I'm wondering to myself the reason as to why the heck they show an area that is inaccessible, especially when it's so freaking tangible to the one I'm exploring. If I can see it I should be able to get there unless some physical disability doesn't allow my character to go there. It just doesn't make sense, right? It's not just this game though. There are plenty of other games that do this too. I was playing Diablo III earlier today and while I was exploring there was a door right below the corridor I was walking through. The only thing stopping me from jumping off of the corridor to the exit below was a railing. Or so I thought. Of course there's an invisible wall that prevents me from falling down a whole floor. Sure you can make some logical sense and try to think of excuses such as, “Your character would probably injure himself trying to jump from there” or “It's not in-character for your Barbarian to do that.”
Another instance of an invisible wall I found particularly annoying in Diablo III was jumping across chasms. Sometimes I wound find a large crater that I can't get past because obviously the game doesn't want me falling into it. However, as a Demon Hunter I have a special ability that allows me to jump large distances. The hilarious thing is that I can't use that skill to jump over that hole. What the heck? Come on, I'm all for common sense and everything but in this day and age, that's pretty inexcusable! Why would you implement a game that way!
I'd hate to beat on Tales of Graces f anymore than I already have but this truly boggles my mind. There are certain dungeons that prevent me from accessing grounds that are not level with the one you're on. This means that you can be walking along perfectly fine but suddenly stopped when the ground suddenly drops a level equivalent to one single step of a staircase. What…?! The game then nonchalantly goes onto make you activate a mechanism that will elevate the floor for mere inches so you can proceed. Seriously game developers, what are you thinking? If you're going to make an invisible wall at least make it so it doesn't test my patience, and intelligence. You could've easily made it so it's not mere inches but a few dozen feet. That way it makes sense why there's an invisible wall there!
While I've nitpicked the entire time about explicit invisible walls, there are some plus sides. For games like Starcraft II and League of Legends, it makes sense to have them. There are plenty of ledges in these games and honestly units should be able to climb down from these ledges but they're not able to. Instead, the method of travel is limited because traversing over ledges and such is a special ability therefore creating a strategic environment in the game. For this reason it can actually enhance the game.
So there are some great uses of invisible walls; after all, I made it clear how invisible walls enhance immersion and add strategic elements to the gameplay. However, even so, it baffles me how explicit invisible walls exist today. Sure it's a nitpicky detail in the grand scheme of things but game developers should strive to better deliverer an awesome experience, one that doesn't break the immersion.
Ever had a feeling where a greater force is at work when you're playing a video game? I'm not talking about a game out to get you or some divine controlling the machinations of your existence. What I'm talking about is a little annoyance called invisible walls. Now that I've made this clear, I 'm sure you understand exactly what I'm talking about. That feeling you get where you should be able to walk or run past a certain point but the game doesn't let you.
Sure there are obvious invisible walls that make complete sense such as preventing your imminent doom from a cliffdive but beyond that, there are few reasons that invisible walls should even exist. Of course, the type of invisible walls that I'm actually speaking of are explicit. There are two types of invisible walls to be precise: explicit and implicit. Explicit invisible walls are the ones you can definitely tell. For example if you're playing Tales of Graces f, there are areas of open fields that you just can't walk in even though you clearly can. On the other side of the coin are implicit invisible walls. These are natural environments that seamlessly blend in to prevent players from venturing out into prohibited areas.
Before I go into detail about explicit invisible walls I should lay out my thoughts on the implicit invisible walls. These walls are actually pretty cool despite being annoying after you realize while it's there. The reason they're cool is because they don't break immersion and actually enhances it as long as you don't notice that it's an invisible wall. Games such as Mass Effect 3 and Deus Ex: Human Revolution are particularly good at this. For the former your path is blocked with rubble or actual architectural elements that inhibit you from going beyond designated areas. In Deus Ex, corridors and other building layouts keep you confined and your movement quite limited.
Now at first, explicit invisible walls seem bad. After all, they just limit movement and don't allow you to explore any areas you so choose. Not particularly so. Earlier I mentioned that explicit invisible walls enhance immersion. Think of your time aboard the Normandy. You wouldn't want to be able to access every area and be able to do everything like exit the ship mid-flight right? It just doesn't make sense. Instead you have walls filled with technology that keeps the ship running. Rather than putting a wall there you can't see, there is one you can and it's there for good reason.
The invisible walls that really work to the game's detriment are the explicit ones. Tales of Graces f is absolutely criminal about this. Much of the world's exploration is done in large open fields. The hilarious thing is, almost half of the area that you can see are completely inaccessible. As you move the control stick forward to that vast plain you want to take a stroll in, “THUMP!” You're hit with an invisible wall. “Oy, what the heck is this?” I think to myself.
