Frictional Games Forum (read-only)

Funny, permadeath in Justine had the exact opposite effect on me. I died five times or so in the sewers and after the first time everything that came before had lost all scaryness for me. I simply breezed through, knowing exactly where the monsters would appear and what I had to do for the puzzles. It became a tedious chore instead of a thrilling experience.

Having real life repercussions for death may increase tension, sure, but its a different kind of tension. It does not stem from the atmosphere and immersion but simply from the fear of peing "punished." Its the same thing with jumpscares: You fear them because they cause you actual, physical discomfort in the real world. But that's no real deep-seated horror-fear, that's just the same kind of fear you have when you're going to the dentist.

In my opinion, that's not what horror games should be trying to achieve. Instead of breaking the fourth wall, they should pull you into their world and make you forget you're playing a game. How can I forget I'm playing a game, if all my fear stems from the thought of having to start the game/ level over if I fail instead of coming from the incomprehensible horrors that lurk in the darkness?

(11-21-2012, 12:49 PM)Hirnwirbel Wrote: [ -> ]In my opinion, that's not what horror games should be trying to achieve. Instead of breaking the fourth wall, they should pull you into their world and make you forget you're playing a game. How can I forget I'm playing a game, if all my fear stems from the thought of having to start the game/ level over if I fail instead of coming from the incomprehensible horrors that lurk in the darkness?

Well said.

I'm runnin red lights all around, releasing after Christmass

I think the red light is not the lantern just gloomy
Like in penumbra requim series when you've got to place cogwheels
Freaked me out though there was not a single treat in requim

I guess it was meant to make it a real life experience... "If you fail, it's over"... The problem is that then the game should delete itself, which would be unfair..
So permadeath, yea isn't that good an idea..

Can someone from mods move merge this thread with Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs Discussion

It's probably the same kid as in the other part of the video.

May be it just an illusion/ghost little Mandus himself? Memories haunting him?

It is well-known fact that Oswald's expedition in Mexico ended in horrific tragedy. I think he lost his daughter there, and now, due Oswald's low mental state, he sees her everywhere. Or maybe it really is her ghost, we don't know.

No No No, Justine was scary. Of course! But the game was frustrating and I stopped playing it because there was no saving option and I did not want to play all again!!!
Every game should have a free-save option. Otherwise it will be frustrating, or when you want to turn off the computer etc. In an 1-2 hour game it is OK, just for a hardcore game. But in general, I want to save in the game.

But it is also bad when you save always by pressing F5 or via main menu.

So, I want to say, that Penumbra did it right. You have to find an artifact where you can save. You don't save in the main menu, you save in the game world. Amnesia also have this artifacts, but they're not for saving.

It would be great, if there were 20-30 artifacts in AMFP where you will be able to save. Not restarting the level again or even the complete game! That would be frustrating and people will lose interesting to play again.

Justine was an experiment. They said themselves this was not something they were going to implement in future games. It was interesting but yeah, sorry, it won't work.