The Escape Button

[Imevil23]

I never pause as a reflex. I kinda just scream and run away (in game). Pausing is just delaying the inevitable. But the game should still pause when you hit escape, because it's called a pause menu for a reason.

[Zixalf]

I just voted for the poll and I'm actually surprised about the outcome. A lot of people do think the game should keep running while you're 'escaping' to the menus.
I think this pause-escaping is a habit you develop of your own, because I have not a slight intention to press escape whenever I see a Michael (that's the name I gave the monsters).
Like Imevil123 said, I just scream, sit straight up in my chair and run like a dog chasing a frisbee to get away from that Michael.

[Onlinezigeuner]

I don't think that this would be a good idea. For every SP you need a possibility to pause. I agree with the reasons the others mentioned. But the pausing while you are in your inventory/notes and so on should be removed.

[Pingwing]

I definitely belong to the people who pause the game very often.
While I can understand the thrill about being not able to pause, I need the pause button to recover, because I feel insecure about my actions and talk to the viewers.

[DonnJuann]

You're playing this really hard horror games, there have been no checkpoints in A WHILE...
SUDDENLY YOUR GRANDMA IS HAVING SEIZURE, A MONSTER SPAWNS AND THERE IS NOWHERE TO HIDE. The thing everyone would do is pause and quickly go help their grandma, BUT, this game doesn't alow you to pause...Case closed, bro.

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I just voted for the poll and I'm actually surprised about the outcome. A lot of people do think the game should keep running while you're 'escaping' to the menus.
I think this pause-escaping is a habit you develop of your own, because I have not a slight intention to press escape whenever I see a Michael (that's the name I gave the monsters).
Like Imevil123 said, I just scream, sit straight up in my chair and run like a dog chasing a frisbee to get away from that Michael.

I won't say that naming the monsters "Michael" is dumb...But it's really dumb.

[daortir]

On the one hand I'd say it's like playing any MMORPG or MOBA. In those games you can't pause, and you get used to it. Yes you'll die stupidly sometimes because you have to answer THAT phone call, or yes you'll fail something because you have to go to the bathroom at the wrong time. But I think pausing the game is an easy way of avoiding the fear. It's one of the things that could change to make Amnesia more terrifying in my opinon.

On the other hand, it is true that it would be forcing people into a very brutal gameplay change, and a one that can really be a problem considering eventual IRL issues.


So I think an answer to the debate might be to propose it as an option. You can check or uncheck an option box saying "Game keeps running while paused". This way no one is forced into anything, and people are free to make the game slightly scarier, or at least the atmosphere harder to escape.

I don't see any counterparts to that, people who like things this way could do it, and people who wanna change could experience it, yay !
Still I don't know if FG will do anything about it, but if any Full Conversion modder is listening... : p

Edit : I used pause during the Choir and the Prison, by the way. And probably at other points throughout the game, but I always felt bad for it, it always came as a reflex. So yeah, if that'd be given as an option, I think I'd at least try enabling the game running while paused, just because I feel it is anticlimatic to have such an easy answer to the fear available.