Poll: About Secrets.

[Anathrax]

So've recently completed Maldita Castilla, a "tribute/homage" to the old Ghosts and Goblins games. I was having all the fun(and rage) in the world when suddenly this damned screen popped up.

Aside from the fact that I have no clue what the flaming flying rat buttocks those things mean, I've NEVER figured the game had any secrets. I mean sure, I saw the "No Continues" one coming, but what the hell?

So, how do you prefer a secret being hidden in a game?

Spoiler: Poll options in case it bugs out(+Some explanations)

1)No secrets at all. Screw those mysterious twats.
2)Mildly hidden, located near the main path of the game.(As in, you're in a vent. You go left, you find a secret after a few seconds of walking/crawling. You go right, you continue on your quest. So kind of like Mirror's Edge)
3)Hidden well, with some hints lying around about them.(A riddle, an NPC hinting about them, something!)
4)Not hidden at all, but behind an accessible until X item is obtained area.(Most of the original Darksiders)
5)A ninja, you don't see, hear nor know they exist until it's the end.(Maldita Castilla)

 

[krazykidd]

3. I want them hidden well , with Npcs hinting at them and at least letting me know they exist . I don't use gamfaqs when i play my games , so with no notice i'll never find then ( unless by accident ). And i tend to explore , so hiding something in a vent doesn't count as a secret for me .

As long as i don't need a pen and paper . Once i'm obliged to write shit down ( FFX ) i lose all interest .

 

[Thoric485]

3) absolutely. 2) is boring and 4) drove me mad in Darksiders.

 

[TrevHead]

3: Just don't make the hint's too obtuse like Simon's Quest and so many oldschool games*

Easter Eggs are exempt from this rule though

4 is fine for short replayable games but would be wasted on a long game like skyrim

 

[Anathrax]

Figures no one liked the secret style of Darksiders. Its why I want my God of War-like games to be linear with hidden upgrades scattered throughout the levels.

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

Option 3, of course. Or maybe option 5, depending on the game.

What is the point of putting a secret in your game if it's easy to find? Not very secretive then, is it?

 

[Chemical Alia]

3 is the best. I like to feel like I'm rewarded for exploring the whole level areas, like finding hidden powerups in the old Sonic games or pressing space on the walls for hidden rooms in Wolfenstein. But if there's hints, then I just feel really smart and awesome.

Some of my favorite secrets EVERRR happened in Commander keen games. Like figuring out how to read the standard galactic alphabet (which I can still read because I can only retain stupid things for decades at a time), or that time I was that one pyramid's basement in Secret of the Oracle, and saw a bunch of little worms following me around. I said to my sister, "hey, I'll bet if I connect all these platforms and make all of these worms gather around me, they might form together to make a gigantic foot and whisk me off to the secret pyramid level you can see but not get to on the world map". So I did that and that's EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED. That was the day I learned I am a wizard.

 

[Anathrax]

3 is the best. I like to feel like I'm rewarded for exploring the whole level areas, like finding hidden powerups in the old Sonic games or pressing space on the walls for hidden rooms in Wolfenstein. But if there's hints, then I just feel really smart and awesome.

My jaw dropped during my first time playing quake(last month) when the first level alone had 5 secrets that were somewhat cleverly hidden.

snip

That sounds... epic.

 

[Bad Jim]

My jaw dropped during my first time playing quake(last month) when the first level alone had 5 secrets that were somewhat cleverly hidden.

There are 6 secrets in the first level of Quake

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

I like legend of grimrock I love finding secrets though sneaky puzzles Really stoked for the second iteration of that game.