this post was submitted on 24 Jan 2024
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Patient Gamers

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A gaming community free from the hype and oversaturation of current releases, catering to gamers who wait at least 12 months after release to play a game. Whether it's price, waiting for bugs/issues to be patched, DLC to be released, don't meet the system requirements, or just haven't had the time to keep up with the latest releases.

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I know this isn't strictly related to patient gaming, but I think it fits the ethos of this community and I can't think of a better choir to preach to.

The director of Dragon's Dogma II made the following statement regarding limiting or removing fast travel

Just give it a try. Travel is boring? That's not true. It's only an issue because your game is boring. All you have to do is make travel fun

I think this is fairly compelling. Though I will say, I don't think the answer is to limit fast travel. The real limitations developers should be placing should be on filler quests that have you traveling from point a to point b and then back with some slight pretext as to why you're doing so. It's not fast travel that's the issue so much as mission design and the manners in which the player is compelled to cross the game world.

Metroidvanias are a great example of how to allow for fast travel while still making traveling around the game world compelling. The latest Metroid, Metroid Dread, was really fantastic in this aspect. You have this sense of progression and exploration even as you're backtracking.

Would removing fast travel from Metroid Dread have made it any better? I don't think so. The inclusion of fast travel feels thematic. You have to work for it so it feels like an achievement to unlock. It augments the game.

So in short, I agree with some of the sentiment expressed, with regards to lazy gameplay design being boring. I disagree with the opinion that fast travel necessarily is boring, or causes lazy desing.

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[–] Sphks@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 9 months ago

Also, when the story is great and not too long, I like not to run. Two examples are Firewatch and Portal 2. I take my time because I don't want them to finish them fast. It's like keeping a lotery ticket without checking if you won.