The “Break it Down” Blog

And now, I’m not just referring to the insanely realistic physics/material engine in the game that has been demoed before, I’m referring to the use of ‘DVD chapters’ to allow shuffling through the game.

Let me explain…

Every game, ever, has had the design that you only progress by completing the levels in-order. Old-school games gave you passwords to allow you to jump back to certain levels, FPSs typically let you save anywhere, except for the new-school fad of using goddamn checkpoint systems instead of saves.

Think of a game you have played, that you stopped playing because you got to a part you couldn’t pass, it was too long, or you hit a level that bored the fucking hell out of you. Prince of Persia? Half-Life 2? Crysis? Condemned?

These are all games that I either stopped playing completely because I hit a part I couldn’t pass and got sick after the 5th or 6th try or hit a level that was so boring I just stopped playing and didn’t care anymore. Recently when I’ve stopped playing games, I’ll go to YouTube and just lookup the end-game cinematic so I can atleast see the ending.

What Alone in the Dark did is actually implement a completely open DVD “chapter” system that will actually let you skip through the game, jumping over parts that are too hard or boring and letting you play what you want. The only key is that you have to have a certain % completion of the game in order to see the end-game cinematic/story. This was done specifically to avoid gamers feeling fucked-over by paying $65 for a game and not being able to finish it.

Alone in the Dark team… I love you.

Here, take a look: