Future Vision! Anyone else feel like it's cheating?

edited May 2010 in Sam & Max
I mean, like when you're at
the pawn shop and you have to put the banana on the manhole cover, I would've figured that out eventually, but with Future Vision it only took me like 5 minutes... Then again you can't even get the banana with out using Future Vision first.... sooooo.

On the other hand, it would've taken me forever to figure out the puzzle at the
pizza shop
without it.... Soooooo.

Anyone kinda feel like it's cheating some times? :o

I know I have the option to just not use it, but then I might miss out on a joke or two. :)
«1

Comments

  • edited April 2010
    spoilerish things[*/spoiler] without the *

    I don't think it's cheating, because many times you just couldn't do things without using future vision first. Although I worry that it's giving you too many hints, yes. I used it on everything for the fun of it, my thinking was that either it was necessary to keep moving or it would be a funny cutscene.
    But if there are puzzles you can solve without using it, and using it beforehand helps you out, which might be the case, then I guess it counts as (possibly unwelcome) hints?

    I wouldn't call it cheating though. I mean, I'm positive you can't finish the game without using them. And you still need to figure out what to do, seeing your future selves saying "I used item A and item B" isn't that different from having a guy tell you "I need you to get me item A and item B" like it usually goes in adventure games.
  • edited April 2010
    I feel pretty much the same way you're just better at putting it into words...
    I liked when
    Sam and Max come out of the tunnels in the Subway and Sam replies " I can't wait to see how we did that, surely it was something incredibly clever"

    In situations like that, I think that's when Future Vision truely shines. Other times it seems just a little too much like a gimme.
  • edited April 2010
    Also,
    when it seems like Flynt Paper was the one who brought Momma Bosco's power core back...
    that was a good bit of misdirection there.
  • edited April 2010
    In my opinion, there should be some clear way to tell between which visions are hints, and which are necessary/just funny cutscenes. For me, every puzzle had me thinking "I don't wanna use the future vision and accidentally get a hint, but what if it's necessary for this?"
  • edited April 2010
    Catfish33 wrote: »
    Also,
    when it seems like Flynt Paper was the one who brought Momma Bosco's power core back...
    that was a good bit of misdirection there.

    It's not misdirection... They show two possible futures and make it clear you want to avoid them. Then instead of figuring out how to reach that result, you need to figure out how to prevent it from happening.
  • edited April 2010
    That's true, it did make me want to make sure an stop him.
  • edited April 2010
    People are missing the joke with the banana thing. Guys, stop and think about it for a second. That was a completely unnecessary puzzle. The game would've been fine without it. It was there as a gag; it was funny. So making it hard would've stalled the game and hurt the pacing. Making a hard puzzle for the sake of it - something that hardly serves the story - is bad design, and is essentially why adventure games died for a few years.

    I personally thought that future vision was used very well in some cases (there is no way in hell you can solve some puzzles without it, like how to revive Gordon), but maybe gave away a couple of hints too many in others. Still, the game is wonderfully designed and I'd say, objectively, is the best thing Telltale's done so far.
  • edited April 2010
    I'm not complaining, I like it actually. I think it's really clever and a great way to put a new spin on an old genre...

    Still I think it could be toned down just a bit hintwise in certain areas...

    Again, not complaining, just giving feedback.
  • edited April 2010
    Oh, I know. I just think the banana gag thing is the wrong example.

    Maybe Grandpa Stinky's puzzle needed a more subtle hint.
  • edited April 2010
    Kroms wrote: »
    Oh, I know. I just think the banana gag thing is the wrong example.

    Maybe Grandpa Stinky's puzzle needed a more subtle hint.

    That's a better example.
  • edited April 2010
    I read Krom's post and thought "who mentioned the banana?" then realise the first post had been edited :p

    I didn't figure it out right away. I was looking for a way that it would work tat wasn't the obvious one, like what happened with flint. So I tried
    giving it to him, throwing it in the hole,
    stuff like that.
    But yeah, all that only took seconds, then I did the obvious thing. But it was funny, I think they were just looking for excuses to spin this one like they did with Flint.
  • edited April 2010
    If you think about it the gag would've still worked without future vision.

