The 'Roll with it!' challenge

Post » Tue Oct 16, 2012 1:12 pm

You're sneaking through the streets of Dunwall. A tall boy and a patrol of guards spot you. Before you know it, incendiary rounds, bullets and swords are all flashing at you. What do you do? For most people, the answer is simple: reload.

The thing is, I think this game loses so much of its spark when no matter what goes wrong, you can just reload to 30 seconds previous. So I created the RWI challenge to create a sense of 'I could die at any moment', and make the player be resourceful with what they have. There are a few rules.
  • NO saving or reloading. When something goes wrong, you have to do what you can to put it right, and you have to use what you have. Be resourceful and be careful.
  • When you die, you can't reload to an autosave or save. That game is done. Delete the savefile. Dead is dead. This rule adds a whole new realm to the game. When you are spotted by guards, you really get nervous, 'what if this is the end'? When I was doing this challenge, this was constantly on my mind, and when I was seen by guards, my heart was racing and I was doing everything I could to escape alive.
  • VERY HARD difficult only. This challenge isn't much fun if when you are eventually spotted you can just jam your sword into the throat of your attackers and move on. When you're on very hard, and you can't reload, and when you die you're finished... it adds so much depth to the game.
  • OPTIONAL: Turn off the HUD. Makes it more instinct-based rather than following wherever an arrow tells you too!
I think this challenge really makes this game shine (more than it already does). I just couldn't stand how my playstyle (and many others) were based on reloading to put things right. This challenge promotes resourcefulness and makes you scared that any moment you could get detected and that would be the end.

It made me really think about everything I did, and I planned my routes very carefully. When I was spotted, it was a case of using whatever I could to survive, and when I had finally survived, I blew a sigh of relief and let my heart calm down. It's such a thrill!

For a few extra challenges, try and get all of the runes and bone charms in every level. Do all the side quests you can. Collect the paintings if you wish.

Give it a go, tell me where you got to, and tell us how much you liked the challenge! :biggrin:
User avatar
Siidney
 
Posts: 3378
Joined: Fri Mar 23, 2007 11:54 pm

Post » Tue Oct 16, 2012 4:55 am

Basically you want a hardcoe mode?

I could get into this - if you added no UI allowed. Make it as real as possible - isn't there also a way to turn auto-save off? If so just do this and play. Not a bad idea, an intense challenge ftw
User avatar
Juliet
 
Posts: 3440
Joined: Fri Jun 23, 2006 12:49 pm

Post » Tue Oct 16, 2012 1:04 am

Basically you want a hardcoe mode?

I could get into this - if you added no UI allowed. Make it as real as possible - isn't there also a way to turn auto-save off? If so just do this and play. Not a bad idea, an intense challenge ftw

Intense challenges really are the best, and Dishonored works so well with them! Nothing more scary than being detected and having to think what to do on the spot with the looming threat of death over your head!
User avatar
Sara Lee
 
Posts: 3448
Joined: Mon Sep 25, 2006 1:40 pm

Post » Tue Oct 16, 2012 3:07 pm

The Dark Souls approach. I like it. I tried dropping the crutches of saving/reloading and instead adapting to the situation. Also gonna try w/o objective markers. It's much more fun this way. Man, staying hidden is hard.
User avatar
rae.x
 
Posts: 3326
Joined: Wed Jun 14, 2006 2:13 pm


Return to Othor Games