Cigarettes...and character mental ?


Vinceofpyrenees

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Hello,

For long time time ago now, I though to something for this wishlist which could bring some entertainment. I thought cigarettes item.

I have abandonned this idea because I wrongly thought it was badly seen in video games.

But, I have recently played to "Kona", a video game which take place into the far North Québec, and the main character has the possibility to smoke cigarettes. Why ? Because, there is a mental-focus system that makes the hero able to be aware on clues and researches. So I see it is not censorial.

Since the publication of your development roadmap, we know there will be a mental system for the characters in TLD, am I wrong ?

If it is the case, I wonder what do you think about cigarettes pack ? As a non-reappearing item, that could add a mental boost while smoking one cigarette.

The cigarette should be lit up with any source of fire. However, the cigarette reduces the stamina for runs, like 1% during 30 minutes I don't know.

And, unfortunatly, the cigarette is not hot enough to warm up fingers !

 

When I saw a whishlist about alcohol,  it reminded me that idea for cigarettes.

 

PS : cigarettes are too quicky smoked in the game I talked about (Kona). It should be a thing for relaxation and "break for thinking" so like 5 minutes.

 

[I probably use wrong words for mental, but it's like that I say it in french].

 

 

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This would be an interesting addition in my opinion.

I too have pondered the idea of having a mental state, and I think this would be a really useful way to keep the game challenging once you pass the - oh, the 50 day mark.  Maybe there can be certain things that will trigger the mental state to go down.

-Longevity of being loneliness 

-Early game experience (breaking into the survival lifestyle)

-Misfortune (bear attacks, starvation, etc.)

 

Not sure about locations for cigarettes spawning, maybe the the store locations, on tables by sofas in homes, bedsides... Those could all work.

On the opposing side of this, I think it would make the game a constant struggle to be satisfied... This kind of killed "Don't Starve" for me... the sanity was so difficult to deal with, and I based nearly every decision on my game sanity. 

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I like it! I'll smoke a cigarette every once and a blue moon (used to smoke them regularly) and now get a huge headrush when I have one...it really knocks me on my butt

 

I still think that adding a doobie could be pretty cool. Maybe in someones glove box or ashtray, or perhaps even rolled up on a table in a house. Smoking it could put a filter over the screen so the lighting looks trippier...should make you hungrier and thirstier though, of course ;) . 

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12 hours ago, Lovehandel said:

There is absolutely no way a company in Canada would put smokes in there game, movie, tv show or anything else for that matter. The sensitive types would never allow it.

 

Now weed? for sure, I'm surprised it's not in there already.

I was pretty sure than "Kona" developpers are from Québec, as the strange accent of the narrator notice it. And they put cigarettes as items.

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18 hours ago, Vinceofpyrenees said:

mental boost while smoking one cigarette.

That may apply to someone already addicted to smoking - but as a non-smoker that has tried it a few times without getting hooked, I can say absolutely no, rather the opposite happens.

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As a person who does smoke, I think I'd prefer it if they didn't add cigarettes to the game.

When I see someone else smoking, it makes me want to have a cigarette. If I'm watching a movie and a character starts smoking, it makes me think about having a cigarette. If the game provided situations where it was advantageous for your character to light up take a contemplative smoke break, I'm pretty sure I'd find myself reaching for my baccie pouch as well!

Then I'd be able to sue Hinterland when I got cancer.

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I dont really see how smoking is supposed to add anything of value to the game. If protagonist is a non-smoker, then smokes wont do anything for him, and evne if he is, then their low amount wont make any difference anyway.

Im an occasional smoker and have quit several times in the past. While there are crawings, when you smoke regularly and then stop, in conditions like presented in tLD quitting smoking wont really be an issue, as protagonist mind is busy with surviving for first few weeks and after that addiction traces are ignorable.

And no, mental health is the last thing this game needs. Story mode, maybe, as we are talking predefined characters, with their own preferences, fears and desires. But in sandbox last thing i need is some idiotic notion that im supposed to feel bad after seeing a corpse, or even worse, after seeing 20th corpse. Ive seen a fair share of those irl(one actually grows dismissive of them really fast, especially when they are frozen), and mostly they leave me completely indifferent and i consider ability to imprint my choices and experiences on my character essential for immersion. Not some useless shit like "saw a wolf and lost 10 points of sanity".

