Story Collectibles & Method (Gaming)

by Kermit , Raleigh, NC, Sunday, January 30, 2022, 13:28 (1028 days ago) @ Cody Miller

Control almost had this. When you interact with the puzzle locks, the camera moves in for you to manipulate the cube. That system could have had Jessie pick up a memo, and zoom in on it as you look at the actual text on the paper.

It feels like this implementation detail bugged you, and you blew it up into a grand thesis about breaking immersion in games, and it's taken a dozen posts for you to pull it back down to what is ultimately a minor complaint.

I haven't played Control, but I loved this thread, and it's shifted my mindset about playing the game from one extreme to the other--I can't wait now. It seems like it has a lot of stuff I like--well-executed environmental storytelling, for one. Your example of the movie poster in TLoU is great, but so are the notes from Frank in Outskirts, or the notes from Ish in the Suburbs. And those were delivered in a manner that sounds very similar to how they're delivered in Control.

There certainly can be too much of this stuff, and it can be done badly. I think 343 completely botched terminals, for example. Found objects should be objects that would actually be found, not opportunities to deliver fan service movies automagiccally produced by an invisible director. I think that their decision was motivated by a mindset you articulate:

...Who wants to chase down this shit when you could tell the story with sound and picture?

Call it the Dan Ayoub fallacy (Sorry, Dan). I'm with Effortlessfury. Reading adds flavor to the game, because it tickles a different part of brain, for one thing. The main questions for me are: could this be found here, and does it add to my understanding and experience of the game world? If the answers are yes, my immersion is deepened, not broken.

I'll revisit your opinion after I've played it. There may be too much lore, and the story might not grab me, but from what I can tell, how the lore is delivered will not be a problem for me.

Kerm