Call me crazy, but ...
Okay. I know control schemes for video games are pretty "YMMV" in terms of personal preference. And I totally get the frustration of seeing a game you would otherwise enjoy implement controls which make it either difficult or impossible for you to play. Completely understood.
What I don't understand is how anything other than pure, unadulterated point-and-click controls are supposed to be anathema to making an adventure game -- any adventure game -- as well-crafted and playable as it can be. Much less how the Wallace & Gromit PC controls are "horrible" period.
C'mon: WASD (or arrow keys) plus mouse. WASD to walk around, mouse to select certain items in the surrounding environment. When using WASD or arrows, the character moves in the direction you'd expect him to. They rarely, if ever, create wonky situations in terms of maneuvering precision. Heck, you can use the mouse the vast majority of the time to move Wallace or Gromit simply by selecting objects -- almost like point-and-click! And if you don't like that and can't use a gamepad, you can go keyboard-only in a number of different configurations! Oh, wait --
Look. I agree that this isn't as intuitive as point-and-click. PnC is incredibly streamlined and easy to use. And hey, maybe I'm not one to talk. I'm a casual gamer due to circumstance (up till last Christmas, no new consoles at home since the Dreamcast) and lack of time. I'm not intimately familiar with any of the control schemes used in the last couple console cycles, and only a little better versed in PC game controls.
So call me crazy, or maybe just naive. I'll accept that second one readily. All I can say is, from my experience with Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures, I can see nothing inherently wrong or broken with the PC controls. How they could possibly ruin a new Monkey Island series made by what may be the only game company out there capable of doing it justice is beyond me.
... I know, I know. Everyone's different and enjoys different things (or doesn't) in, well, different ways. That is as it should be. And I've tried to understand how the W&G-like controls might make adventure games a pain to play through from someone else's perspective. But in conjunction with the reaction I'm seeing? I can't. I just can't wrap my brain around it, around what -- at least when looking at an online forum where we don't have the benefit of body language and tone of voice to judge reactions by -- appears to be outrage over a changed and not unreasonable or bizarrely-implemented control scheme. I just ... can't.
... And then I see a post like this one, and my heart is no longer so leaden with uncomprehending frustration. Thank you, good sir or madam. Thank you. Especially for the candor which I'm not sure I can show if I tried to jump into the conversation right now. Other than maybe a little unrelated quip about calculus. Curse you, Chuck Jordan, for baiting me! *shakes fist in mock anger*
--
On a related but happier note:
Telltale? Knock 'em dead.
Oh, and don't forget to do the same with Sam & Max: Season 3 when you get to it! 'Cause I'm really, really, really looking forward to that too. Really. :D
What I don't understand is how anything other than pure, unadulterated point-and-click controls are supposed to be anathema to making an adventure game -- any adventure game -- as well-crafted and playable as it can be. Much less how the Wallace & Gromit PC controls are "horrible" period.
C'mon: WASD (or arrow keys) plus mouse. WASD to walk around, mouse to select certain items in the surrounding environment. When using WASD or arrows, the character moves in the direction you'd expect him to. They rarely, if ever, create wonky situations in terms of maneuvering precision. Heck, you can use the mouse the vast majority of the time to move Wallace or Gromit simply by selecting objects -- almost like point-and-click! And if you don't like that and can't use a gamepad, you can go keyboard-only in a number of different configurations! Oh, wait --
Look. I agree that this isn't as intuitive as point-and-click. PnC is incredibly streamlined and easy to use. And hey, maybe I'm not one to talk. I'm a casual gamer due to circumstance (up till last Christmas, no new consoles at home since the Dreamcast) and lack of time. I'm not intimately familiar with any of the control schemes used in the last couple console cycles, and only a little better versed in PC game controls.
So call me crazy, or maybe just naive. I'll accept that second one readily. All I can say is, from my experience with Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures, I can see nothing inherently wrong or broken with the PC controls. How they could possibly ruin a new Monkey Island series made by what may be the only game company out there capable of doing it justice is beyond me.
... I know, I know. Everyone's different and enjoys different things (or doesn't) in, well, different ways. That is as it should be. And I've tried to understand how the W&G-like controls might make adventure games a pain to play through from someone else's perspective. But in conjunction with the reaction I'm seeing? I can't. I just can't wrap my brain around it, around what -- at least when looking at an online forum where we don't have the benefit of body language and tone of voice to judge reactions by -- appears to be outrage over a changed and not unreasonable or bizarrely-implemented control scheme. I just ... can't.
... And then I see a post like this one, and my heart is no longer so leaden with uncomprehending frustration. Thank you, good sir or madam. Thank you. Especially for the candor which I'm not sure I can show if I tried to jump into the conversation right now. Other than maybe a little unrelated quip about calculus. Curse you, Chuck Jordan, for baiting me! *shakes fist in mock anger*
--
On a related but happier note:
Telltale? Knock 'em dead.
Oh, and don't forget to do the same with Sam & Max: Season 3 when you get to it! 'Cause I'm really, really, really looking forward to that too. Really. :D