5. Game Mechanics That Dont Violate The Fantasy
I miss the days of game manuals that had the nerve to make players read the instructions before actually playing the game. If the developers are trying to provide a transcendent experience, they fail the minute the character on screen tells me to press B. What the hell is that? A Star Trek game would be incomplete without enlistment in the Star Fleet Academy, where the player meets the other members of their created crew. They are given a chance to reference the manual and learn how to interact with the game without breaking the game's fourth wall. Instructors will tell the players how to read the various screens they will see in the game, they will detail all the aspects of navigating the game without breaking character. Upon graduating from Star Fleet, the player knows everything they need to play the game, and still have the manual to reference. The importance of this idea cant be understated; too many games undo all the creative aspects hard work by going out of its way to remind the player that it is a video game and not an interactive storytelling experience.