Do you like, or hate doing notes while playing video game?

[ERH+]

I want to know if you think game may require some pen and paper notes, maps, sketches, passwords, etc. , and find it as part of fun?

One of my ideas is to encrypt some of readables (as they suppose to be in foreign language) with simple keyword, so you need to exchange every "X" letter with "Y" to read text properly. But is it worth to try, if some of players will hate it?

[Obsttorte]

I think this depends on the genre of a game. If it is an adventure, I guess this is OK. For an ego-shooter it would be not.

 

TDM is somewhere in between I think, so it really depends. Actually the player should not be forced to write down sides of paper. But if it will be only a couple of notes, I guess it's fine.

[Baal]

The only problem I have with having to write things down (on paper) is that I always play in the dark and would have to turn on a light to write or read something. But an ingame journal or map annotations would be cool.

[Sotha]

I think forcing the player to make notes is antiquated and obsolete. It used to be the only way in the old times, but it is not of this time anymore.

 

Nowadays the expectation is more that the player character knows. The player does not need to memorize things, but can pick up and re-analyze relevant data at-will.

 

If the player collects clues or something, give the player a readable notebook that is updated when the player finds a new clue. Or the player just takes the clue with them so they can read/examine them when they need to. It is easy to do.

 

If you are planning to implement very complicated puzzles requiring several clues to solve, be sure to think them through several times, plan then properly and maybe even expose your friends to them to see they really work and are solvable.

 

It would be sad to see a great mission sink because of a non-logical get-stuck-puzzle.

[Melan]

I have notebooks full of game maps and notes. Notebooks. Nowadays, I am lazier, but I would not mind if it was worth it (i.e. a really cool, tough but logical puzzle).

 

The thing is, Thief allows taking notes right on the map (if you've got one in the mission), and so far, TDM doesn't. So you should probably keep that in mind. I tend to restrict my clues to readables and environmental hints.

[Baddcog]

I thought it was cool to be able to write on a map in T2. However I don't think I used it more than a dozen times in as many years.

 

Original thief missions never really required it, a lot of fan missions had 'brilliant puzzles' that anyone could figure out (according to the authors) that I could never figure out...

 

I bought Riven a long time ago and loved jotting notes down in the included diary, but they were needed, and I didn't play that game in the dark, nor did it really interrupt the action.

[ungoliant]

I think forcing the player to make notes is antiquated and obsolete.

Only because we live in the age of casual no attention span gaming. I always enjoyed games that make you put in a little extra effort. An in-game note system like TDP/TMA is about as modern a system as is necessary. I never used the "notes" section in the back of game manuals, as I like to leave their condition pristine and unmarked, fooling myself that my games might be collectible over time

[skacky]

I like to draw my own maps when I play through missions, especially when I'm planning to ghost them afterwards. One thing I really like in T2 over T1 is that, as it was said before, you can annotate the map and you even had a note page most of the time.

[demagogue]

I've taken notes in notepad for T2 FMs before. I'd alt-tab out of the game, open up notepad, and make a few notes. I don't recall if I did that for TDM yet. This also includes looking up directions from the FM's thread, which I've also one with TDM. Sometimes it'd be notes on the map in T2, so it might be nice if we could write notes somewhere in darkmod. It's not bad for an occasional FM.

[stumpy]

there were hidden messages all over deadspace 1 and 2 as long as you could work out which alien symbol ment what alphanumeric representation. There's always the rhem games where your stuck if you dont write stuff down.

[elwing]

Etrian serie for the DS is good for that... drawing maps on the touchscreen while exploring was great...

 

http://www.atlus.com/etrian/

Edited February 20, 2013 by elwing

[Mr M]

Only because we live in the age of casual no attention span gaming. I always enjoyed games that make you put in a little extra effort. An in-game note system like TDP/TMA is about as modern a system as is necessary. I never used the "notes" section in the back of game manuals, as I like to leave their condition pristine and unmarked, fooling myself that my games might be collectible over time

 

 

as said,

 

X2 !

 

- Liked and used the T2 ingame note taking - seems reasonable thing a thief would do in a big house or exploring town / terrain

Edited February 20, 2013 by Mr M

[SeriousToni]

I don't like reading books for hidden clues and if I even have to write them down for being able to end the mission, well then: No.

[STiFU]

I love it when games support taking notes on an ingame map. You forget nothing and can work your way though a map systematically. But so far, Legend of Grimrock and Thief were the only games supporting ingame note-taking I came accross.