> > Half of the game is unlocking things, so if it bothers you that much just skip it.
>
> The whole fun of the game is actually being able to play the game with what the game advertises. When the game box says I can play with over 200 different cars, I want to be able to play with them right now, not after spending a week trying to beat every race at every difficulty level. I've already spent my $50. I want my money's worth.

And yet I wonder if Faux Pas gets annoyed when an action game advertises twenty levels but makes you play through the first nineteen before allowing you to play the twentieth. Should the designers simply give you an option to skip to any level immediately?

But I do understand where FP is coming from. I remember playing the first Gran Turismo and being bored out of my mind trying to get the stupid licenses to do the harder courses (the license tests basically required you to do inane tasks like "take this corner at speed X and don't wipe out" over and over and over).

I think there must be a balance somewhere. Unlocking secret items and new stuff is a reward for the person who's really into a game, and it helps keep things fresh and players interested. It's the same principle that Sam said lets RPGs work: you set up frustrations for the player and then remove them as the player progresses. The whole thing is incredibly artificial, but there is a genuine sense of accomplishment upon unlocking hidden stuff that's hard to explain.

The real trick, I think, is to make the game fun even while stuff is being unlocked. This is what's really tough. In a racing game like FP described, I'd suggest also including an exhibition mode where a greater sampling of the cars could be played for single races, but where you didn't get points or money or whatever that you'd get in the normal simulation mode. This lets more casual gamers just have fun without committing to the lengthy process of unlocking stuff. But I still think that it is beneficial to have the *really really* good stuff hidden.

Ste "I could go on about this for some time more..." phen