You're overloaded!. All the game mechanics we despise
- 95% Chances of Success and I Missed?! Game Mechanics We Hate
- Force of entropy – weapon wear
- Level scaling – David becoming Goliath
- Quick-time events
- RNG
- You're overloaded!
- Save the game only once!
- Killstreaks – Massacre of the Innocents
- Your computer is a fraud
- The Witcher sens(l)es(s)
You're overloaded!
No, really – I get this one. I absolutely understand every argument and premise behind implementing this mechanic. The physics of our world demand that objects have their own weight (some of them even in gold). The more we stuff into the backpack, the slower we shall move. All that is understandable, adequate, and realistic.
So what! Truly, the level of agitation I get when I lose the ability to run, or even move at all in Fallout, Skyrim, The Witcher or Divinity Original Sin, exceeds my mental resilience. How many times I have bemoaned in my life for one damn reason: I'm overloaded.
Overloaded, philosophers would say, is not a condition of the body, but a disease of the soul. I was free as a bird, I could flinch and jump, but my unwavering desire to collect shiny objects and squirrel them away turned me into a living, static sculpture. But the worst part is just coming up: What should I throw away? This broken oar could be useful goddamn it!! ! ?
Realism in games requires compromises – we have to feel that it's still a game meant for entertainment. So it's easy to overdo it, sometimes. I am irritated by the inflexible, numerical weight limits. Say you're able to carry 100 kilograms. Say you do, and you pick up a flower, weighing about 0.02 kilograms – it instantly and absolutely incapacitates you. Crafting materials (flowers included) are problematic, and the creators are often willing to compromise on realism, just so that we can collect materials and pick flowers without worrying we'll be stuck. I shall take this opportunity and make a plea to developers: always sort your inventory in tabs!
