Zero Punctuation: Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs

[padme]

It only just struck me after watching this video just how spot on he is about the sanity meter for immersion:
"THIS IS A BAR!? YOU SEE THIS? This means you are scared!"

"[...]When actually you should gauge how scared you are by yourself"

I probably misquoted that entirely considering I'm writing that from memory from a video I watched days ago lol

But then he admitted that was an interesting concept that prevented the player from looking at the monsters, now you just stay there and wait for the monster to pass, it doesn't give you the sense of danger anymore.

[zico]

@padme:
I agree. Actually TDD had a very nice concept of giving you basically NOTHING to do "right". Fight monsters? Nope. So hide in the dark? Probably but that's also not good. Go around them? Yeah but don't look while evading - that's bad, too.

However that was good for TDD. AMFP I feel had a totally different focus. I feel everyone is just looking at the monsters. Moners here. Monsters there. Monsters too weak, monsters not scary, monsters not dangerous.

First: That also goes for TDD. If you wish you can get killed by every monster and basically KILL them by despawn. What's dangerous about that? But don't get me wrong: I was still scared. And in both games.

And second - and even more important: AMFP is MUCH less about the monsters than TDD. And that I consider a very good thing. It's not the main focus of this game. So frankly I don't get what all the fuss is about.

EDIT:
I must say for all the changes I DO appreciate AMFP. It established itself as a totally independent entity. Not just "more of the same" - another AddOn, another Custom Story. It doesn't try to catch up with TDD, "do better", making it's predecessor obsolete. It's just it's own thing with a different approach. The way I see it at least. I rather have two different games. Period.

[AdamD]

Lol, it gave me a good idea. Play Amnesia AMFP again and taking a shot everytime they say "pig".

[Lazoriss]

Lol, it gave me a good idea. Play Amnesia AMFP again and taking a shot everytime they say "pig".

u do that and ur gonna die, son :P

[Paddy™]

Here's a more in-depth follow up by Yahtzee:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles...nt-Kill-Me

[Cuyir]

Here's a more in-depth follow up by Yahtzee:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles...nt-Kill-Me

That was surprisingly well through out and in-depth for what's basically just the intro scene haha.

[Alardem]

Seemed like an average English major's essay padding to me. I'd know. :p

[Mastersarge]

the guy is no genius.

[Fortigurn]

It only just struck me after watching this video just how spot on he is about the sanity meter for immersion:
"THIS IS A BAR!? YOU SEE THIS? This means you are scared!"

"[...]When actually you should gauge how scared you are by yourself"

I probably misquoted that entirely considering I'm writing that from memory from a video I watched days ago lol

Yeah, as he acknowledged, Amnesia does not have a bar to tell you how scared you are. It doesn't have a 'fear meter', it has an 'insanity meter'. Even that is kept complete offscreen unless you visit the inventory, and the purpose is not to show how scared you are but to provide details of a well integrated mechanic representing a character status which the player is unable to experience directly themselves; mental instability.

Of course players can gauge how mentally unstable they are for themselves, but that's not the point; you are playing a character who is not you, and the qualities and characteristics of that character must be communicated to you effectively. The insanity mechanic does this well (I didn't even see the need for the insanity indicator in the inventory).

[Mjarr]

Of course players can gauge how mentally unstable they are for themselves, but that's not the point; you are playing a character who is not you, and the qualities and characteristics of that character must be communicated to you effectively. The insanity mechanic does this well (I didn't even see the need for the insanity indicator in the inventory).

I disagree for it conveying any kind of real delivery in TDD - aside from discouraging staring at Lovecraftian kebab chefs - because it really boils down to two major effects:

1. You lost your spectacles and eventually go underwater.
2. You pass out from loss of sanity.

Unless there was some patch which greatly altered that mechanic since it's been a while the last time I touched TDD, even if you stared at one of the grunts half an hour as long as you weren't too close what's the actual gameplay impact? Lose your spectacles. Maybe pass out eventually, which of course might be bit tense in hot pursuit but I never even knew that could happen until I tried out for the sake of trying. Sounds of cockroaches (and once in a blue moon you see something actually weird) and submerging underwater visually is, IMHO, very poor definition of effects of insanity. They could've just broken the fourth wall with subtle effects or do much more with it, but instead you just have otherwise reasonable concept wasted for little gain aside from well, it discourages you to oogle at the sexy beasts.

(Har har at the end of the sentence.)