Echochrome is an exercise in frustration
April 25th, 2008 | by Mike Corey |
So everyone knocks adventure games because you have to play them in a way the developer would have intended. You have a problem and a finite set of inventory items combine them with the environment and you get a solution. Echochrome takes the frustration of an adventure game but puts it in puzzle format. You’re still progressing through the game with the perspective of the designer, but here its simply moving a camera. Cool in theory, but I just spent a good 10 minutes trying to figure out why one of the “mysteries” wasn’t working. I tried to put a hole out of site and it looked perfect. Exactly how the game is supposed to be played. Problem is this. The game didn’t register the fact that there was no longer a hole. Instead the mannequin ceaselessly did an about face and killed himself. Seriously, if you’re going to describe what someone can do then make it apply to every situation, not just the ones the designer saw.
