Horror vs. Puzzles

[Googolplex]

Hello my friends.

As we know, the games by FG are unique in this universe!
I wanted to ask you, why you love their games.

I love it, because there is no action clichee with bizarre monsters, bloody zombies and full of explosive weapons. The mainly content of their games are the story and the gameplay without or with less and weak weapons. Weapons that are more for smash objects instead for fighting.
I love games with puzzles, the game must be an adventure for the player. You have to be alone and helpless in the darkness with creepy atmosphere. That is, why their games are good. No action and less fighting! More puzzles, ideas and draft.

But what is the season, why you love their games?
Horror and Puzzles are both very important things for a good game. But what do you prefer?

If I set a standard for Penumbra...

Horror: 50%
Puzzles: 50%

Creepy game with also many puzzles. Makes together a game with 100%.

Amnesia had a little difference:

Horror: 80%
Puzzles: 20%

A really good game, but it was too empty. You can not explore the location and search for hidden things like in Penumbra. Some puzzles in the cistern are good, but the game have too less and to easy puzzles. There is nothing you can find out. All the locations are very empty, there are only useless objects. You can barely interact with objects to solve physics.

The little information we know about their next game is, that it will be a game without horror comes first. So, what comes first then?
I hope, the puzzles will be more thoughtful and tricky in their next game.

I wanted to prefer a standard like Penumbra, but the puzzles could still have over 50% of the game. I prefer a game full of puzzles. Hidden puzzles in all things and you should solve them using physics and realistic ideas.

What do you prefer?
And what do you think about more outdoor locations or about a third person adventure game?
With horror, of course. But where puzzles and ideas comes first.

[Leu Radu]

(06-25-2011 07:37 PM)Googolplex Wrote:  A really good game, but it was too empty. You can not explore the location and search for hidden things like in Penumbra.

I believe Amnesia's style is not meant to greatly reward a player for exploration (rather to punish him). Anyway, by exploring, you get the much needed oil and tinderboxes.

I think the puzzles where really good for the kind of game Amnesia is. Some actually where tedious for me because I was too scared. I remember crawling slowly through the machine room (when you repair the elevator) for about an hour, fearing that something would pop up around the corner eventually. If a had to get past complex puzzles, I wouldn't stand the pressure or, eventually, would loose the immersion and start meta-thinking.

Amnesia is a game focused on horror through atmosphere. Complex and tedious puzzles would somehow diminish it. The simple puzzles, however, are crucial for keeping the story going. They give a sense of achievement, that you are actually doing something, and "help" you move on through the moments of despair.

This is just my opinion on the matter. I've never played Penumbra but, after hearing so much praise here on the forums, I will definitely buy the whole pack soon.

[Brennenburg]

To be completely honest with you, I didn't think Penumbra was all that scary. Maybe because I played Amnesia first? But yeah, Penumbra: Horror 10% Puzzles 90%.

[LucaP1000]

The difference in puzzles, was that in Penumbra series, you would also have to interact with physics, in order to complete puzzles. In Amnesia, instead, the puzzles have pre-estabilished object that go in your inventary, if you know what i mean.
I remember a part of Overture in the Excavation place, where you had to attach a piece of broken ladder to the hole in the ceiling, put boxes under it and putting another one on them by using a raised part of the place (you can't pick up heavy boxes yourself) to succesfully jump and grip to the ladder. Or another place where there was a big excavation machine and you had to manually insert the control panel's plug in the generator, put the key, turn it, pick a gas can and break the tanker of the machine open, put the gas, and finally use the big yellow monster machine. In Amnesia it would all mean using some objects in the inventary and you would be fine.
In a few words, Amnesia puzzles are too easy.
I think Penumbra was balanced enough with Horror/Puzzles. Amnesia is more concentrated on Horror, and the few puzzles aren't very good.

[Kein]

Both was pretty good and intense, and atmosphere was very consistent despite some small differences in gamepay.

[Googolplex]

(06-26-2011 10:22 AM)LucaP1000 Wrote:  The difference in puzzles, was that in Penumbra series, you would also have to interact with physics, in order to complete puzzles. In Amnesia, instead, the puzzles have pre-estabilished object that go in your inventary, if you know what i mean.
I remember a part of Overture in the Excavation place, where you had to attach a piece of broken ladder to the hole in the ceiling, put boxes under it and putting another one on them by using a raised part of the place (you can't pick up heavy boxes yourself) to succesfully jump and grip to the ladder. Or another place where there was a big excavation machine and you had to manually insert the control panel's plug in the generator, put the key, turn it, pick a gas can and break the tanker of the machine open, put the gas, and finally use the big yellow monster machine. In Amnesia it would all mean using some objects in the inventary and you would be fine.
In a few words, Amnesia puzzles are too easy.
I think Penumbra was balanced enough with Horror/Puzzles. Amnesia is more concentrated on Horror, and the few puzzles aren't very good.

Yes, this is, what I mean.
I love it in Penumbra, where you have no idea to solve this complex puzzles using physics.
In this way, Penumbra was the best game for me. Amnesia was also great but it was only Horror and not complex enough.
I really hope, that the next game will have very much complex puzzles unsing physics.

[Zikky]

I agree so far, Amnesia really concentrated mostly on horror and less on the puzzles. Would be really neat if their next follow up would contain alot more and more COMLPEX puzzles. The few that were in Amnesia was really easy to solve. We need more brain usage!
I know their next game won't be a horror one, but then i really hope they make something with hard-to-solve-puzzles.
I haven't played through all of the Penumbra games, but the few hours i experienced i found the puzzles to be more complex. Less horror though.

Amnesia was 80 % horror and 20 % puzzles.
I would like a 50/50 one

Oh, and back to the original question, why i love their games?
The atmosphere, the fact that you are completely alone (mostly) and the music...
If i talk for Amnesia, i really loved the feeling you had through the whole game, that made you carefully peek around every new corner to see if Mr. Grunt were there looking for you!

I love the realistic environment and the helpless concept, that you hide (or run!) instead of throwing up a action packed fight that involve special effects and blood spraying the screen. You constantly feel followed and is, through 95 % of the game, scared.

It's so damn unique! I can't wait to see what they can make that isn't based on horror!

[Googolplex]

You really should play the Penumbra series.
It is a 50/50 one.

You have still right, we need more brain usage in their next upcoming game!
I hope, they will read this.

[dph314]

Definately love their games because they don't require action to be fun. There's many games I've played that use a ton of shooting/fighting to be fun, and I remember at times just being content exploring, wondering what's around the next corner, stuff like that. And it was only mildly fun at best because those games didn't focus enough on the surroundings/atmosphere. Penumbra/Amnesia are great examples of being able to feel excitement (or rather mostly fear) without the same old shootouts. It's very realistic in the sense that you just explore at your own pace and since there was a ton of attention put towards the environment and atmosphere, you can really get into the game, it's very easy for you to picture yourself in that situation, and get more of a rise out of it than you would with a bazooka and 100 zombies runnin' at you.

[hollowleviathan]

I prefer fun games. I enjoyed Penumbra as a fun puzzle and horror game, I enjoyed Amnesia as a fun/horrorifyingly horror game with some puzzles. I don't think it was a step backwards to include less puzzles against the horror, just a step towards more horror. Which was different without being worse.

I pre-ordered Amnesia on the strength of Penumbra, I'll pre-order their next game on the strength of both Penumbra and Amnesia.