Hidden Object Games

Hi everyone,

Looks like we need to revive this area a bit. So I thought about the above topic. This will be more of a fun debate but still, it's a good one to go around.

As some may know, I am a huge fan of time management games so I know which ones are good vs. which ones are disappointments. However, the trend for popular games has turned to hidden object games or more commonly known among gamers as HOGs. (Among gamers, time management games are called TMs.) The name speaks for itself but basically, in HOGs, the player searches for hidden objects in the game and there are puzzles to solve. Some popular HOGs include the Dream Chronicles series and Nightshift Code. Although I am not usually a huge fan of HOGs, I tried out the Nightshift Code sometime back since it was on sale on Playfirst and ended up really liking it. Not only does the player search for objects, he/she also has to solve puzzles, decipher codes, etc.

So here's the debate. I'd like to know why HOGs are popular in people's opinion. I've observed that Big Fish Games carries a lot of these types of games around now. Some have complained that there are too many HOGs and not enough TMs or other types of games on the market. I'm partial to TMs but HOGs are cool, too.

So any thoughts, opinions on this topic?

im a big fan of HOG's mixed with adventure like the MCF series and Mortimer Becket. im into slow games like this. im the opposite of you PG i sometimes don't like TM its hard for me, i go more with slow type games.

Personally, I like TMs more than HOGs. TMs are more fun to play plus they have more graphics and types of playing. I admit that sometimes I get annoyed that every game has the same typical type of gaming like, 'Choose your level, play it, choose upgrades until the end.' It makes it somewhat boring. But overall, I love TMs because of the graphics. ^^

I am not a huge fan of HOGs, though. I admit they are fun to play but with my weak vision, it's hard to play. lol One of the HOGs I really liked, though, is Murder Women Club. It was very fun to play and the puzzles were really awesome. Also, I liked that the dead women pics (What do you think? It's called Murder Women Club!) weren't too scary or too fake. They looked real and in the same time not violent. I really loved that game. ^^

i really liked that game too, the graphics are really great, everything connecting with a Chinese organization right. its a really good game.

I think TM is more better a game than HOG I think since it needs you to think of the strategy and reflexes.

Well, of course since I'm making a TM game, I should stick to TM

I like TM games more ^^ HOGs maybe fun at first because finding the objects are tricky but after a while it can be frustrating or boring after you failed to find something for the X-th time. Same goes for TM games about the failing the objective part, but TM games are more fun as it requires some sort of strategy to reach your goal where HOG sometime is a bit random, you can be staring at the very object you were finding and not know what it is. xD happen to me several times.

@Love:

I know what you mean about HOGs and vision. My vision is pretty good but for me, I just don't have the patience sometimes to search for all of those hidden objects.

@Kinn:

Yup, yup, I agree with you there. I love TMs because they require fast reflexes and I can react pretty quickly.

I do like HOGs if they have a good story as well, I loved Ravenhurst was generally creeped out by it Mystery Case Files combines humour and adventure. I guess the appeal for me is in the searching, and the rewarding feeling I get for finding them, often they lack the intensity of TMs because for me the time allowances are very generous but I feel I'm using my brain more or a different part with the HOGs rather than the blind panic I feel with the TMs

@Lily
yeah, i feel the same way too. i like use my brain more on HOG's because some of the games has puzzle after the end of a chapter or something like that. for me MCF has the best story line of HOG's, if nancy drew was also a HOG it would beat the story line of MCF, but i more think Nancy Drew is a adventure game.

@Aya, Yep the mini games really add something to it, have you played Ravenhurst? The part where you have to solve the puzzle to undo the locks are really quite challenging, infact those were my favourite parts of the game

well i still didn't play the two ravenhurst, i first played Madame Fate and got curious about the story lines and played the first till the next, and now i will buy rven hurst when i get more money for online surveying.