Alone in the Dark -- skip chapters if you don't want to play
by Nick Doerr 
{ Feb 21st 2008 at 8:00PM }
Call us crazy, but we've always derived a sense of joy from getting through a game. Figuring out a puzzle, conquering a particularly tricky boss, or just making it to the next cut-scene have always been motives for our continued love of gaming. Letting players skip through a game is fairly useless -- it defeats the idea of releasing a "game". Unless Alone in the Dark is nigh-impossible, we think this is a pretty strange idea.
[via CVG]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
StevenRafael @ Feb 21st 2008 8:08PM
Ugh. I know that this is an optional feature...... But if I were to play through the game, I can't help but feel awkward knowing that the option to cheat is there.... It'll tempt me the way Satan would tempt a priest into a brothel.
I could be the president of an anti-cheating campaign, and yet, I'd be curious to demo the feature, just because it's been implemented and it's there....
Terrible.
Stef Geiger @ Feb 21st 2008 8:09PM
An exceptionally odd (read: stupid) idea since in this day and age you can find a walkthrough online within days of the game's release. Why flat-out SKIP chapters of the game when you could at least derive some satisfaction from getting though a tough part with a little help?
Fiddlesworth @ Feb 21st 2008 8:34PM
Despite some impressive engine tech I've got a bad feeling about this game. I think people will be more disappointed than they were with Deus Ex 2. I'm getting that same vibe.
P @ Feb 21st 2008 8:41PM
Sounds like the stupidest idea ive heard in a while, and ive heard plenty... im usually responsible for most!!
Whats wrong with giving clues, like Uncharted, it might ultimately mean that people get further than their own short-attention-spanned mind would have got them, but it has to be better than just having a FFWD button where you just skip everything.
Hints/Clues if you need them, is one thing, allowing you to just ignore the entire challenge of a game just seems a complete waste. If they gave the option of a clue every min or 2 where your stuck, each one giving slightly more help, at least then theres the feeling of actually acheiving something.
I cant believe someone would cater for a generation of people who want things but cant be bothered to put the time in to do it themself.
sean @ Feb 21st 2008 8:53PM
hey you people are to quick to judge. this could actually be good. like maybe u wanna play a second time and u hated a certain chapter you just skip it. instead of doing chapter select and going through all these menus at the main page. just skip that one.
but i would never use it becuase i was stuck
Noshino @ Feb 21st 2008 9:06PM
err....I actually see this as a good feature, I mean, there are many people that get stuck and just find it frustrating and don't get to enjoy the rest of the game....what's better, to stop playing a game while you are the half of it, or miss just one chapter?
Hey, Star Craft is considered one of the best games in history, and yet it also had the option to skip chapters....
AND ITS JUST AN EXTRA FEATURE, if you don't want to use it, then don't...why are people getting upset about this? HOW is this upsetting? the game, with or without it, will still be the same, if you want the challenge, then don't skip the chapter.....
Kane @ Feb 21st 2008 9:18PM
not good..its just like when I installed CWcheat on my PSP everytime I was stuck on a puzzle/boss battle I used cheat codes..it took away all the fun and I ended up ruining some great games like Jeanne D'Arc and FFT for myself..
SharpShooter @ Feb 26th 2008 5:45PM
Same! I just couldn't resist using the cheats...But like you said, it completely ruined the game. Cheats are way to tempting.
RazLeboL @ Feb 21st 2008 9:36PM
I don't see why people are complaining. It's there if you want it and if you don't... then don't use it. I am sure there will be an achievement for those who didn't skip any part.
bill @ Feb 22nd 2008 7:02AM
i think this is great! there is a lot of games i quite because i could no do the stuff you needed to do to go on!
soul899er @ Feb 21st 2008 9:51PM
OMG thank god! the N4G site said that this was Xbox exclusive xD yaaay! im guessing im getting confused with some other game
OddyOh @ Feb 22nd 2008 5:02AM
Simmer down...No one's making you skip stuff...I've no interest in this game (sports for me), but seems like a reasonable feature to have.
They spend all this money making the game, but if chunk of the audience never gets to see it all, what was the point? This gives everyone the opportunity to experience the whole game (except the parts they skip!). Especially this series, since it seems like an interactive movie anyways, why not have skippable chapters.
Makes perfect sense to me. However, hopefully they didn't include it BECAUSE they know their game is impossible to finish!
