Well you mention "walking simulators" but as I'm sure you know that's a different thing. I can see why you'd hate those too, but any "good" walking simulator is either going to have no dialogue at all, or have monologues in the form of System Shock-esque audio logs. But I agree 100% that the forced "follow and listen to the NPC" gimmick is complete bullshit. Lurker404 said it better than I could. They usually don't even let you go faster than the NPC to get to the next objective. I'd call it one of the mortal sins of game design. There's never an excuse for it. We've had years of games showing us how you can do story telling and exposition in superior and interactive ways. I mean maybe it could be used to cover up a loading screen? But that's generally not the reason.
I recall that Ross Scott discussed how annoying this "feature" always is too in his review of Echo.
Well you mention "walking simulators" but as I'm sure you know that's a different thing. I can see why you'd hate those too, but any "good" walking simulator is either going to have no dialogue at all, or have monologues in the form of System Shock-esque audio logs. But I agree 100% that the forced "follow and listen to the NPC" gimmick is complete bullshit. Lurker404 said it better than I could. They usually don't even let you go faster than the NPC to get to the next objective. I'd call it one of the mortal sins of game design. There's never an excuse for it. We've had years of games showing us how you can do story telling and exposition in superior and interactive ways. I mean maybe it could be used to cover up a loading screen? But that's generally not the reason.
I recall that Ross Scott discussed how annoying this "feature" always is too in his review of Echo.
Well you mention "walking simulators" but as I'm sure you know that's a different thing. I can see why you'd hate those too, but any "good" walking simulator is either going to have no dialogue at all, or have monologues in the form of System Shock-esque audio logs. But I agree 100% that the forced "follow and listen to the NPC" gimmick is complete bullshit. Lurker404 said it better than I could. They usually don't even let you go faster than the NPC to get to the next objective. I'd call it one of the **mortal sins **of game design. There's never an excuse for it. We've had years of games showing us how you can do story telling and exposition in superior and interactive ways. I mean maybe it could be used to cover up a loading screen? But that's generally not the reason.
I recall that Ross Scott discussed how annoying this "feature" always is too in his review of Echo.