Interesting... the very first time I played the demo, I almost thought the helmet wasn't interactive. But not because it needed a highlight, it was because I kept trying to interact with it and nothing was happening. I think I also died. In the end, it took some wiggling around to find the sweet spot that would let me pick it up. On further playthroughs I had no problem. But visually, it definitely stood out enough that I noticed it as unusual. I just think it's a little silly to put a big highlight on a button that already has a flashing light on it. lol And your game has such incredible mood and atmosphere that I hate anything that disturbs it. But I get your point.
But my thoughts should probably be taken with a grain of salt. I am one of those weirdos who think Metroid 2 on the original Gameboy is the best of the original trilogy and that Super Metroid is grossly overrated. I also LOVED the fact that I had to make my own map for Metroid 1 with graph paper and colored pencils! Back then, that was VALUE to have a game world that complex! lol
Yeah well.. I just recently saw it happen again in a playthrough. (it ended at the helmet)
I thought the helmet flashing white would be enough but it does not seem to be.
I'm fine with people running outside once or twice and dying (and I kinda want them to, to be honest) but when the playthroughs start ending there then we have a problem.
As for "wiggling around to find the sweet spot", maybe I need to take another look at the helmet hitbox and increase it's size a bit.
In any case, "interactable object outlines" is now a gameplay option and it is enabled by default, for now.
I mean, I haven't played Metroid 2 but I'm pretty sure it would not be higher than Super Metroid on my list. ;)
As for making your own map, this is one reason why I added placeable map markers, so you can leave clues for yourself.
You're obviously not making the actual map yourself, but it is, in a sense, part of that.
LOL I'm definitely NOT advocating for hand drawn maps! I just pointed that out because I routinely see it flogged as a "design flaw" by youtubers who clearly did not play the game in the context of when it was originally released.
Yeah, I dunno what to tell you if people STILL aren't realizing they need to interact with the helmet. But I like the way you have it set up. You either learn that you should try to interact with anything that looks out of place or unusual, or you die.
I'm pretty sure I've said this before, but the thing I'm loving about this game (besides the awesome creepy ambience) is how I keep finding myself in that classic Metroid situation of feeling like I've gone everywhere I can access and don't know where I'm supposed to go next, so I retrace my steps more carefully and have that euphoric moment when I discover the hidden thing I had overlooked that lets me progress. I think that is super good design for this kind of game.
Seems like exploration tends to get sidelined in favor of monster fights in Metroidvanias these days.
Yeah, actually forcing the player to draw the map themselves is probably a bit too much for this day and age...
Although, I think it might be kinda cool to make a smaller game where this is forced by integrating map drawing inside the game, just to see what would happen. (actually I might even do that at some point)
Yep, only a couple of days ago (maybe a week) I saw it happen again, this was being played on the demo so it only has the blinking helmet and no outlines but still..
And you could kinda say that the helmet is like the final part of the tutorial, if you can't figure this out then we know there's going to be problems ahead.
So, that feel you're talking about there is pretty much exactly what I want the game to be so I'm glad it's at least somewhat succeeding.
As for exploration getting sidelined in favor of fights, I'll be doing it the other way around, with the exception being bosses.