Not Buying and Here's Why

[Sea Cucumber MkULTRA]

I downloaded the Aquaria demo and played through it. Sadly, I wont be buying the full game. Sadly for me, because I really wanted to like it - I liked the main character, the graphics were gorgeous, the music was fantastic, and the game play mechanics were nice.

It did have one major fault though - the game world is simply too spread out. I spent the vast majority of the time just going from point A to point B. Perhaps that is the "exploration" part of the game, but it just gives me flashbacks to the "find key to open door" mechanic I thought had died with the 90's. And what distances you'll cover looking for that key! When I think of what to do next in a game, I don't want to contemplate options that include minutes of just moving. Add the archaic save-point system and the result is a game that is quite diluted - Portal showed that great games need not be long; it is intensity and quality of writing that matters and not how much of your life the game sucks up. The demo is about two hours of playtime. I think there's a 45-minute game in there trying to get out. Extrapolating to the 16-18 hours of game play the full version has, I suspect there's a solid 7 hour game embedded.

                 /

[dhakkel]

That sucks for you. A lot of people did buy it, however, and enjoyed the game.

So yeah, can't please everyone.

[Plaid Phantom]

16-18?  Wow.  Took me more than 25 to finish, will probably be about 35 by the time I find the few treasures I'm still missing.  But then, I'm obsessive about exploring.

I can see how the time spent travelling can be off-putting.  Still, I'd say that 75% of the time or better there's something interesting to be doing on the way to wherever your ultimate destination is.

The thing is, I don't think that Aquaria is the type of game you think it is, or perhaps want it to be.  Aquaria is not a follow-the-story type of game, or even a goal-oriented game (to a point).  Yes, there's an undercurrent of story (no pun intended), but that's not the game.  If it was, I'd have hoped the story would have been a little clearer in the end.   The game itself is about exploring the amazing world of Aquaria.  There's only about four instances where you have a find-the-key dynamic, unless you count having to gain a form elsewhere to get through an obstacle.  And you don't really have to return to most areas once you complete them unless you just rush through it and miss something.

I've never really understood the complaint about save points.  I don't think I'd like automatic saves or anything like that.  An automatic save may work in more linear games (most FPS campaigns, a number of RPGs), but would certainly have hurt me if I was in trouble over my head.  "Save anywhere" might work, but it might lend itself to abuse during the trickier sections, unless there's a stipulation like "must be standing still with no enemies in immediate area" or something.  There was probably a reason Derek and Alec chose the method they did, and I think it's appropriate to this situation.  Not all, but this one.

I don't see how one could condense the world like you describe without completely changing the game.  Shrink the game down and many things would have to be cut, or the regions made more linear.  Plus, I think there'd be a loss of world realism; real life has plenty of dead space (try living in a small town) and the open areas of Aquaria makes it feel much more realistic--to me, at least.

Aquaria isn't a game to push through in an effort to beat, it's a game to sit back and absorb.  If that's not what you're looking for, that's fine.  I don't think it's a mark against the game, though.

[Upthorn]

There is a valid complaint in here, which is that, even with sea turtles, it can take quite a bit of time just to get from point A to point B. I know I had some frustrating when I had to cross 3 maps just to get from the kelp forest sea turtle to the save point in my preferred seadragon hunting grounds.
I've given a lot of thought to how the quick-travel was handled in aquaria, and come to the conclusion that there are two methods I can see that might have really helped cut down on boring travel time.
A) Some sort of hub map with those warp flowers
B) A song you could sing which would bring up the world map and let you warp to any save crystal that you've got on it.

Aside from that, the original poster here is totally off base with the nature of the game, unless he would say the same of Super metroid.

[Alec]

waves goodbye

[Quemaqua]

Yeah, can't please everyone.  I didn't find there too be too much travel at all, and my final save was around 26 hours I think with a few things missing from my collection.  There's so much to see and do along the way to anywhere I can't understand this complaint.  Whatever.

[AquaReflection]

I've got to agree with all the replies. Part of the charm of Aquaria is that the player is in the same condition as the main character. She knows nothing outside her own world, nor of the abilities, flora, and fauna that she comes into contact with. Many of the moments in the game where Naija audibly gasps or is awed by her surroundings were moments where i did the same. Her curiosity, intrigue, and even anger became my own. We, as players, as forced to learn by experience and experimenting just as she has to. Many times, curiosity pays off. Having such an open environment allows us moments to bond with the character.

Getting from point A to point B can be tedious, but in time you learn to actually find it exciting. Outside of a few bugs that the developers have/are being fixed, if you can access a location, you can progress IN that location. Maybe you can't find everything that area offers the first time around, but you can certainly develop the storyline and your powers more. With each uncharted location, you find new ingredients, new foes, and new opportunities. After even an hour of game play, you realize that this story, this game, isn't about beating the game or about getting a high score, it's about playing the game. The journey from A to B is the true enjoyment. The boss battles are little  rewards, each with its own unique tactic and puzzle; puzzles whose solutions are often revealed during the game play. (The Mithalan boss for example)

As for the save points, I prefer set locations to save (ie; the crystals) because it keeps you emursed  in the story. It also turns many situations, such as boss battles, into much larger activities. The boss may be the end of a particular chapter in the story line, but traversing the dungeon before such fights is part of the battle.

