Yeah, but the tag makes it sound like these games have more similarities with metroidvanias than just gated areas.
Imagine someone clicking on the tag because they recognized Metroid only to find The Witness…
Comment on Metroidbrainia: An in-depth exploration of knowledge-gated games
simple@piefed.social 1 day agoThe name is a little stupid, but I find it makes a lot of sense too. Metroidvanias are games where you explore and slowly unlock the means to reach new areas and explore more. Metroidbranias are the same idea but you need knowledge to progress rather than collecting items
mohab@piefed.social 1 day ago
silverchase@sh.itjust.works 1 day ago
There’s already a term for progress gated by knowledge: mystery. All of these games are about discovering facts that lead you further along.
MarcomachtKuchen@feddit.org 1 day ago
Honestly I see your point. I was sceptical at first because I like the clever wordplay of the terms but I think you’re right. Using existing terms like mystery might make genres more accessible again. Just imagine someone who’s not into gaming reading all the random ads terms and beeing completely lost.
yermaw@sh.itjust.works 1 day ago
With mystery games (at least some of the time) the player character needs to learn the details too.
jacksilver@lemmy.world 1 day ago
You can have mysteries where progress and knowledge aren’t tied to each other. For example in Professor Layton games, there is an overarching “mystery”, but it’s a linear game you progress by solving effectively random (and mostly disconnected) puzzles.