Topic

Library area

I was thinking of an area where I could go to if I was stuck at a quest and wanted to figure out how to finish a quest. A library-sort kind of stage where information would be available. Information could be presented via pictograms, probably similar to the walkthrough feature of machinarium (you can play the demo at machinarium.net/demo/) where it is presented as drawn pictures with no accompanying text (screenshot at i.imgur.com/dedBy.png). Or maybe information may just be in the form of hints.

However, I'm aware that having such a place may lead to players visiting it all the time, so to balance its use, maybe it would require one to pay currants to enter. Or it may be open only at certain times. Or it could be a moving/walking library. Or a library card can be used to access it for a specific number of times.

It could also contain a section where additional more complex quests (which give higher rewards) can be found. There could be a selection of quest and the player can decide which of these quest he would like to pursue. The quests are separate from the ones given by the rock.

Posted 23 months ago by roderick ordonez Subscriber! | Permalink

Replies

  • In machinarium, you have to beat a mini game every time you want to access the walkthrough. I am not suggesting Glitch copy that but I like the idea of an obstacle or payment, as you suggested, to keep it from being nothing more than an in-game wiki :)

    I like the 'walking library' idea. :D Though I'm not sure if that wouldn't defy the purpose of the library as an accessible information source :(

    But besides all that, I have to wonder whether we need this in game- if there is already a growing Encyclopaedia, and some members are compiling a Wiki. So far I have not seen any true puzzle quests in Glitch...
    Posted 23 months ago by Cefeida Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I never had to access the Machinarium help book because there were tons of spoiler vids on youtube when decided I needed one. I imagine similar vids would crop up for Glitch when the time comes. Plus yeah...the Encyclopedia is really looking great lately, and the wiki (I assume) is coming along too.

    I do love the idea of a library as a one-off location, like the snool or Palindrone streets, with characters climbing ladders (rolling ones of course). It seems like an nice way to acknowledge the importance and rarity of the paper trees too.

    I have nothing else to add except how much I loved Machinarium. My son and I played it together and then again one year later and it was just as wonderful the second time around.
    Posted 23 months ago by Nanookie Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Didn't you love that they sell you the score along with the game? :D I love that about Glitch, too, btw, that we get mp3s . I would but a Glitch Soundtrack album in a blink.

    [/derail]
    Posted 23 months ago by Cefeida Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Library as an additional quest source is a good idea.
    Posted 23 months ago by Johnny Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Shouldn't players, with Glitch being a socially-based game, have to find their extra information from one another, via the help channel and forums? Adding a library reduces the amount of interaction. And, as others have stated above, there's already an encyclopedia for cursory informational glances, as well as a wiki.

    Of the library access methods given, I think the library card would be the best idea. After all, quests are most important to poor players.
    Posted 23 months ago by RobotGymnast Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Thanks for the replies.

    Yuh, I was also thinking that the library would be duplicating the encyclopedia's purpose. My initial idea was that I could go to a place where I could get a hint at what I am supposed to do, as opposed to the encyclopedia which may list the whole procedure. I was inspired by the walkthrough on machinarium as it did not explicitly tell you what to do, but was more of figuring out what the pictures meant.

    I'm not exactly a hard-core gamer, but usually when I play a game, I do try to exhaust every possible means to figure out how to solve the challenges thrown at me. It is only when I am really stuck do I resort to consulting google for the answer. I'm not saying that it's bad to ask or consult the internet for every challenge encountered, but for me, part of the satisfaction of playing a game is knowing that you were able to solve a game challenge using items/features which were inherent in the game design.

    I too haven't encountered any puzzle-based quests in the game, and I'd be delighted if Glitch does ever implement one, though I do hope that it'll be one of the easy types. So far I've enjoyed discovering recipes and ingredients needed to cook/bake/stir/mine/etc as instructed by quests, if these actions are to be considered the puzzles of Glitch. But I still wish there are still in-game hints to make them easier to figure out.

    :D
    Posted 23 months ago by roderick ordonez Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Modifying my idea a bit, how about a "library of extra quests" (not a library of information) elevated high above the ground with only stilts visible at ground level? To reach the top, one has to perform a series of platform jumps. This library only appears at a select locations during a certain weekday. To enter, one must pay currants/present library card. The library contains a selection of scrolls containing quests the player can choose from. The quests are presented in illustrations (to differentiate it from quests given by the rock) and are more complex, but give higher rewards. The stilts may be in the shape of feet so that it can be given the appearance of walking when it appears/disappears.

    Anyway, that was just an idea. :-)
    Posted 23 months ago by roderick ordonez Subscriber! | Permalink
  • oh yes, we definitely need a library, where else are we supposed to leave our PARP manifesto notes? ;)
    Posted 23 months ago by katlazam Subscriber! | Permalink