Maybe the only way to make them right is to make attempts at walls limited. E.g. do random dungeons. Add some attempt limitation:
- a timer.
- Or make wallbreaking skills cost some kind of money (you will be able to randomly break into secrets or if you actually spot them, but not via grinding through every spot).
Nobody likes I Spy in a video game, looking for an item in a certain place just isn't fun when it's hidden someplace stupid combined with modern graphics where the environment isn't readable.
Does ANYONE actually Like "I Spy"? I was under the impression this game was never played voluntarily by anyone who wasn't trapped in a vehicle. You will not find anyone voluntarily playing this game as anything but a meme if they have the choice of any other reasonable activity.
Maybe the only way to make them right is to make attempts at walls limited. E.g. do random dungeons. Add some attempt limitation:
- a timer.
- Or make wallbreaking skills cost some kind of money (you will be able to randomly break into secrets or if you actually spot them, but not via grinding through every spot).
This would make it even more important that they be marked or hinted at in some fashion. Random dungeons with random, indistinguishable fake walls and limited means to check them sounds like a special form of torture.
Maybe the only way to make them right is to make attempts at walls limited. E.g. do random dungeons. Add some attempt limitation:
- a timer.
- Or make wallbreaking skills cost some kind of money (you will be able to randomly break into secrets or if you actually spot them, but not via grinding through every spot).
This would make it even more important that they be marked or hinted at in some fashion. Random dungeons with random, indistinguishable fake walls and limited means to check them sounds like a special form of torture.
Well, yes, mystery requires clues, even if incomplete. Without them it's just unknown unknown.
Wedding ring hidden under a creaking floorboard is a secret.
Soviet passport dig in three meters deep in the middle of the forest is unknown. It turns into a secret only if you have an ability to torture it's owner. A little.
Last edited by DemoGraph on December 13th, 2025, 08:56, edited 1 time in total.
Nobody likes I Spy in a video game, looking for an item in a certain place just isn't fun when it's hidden someplace stupid combined with modern graphics where the environment isn't readable.
Does ANYONE actually Like "I Spy"? I was under the impression this game was never played voluntarily by anyone who wasn't trapped in a vehicle. You will not find anyone voluntarily playing this game as anything but a meme if they have the choice of any other reasonable activity.
Children enjoy it if it gives them the attention of an adult.
Dark Souls II did it best where you can press a button in front of the wall. Dark Souls 1 style where you have to run around banging your sword on everything like a ****** was awful.
I'm just stating the facts.
Question is are you going to gargle the truth or swallow?
Almost every breakable wall is scannable, which will reveal that it can be broken.
Almost every breakable wall looks distinct from its surroundings.
Powerups make an ambient sound that can be heard through obstacles.
In the late game, an x-ray visor can be found that allows the player to see through fake walls.
I never felt the game was hiding its fake walls unfairly. The sound cue alone goes a long way toward mitigating the issue once the player catches on. My only gripe was that breakables could only be broken by very specific weapons: something that can be broken by a super missile can't be broken by a power bomb and vice versa.
Almost every breakable wall is scannable, which will reveal that it can be broken.
Almost every breakable wall looks distinct from its surroundings.
Powerups make an ambient sound that can be heard through obstacles.
In the late game, an x-ray visor can be found that allows the player to see through fake walls.
I never felt the game was hiding its fake walls unfairly. The sound cue alone goes a long way toward mitigating the issue once the player catches on. My only gripe was that breakables could only be broken by very specific weapons: something that can be broken by a super missile can't be broken by a power bomb and vice versa.
I suspect I'd prefer illusory walls that are enchanted such that you cannot just walk thru/guess because your mind cannot perceive it as anything but solid.
Almost every breakable wall is scannable, which will reveal that it can be broken.
Almost every breakable wall looks distinct from its surroundings.
Powerups make an ambient sound that can be heard through obstacles.
In the late game, an x-ray visor can be found that allows the player to see through fake walls.
I never felt the game was hiding its fake walls unfairly. The sound cue alone goes a long way toward mitigating the issue once the player catches on. My only gripe was that breakables could only be broken by very specific weapons: something that can be broken by a super missile can't be broken by a power bomb and vice versa.
What's the point if it's obvious?
You still have to look around the room. In a 3D game with a lot of verticality, you can miss them. The x-ray visor limits your vision in other ways, so you don't want it on all the time. Sometimes they're very obvious on purpose, the reason being that you're supposed to remember it when you come back later with the weapon that can break it.
I've played a lot of exploration-heavy games that have secrets hidden behind walls that can either be broken or simply passed through as though immaterial. It's a gimmick I have mixed feelings about.
In principle, I think it can be done well. If there's always an environmental clue of some sort and the game takes care to make it clear these things exist, I think it's fine. The problem is that some devs scatter them about indiscriminately; thus, once I know a game has them―or even before I know, just based on genre expectation―I feel compelled to attack and throw myself into every wall that could possibly contain something... which basically means every wall. It gets tedious, but the alternative is possibly missing out on important secrets and upgrades, so I do it anyway. At this point, it would almost be a relief if a game said up front that it contained no fake walls.
Thoughts?
I think some hints at a secret room is nice but at the same time it would be interesting to see a game where they don't give any hints at all.
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logincrash wrote:
I genuinely hope you die a painful death. The sooner you are killed, the better.
ThulsaDoomer wrote:
Please visit a scenic bridge and plummet into its pristine waters. In fact, I'm not requesting, just do it.
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