Situational Game Design, and how to fix it - Pikmin 3 Deluxe: Day 3

[@Fungo4]

Your point kind of meanders a bit, but I think you hit the nail on the head early on with the phrase "electric-shaped keyholes". You don't want your game mechanics to be simple keys to locks, when they could be more useful mechanics like you described (the idea of abilities being outclassed or not useful is kind of a whole separate issue). They kinda did better in Pikmin 4 where "weaker" pikmin like ice and glows will drastically scale up in power the more you have, though that's where balancing begins to become an important issue. I'd compare yellow pikmin to white, where they both get you past some hazard gate, but it lends itself uniquely to battle for the white in poisoning enemies while doing little for the yellow. Maybe if their static electricity could ever so slightly slow down enemies for each one attacking...?

[@arsans_]

@@Fungo4 I think in the case of Pikmin, having simple keyholes and locks can be okay since a lot of the strategy with Pikmin is managing your squad. A really good example of this was that one puzzle in Pikmin 1 where you needed all three types of Pikmin to get a ship part and the challenge was actually getting your Pikmin where they needed to be. The actual use of yellow and blue Pikmin was rather basic, just throwing a pikmin on a high ledge or breaking a geyser that was submerged in water. Although I think stuff like that is okay in the context of Pikmin, I certainly think it can be improved so that you would consider bringing other types of Pikmin with you when just exploring. Your idea for Yellow Pikmin in combat is pretty cool and interesting though it then becomes a challenge of making it feel distinct and not just a worse Ice Pikmin. Though a lot of other games struggle with lock and key mechanics or mechanics that just aren’t useful so they need to be forced upon the player (which is what I was trying to get at).