Ron instinctively wanted to press the button to operate it.
But before he could even place his hand, he realized that this was a game that only required a mouse.
After a moment's thought, he picked up the controller and tried pressing the D-pad.
"Swish"
A simple parallax scrolling animation, the viewpoint actually changes as the user interacts with it.
The protagonist turned his head to look to his left.
"Huh?"
Ron was slightly taken aback, then quickly pressed the button a few more times to confirm.
The game responded instantly to his actions.
All you need is a mouse...
The slogan echoed in his mind.
Having only a mouse doesn't mean you can only use a mouse. Gamenova has anticipated this and has made full adaptations for other input devices as well.
A mechanism that responds to player intuition.
Perhaps it will remain hidden deep within the game, never to be discovered, and perhaps it won't help the game's ratings in the media at all.
But there will always be a player who, by chance, uses it and experiences a moment of pure joy when the game's design philosophy perfectly matches their own ideas.
In fact, Gamenova did more than just provide controller compatibility, which is self-explanatory.
Even if you just use an adapter to plug in your keyboard, as long as the driver is compatible, the game will have the corresponding input mapping.
Theoretically speaking, even with an elite steering wheel kit and pedals, the game should still run normally.
However, since it was designed for mouse use, and considering that there would definitely be many puzzles later on, Ron ultimately decided to play it with the mouse.
I changed my perspective.
It's called turning around, but in reality, it's just changing the photo.
There's a rough transition animation, but the overall flow looks good.
Looking around, to the left of the spawn point, there seems to be an interactive hatch. The chiseled stone frame and the rusted metal hatch—every detail slowly unfolds the world's lore to the viewer.
Gently tap the hatch.
This thing didn't seem to be locked; it opened easily.
It was pitch black inside, and you could vaguely see a downward passage.
A wooden staircase covered with a luxurious carpet led him to a basement.
As always, the scene setup was very meticulous.
The thing in the very center, which was either a fountain, a pool, or some kind of large vat, immediately drew most of Ron's attention.
The remaining attention could be devoted to the slightly dark surroundings, allowing him to inject less important information—which was quietly explaining the world's setting—into his subconscious.
In a dark scene dominated by purple and gray-white tones, the orange-glowing button on the pot stands out.
Almost without thinking, Ron instinctively pressed the button.
"Buzz--"
With a buzzing sound, the water in the pool vanished, revealing what lay beneath. Several rows of neatly arranged orange objects, resembling spotlights and somewhat similar to the orange button, stood there.
I clicked it several times, but the pool just kept switching between having water and not having water, without any other changes.
Ron nodded slightly, made a note of the clue for the time being, and took a step back.
Turning around, he was about to go back out the stairs when he noticed something hanging on the wall next to the stairs.
The thing happened to be inside the wall, and it was blocked from view when it came down.
Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a yellowed document.
Okay, "not relying on text to drive the plot" is actually just a gimmick.
In some aspects of clues, provision, and puzzle design, some textual information is still necessary.
This statement actually means that the main gameplay is entirely driven by the graphics.
I won't go on and on about setting things up.
[Settings - Dimensional Imager ]
[Terrain Compression Test...40] [Turbulence Pool...67]
[Switch diagram...47]
"Okay..."
Ron scratched his head.
The naming is rather mystical and indeed somewhat obscure and difficult to understand.
But judging from the "turbulence pool" in the second point, this thing seems to be related to the "big pot" I just saw.
It seems that thing we just saw was the legendary " Dimensional Imager ".
At first glance, the back of this document is not made of stone like the rest of the wall.
You can see some signs of rust, and a small button in the top left corner that's emitting a faint green glow.
Color is the best visual guide and can quickly attract people's attention.
Of course, this excludes colorblind individuals; sometimes, some guidance and coordination in setting up the equipment are still necessary.
Every scene here is meticulously designed, so there's no visual distortion. From the moment Ron's attention was drawn to the hatch leading to the basement, everything proceeded according to the designer's vision and the script.
Upon entering the basement, you will definitely see the " Dimensional Imager " located in the very center.
You'll also be drawn to the button with its obviously enticing color scheme, and you'll see the changes in the water ripples.
There was nothing else here.
If you want to leave, you have to turn around and go back first.
And turning your head will inevitably lead you to notice the paper pasted on the wall.
In such a dark environment, only this spot was specially illuminated by a slightly brighter, warm-colored light.
