hoofprint-is-spooky:

The maps are too big. 

I’m serious, that’s a problem. Let’s say I want to collect 5 feathers. I go onto my map, and place a marker. Why use the map to place a marker? Because otherwise I’ll never find them, because the map is too big. 

It looks like I’m really close to this feather. Guess what, it’s 145 meters away. That’s about a minute of travel time. And when I get to the item, I just pick it up. Go back to my map, pick the next item 200+ meters away, and go back to collecting. 

And that’s it. 

I used to play a bundle of games on the PS1 and PS2, most of which where “collect the things” type games. In those, you would start the level, see a thing. Go over to the thing, turns out there is a challenge to get the thing. Complete the challenge, earn the thing. Takes 15 seconds to get to the thing, and about 1 minute+ to earn it. 

That’s the annoying part now. Taking time out of your main missions to drive/ run/ swim/ fly, to the item is how you earn it. No “What is the answer to this riddle. No Destroy the enemies guarding it. No “play this rhythm game for two minutes.” It’s “Get to the thing, and win.”

Which leads to a final conclusion. 

The collecting? It’s a chore now. Not a part of the game. It’s a method to fill an otherwise way to big game map with stuff to make it look like you’re doing a lot. There is no longer a reward, or incentive to collect things. In Spyro, you had to go and collect the Dragons to play the next level. In Crash you had to break the boxes to get the gems to open up the other missions. In Jak and Daxter you had to collect the Precursor orbs to get the Power Cells. In Ratchet and Clank you had to collect the bolts to get your guns. 

That’s not the case now. 

The maps are too big. Now the only problem is how long it takes to get from point A to point B.

That was one of the reasons old collectathons were good. Due to limitations, each map was fairly small and there were ways to travel quickly between maps. And when you needed something from one map to be in another map, it wasn’t some super arduous trek. It was more like solving a puzzle to open a fast door.