What I Learned After Playing a Dozen Hidden Object Games! | The Potato Witch
The Potato Witch
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Some people really enjoy hidden object games. I didn’t quite get why. So I played about a dozen of them in order to figure it out.
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#hog #hiddenobjectgame #hiddenobjectgames #draculaslegacy #artifexmundi #pointandclick #pointandclickgames #pointandclickadventuregames
28.04.2023
For the "white doesn't count" puzzle, maybe the idea was that white is often considered as not being a color…Thank you for the video, lots of interesting informations about the genre
Things i learned from HO games:● Oil or vinegar instantly removes rust● Forks, combs and bottle openers removes nails● Coins, medals and plastic cards remove screws● Corkscrews opens drawers and doors, but only if it has a convenient hole for the screw● useful items are single use● hands are useless for wiping away/digging in loose dirt/sand and cannot under any circumstances go into water● sometimes, you might get two similar types of objects that would do the exact same, for instance say ypu get a knife and a sharp piece of glass, only the knife can cut a plant stem, and only the glass can cut some thick rope, not the other way around● In the hidden object scenes, you can often see very useful items and tools that cannot be taken, because instead you need a broken cup, a beetle, a feather etc…● if there is an immediate serious/dangerous situation, like for instance a fire, timed bomb, "james bond-villain contraption" that will kill someone, or even the main villain attacking npcs, just take your time, go somewhere else, do some puzzles and HO scenes for several minutes before suddenly stumbling over the macguffin you need to go back and save the situation.● Actual knowledge about how some things/tools work might turn out to be detrimental as the solution turns out to be using the item wrongly● Sliding puzzles are the devil's handywork
My guess for the bad CGI is that it’s just the cheapest option available? I haven’t done it before or made these games, that’s just always been my impression.
Well, here I am, watching more of your stuff. This is also a very good video by the way. Though, one minor improvement could be that you could increase the volume for the voice acting examples. Otherwise, very entertaining!
These games are designed to be produced quickly for casual entertainment at a cheap price, and able to run on almost any computer. They are extremely popular with older/physically challenged folks for example who don't have the coordination or dexterity for other games on the market, and with moms or those who want something that isn't a huge time investment. You can literally play for five minutes and come back later if you wish, and the only physical requirement is to move a mouse and click one button. There are different types.. HOG (hidden object game), FROG (fractured hidden object, you typically find parts of things to put together and use), HOP (hidden object puzzle.. more emphasis on puzzles), HOPA (hidden object puzzle adventure), etc. For best results I suggest going to a good store.. like Big Fish online.. where you can get a good description, multiple reviews, and a demo for everything (they also offer really great deals so these games are extremely cheap.. there is a daily deal for instance that is only $2.99 and free games for points). There is also Gamehouse which lets you play anything you like for a monthly fee. As for the grammar etc, be aware many of them are not produced in the US so the translations are from other languages. The quality does vary greatly. Other casual genres include time management, match 3, and other puzzle type games such as griddlers.. which are all great fun. They are not comparable to the high end games out there.. and are not intended to be. It's an entirely different audience in mind.
as an artist with a decent amount of game dev experience wanting to make more cool and hip with the kids version of a HOG, this video helped SO FUCKING MUCH. theres barely anything out there at all for game devs wanting to make a HOG, no pointers, no mechanic lists, theres like 1 unity tutorial out there i think, but, basically im on my own for this project. this vid has totally helped me kinda get the idea of the dos and donts from a not-53 year old women with a Big Fish Games subscription and a windows XP tower. good shit, will try to check out ur other vids soon! thank you!
I know the feeling regarding what you mentioned in your video. The fact that you explore the area around you for ages, not knowing what your supposed to do, until you go back a bit, a back more, and yes, right back, only to find an hidden object area you have to complete, to get the item you need for the area you were at 10 screens away !!!!!!!.
I have been playing the crap out of a hidden object game called Lost Lagoon. Although, I am stuck on a level.
I really love HOPA games, and can agree with your criticism of the genre. There are things I am bothered by as well that you mentioned. Really, I'm not a hardcore gamer and don't enjoy games with fighting much and to me I enjoy just having a relaxing game for an afternoon. I admit these games are far from perfect, but I still love them despite all their flaws.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0R9B07hiwKpf2F_AyMWPtg
It’s nice to have a lot of these on PSN ^^
There are some good ones 👌
Did some of y'all play 'Agatha Christie: The ABC Murders' ? I love the art style and the story.
And about the language thing, many developers live in countries where english isn't the first language for example Lithuania, Ukraine and Russia. But many of them are nevertheless good in english.