This piece of paper isn't pasted straight up here.
Instead, it is slightly tilted.
Besides adding some changes to make it look more natural and lifelike, the right tilt angle will naturally create a focal point.
When a player intends to read the above content, as long as their gaze is focused on the title, the brain will automatically perform LOD blurring on the areas outside the focus, saving brainpower.
In such situations, when the brain deliberately ignores the details of the environment, the tiny green light on the button, which can be caught by peripheral vision, stands out conspicuously against a backdrop of pure colors automatically processed by the brain. Attention is instantly captured.
Everything was a natural and perfectly designed outcome.
There are no overly flashy UI effects that fill the screen, nor are there any blatant black overlays that force players' attention to a particular area.
Instead, it unfolds naturally and gently, like softly telling a bedtime story to a baby, tenderly conveying what the designer is trying to express.
Ron decisively tried clicking the button in the upper left corner.
The entire board did indeed move to one side, revealing the space inside.
Just like the water ripples on the Dimensional Imager, this content is actually created using tile animation.
Essentially, it's like an animated GIF or video placed in a PowerPoint presentation.
As long as the lighting, textures, and occlusion effects are adjusted well enough, the player's naked eye will not be able to detect any problems.
The panel opens, revealing a two-digit mechanism.
Each number has an up/down adjustment button; pressing it will change the displayed information.
The number above is currently at [67]. Corresponding to what was just written on the paper, it is indeed the [turbulence pool].
Recalling the three sets of numbers he had just seen, Ron tried adjusting them to 40, then returned to the imager and clicked the button again.
Sure enough, the original water surface disappeared, replaced by a sand table-like topographical map that kept rotating on the screen.
Ron's eyes lit up.
That's interesting...
It's not that this thing helped him solve any puzzles.
His simple joy and interest stemmed entirely from this... excitement of exploration.
Turning your guesses into reality, you feel the world constantly responding to you.
This feeling of constantly discovering new surprises is what truly excites him.
It was as if he had truly traveled to the world of the Myst, truly arrived at this basement, and used his own intellect to uncover how to use the " Dimensional Imager."
This is indeed... very Adventure.
Thinking about this, Ron pursed his lips. He had to admit that this short opening paragraph had given him an " Adventure experience" he had never had before.
This is something that even those overhyped Adventure games can't achieve.
So far, no story has emerged, not even a single person has appeared.
The game didn't tell him what to do, nor did it provide any explicit guidance or tutorials.
But it gave him an indescribable sense of immersion.
Ron excitedly returned to the panel and adjusted the number to [47].
Restart the imager.
The image above changed again.
Everything aligns with my intuition!
This time, the content seems to be... a mechanism.
On the two-tiered stone base, there was a switch that looked like a button.
Judging from its name, this thing must be a clue to some puzzle! "Fuck!"
Ron suddenly cursed for no reason.
He felt a bit smug.
It's a complete sense of comfort emanating from the brain.
It was the kind of seemingly aimless, yet intricately interconnected and extremely tight game design that brought him mental pleasure.
The thrill of discovering the Dimensional Imaging Instrument hadn't even fully faded when a brand new clue suddenly popped up like a hook.
He has an impulse right now.
That means we need to find this mechanism on the island as soon as possible!
He wanted to figure out what it was for, and to explore how many more surprises this mysterious island held.
And as soon as he came out, Ron immediately found what he was looking for.
The mechanism is exactly the same as the one on the imaging device.
However... there's more than one such switch on this island. There are at least two within my sight alone.
It's not a button, but a gate similar to a knife switch.
Almost without any extra thought, Ron was quickly drawn to this ingenious new clue.
Regardless, let's try to find them all and pull them apart!
Meanwhile, every player watching this game on television is experiencing an Adventure that is either similar to or completely different from that of others.
Some players might not have discovered the basement with the imaging device at the start of the game, but instead arrived at the generator room first.
Some people might be studying the mechanisms on the high ground, the dilapidated well in the square...
Every scene is meticulously designed, yet it avoids overwhelming the viewer with information.
It seems to possess a peculiar magic, constantly drawing everyone to explore further.
Some people don't even bother solving the mystery; they just wander aimlessly around the island, simply to appreciate the unique landscape of this strange world.
A digital alternate world that exists entirely in the electronic world, a magnificent scene where you can stroll around simply by sitting in front of the TV and eating snacks.
It's just too wonderful.