    (player) Hmmm I need to get rid of ape.... Oh I'll try this... Here we go. Ooooh a cutscene hurray I did it! Oh wait.... LOL


    Future Vision just points you in the right direction is all. I could be wrong

    but then why would Sam pick up an old banana... I know I know I'm just sayin
  • edited April 2010
    Catfish33 wrote: »
    If you think about it the gag would've still worked without future vision.

    Not really, because you miss out on seeing the last part of scene that sets up the joke.
  • edited April 2010
    I guess...
  • edited April 2010
    Well, then you might as well remove all the puzzle :p In a way, the puzzle is
    knowing to use future vision on the trashcan so that you can know which item you need.
    The rest is just the gag.
  • edited April 2010
    You get to see the finished puzzle when you buy a jigsaw puzzle at the store..... you still have to figure out how all the pieces fit together.... Futurevision is the same thing I think.
  • edited April 2010
    That's true.

    I read in another thread that next episode won't have future vision anyway so this thread has become somewhat pointless...

    Apparently much like my presence here.
  • edited April 2010
    I'm gonna state again for the record that I liked future vision and this wasn't a complaint thread.
  • edited April 2010
    Yes, it seemed like we got too much hints.

    And I repeat what I said about the banana "puzzle"; good gag, most horrible puzzle in the entirety of 301.
  • edited April 2010
    Catfish33 wrote: »
    Apparently much like my presence here.

    Don't feel that way. The point of a forum is to argue and debate, and while I get your frustration with the way some people on here respond (which ranges from aggressive sneering to random remarks), stay on if you enjoy it. I hope we haven't made you feel cheap or unwanted for arguing with you, and I'm sorry if I/anyone else have/has.
  • edited April 2010
    I didn't come of as combative with my last comment did I? It wasn't meant to be.
  • edited April 2010
    I just didn't remember it being like this in the ToMI threads... Maybe passions run deeper for Sam and Max... Everyone has disagreed with every single post I've posted today, pretty much..
  • edited April 2010
    Catfish33 wrote: »
    I just didn't remember it being like this in the ToMI threads... Maybe passions run deeper for Sam and Max... Everyone has disagreed with every single post I've posted today, pretty much..

    Like Kroms said, the point of the forum is to debate and argue opinions. As far as I can tell no one's being hostile towards you.

    And besides, I agreed with you.
  • edited April 2010
    Catfish33 wrote: »
    Everyone has disagreed with every single post I've posted today, pretty much..
    I didn't! :mad: :p
  • edited April 2010
    Catfish33 wrote: »
    I just didn't remember it being like this in the ToMI threads... Maybe passions run deeper for Sam and Max... Everyone has disagreed with every single post I've posted today, pretty much..

    No, I agree with you :) Sort of. I get the point of what you're trying to say, but we don't see eye-to-eye on the banana gag. Please don't feel bad because of me. I'll feel guilty about it for days.
  • edited April 2010
    For me, adventure games have always been "jokes first, puzzles second" - by their vary nature adventure games should not be taken seriously, and whenever I try playing serious adventure games like The Longest Journey I just can't get into it. I see adventure games as like interactive sitcoms.

    Most of the time I found the future vision to be pretty necessary, but in the few cases where it spoiled the solution to the puzzle, it also brought with it an excellent joke. (Sam apparently doing something, you try to set it up so he does that, then he actually does something which looks similar but isn't what you were expecting.)
  • edited April 2010
    Future Vision is just a clever way to solve puzzles. If it really was cheating then it would show a complete vision instead of those little snips of it.
  • edited May 2010
    lombre wrote: »
    In my opinion, there should be some clear way to tell between which visions are hints, and which are necessary/just funny cutscenes. For me, every puzzle had me thinking "I don't wanna use the future vision and accidentally get a hint, but what if it's necessary for this?"