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5 hours ago, Vinceofpyrenees said:

This is not my idea. I've simplyr read it on the official roadmap :

"Wellbeing system (i.e. mental/emotional cost of survival; “willpower locket” fits in here)"

Im well aware of it, Doesnt mean that i like it. Maybe they will make it good, maybe they wont.

But so far i havent seen a single game where such things would benefit immersion, instead of just adding another pointless "health" tab with some arbitrary management values. So i have my doubts.

My main beef with Cabin Fever feature is exactly that. It completely disregards player personality and prevents own preferences to be imprinted on game protagonist. But since i never had any runins with it(im always going somewhere, spending even one whole day indoors is extreme rarity for me), its a nonissue for me. Some irrelevant feature that doesnt affect me in any way.

I dont want system that measures everyone with same measure. Im not an extrovert, who starts going nuts from lack of socialization. And i dont want to play as one in free roam. And there are dozens of other personality traits that can go either way. But practically all games stick literally just one primitive personality model when dealing with things like that - stupid moron who is afraid of everything, especially dark and just cant live without throwing a party at least once a week. Also is completely mentally incompetent in every aspect.

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1 hour ago, Dirmagnos said:

Im well aware of it, Doesnt mean that i like it. Maybe they will make it good, maybe they wont.

But so far i havent seen a single game where such things would benefit immersion, instead of just adding another pointless "health" tab with some arbitrary management values. So i have my doubts.

My main beef with Cabin Fever feature is exactly that. It completely disregards player personality and prevents own preferences to be imprinted on game protagonist. But since i never had any runins with it(im always going somewhere, spending even one whole day indoors is extreme rarity for me), its a nonissue for me. Some irrelevant feature that doesnt affect me in any way.

I dont want system that measures everyone with same measure. Im not an extrovert, who starts going nuts from lack of socialization. And i dont want to play as one in free roam. And there are dozens of other personality traits that can go either way. But practically all games stick literally just one primitive personality model when dealing with things like that - stupid moron who is afraid of everything, especially dark and just cant live without throwing a party at least once a week. Also is completely mentally incompetent in every aspect.

BI 100% agree with this, this isn't Don't Starve. Nightmares should be the only notable thing in a change of well being. 

For more info

 

 

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1 hour ago, Dirmagnos said:

Im well aware of it, Doesnt mean that i like it. Maybe they will make it good, maybe they wont.

But so far i havent seen a single game where such things would benefit immersion, instead of just adding another pointless "health" tab with some arbitrary management values. So i have my doubts.

My main beef with Cabin Fever feature is exactly that. It completely disregards player personality and prevents own preferences to be imprinted on game protagonist. But since i never had any runins with it(im always going somewhere, spending even one whole day indoors is extreme rarity for me), its a nonissue for me. Some irrelevant feature that doesnt affect me in any way.

I dont want system that measures everyone with same measure. Im not an extrovert, who starts going nuts from lack of socialization. And i dont want to play as one in free roam. And there are dozens of other personality traits that can go either way. But practically all games stick literally just one primitive personality model when dealing with things like that - stupid moron who is afraid of everything, especially dark and just cant live without throwing a party at least once a week. Also is completely mentally incompetent in every aspect.

 

I have always had a problem with the concept of Cabin Fever. I have to sleep outside, but I can see a nice warm building with a comfy bed from where I am about to crash in the snow. The fact that I could sleep on the deck or in the veranda to Clear Cabin Fever makes the idea even more silly.

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Game psychology is a little pet interest of mine.

Most of the time I feel like we are meant to 'identify as the character' .... I think due to the first person perspective. But then I'll find myself interacting with my character as his / her own person. Searching a cupboard for example [character] "I'll take it"  .... [me] " you're already complaining about how heavy your pack is .... now you want to grab more junk you don't need ...pfttt". or [character] "I'd lay down right here, if ..." [me] "suck it up princess ... our days just getting started" .

So, holding that idea in mind .... that we are maybe intended to be separate from our characters in sandbox. I think it would be a massive amount of fun to have far more 'mental challenges' in the sandbox ... but .... only if it can be implemented as a progressive character arch. I'm suggesting a type of gradual 'hardening' as he / she deals with certain mental challenges ... for example, every time cabin fever is beaten, you gain points as you do with cooking, fire starting, etc ...and it becomes less of a battle as you progress. It could even be a 'feat' maybe "you now start new games with more mental fortitude". Lol, not sure about finding psychology books in the world to read though, lol.

