think about. I am taking your advice to heart, and what I now have planned, with the way it will be integrated into the mission, will be more fun and interesting for the players than it would have been without your thoughts. The slot machine is just a piece of it. So thanks.
nightshifter on 6/9/2014 at 12:13
Quote Posted by LarryG
Actually, I do have a "slug on a string" which can be used to cheat the machine. But I was just thinking of it not getting consumed from inventory when used. Marrying it with nightshifter's idea of rigging the game for a jackpot ... maybe it should be a "cheater's token" that Garrett finds someplace. Maybe near a corpse with a dagger through a note pinned to his chest saying something like "Thus ends all cheaters. signed The Jackpot Management." The token could be "magically charged" to force a Jackpot.
:thumb::cheeky:
I love "ingame"games and funny sidestories
Zontik on 11/9/2014 at 12:45
Quote:
Is it more fun to win often but not much
Exactly.
Most of people prefer to solve many easy puzzles than one super-challenged. No matter what the kind of puzzles they are, slot machine is just a part of a common psychology. If player wins 10 tokens for, say, 5 attempts, he gets much more satisfaction than if he wins 10 at once.