    I'm thinking very much along the same lines...
    Kroms wrote: »
    People are missing the joke with the banana thing. Guys, stop and think about it for a second. That was a completely unnecessary puzzle. The game would've been fine without it.

    ... although I do agree with this. Also, when it was used on the
    toy store door
    , it was one of the funniest moments in the game.
    splash1 wrote: »
    Future Vision is just a clever way to solve puzzles. If it really was cheating then it would show a complete vision instead of those little snips of it.

    It did show quite complete visions, actually. But, it won't be there in EP2, so there's not a lot to worry about.
  • edited May 2010
    the whole
    Banana peel
    gag was brilliant..... the
    future vision
    bit really added to the humor of that puzzle.... because we all "knew" what was going to happen
    ..... right?

    oh and
    BANANG!!
  • edited May 2010
    Not really, that could be perfectly assumed even without future vision.
    And then the gag might have had an actual puzzle, even if it would still have been ridicilously easy...
  • edited May 2010
    It would have harmed the pacing.

    Come on guys, think for chrissakes. Imagine how bad it would've been for the story.
  • edited May 2010
    HELLO?
    It's an adventuregame. If an actual puzzle in an adventure game cannot be done "because of pacing" I have no idea what the hell it's called adventure for anymore.

    Maybe they should make movies instead?
  • edited May 2010
    Yes, but a good puzzle is the story and doesn't harm the pacing. A puzzle shouldn't automatically be difficult or even challenging. Think of it this way: let's say it's the final battle with LeChuck and all that's left is you stab his corpse to end his sorry career. Let's say, however, that there was a twist: that you needed to sprinkle the sword with some sort of voodoo power. And let's say that the game never told you.

    Now, you've finally reached the dramatic moment: LeChuck is on the floor, expecting to die, you click on the sword, use it on him and it doesn't work. It doesn't work again. And again. And again. You start experimenting. You still don't get it. Ten minutes later you're frustrated, any sense of urgency is gone and any *triumph* you feel as a result of defeating LeChuck feels hollow. It's exactly like watching a crime movie where you're about to find out who the killer is, and then the electricity goes off and you have to wait 8 hours. Who cares at that point? The urge is gone.

    Now, the banana gag is sort of like that, but on a different plane. At this point, we're just trying to find the Toys of Power before Skunkape. Having you spend ten-twenty minutes on yet another one of his minions harms the pacing of the story, which is pretty much the reason you're playing an adventure game. We don't care about them; we care about Skunkape. It was the kind of problem people had with the jungle puzzle in The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood. Far too much time was spent on solving puzzles that were only marginally relevant, and it hurt the pacing. The Feast of the Senses isn't really tied up in the overall plot, and as thus should have been maybe a little shorter. If not shorter, then responsible for provoking little bits of plot. Otherwise, you have a large stretch of gameplay that isn't precisely related to what's going on in the overall scheme of things.

    I personally never had a problem with that second act in Trial, but in retrospect, and a few hours of thought since about design, it could've been structured and designed tighter. Although I ended up getting little bits of the story due to the way I play, others didn't and it hurt the game. What Telltale did with The Penal Zone and Lair of the Leviathan was make sure we all played the game at the pace they set without it feeling contrived or planned. It's excellent design.

    Does that make sense? I'm not sure if I've done a good job explaining it.
  • edited May 2010
    You mean... like the start of ToMI? Where you indeed had to do all kinds of stuff to make the sword ready? I don't think anyone complained so far that doing that 'ruined the pacing', but that could be me.
    If it's "never explained why it doesn't work" that's just poor gamedesign.

    Yeah, but with the other apes, at BoscoTech the puzzle is ACTUALLY INTERESTING. And darn, it doesn't hurt pacing, does it? So why should the banana be "get over with it ASAP"?

