I’ve been going out of my way lately to find unique mechanics, UI’s, etc. that fundamentally alter and improve a game, to the extent that their removal would severely hurt the game and make it less effective/impactful/etc. To be clear this is less “unplayable,” so not something silly like “removing the right thumb stick from Halo.”
Instead, I think of how Immortality essentially “gamified” and simplified a movieola (35mm film editing hardware) to be the player’s interface with the game. The process of scrubbing through footage, marking favorite clips, cropping in on items of interest, “match cutting” (sort of), made for an incredibly immersive experience. Honorable mention goes to the music raising and lowering or shifting as I sped through or slowed down on footage - it created such a unique gaming experience.
What are some examples for y’all?
Ctrl Alt Ego is a recent indie immersive sim built around the mechanic of jumping into and controlling various robots and objects, which opens up so many possibilities and paths to progression. You can fight enemies yourself, sneak past, take them over, get them to attack each other, even skip entire sections if you're clever. It's chock full of whimsical British humor and charming writing, very clearly a labor of love and passion. The entire plot revolves around the idea of yeeting yourself into things though, so taking that out would certainly change the experience entirely. It's a fun twist on the imsim genre and well worth checking out.
That sounds awesome. Checking it out tonight!