[Peste]

OK,  it´s your opinion, but you are first who say that...

[Xiagan]

He is not first, but most people here like exploring and swimming through areas.

There are speedruns ~2 hours and there are savegames with 25-30 hours, so everything is possible depending on how addicted you are to collection or exploring. The thing that 2 hour-games are possible (okay, you have to be very skilled with the controls and should know where to go), kind of refutes the argument. If you play it the first time 2 hours is impossible I guess, but 8 hours should be possible, even if you miss some interesting stuff then.

[Xocrates]

but 8 hours should be possible, even if you miss some interesting stuff then.

It took me 8:30 to the last save point on my second run with all treasures (admittedly, I checked for one although I had a general idea of where it was), pets, health eggs, third cooking slot, memories, and Bosses, I obviously didn't get all recipes, but did get The legendary cake and rukh egg which are a pain to get. Considering I wasn't rushing through, 8 hours is entirely possible and get pretty much everything worth getting.

[barret232hxc]

everyone is spoiled by today's games where they are much easier and do all the work for you. I was starving for a game like aquaria that brought back the things I grew to love in gaming.

I guess I am just a dreamer but I love just swimming around in aquaria that part of the game alone would be good enough for me but there is much more depth. I guess some people may not have the time to enjoy aquaria

[IceD]

everyone is spoiled by today's games where they are much easier and do all the work for you. I was starving for a game like aquaria that brought back the things I grew to love in gaming.

I guess I am just a dreamer but I love just swimming around in aquaria that part of the game alone would be good enough for me but there is much more depth. I guess some people may not have the time to enjoy aquaria

Propably, Yes. But such games require at least some time to play, or you'll just spoil the fun. If you wan't to get instant action, run UT2004 or Q3  . I played  main game for something about 33 hours. I wasn't rushing, just taking enjoyment of every moment that Aquaria could bring, and I don't think the time I spent on the game was wasted...

Oh, and btw - it's an exploration-based game so it means that you have to EXPLORE the world, and it will take some time.

[Sea Cucumber MkULTRA]

waves goodbye

Come on Alec...

I won't pretend to belong to your core audience (which I suspect are fans of JRPGs), and so I understand if the game isn't going to be changed just because it'd suit me better. But I am a random sample of the people you're trying to sell the game to. As such, I make no claim to be objective, but if you ever find yourself wondering why you sold X copies of Aquaria and not 2*X, well, people like me sit with the answers. We're the ones who gave Aquaria a fair shot and decided that it wasn't for us.

I can't prove it, but I suspect that when you assemble all the criticism into a picture of what caused people not to buy the game the "slow movement" and "lack of saves" will be front and center. Even gamer-girl, which gave you a 9/10 complains about it, and that's coming from the hard core of the hardcore gamers.

Ultimately you have to decide if what you gain from lack of saves and the slow movement is worth the amount of people you scare away. Especially since, in my case at least, you had me impressed, excited and with my credit card out at the beginning but then made me reconsider.

Anyway, I wanted to give you some feedback, and now I have done so.


To respond to some other replies about the game length: I know you can go through the game much much faster if you know where to go. My reply to that is: I don't know where to go, and I don't want to have to wait until the second playthrough before a game becomes fun.


Regarding what I expected the game to be: Well, here's the big one, I suppose. Everyone who has stated that this game probably isn't for me are correct. It isn't. Aquaria is similar to a JRPG and my attitude to JRPGs is much like Yahtzee's: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/zeropunctuation/2563-Zero-Punctuation-Super-Paper-Mario.

I understand perfectly that that is not the general attitude of people on this forum - after all, if you didn't like the game, you wouldn't have bought it and played it and be here talking about it.

everyone is spoiled by today's games where they are much easier and do all the work for you.

I guess we differ here. I would say that today's games allow you to choose your difficulty level and allow you to skip the monotonous parts. I've been in this discussion before on the Steam forums and what it boils down to is that I get no sense of accomplishment from games. None. Zero. Doesn't matter which game. It's just not real enough. To understand my attitude, just think about something really boring. Something you really would like to edit right out of your life. Ok, now ask yourself this - if someone walked up to you and said "I just love (BORING THING), because when it is over, I get such a sense of accomplishment - you kids today have it so easy", what would you tell them?

[dhakkel]

Fans of JRPGs? Where the hell did that come from? I'd say it's more fans of the 2d Metroids or the recent Metroidvanias or Ecco, but certainly not JRPGs.

And, yeah, I'm not sure what you're trying to accomplish. You made your point, that's fine, but why did you post again? Like I said, lots of people enjoyed the game the first time around, I'm not sure why you'd want him to change it next time and piss off all his current fans?

None of the game was too difficult, and none of it was monotonous. There, I gave just as much of an opinion as you, so I guess yours is nulled now.

[thYme]

... and what it boils down to is that I get no sense of accomplishment from games. None. Zero. Doesn't matter which game. It's just not real enough.

Sorry to interrupt, but that's not what games are supposed to do. If you got that wrong, no offense, you seriously should think about shutting down your computer and try to achieve "accomplishment" in real life before it's too late.