Craigp, 24 days ago

Out-of-order mechanics are probably the worst.

The game regularly gives you tutorials and tips for things that haven't come up yet, and allows you to do things that aren't in character yet.

Photographer from the big city: "I have arrived! Time to get a scoop! I will now plant crops, hunt mice, and pick up bugs for witches' brews."

Game: "When you're polymorphed into a CAT you should interact with CAT PEOPLE-"

Photographer: "Got it. Now, to take my very first photograph of the town."

Craigp, 24 days ago

In order for a gamebreaking glitch to matter, players have to play long enough to reach it and care enough to want to continue.

If the core progression is scatterbrained and falls flat, players won't get that far.

Craigp, 24 days ago

The weird pacing is something I don't really understand. I get that it happens a lot in farming sims, but this isn't really a farming sim. I guess it's just SWERY misunderstanding basic game design again.

There's no reason for the days to pass so damn fast. If your game is supposed to be exploration-focused without much stress, why do the day whip by so fast that you have to hike overnight to get anywhere before noon?

It's SO fast. Something like three in-game hours per real-world minute.

Craigp, 24 days ago

The thing is, having time pass is a very fun mechanic if it's attached to something fun.

Just having it pass for the sake of having it pass is... pointless? Un-fun.

The chore-focused play of farming sims with their tightly regimented days use the time passing mechanic to make sure you're always at least vaguely planning for the next set of chores.

But there's no chores in The Good Life. And time passes EVEN FASTER than in a farming sim.

I'd go the other way. Time does not pass. Period.

Craigp, 24 days ago

Stand on a corner for a week of real time, the in-game day clock doesn't advance even a single second.

The reason I'd do this is because there is no resource that refreshes each day. So there's no reason to have days pass in a regimented way.

Instead, let's make time into mana.

Time never passes in ordinary play. However, everything you DO takes time. An hour, two hours, whatever.

Photo session? That takes an hour. Chatting with a friend? Half an hour. Eating pork chops? An hour.

Craigp, 24 days ago

By having you literally spend your time on actions, we can create a low-pressure situation where players can move slowly and at their own pace, instead of constantly on fast-forward.

And because it's a resource, players can plan what they're going to spend time on tomorrow, or tonight, or next week.

Your garden crops will be ready in two days. That'll take like a whole freaking day to harvest. Set aside the time...

Craigp, 24 days ago

Game days being "N realtime minutes" is only useful if days passing is used to moderate a resource.

But game days being "N tasks" turns the days into that resource. Very nice if you don't have time-based resources.

glassbottommeg, 24 days ago

@Craigp heck it, I would have settled for a simple Zelda dayside/nightside hard transition, with sitting on benches or ocarina song analogs to just let me choose which thing I'm doing now.

The gradients between the two just, weren't interesting. Any of the "NPC does different stuff depending on time" they had could have been resolved, literally, the same as Zelda. Namely: all NPCs can have a lil script they execute on start of day or start of night, some of which can kick you out of that time entirely if you interrupt them wrong. There, done.

I did play the game for a bunch of hours, but after a point it just became a slog. That point being, when you started to have to travel really far, to all the various POIs, heh. I liked the beginning, at least!

Craigp, 24 days ago

@glassbottommeg Agreed! I just like my way because the game needs some structure, and I think "spending time" is a good structure.