Bonus points if they are super retro ideas of the future internet like in front mission 3.
Something I continually think about is how Doom 3 showed us a world where you can have a first-person game that seamlessly has you controlling a mouse cursor on in-world computer screens, and it saddens me that nobody picked up that baton.
Best feature in that whole game.
I haven’t played Doom 3, but it sounds very similar to what Prey 2017 has - all the computers in the game have (in-universe) touch input, so you can use them just by pressing the interact key while looking at a display. You can even fire rubber-tipped foam darts at screens to trigger a click in the spot where the dart hit!
Oh shit
Indeed. It’s arguably the best, and in some cases the only way to get behind security booths and the like when you’re doing a no-neuromods run, because you don’t have access to mimic or hacking.
The dart also makes a fun ‘squeak’ noise when it hits something, great for occupying enemies.
I think of that every time I see a cursor following my mouse in an FPS game.
And at the moment, I struggle to remember anything besides the tiny resemblance of that in Cyberpunk 2077 lol
Best feature in that whole game.
Seconded. I loved that game but that part of it honestly blew me away.
This was the example I immediately thought of when I saw this post. Blew me away when I first saw it.
What about games inside of games? I remember hunkering down in some random medibay in System Shock 2 to play some OverWorld Zero on my GamePig.
It can become tedious quickly if it isnt done absolutely perfect imo.
I remember Fallout computers to be one of the implementations of such a system that I disliked most. Repetitive “hacking”, then reading some text snippets that could’ve easily fit on a note or sth else. While it does add to the atmosphere, it doesnt add anything good to my (personal opinion ofc) gaming experience.
I can only think of two examples right now where I liked it: Deus Ex all parts(because it is just very thematically fitting) and GTA (because of the satire its actually very entertaining).
both Hacknet and Uplink (unrealistic but fun hacking games) had this, although Hacknet’s is more modern by nearly 15 years. I think I liked uplink’s more though.
One of my favorite gaming tropes! Part of me wishes it was more common, but then a different part remembers that the novelty would wear off.
Hypnospace Outlaw! The whole game is basically just being a mod of an alternate universe Geocities.
Then there’s Kingsway; it’s a Rougelite RPG where everything is controlled with a Windows 9x/Mac Classic parody.
Have you ever played Hypnospace Outlaw? https://youtu.be/Pb4Jul496QE
I’ve seen someone play a bit of it. It defo fills the vibe. I should play it sometime
One of my first interactions with an in-game fantasy computer GUI was Final Fantasy VIII. You had this newsletter you could read on the Balamb Garden’s computers, or take the SeeD exams to improve your grade. Was really neato.
.hack for the PS2, where the Internet was just an application called “The World” that you launched from a desktop. Damn, need to play that again.
Edit: I missed the image in the post originally, had no idea I was literally copying OP, lol. My bad.
This post and your comment gave me nostalgia overload. I lived in a rural area growing up in the late 90s and early 00s and I was absolutely infatuated with the internet and things like the .hack games that emulated being connected. Played soooo much of that game
Front mission 3 was so good. I was dissapointed the internet wasnt in the other games.
I love Front Mission 3, the music is so good too
Oh 100% I love this aesthetic. The newer Deus Ex games come to mind immediately, but yeah. The tablets in Hi-Fi Rush are also kinda cool, if less involved.
just love me some rifling through open desktops though 👍
Tired of real UI can’t wait to go home and look at fake UI. I like how SHENZEN I/O takes place on a computer, kind of. You get “quests” by checking your email lol.
Can’t get enough of this. I remember really loving the fake DOS mode that Enter the Matrix had. You could unlock cheats for the game or look at little hidden videos and things. It was fairly elaborate for a little gimmick.
Memory unlocked. Though using cheats through that most certainly crash the game, you just didn’t know when it would happen. I remember using infinite ammo with the smoke grenade gun like halfway through before the game finally crapped out
The textorcist has a PC where you have to use “godle” to kind of Google stuff in order to find out the whereabouts of the bad guys or something like that
Fun fact, .hack’s Altimit OS was very heavily based on the early previews for Square Enix’s PlayOnline Viewer, with nearly every feature lifted direct from it (Email, News, BBS/Chat, Wallpaper/BGM selection). Also interesting ya mention Front Mission since Front Mission Online ran via PlayOnline Viewer. :)
Kowloon Highschool Chronicles does it really well.
Buying items is done through encrypted online store, mini quests are received from the official site of the treasure hunting association you’re part off and so on. The game expands this immersive ui further by making your stat screen be a report card and with skill names being curricular subjects.
