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Essays 03 April 2020, 16:17

You're overloaded!. All the game mechanics we despise

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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.

Roach could save us from being unable to lift all our loot, if it wasn't busy standing on a roof somewhere. - 95% Chances of Success and I Missed?! Game Mechanics We Hate - dokument - 2020-04-03
Roach could save us from being unable to lift all our loot, if it wasn't busy standing on a roof somewhere.

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!! ! ?

Interestingly, the inventory and overload system in Death Stranding irritated me less than in ordinary RPGs. - 95% Chances of Success and I Missed?! Game Mechanics We Hate - dokument - 2020-04-03
Interestingly, the inventory and overload system in Death Stranding irritated me less than in ordinary RPGs.

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!

Matthias Pawlikowski

Matthias Pawlikowski

The editor-in-chief of GRYOnline.pl, associated with the site since the end of 2016. Initially, he worked in the guides department, and later he managed it, eventually becoming the editor-in-chief of Gamepressure, an English-language project aimed at the West, before finally taking on his current role. In the past, a reviewer and literary critic, he published works on literature, culture, and even theater in many humanities journals and portals, including the monthly Znak or Popmoderna. He studied literary criticism and literature at the Jagiellonian University. Likes old games, city-builders and RPGs, including Japanese ones. Spends a huge amount of money on computer parts. Apart from work and games, he trains tennis and occasionally volunteers for the Peace Patrol of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity.

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