    I have no problems with the jungle puzzle. Hell, an adventure game is *supposed* to include puzzles to obstruct the story. Doesn't mean it can't have a good story and good puzzles, as most LA adventures show us.
    Also, seeing how most people think MI 104 is the best episode of the game, I hardly see most people going "PUZZLE = EVIL".

    And they could have done so while providing a much better puzzle, which they themselves showed off at BoscoTech, or hell, any other puzzle in the game.
  • edited May 2010
    You mean... like the start of ToMI? Where you indeed had to do all kinds of stuff to make the sword ready? I don't think anyone complained so far that doing that 'ruined the pacing', but that could be me.

    Not really, no. You're looking at it superficially. Maybe that was a bad example. My point is, any dramatic or climactic moment can be undermined by bad pacing, and bad pacing can be caused by badly placed puzzles. If Sherlock Holmes spent 1.5 hours reconstructing a fairly simple crime before dramatically revealing the killer, it would suck, right? The same is true in video games. If, as in adventure games, puzzles are the gameplay, and the game is driven by story, then the puzzles are the story. You can't screw with pacing for the hell of it.
    If it's "never explained why it doesn't work" that's just poor gamedesign.

    That's contextual, but my point was that it affected the pacing in a bad way.
    Yeah, but with the other apes, at BoscoTech the puzzle is ACTUALLY INTERESTING. And darn, it doesn't hurt pacing, does it? So why should the banana be "get over with it ASAP"?

    But it could've. The idea is that the minions don't affect the overall plot - they don't even have names (I think there was one called Jeff, but that's it). Getting it over with quickly for the sake of a gag was the right decision to make. They could've just as easily cut the whole bit out, but it made the game just a little more special.

    I'm thinking, though, that people are wishing the hint was a little more subtle. In that sense, okay, maybe. That's definitely one of those things you can't learn by intuition, but only experience. I think the gag worked, but maybe you guys expected something that it never even promised, and that's worth keeping in mind.
    I have no problems with the jungle puzzle. Hell, an adventure game is *supposed* to include puzzles to obstruct the story. Doesn't mean it can't have a good story and good puzzles, as most LA adventures show us.

    Most of the great adventure games had puzzles that *were* the story, and those that didn't got notorious for it. Remember the monkey puzzle in MI2, the Petrified Forest in Grim Fandango, etc. Those could've been better games minus the difficult puzzles.

    I personally never had a problem with the jungle puzzle, but a lot of people justifiably did. It's a lesson worth learning.
    Also, seeing how most people think MI 104 is the best episode of the game, I hardly see most people going "PUZZLE = EVIL".

    The way I see it, that puzzle depended on how you played games, and many people thought it was too much of a stretch between chunks of story. In other words, it's okay to have a large, difficult puzzle - it's more than okay. But you need to reward players with little bits of story in between, or at least give them something else to do. Instead of it being story -> gameplay -> story, make it story -> gameplay -> story -> gameplay -> story, or even better, story = gameplay -> story = gameplay -> etc. What many people didn't like was that they saw the Feast as being something marginal in the overall scheme of things, but something marginal that was given too much screentime.

    Maybe having had little bits of story involved throughout would've been better. To compare, think of how the seahorse head and Bugeye's suspicion of Guybrush were introduced and implemented in Leviathan.
    And they could have done so while providing a much better puzzle, which they themselves showed off at BoscoTech, or hell, any other puzzle in the game.

