- That is fair, although that is also player choice. The answers are available if you choose Easy Mode. On a high level, I can't imagine choosing a game mode that is indicated to be more difficult and then being upset that it was harder to get through. And there are games all the time that lock more exclusive content behind higher difficulties.
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The choices are not random, however. They are consistent every game. It's always the same server; it's always the same combination of types of answers to Bridget. Those do not change. I'm guessing by "random" here you mean that you are guessing without information, picking randomly. This would go to the point I made that clues being provided would be a good addition to the game.
Difficulty does not mean tedious or time-reducing or frequent game over screens. A game can make it easy to get a game over without being difficult.
Difficulty comes from informed decisions the player has to make. This game presents uninformed decisions. There is no basis for the decision making. That's why the game's decisions are not easy, nor hard. They're random. You have no control over what choice is the right one but trial and error.
If I put a bomb in front of you with a red and green switch and ask you to deactivate it, there is a reasonable inference you can do on what deactivates the bomb.
If I put a bomb with 3 grey buttons in front of you, there is nothing you can go by to deactivate it. The choice is random.
If the decisions to convince Bridget, for instance, were not two equally plausible versions of which you have to guess the right magic sequence, but you had to use your knowledge of Bridget (which would have to be established previously) to convince her, than it becomes an informed decision. Your knowledge of a character and how the character internally works allows the right decision. If the character isn't well established, or the decisions don't clearly enough indicate (or at all) what part of her personality you appeal to - then there is no informed decison, and the player, when presented with the options, can only randomly guess.
The minigames are random, yes: it's a minigame. If you play a matching game, something like Tetris, shooting bottles in the air, etc., those are also randomized. I'm not sure why a minigame would ever not be randomized, since that's the nature of them generally.
The choices are not random, however. They are consistent every game. It's always the same server; it's always the same combination of types of answers to Bridget. Those do not change. I'm guessing by "random" here you mean that you are guessing without information, picking randomly. This would go to the point I made that clues being provided would be a good addition to the game.
The minigame being random that I was thinking of was the story-minigame where you fix the access to the tech lab.
I have no idea why I failed the first time or why I won the second time, nor do I clearly understand the rules.
I have to click x times and then press the button, and then get a 50% random chance of succeeding? Or click 2x times or so and then the button for a 100% chance? There's no counter of how many clicks I've made. I don't know where I'm at, or why I failed and then succeeded.
The game is not clearly telling my what actions cause what outcome, doesn't show me how I'm progressing, and then seems to maybe or maybe not leave a part of it once again up to random chance?
I got past the game in less than a minute, but that's not the point. The point is I have no idea what the minigame was supposed to even accomplish for my play experience, or what it was really even asking of me. I don't know why I lost the first time, and why I won the second time.
You seem to have ideas in mind of minigames you've found to be fun. Can you provide some examples? I'm sure the dev would like to see what things players find more entertaining and adjust the game accordingly. Keep in mind that this is a demo of the game, so it's still very early in development. There isn't really a lot set in stone, as far as I'm aware.
As I said before, I have already been discussing with the dev about the possibility of adding clues for things like the server restart. I cannot say more on that until he's gotten back to me and things progress from there.
I understand that you've gotten frustrated with some things. I'm sorry it's been less fun for you. I know PHiL is open to suggestions and is willing to make adjustments. (He is already working on some currently, as am I.) Obviously it's not required and we'll try to figure some things out regardless, but any specific, concrete suggestions you can offer would be very helpful and appreciated.
Repeatable minigames depend a lot on programming skill.
Usually they should be...
* responsive (visual reaction to actions, audio cues)
* clear (you know exactly what to do, the game makes it clear when you do something right and when you do it wrong)
* well defined (simple and logically cohesive in its design)
* short
You've mentioned Tetris. That's a good example.
* Every action you do visually shows on screen as the tile moves or rotates. Pressing the down key lets it crash down.
* When you lose because the screen is filled, the rest of the screen fills and makes it clear you lost because the tiles grew too high. The moment you form a row, it explodes, score numbers pop up. The game tells you when you did bad and when you did good. In addition, the game tells you *ahead* of time what the next piece is going to be, so you can calculate a step ahead and know what you'll have next.
* The game of Tetris is simple. Use the shapes to form rows and make them explode, or the rows grow too high and you lose.
Another example of good minigames is Sword & Soul: Never seen.
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It has multiple "training" minigames that boost your skills. Every one of them fulfills all of the above. You know exactly what to do, the game shows you what you did right and what you did wrong, and the interaction uses visual and audio cues to create a satisfying interaction loop where clicking on stuff
feels like more than just clicking. It feels like slicing apples, shooting arrows, zooming projectiles, evading, etc.