faetal on 22/7/2013 at 20:11
I love you really dude ;)
DDL is right, engaging is just wrong, I just have a strange tolerance for prodding at stupidity.
It's like an internet argument circa 1997.
Gabucino on 22/7/2013 at 20:48
Seeing as everyone seems to be open for moar trolling (and only for that): I support Zimmerman.
Any hates?
june gloom on 22/7/2013 at 21:30
reporting gabucino post for excess gabucino
Harvester on 22/7/2013 at 22:31
Quote Posted by Muzman
Most of the examples people cite are from later games, right into the late nineties with Gabriel Night,
The puzzle I've seen quoted most often as an example of obtuse puzzle design is the subway key puzzle in the first chapter of The Longest Journey. The puzzle itself is really obtuse, but also the fact that
"hey, there's a random key on the subway track, I'm sure it must be the key to unlock this door I can't get through in a way different part of the city :cool:" To be fair though, I quite liked (most of) the rest of the game.
Muzman on 22/7/2013 at 23:20
Yeah, a good one but that one's from '99 too. Really the rot set in much earlier. I remember even ancient stuff like Leisure Suit Larry had some pretty terrible stumpers.
The Babelfish is from 1984, it's also so contingent on earlier events it's impossible for you to work on it within the game. At least with Gabriel Night and his moustache all the elements are present. They just work together in really counter intuitive ways. Mostly, the first few times you do the Babelfish you won't have everything you need
and these things will be pretty counter intuitive
AND if you don't do this puzzle you don't get stuck exactly, you just fail later.
But the depressing maddening quality is sort of meta to the whole tone of the fiction, unlike later games using similar stuff. I wonder if everyone started to feel that they had to match or out-do it though.
Here's a good description of what you have to go through to get it.
(
http://www.mysteriousexhortations.com/?p=876)
PigLick on 23/7/2013 at 01:02
I dont think I ever got past the brownian motion/tea thingy in the Heart of Gold, but I do have a soft spot for HGttG. I never had access to a pc during most of the 90's so I kinda missed out on the whole "point n click era" of games. Going back now and playing some of these classics is somewhat painful.
demagogue on 23/7/2013 at 10:14
Yes I have good memories playing the Space Quests & Police Quests & & King's Quests & Hero's Quests in their time, but they're hard to play now. The whole "solve the puzzle or die" trope for every other room is a tough pill to swallow.
PigLick on 23/7/2013 at 10:51
Also the "use everything on everything and exhaust all dialogue options to solve the godamn puzzle" trope.
Eshaktaar on 23/7/2013 at 18:01
Typical. I bought it during the Summer Sale when it was 25% off :p
Anyway, thanks for the recommendation.
