Read on Twitter
This is a kind of death that feels bad for a lot of players, and I think it's worth asking why. I think there are a few things going on: https://twitter.com/terrycavanagh/status/1351349001921024000
1. It feels unintended - usually in games, if you're not dead there's a way to recover, so when that's not the case some assume 'this isn't meant to happen' or even 'it's a bug'
2. Your only recourse is either boring (wait 3 minutes) or a menu option (quit/restart) - having to go to the menu can feel like asking to see the manager: something's gone wrong.
3. For many players, the danger is hidden until you're already trapped. The exquisite comedy-horror of falling on spikes is that a) no-one means to do it and b) everyone knows they've done it an instant *before* they've done it.
It's not (dies) "Oh no!" it's "Oh NO!!" (dies)
It's not (dies) "Oh no!" it's "Oh NO!!" (dies)
I think in this case, 1 is a misconception - knowing Derek, I'm sure he could prevent this and I'm sure he doesn't want to. You're still allowed to dislike it (I do, in fact) but it's a faulty leap to assume the designer is inept.
I had a case like this in Morphblade: explosive enemies destroy the ground they're on when killed, and if you don't plan around it you can leave yourself stranded. I expected that would be a frustrating moment for some, but what surprised me was how many reported it as a bug.
They knew the enemies destroyed tiles, they knew they couldn't cross gaps, but when the consequences combined it felt like the game had broken.
The bug is, "I'm trapped." Well, you trapped yourself. What's the non-buggy behaviour for that?
The bug is, "I'm trapped." Well, you trapped yourself. What's the non-buggy behaviour for that?
But winning imaginary arguments with players doesn't make your game better, or my games would be phenomenal. If I was working on Morphblade now I'd want to address it - a warning or an undo button. I want you to have to think about it, but it's not meant to be a surprise.
