Mixed Messages (Gaming)

by cheapLEY , Tuesday, March 03, 2026, 19:53 (2 hours, 7 minutes ago) @ Cody Miller
edited by cheapLEY, Tuesday, March 03, 2026, 19:56

In regards to him saying there wasn't anything cool to do…

You're on Dire Marsh, and a big UESC ship comes in overhead. It starts to lockdown the area, and a popup comes that says "Leave area immediately".

If you follow the instructions the game gives you, then you will have no chance to even KNOW there's a lucrative event inside the lockdown. If you use anti-virus packs, you can stay inside and do a kind of wave clearing activity for lots of loot.

So… why does the game tell you to leave? Is it any wonder he thinks there's nothing to do when the game is actively telling you NOT to do the events? If you wanted to preserve the sense of discovery… why say anything at all? Just let players discover what it all means instead of actively steering them away.

Okay, I don't buy this at all. Have you ever played a video game before? I cannot fathom seeing something like that happen, seeing a message to leave, and then not sticking around just to see what is actually going on.

Do you also follow the traffic laws in GTA or stop when a guard tells you to in Dishonored?

I guess we can argue about what makes for good game design, but at a certain point, you either buy into the world they're creating in Marathon or you don't. I think we have to assume players are smart enough to not take everything at face value and realize when things are diagetic. If we can't even give them that much respect, what are we even doing here? There are tons of locked doors and containers around the map, too. Do players just assume those aren't accessible, or are they smart enough to think that maybe there's a key somewhere that will allow them to get in?

You clearly figured it out, as you told us how to complete the event.