The problem is - I see where they're coming from - that not all other games have huge involving overworlds the way Wonderland Adventures do. And the ones that do usually have guns, or some sort of attack that can be used to destroy stuff in the way.
In Wonderland Adventures games, I have to say, you really do have to be 100% sure it's safe when you save. Sometimes you could save at a point where the loading times don't give you enough time to do anything, or you could save too late altogether.
That's the thing - most other video games don't let you save at any given time. They usually have a set point where you can save. Two examples (first that come to mind) are Mirror's Edge or Sonic '06.
Mirror's Edge: After each chapter, the game automatically saves - also, there are some in-level checkpoints.
Sonic '06: Saves automatically once something is accomplished - not like much will be done in a short timespan, because the loadtimes in this game are ridiculously long.
Wonderland Adventures - and MOFI - on the other hand, both let you save whenever and where-ever you want.
Sometimes, it's good - You finally make it somewhere, you want to save so you don't have to do that over again. Some games don't allow that.
However, in a puzzle/action game as hard as MoFI, it can be a very dangerous thing to do.
Example; you FINALLY get past a very hard HUB AREA puzzle. First instinct (in my mind at least) is to save. However, say that you ended up getting it wrong, and you missed something you needed. This is where MoFI is incredibly decieving. The game starts easily, except suddenly you need to clear some
incredibly difficult puzzles. In this case, you might have to start the level over because you're only using one save slot. Worst-case scenario, the whole game.
Which really, really bites if you're far into it.
I do realize that it's recommended to use mutliple save slots. However,
that warning is only visible to those who look at the forum. Someone who doesn't - regardless of if they're new or not to adventure games - could become really annoyed and thus not want to play the game anymore. I said regardless of if they're new to adventure games or not because Wonderland Adventures is so unique in the retrospective - A free-roaming tile based game, a first-person shooter without guns...
Now, what would be a good idea (in my opinion) for further MoFI updates is to include a few hints on the loading screen.
What I mean is where you have the normal screen with a little caption giving you a hint below.
For example:
Code: Select all
LOADING...
Hint: Don't forget to use multiple save slots!
In the long run, this way, it's more likely that people will use multiple saves - Except me, of course, cuz I'm silly enough to think it'll be fine - and thus not get bored of the game.
However, I still think that a difficulty option or something like that is REALLY necessary for the third WA game.
Of course, it would be difficult to code, and make the game 600% harder to fit together, but better late than never.
In the end, as long as the game is good and it doesn't bore players, it'll all be worth it.
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Wow, that was a long post.
On to reviews: I might end up doing my own review for Youtube, depends on if I get around to it.
