That's what cheat codes are for. It may sound a bit cheap, but it's a great way to work around that. You can have a bunch of stuff to unlock, and then have codes to unlock it, whether it be an option in the menu or something completely secretive, like a button combo (either enter in-game or have to tap certain parts of the screen in menus), or something similar. This allows people to unlock things the right way if they want to, or just unlock everything at once to use if they don't feel like unlocking it all, or if they're just having trouble doing so. Whenever I'm stuck or just have limited time with a game and just want to unlock everything, if there's codes available, I use them. It just allows the player to choose how they want to go about unlocking everything.
Interesting. I've never really been a fan of cheats or codes, personally -- with them there is no reward if you know that at any time you can just go into the menu and click "unlock all" or type in a code, its like "whats the point?" -- heck, the drive to unlock things and earn achievements is half the fun for many gamers. imo if you don't like the game enough to play and unlock the extras, you probably wouldn't care enough to go find a hidden code and unlock them anyway. I think its important to just strike the right balance between time invested vs. extras you get out of it.
You're wrong about what I would probably do. I know better than you what I like to do. Sometimes I like to work through the levels. Sometimes I like to open everything up and take a look. It's great when games give me that choice. You lose nothing to the existence of a cheat which you don't use. If you don't have the self-restraint to keep from using a cheat that makes the game less fun for you, isn't that your weakness?
Well, I apologize -- I meant "you" as in "some people in the audience" -- not you specifically. And "you" do lose something. As someone who doesn't want to use codes, it cheapens the experience for me when I know that the work I put into a game could just as easily have been accomplished with the press of a button. Also in a game with an online leader board, being able to unlock extra information about enemies -- including strategies and stats -- can give people an unfair advantage. I don't think you should be penalized or at a disadvantage for not wanting to "cheat." All that aside I'm not against codes so much because I don't like them, I just think there are much better, more elegant solutions. But anyway, we appreciate the input from everyone Thanks, we definitely talk about everything that is brought up.
It's not the same result if you don't do it in the same way. If I train for a marathon, and run it successfully, my experience isn't "cheapened" by the knowledge that someone could accomplish the same trip much more easily by driving in a car. Some people are self-referenced and some people are other-referenced. People who are self-referenced will be happy with their own accomplishments on their own terms, the fact that some other person could have done the same thing some other way means nothing to them. People who are other-referenced care a lot about making it hard for other people to seem to achieve the same things that they do (even by cheating), because they validate their accomplishments only by how they appear to others. Probably each group is going to have a hard time understanding the other. Anyway, I only responded because you seemed to say that there aren't a large group of people who will much prefer a game where they can choose what to lock or unlock. And in fact there are.
I see your point, but for those who really want the challenge of unlocking everything, they don't have to use the codes. It's a real accomplishment whether the code exists or not. It's almost like saying that it's not an accomplishment to beat Contra since it has a code that gives you 30 lives (and even then it's still pretty hard). I, and I'm sure many more, will play as much of a game as I can without reverting to codes. I mostly use them as a last resort when I know that I won't be unlocking something anytime soon, but am dying to use it. Again, it's all up to the individual gamer.
Well, regardless of what we decide to do, thanks for the input guys; even if we don't end up including cheats, we really appreciate the perspective. Can't comment on weather effects yet. We do have a light/dark and a day/night cycle (including enemies and abilities that are tied into light and dark), and there is a good amount of interactivity in the environments in regards to combat. We have it so that anything knocked hard enough into a wall takes extra damage, and you can knock lighter enemies off of ledges to their deaths (Beetle Hero specializes in AOE knocking attacks, while other heroes have various knocking abilities and skills). Its a really nice little extra that rewards players for using their environment and maneuvering skillfully.
An example of the equipment and visual level progression. Hope to release some in game screen shots soon
Thanks, can't wait to let people get their hands on the game -- hoping for another 4-5 weeks or so before we start taking beta applicants.
Haha... still not ready to post in game screen shots as the UI is still not complete, though its getting there Other then that though the development of the game itself is going great. We've got the randomized side quest system in place with tons of cool quests to liven up the gameplay (quests are optional and include things like mini bosses, finding and assassinating certain enemies, saving NPCs, collecting things, unlocking parts of the story, and tons more). We've also added some cool environmental hazards like knocking bugs off of cliffs, bashing them against walls, swampy areas that slow you down, and some other goodies Also for those interested in randomization, besides the side quests which are randomized depending on your current level, all normal "waves" or rounds of enemies will be randomized to a degree as well. Trust me we are so excited to get this game out we are working hard... I think it will pop your top when you see the game play footage And of course, specific questions about game play or anything else are more then welcome
By just reading that my anticipation just hit critical! Glad to see so many ideas from the tread implemented, was thinking though. Will there be an achievement system to earn badges/pins or the like? Just an idea...
Yes and yes There will be tons of varied achievement rewards, though this is something we are still implementing. Some will be art, some will be story bits, some will be quotes, some will be Bug Heroes lore, etc... But you know, that would be an interesting idea to have your characters actually wear certain pieces of equipment (visual only, to be fair) based on unlocked achievements... hmmmmmmmm... things like trophy racks, badges, banners and other things like that that wouldn't get in the way of the regular equipment. iiiinteresting And the second yes was for iPhone 4 rez.
If it gets too hectic, another visual idea would be to have the unit develope a look that is customizable. Such as having a certain number of assult or support achievements/pins would allow an unlock for certain type of gear (aesthetic or with bonuses). I was hoping if the pins idea is used that it woyuld be possible to go into a profile page and see the pins receive and the number of times received either simply put (or better yet in a graphical manner)? This would be more of a "show off what I got" system... not sure how it would work for online viewing though...