I know there is a 'well being' system coming, and I'm one of those people who loves the idea of starting out with an "anybody" character, and watching them become a wilderness hardened hero ... or anti hero, uniquely crafted by the choices I've made though my game play. I think it would give sandbox some real 'end game' sense of value, apart from just "days survived", to also have a mental system that allows for a very personalized character arch.

I'm keeping in mind that that not everyone will get enjoyment from this kind of thing .... so maybe, in sand box, it should be a feature you can choose to have active .... or as a whole new mode maybe?. Interloper standard .... or interloper, with sitting in a corner crying, lol.

As for smoking .... I don't feel it would add any extra value to the game play, unless you want your character to go through the period of becoming an ex-smoker when the last packet of cigarettes has been smoked.

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23 hours ago, Docterrok said:

BI 100% agree with this, this isn't Don't Starve. Nightmares should be the only notable thing in a change of well being. 

Again. Nightmares presume high stress levels. And there are people who never even had those, even under pressure. And if youre spending all day every day outdoors, in fresh air, with moderate exercises, then youl sleep like a log.

@Shane Retter Im a big fan of rpg elements in games. From my perspective, more various stats there is makes game all the better. My personal preference is original SPECIAL system from fallout universe(vanilla one, not this puke that Bethesda made it into, especially in last game; one from first games), as it introduces 3 distinctive branches of development(stats, skills, perks), each with own pace and distinctive management and gradation.

I like options, the more the better. It allows game to not just be constantly going forward as it progresses, but also makes each playthru different.

For example, i dislike the way that skill books are implemented in game. I even dislike how skills are implemented as well. My idea would have about 60 perks(raw approach, thats how many i have written down so far, there could be more), each perk is associated with specific book. Each book could come in several volumes, each giving its own perk that share same category(like bonus to damage vs wolves, bonus defense vs wolves, chance of instant kill vs wolves, reduced chance of receiving negative condition from wolf attack, etc). And perk allocation between different volumes of same collection would also change from game to game(eg if you get perk X from volume 1 in one game, then on next playthru you may get perk Y instead from same volume, etc). And on top of that each perk would have variable bonus value from game to game, eg bonus could be in range from 10% to 25%.

And that in turn combined with the fact that there is only so many books that can spawn in a single game, meaning that no game would be even remotely same as previous one from this particular aspect. And no friggin skill bumps.

Anyways, i like customization, but id prefer to play someone who i can associate with, not some douche that i feel pity and disgust towards because he is completely generic and i cant associate with him on any level.

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22 hours ago, henroe32 said:

SAY NO TO PEER PRESSURE!

Slightly off topic: how is 'Kona'? I looked into it and thought it looked okay but wan't sure if it was worth the money. What's your verdict on the game?

 

Without spoils, I can tell you it is very artistic and immersive asThe Long Dark is. I like this canadian universe. I've enjoyed it, but the replayability equal to zero, or you will begin the exact same adventure.

My favourite things :

- drive the car

- investigate

- listenning the narration

- smokes cigarettes (I've already spoiled it)

The end is very...very...

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Welcome to the forums @Brown ^_^

Personally, I don't see the need to add cigarettes. Your character is either a non smoker (in which case meh) or a long term smoker so you'd have to deal with withdrawal once you run out. However, if cigars were added to transport embers that'd be an interesting twist.

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18 hours ago, cekivi said:

Welcome to the forums @Brown ^_^

Personally, I don't see the need to add cigarettes. Your character is either a non smoker (in which case meh) or a long term smoker so you'd have to deal with withdrawal once you run out. However, if cigars were added to transport embers that'd be an interesting twist.

Cigars? Hmmm, better add the Cognac then!!! :-) there goes the ESRB rating too! or whatever agency rules those nowadays

 

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21 hours ago, cekivi said:

Personally, I don't see the need to add cigarettes. Your character is either a non smoker (in which case meh) or a long term smoker so you'd have to deal with withdrawal once you run out.

My thoughts also ..... lol, unless it could be classed as "starting with an affliction", and has you start with highly reduced stamina! 

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