    I assume by "better" you mean "more difficult"? If so, no. If not, then - well, I'll need you to clarify this comment.
  • edited May 2010
    Kroms wrote: »
    My point is, any dramatic or climactic moment can be undermined by bad pacing, and bad pacing can be caused by badly placed puzzles.
    I recall being able to spend hours (not that I did, but one could!) on the final puzzles of MI2 and ToMI, being climactic, and that didn't make it feel like 'bad pacing'.
    If Sherlock Holmes spent 1.5 hours reconstructing a fairly simple crime before dramatically revealing the killer, it would suck, right?
    Not if that was an adventure game. Even so, 1.5 hours would be a little short even for a TTG episode ;).
    If, as in adventure games, puzzles are the gameplay, and the game is driven by story, then the puzzles are the story.
    I still think adventure games are more stories, obstructed from being one immediate continuality like a book or movie by... puzzles. The puzzles aren't part of the story at all, but solving them "unlocks" the story, which may make it feel as such.
    That's my own impression though...
    They could've just as easily cut the whole bit out, but it made the game just a little more special.
    There's a whole range of options between "keeping it as is" and "cutting it out". One like 'modify'. It would have been a shame indeed to cut out the gag.
    I'm thinking, though, that people are wishing the hint was a little more subtle.
    Or even remotely subtle...
    but maybe you guys expected something that it never even promised, and that's worth keeping in mind.
    Yeah, a puzzle. As it was it kept me thinking for a wooping 0 minutes, since I already had the solution before even having the item needed for the solution, even though they already told me where to find it...
    I suppose it's also a little asking for more options than 1 with hotspots, since selecting everything like a true adventurer does I obviously also already had the manhole open before going into visionmode.
    I am sure that if the banana wasn't "locked" I would have 100% guaranteed solved it right before even using FV at all at said location...
    I personally never had a problem with the jungle puzzle, but a lot of people justifiably did. It's a lesson worth learning.
    I just hope the wrong conclusion isn't made and all puzzles get steamlined into being no longer puzzles anymore at all...
    I generally dislike "streamlining" anyway, see Deus Ex version Invisible War why complexity does indeed add a LOT to a game.
    or at least give them something else to do.
    Sure. But not do it like in Rise of the Pirate God where you have 50% of the items already when you start the puzzle. That's just taking it a bit too far, no?
    being something marginal in the overall scheme of things, but something marginal that was given too much screentime.
    Ship, map, crew.
    Sounds familiar ;). And surely even with such "excess" non-story related puzzles the first 3 MI's are great... (as in ToMI), don't mind you.
    I assume by "better" you mean "more difficult"? If so, no. If not, then - well, I'll need you to clarify this comment.
    By "better" I mean actually a puzzle. As in, having to need my brain to work, like everywhere else in the excellent 301. It was a bit of a letdown (hence the emphasis) of the episode. And the scene that you got "rewarded" for it didn't make it up the bitter taste...
  • edited May 2010
    I did feel at times that I was given too much information with the Future Vision(TM), but I suspect it's just a way of easing people into the new toys. Just about every modern game is easy to begin with and gets progressively harder.

    One thing that confused me... future vision is supposed to tell you what WILL happen in the future
    but in the case of Flint Paper, you can actually change the future
    . I really liked that, wasn't too difficult but at least it was an inventive use of Future Vision... but it seems like the rules were changed for that one puzzle. Unless it's still going to happen, just not then?
  • edited May 2010
    One thing that confused me... future vision is supposed to tell you what WILL happen in the future
    but in the case of Flint Paper, you can actually change the future
    . I really liked that, wasn't too difficult but at least it was an inventive use of Future Vision... but it seems like the rules were changed for that one puzzle. Unless it's still going to happen, just not then?
    A lot of what you see turns out differently.
    The begining/endings are completely different, because what you did changed the future. Same goes for Flint; because of the future vision, you knew you could give him the hard hat to change the future.
  • edited May 2010
    Oh yeah, forgot about
    the beginning and end being different
    . I liked
    being able to change the future
    , I think that's the way forward with that particular toy.
  • edited May 2010
    I also felt like cheating. I was telling myself hey this game doesn't need a hint system anymore with Future Vision. Future Vision IS the hint system! :D

    But it was nice for a change, it did have interesting parts like the start and the end.
Sign in to comment in this discussion.