SQ: The Best/Worse Part Of This Game Was...

[MusicallyInspired]

"The code"?

The hidden command that allows you to win at the slot machine in SQ1AGI?

I didn't get that impression from other SQ games. They do mock you when you die, and they mock the character of Roger Wilco*, but I think SQ6 goes beyond that. I think it's the only game where the narrator and Roger directly interact, so there are plenty direct insults. Also, there are just insults everywhere, whether you're doing some stupid, something sensible, or just doing something they didn't bother programming a specific response to (which includes a lot of things, even just looking at some inventory items). I do think there are many times when the game crosses over from laughing with the player to laughing at the player. For exam

...still struggling to understand why this is a con...

* That's actually a weird thing about Space Quest. Roger's canon characterization is that he's lazy and incompetent, but you see very little of that while you're actually controlling him. At least, in those playthroughs where he doesn't die.

I'm just assuming this is either from the fact that you can die so much in Space Quest and the narrator knows it if you're playing for the first time, and/or that Roger can't do anything on his own and requires the player to take control of him to actually get anything intelligent done.

The biggest problem I had with character/charactarization disconnect is that in SQ6 he sounds way smarter than everyone else lets on he is. But he's such a good voice actor that I don't mind.

Except that those screens are just empty. The station is pretty bizarre. There are hallways, there are closets with single useful items each,a collection of cages, and a restroom for (and containing) bizarre aliens. There's no sense that station actually has a function or that the various room are designed for some use.

You really have high standards for suspension of disbelief lol. Vohaul's asteroid was disappointing to me but only because it just doesn't look interesting, not because it doesn't have a functional purpose. It's all about atmosphere to me. Trying to find so much purpose for things kind of kills the fun after a while, doesn't it? You'll never find a game that does this perfectly.

[adeyke]

"The code"?

The hidden command that allows you to win at the slot machine in SQ1AGI?

Ah. I see that now. I'm sure I knew about it once before, but it completely slipped my mind. I'm not sure I've ever used it during a normal playthrough.

I didn't get that impression from other SQ games. They do mock you when you die, and they mock the character of Roger Wilco*, but I think SQ6 goes beyond that. I think it's the only game where the narrator and Roger directly interact, so there are plenty direct insults. Also, there are just insults everywhere, whether you're doing some stupid, something sensible, or just doing something they didn't bother programming a specific response to (which includes a lot of things, even just looking at some inventory items). I do think there are many times when the game crosses over from laughing with the player to laughing at the player. For exam

...still struggling to understand why this is a con...

I don't like to be verbally abused? Most of the lines don't even have a joke, just an insult.

* That's actually a weird thing about Space Quest. Roger's canon characterization is that he's lazy and incompetent, but you see very little of that while you're actually controlling him. At least, in those playthroughs where he doesn't die.

I'm just assuming this is either from the fact that you can die so much in Space Quest and the narrator knows it if you're playing for the first time, and/or that Roger can't do anything on his own and requires the player to take control of him to actually get anything intelligent done.

The biggest problem I had with character/charactarization disconnect is that in SQ6 he sounds way smarter than everyone else lets on he is. But he's such a good voice actor that I don't mind.

I really don't like the view of the player as puppeteer. To me, when I play as Roger Wilco, that means I should be trying to think as Roger Wilco thinks and do as Roger Wilco would do.

Except that those screens are just empty. The station is pretty bizarre. There are hallways, there are closets with single useful items each,a collection of cages, and a restroom for (and containing) bizarre aliens. There's no sense that station actually has a function or that the various room are designed for some use.

You really have high standards for suspension of disbelief lol. Vohaul's asteroid was disappointing to me but only because it just doesn't look interesting, not because it doesn't have a functional purpose. It's all about atmosphere to me. Trying to find so much purpose for things kind of kills the fun after a while, doesn't it? You'll never find a game that does this perfectly.

Well, my initial complaint is in terms of gameplay. The loop of "go to a floor, walk a hallway, enter a closet, look, grab the useful item" isn't really engaging. Tawmis indicated that these long hallways are good because they mean it's "bigger than "only screens required for the game."", which I took to mean that it represents a real, functional space, rather than just one designed for gameplay, but it's not that either.

I'm not demanding verisimilitude in the setting. Having dozens of rooms with dozens of objects that don't serve any gameplay purpose wouldn't be better. However, in this case, it seems that it's neither an interesting gameplay space nor a realistic, functional space.

[MusicallyInspired]

I don't like to be verbally abused? Most of the lines don't even have a joke, just an insult.

I'm going to go back to another reply I made to you in another thread with "that's a really bizarre thing to have an issue with." I think it's hilarious. Whether the game is ridiculing Roger, or me the player, or both I don't care. It's just a game. Agree to disagree here.

I really don't like the view of the player as puppeteer. To me, when I play as Roger Wilco, that means I should be trying to think as Roger Wilco thinks and do as Roger Wilco would do.

This is part of what I was referring to when I say that modern "adventures" have skewed what these original experiences were. Ya gotta take it for what it is, not what you want it to be. Course, if you don't like it, you don't like it. That's your preference. That's fine. I just don't think about it that deeply, myself. You seem to have very rigid requirements for enjoying a game with a story. Rigid for my tastes, anyway.

However, in this case, it seems that it's neither an interesting gameplay space nor a realistic, functional space.

That I can definitely agree with.

[Tawmis]

I don't like to be verbally abused? Most of the lines don't even have a joke, just an insult.

I'm going to go back to another reply I made to you in another thread with "that's a really bizarre thing to have an issue with." I think it's hilarious. Whether the game is ridiculing Roger, or me the player, or both I don't care. It's just a game. Agree to disagree here.

This is why I made these threads. We all have very different tastes. For example, adeyke didn't care for the humor in Torin's Passage. I actually enjoyed it for what it was. A difference of opinion on what is good or what is funny is to be expected. I enjoy seeing what everyone else got out of the game (in terms of enjoyment), and what were the things about each of these games (that most of us loved and played multiple times) that we endured, despite having a quirk or two (or three, or sometimes more) in a game; but we still put up with it. It's more than okay to agree to disagree, because everyone's got their opinions of what's good/funny/bad, etc.