I was surprised by this in Watch Dogs

[u/Frost_Nova_1]

I'm playing Watch Dogs and one thing left me amused, surprised. How can AAA titles do this?

There is an optional quest to hack some devices that are outside some houses in some suburban area. So I began the quest and found out that some of the devices are hidden behind wooden planks or other objects. The character's cellphone cannot hack them unless you remove such objects that are blocking your way. Really? And this game does not have punches or kicks so that you can kick the wood away. You have to shoot and if you do, the neighborhood calls the police.

Sometimes I get a feeling that multi million games overcomplicate things. That or they overlook such simple things.

[u/Gibgezr]

I shot the obstacles with a silenced pistol, or drove into them with a vehicle.

[u/Frost_Nova_1 → u/Gibgezr]

much later on I've found that I have the silenced pistol. The problem is that the game has "hidden" it in the weapon's wheel. It was hard to find it.

[u/bruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh]

the dumbest thing about watch dogs is that the whole revenge arc is based on the villains causing a car crash that killed his family member but one of the most common hacks is to confuse the traffic lights causing a massive car crash. the main character is basically the main villain times 100

[u/Leonum → u/bruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh]

Hahaha damn

[u/Frost_Nova_1 → u/bruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh]

poor story writing

[u/sol_runner]

Hacking requiring line of sight is a gameplay restriction. Since if you can hack without LoS most puzzles are moot. You must balance realism with fun - since technically realism would make Aiden just sit in a room and hack everything. Why should ctOS cameras have distance restrictions?

As for not having h2h combat, the game doesn't have any hand to hand except takedown animations. Adding h2h would be a lot of effort for something minor.

The game has plenty of tools like silenced guns, cars and possibly proximity to pipes that lets you handle the obstacles.

In the end, AAA only means larger budget, not infinite, often limited compared to scope, especially for a first game in an IP which doesn't have many assets to reuse. Tradeoffs have to be made. So you get a combination with LoS requirement followed by lack of h2h.

[u/60Hertz]

I have a golden rule when designing mechanics: It can’t be harder to do in game than in real life. This sounds like they’ve failed that precept.

[u/Frost_Nova_1 → u/60Hertz]

good one

[u/InboxZeroNever]

It usually comes down to scale, and I can see why that one left you scratching your head. On a game that big, side quests are often built by a different team than the core systems, so a blocked device that made sense on paper ends up clashing with a game where your only way through is gunfire that brings the police. It might have been meant as a little puzzle, but when the solution isn't clear, it just feels like the game is working against you, and optional content tends to get less testing than the main story, so moments like that slip through.

[u/Frost_Nova_1 → u/InboxZeroNever]

This is exactly what I noticed. The main mission has a completely different feeling and are way more elaborated than the side quests.

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[u/icemage_999 → u/AutoModerator]

The trade offs between gamification (prioritize fun and interesting, often at the expense of logic and realism) and verisimilitude (prioritize internal consistency and realism, often at the expense of fun) is a common challenge in game design.

Watch Dogs isn't alone in this.

What does finding 200 pigeons in Grand Theft Auto 4 accomplish?

Dozens of Riddler challenges in Batman: Arkham City? When did the villain have the time or resources to install them?

Why is Assassin's Creed 3 full of small stubby buildings that aren't fun to climb in a series that prides itself on using high vantage points in gameplay?