New Game Design/Gameplay needed for dealing with Enemies in future games

[Cranky Old Man]

I think Frictional themselves would agree that the run/hide/sneak mechanic is getting a bit played out

Well, let me put it this way: If all game developers would suddenly stop releasing sneak-em-ups and games that you can do a "pacifist run" in, I'll stop playing games. ...because sneaking around like a helpless ninja, is all that I enjoy doing.

1) I hate guns, and I hate killing. I've played those point-and-click games to death. Especially horror games, can't be done if you're armed. Well, technically they CAN be done, since F.E.A.R., Silent Hill and Dead Space exist, but those games would be five times greater if you weren't armed. In horror games, you're supposed to be weak and vulnerable. That's when you feel horror. That's when a monster is truly a monster, and not a target. Amnesia got this - it got what the players have been screaming for for years - and that's why it's such a famous game.

2) Using the environment takes much more intelligence than just pointing and clicking. It takes spatial awareness: Where am I? Where's the monster? Where am I supposed to go? Where is the monster heading? Where is it facing? To a skilled player, a common office becomes littered with items which you can throw as distractions or lures. A weapon can't change shape like the environment can.