notes (spoiler warning)

[Golem]

https://twitter.com/search?l=&q=Killer7 ... v&src=typd

#Killer7 has lock-on aiming, but encourages you to adjust the aim to hit a weak spot. Reminds me of #FederationForce.

In chapter 1, the garden has enemies that laugh while outside your range. Only Kaede can hit them from so far away. The room also requires her special ability.

Cleared chapter 2. Lots of open space. Enemies don't really hide out of the way, but I was always on edge. Hard to be certain when they're invisible.
-When I say "out of the way," I mean behind or beside you. They generally (always?) spawn in your field of vision without turning.

Your shots hit enemies extremely quickly, if not immediately (hit scan). That means you do not have to lead your shots. Space does not differentiate how you interact with enemies; it only differentiates how much time you have left to kill them.

Enemies amble towards you, meaning there is limited time to kill each one. If projectiles moved through space, that would be a second timer: in addition to killing the enemy before it reaches you, you would have to lead your shot.
-This hones the challenge: mastering your character's aiming and mastering the enemy's behavior. No need to consider projectile behavior.
-Compare to #FederationForce, where you can really feel projectiles move through space. Space pirates can dodge your shots (and you, theirs). I definitely got up close in that game to ensure landing hits, especially when going for their weak spots.
-Also note that heaven smiles only damage you by touching you (so far, anyway--working on chapter 3 ATM). So, there's no timer for their attacks. It's just however long they take to reach you.
-Correction that laser smiles shoot a projectile, and there's a missile launcher smile in Smile part 2.

Aiming is a constant timer in #Killer7. Moving the cursor to the enemy takes time (although lock-on does most of this). Moving the cursor to the weak point takes time. Re-adjusting aim after shooting takes time. And if you haven't upgraded waver, time ruins your aim.
-"Re-adjusting aim after shooting takes time" - After shooting, recoil skews your aim. So, it takes time to reorient your aim.

A #Killer7 scoring system would find a balance between measuring thick blood and time: thick blood to measure how well you kill (more thick blood for higher accuracy) and time to penalize players who farm blood.

Mother smiles advance after you shoot them. If you just deal with their offspring, it can be hard to progress towards the mother (can't walk and shoot). Let the mother do the walking for you.

Ceramic smile turns away when you aim at it. Interplay between your enemy and your reticle, rather than your enemy and a bullet.

There's something about light in Encounter. The miniboss is vulnerable in light. You have to light up the pool. And Curtis Blackburn says he wanted to shine light on his life. I think it ties into "light" as in exposing his secret life, referenced by Travis.

Feedback on the Curtis Blackburn fight is inconsistent. The R button only does something if you hit it when a pigeon is flying away. Push it too early, nothing happens. Nothing says the game registered your input.

Just beat the boss of Alter Ego. Wondering if the outcome of each duel is predetermined.

#Killer7 makes each level an expression of its boss. Also see #MegaMan and #Psychonauts.

Alter Ego is the first chapter with warp points. All chapters have branching paths and backtracking, but this chapter has many items to collect which aren't required until the end.

In chapter 4, you eventually unlock a warp system. In chapter 5 part 1, the elevator is a warp to any floor, and you use it from the start.

Nothing is worse than hearing laughter in a tight hall, scanning for enemies... and seeing none.

Smile part 1 foreshadows the protagonists' death pretty hard in dialogue, but it ends with an abrupt conversation and nothing happening.

Each Vinculum Gate introduces a new enemy type in isolation. They do more damage than they do in subsequent appearances, killing you in one hit.

In Smile part 1, floors 2-7 are all based on the same layout, but each one has different enemy setups (and some rooms are sometimes there). Six variations on one level design idea!

The entrance to the Vinculum Gate is marked blue before you enter it.
-But each Harman's Room is marked independently.

Cleared #Killer7 on normal mode. Cool game. Heavy on the story at the end--no challenges in the hotel revisit at the end of Smile, and the smiles in Lion are trivial (you can lock onto and kill them as soon as they laugh).

Does your scanner stop working when you drop the Vision Ring? I didn't notice if that was the exact moment, but it would make sense.

Can Garcian always shoot smiles without scanning them? Or is that just in Lion?

[DanielPrimed]

According to a FAQ I read, that boss battle is predetermined.