Naz @ Feb 21st 2008 10:33PM
This is actually a very good feature, there's clearly more casual gamers then hardcore gamers, and it's the casual gamers that typically just never play the game again when they get stuck, so it's a nice thing to have.
smallsbig @ Feb 21st 2008 11:16PM
well , I think that this will factor into the game somehow in a tricky way . one such was may be ... you skip at any point your ending will be like watching 4000 hours of Spiceworld
TBDave @ Feb 21st 2008 11:09PM
I wish more games had this option. There have been a couple games I never finished due to a level or boss battle I couldn't get past. The shame of it is, I would really enjoy the game up to that point. But getting so frustrated that you just quit is not fun. And that's why I play games, to have fun.
JJ @ Feb 21st 2008 11:37PM
The way i figure if this game is so tough it needs this feature...well...i dunno... maybe design it better (so people DONT get stuck) or have difficulty settings perhaps (so if its too hard they can change it on the fly)?
I dunno maybe i'm crazy.
Cenobia @ Feb 21st 2008 11:47PM
Sounds like they're trying to make the game more "casual."
If this whole casual gaming trend doesn't die soon I'm gonna flip out.
UTWarden @ Feb 22nd 2008 2:12AM
I kinda like this, I was playing a game where I couldn't get past a given boss, I actually NEVER got past this boss and traded the game in knowing I wasn't gonna get past it. I did try.
Charlie_Six @ Feb 22nd 2008 3:27PM
I think this is a great idea and hope more games follow up with something like this. I remember having the ability to skip missions in X-wing Alliance if you failed a mission too often. It was a great option. Some missions were too hard or frustrating to try again.
Dyson @ Feb 22nd 2008 8:46AM
ummm... I thought that this game was NOT coming for PS3? Did I read this somewhere? Am I completely wrong on this? I know that the Playstation logo is on the website, but if you click on the packshots.. it shows 360, Wii, PS2 and Games for Windows. What gives?
JAH75157 @ Feb 22nd 2008 9:20AM
GHEY
boltu222 @ Feb 22nd 2008 9:44AM
While at Atari yesterday they demonstrated this feature to us and I personally think its interesting it allows a casual gamer to skip... Atari did many questionnaires and they found that there is a large percentage that don't actually complete a game due to having gotten stuck.
They also mention that this comes at a cost such as altered ending and info that you missed you won't know.
chris.westermann @ Feb 22nd 2008 9:50AM
I know its always a debate about putting cheats in games, the purists think its a disgrace, everyone else is largely indifferent. I just think that if your playing a game and you get to a part you can't get past, whether its because of just a mental block or total lack of skill, why should the game end there for many people? Obviously your not going to get full credit for finishing the game by skipping all chapters, but if there is something annoying about a particular level, or it proves to be too much of a challenge, I like the idea of just moving on.
I don't think this will be a trend in many games but there are times where I feel it is just bad game design that I should grow tired and abandon a game part way through just because the difficulty ramped up too quickly or they put a particularily annoying senario to have to get past before you can continue playing the game. I paid for the game, I want to finish it, don't force me play it the way you think it should be played.
If your a good gamer but get tempted by using cheats then that is your own morality you have to struggle with, but I think the idea of the cheat code or cheat system needs to be brought back. Games are becoming more cinematic and have great stories and I feel that not being able to enjoy the rest of the story because of my inability to play well is a detriment to the industry. Yes, I feel rewarded when I get buy a particularily difficult part and can enjoy the rest of the story, but more often then not I get annoyed with the game and just move on to another game, never looking back.
James @ Feb 22nd 2008 11:25AM
They have come out and said that there will be a "cost" to using this feature. It makes me think of Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter for PS2. In the game, there's a percentage meter that means the entire game is totally, irrevocably over when it reaches 100. After that, you have to *start over completely*, carrying only certain stats with you (and maybe some items? Not sure). It climbs very, very slowly (like .01% per minute or something) all the time, but you have certain super powers you can activate that let you skip fights or increase your abilities many-fold. Maybe the "costs" they're talking about aren't exactly like that, but I think it worked pretty well in that game.
Silven @ Mar 15th 2008 1:20PM
Atari used to be very anti ps3 claiming it is too hard to develop for and that it is going to fail in the marketplace. Recently there have been some big staff changes at atari and some of the new executives are former sony staff. I expect an about face on the part of atari, from "we won't develop for ps3" to "we are planning on releasing all our new titles for ps3 " hopefully there will be a test drive unlimited port.