Many HOGs are actually developed by eastern european or indian game devs, so, I think they are using either dictionaries or translation apps.
Mam here if you dint like the stories or the animation then i suggest you these two games to play no 1. The adventures of robinson crusoe 2. Anka both are of big fish . So if you want links so plz tell me i will give you those paid games for free
And playing games are best to refresh our mind in we play for a limit of time.
A lot of people do like these games but i respect your opinion and I do agree with some of your points too.
I like when I get to go to the next scene/level/ room organically too.
And the horrible 3d animations and cheesy or awful voice acting/scripts in some of them.
But overall I like hidden object games with stories and stuff.
I really like these games because they're normally super atmospheric and entertaining , the scary ones are the best tbh
I'd wager the poorly made characters isn't a choice, but rather a lack of skill. It's much tougher to model oragnic shapes, and humans/animals. And once you add character rigging in and painting weight on the skin deformation… well there's a lot of potential for it to look bad. However, if these games had someone who's sole job was to model and rig characters, then I say we can thoroughly shame them. But if they were a small staff and the individual was having to cover multiple aspects of the game… then I say they get a pass on this
Great video! Which are your favorites?
are these on android mobile? what games are these?
Iam watching these types of videos to try to find the game of my childhood.
I remember the game had the final boss an old man that was a green phantom i think?
Idk that was a long time ago but still.
Hoo wee. I've been kinda on a kick for these kinds of games – played them a lot as a kid. My favorite series in the HO genre has GOT to be the James Patterson: Women's Murder Club games. While I don't remember them all too well (I want to replay them!) I remember them having really engaging puzzles and a more scientific approach to the typical "murder mystery themed HO game" (likely thanks to it supposedly being based on books that actually exist? never read them tho) which I really enjoyed. The fact that you actually get up close and personal with a few dead bodies was really nice imo, as a fan of those cheesy murder crime shows
I haven't ever really heard anyone else talk about them though, good or bad. It's like I dreamt it up, even though I definitely didn't, hahah
I remember playing alot o' these kinds o' games when i was kid
Mortimer Becket are the only HOGs that I liked.
Hii! Can you recommend me some old hidden object games? I play a lot of them but most of the time, they are the new ones. I like the old ones better because the artwork is cluttered and actually beautiful not realistic. (and they have better storyline).
I’ll stick to telltale games and the occasional grim fandango clone
I've literally played 90% of all these HOG's lol fun times
HOGs are the cheap formula romance novels of games; they get no respect, and neither do the gamers who play them. It's kinda interesting in a feminist sense because the people who play them are overwhelmingly women over 50. Glad you decided to see for yourself what they are about instead of just snobbishly rolling your eyes.
I love the genre; playing those games is very much akin to inhaling trashy escapist fiction for me — but you're definitely not wrong about the weaknesses that plague it. I do like HOPA games more than pure HOGs (games that add puzzles and an adventure story), though I am fairly neutral about the story quality because I know what to read if I want good story and am always surprised when a simple game is truly "story-rich"; I don't expect it from a game that I usually buy on sale for 5 bucks or less. Contrary to you I actually like ambiguity in cues; it encourages lateral thinking (at a low level) and I always get a little frisson of joy when I make the jump to looking for the other pipe. I also like cryptic crosswords. 😉
These games can't afford to make good animations for cut scenes; they exist on a thin margin as it is. Most of the developers seem to be located in Eastern Europe, which explains the language issues — it's pretty amazing to me that they are as good as they are, since the translators don't usually even see the game but just get sent a text file, and I doubt the quality controllers know English well enough to spot mistakes, or can determine whether a translation is especially clunky. As long as it doesn't break the game for me, I just live with it. The worst case of a misspelled word I ever came across in a list of hidden objects to spot was "bow" for "bowl"; that one really annoyed me because I had to use a hint and ruin my streak. The less said about voice acting, the better; I prefer none because it can be really aggravating.
But I still love them — they're just the right thing when my brain is mostly toast, but not tired enough to go to sleep. There is some pretty amazing art in some of them (the 2D art, not the 3D); they're a pleasure to look at for a few hours; I especially like the ones with art by Jeff Haynie. If I had guilty pleasures (I gave up guilt for lent), HOGs would definitely be near the top.
hey, may I ask what's the name of the oriental themed game in the video? I kinda liked the artstyle
Engamtis the ghosts of maple creek had to many hops and they were super hard
Do you have a list of the games in this video?
1:30 Wait wait wait
Judge Dee? Like the detective? Yoo we read that in high school!