A Penny For Your Thoughts
By seaempty. Friday, 10. November 2006, 18:09:24
Yesterday my copy of Touch Detective arrived, and although I haven't really had much playtime on it, I'd thought I'd mention one feature of the game that has really stood out. The game itself has had mixed reviews (it seems quite good to me, but I've only scratched the surface), but it definitely has a unique graphical style.
The feature that has stood out is the use of the dual screens. The bottom screen is where the action takes place, and the top screen is reserved for Mackenzie, the heroine of the game. It is simply a picture of her, and her location. It is not a static picture, and her expression constantly changes depending on the action in the game. This is nothing exciting, but the screen also displays her thoughts. To me this adds another dimension to the game. It shows what she is actually thinking during conversations, or on items that you have found. Although the majority of her thoughts are mundane ("this feels nice", "I wonder what that tastes like", "He's scary" etc.), it makes her a more "human" character. I may be making a bigger deal out of this than perhaps I should but it certainly makes interactions more interesting. I'll paraphrase (badly) an example (Mackenzie's thoughts will be in blue):
PENELOPE: I have a new case for you to investigate.
MACKENZIE: Great! Tell me about it. My tea's gone cold
PENELOPE: Somebody's stealing my dreams.
MACKENZIE: Seriously? Go on... But the cup's almost full
PENELOPE: I'm picking flowers in the park...
MACKENZIE: Uh-huh If I had some ice I could make it into iced tea
PENELOPE: and a man with his bag on his head grabs me!
MACKENZIE: Oh no! I really don't understand what she's talking about
Her thoughts illustrate her naivety (it's her first case as a detective) and can be quite amusing. I will admit that having to paying attention's to Mackenzie's thoughts can be quite confusing (and as such they aren't that important) but it's a feature which I don't believe I've come across in a game before. Sure, there have been cut scenes and parts of a game where a character will make an aside comment, but being able to see their thoughts at the same time they are saying something, or carrying out an action is a new one for me.
I make this post as the notion made me think how it could be applied to other games. When Link's talking to the Deku Tree in the Ocarina of Time, for example, is he actually paying attention, or is the wise old tree's ramblings too much for the poor lad to understand? When Mario faces Bowser, is he as confident as he makes out? When Samus is sneaking around a Space Pirate's ship is she scared? I know that you are the one controlling them, but you are controlling a character and as such they are not you. The feature in Touch Detective gives Mackenzie an individuality that I haven't seen in a game before. I think I'm paying far too much heed to this than I should, but for some reason it's fascinated me.
(33%)
WIDGETIZE
.ed # 13. November 2006, 14:17
this is a nice post.
it's this type of idea that the features of DS breed. when presented with a slightly different setup (2 screens) developers are all like "what can we do to use them both" which means "i want to do more, because i have more" ... even though it technically doesn't appear to be much, or have a lot to do with the actual gameplay, it's features like this that create a srtonger bond between you and your games, providing a richer experience that can not be rivaled by basic incremental graphical upgrades year after year, system after system. it is this reason that i have such faith in DS and Wii. if Mackenzie simply had better graphics, i doubt you'd be as attached.