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Garden_Ninja

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Collection Missions That Don't Completely Suck

I don't have anything against Collection Missions in theory, but they are rarely implemented well.  Usually, you are searching blind.  Items are often off the beaten path, or outright hidden.  
 
Most of the below games still have issues in the implementation.  They aren't perfect; they just don't completely suck.  
There are several small things that can improve Collection Missions. These aren't a silver bullet. Depending on other details, the implementation as a whole may still be terrible. As a general rule, you need more than one of these.

  • Items are out in the open
  • Have a lot of items
  • Make collecting the items fun on their own
  • Make them (at least partially) optional
  • Collecting items give you something meaningful in the game (no, achievements are not sufficient.  If the only reason to collect all the items is to get an achievement, then your implementation sucks)
  • The game tells you how many items are left by level (or sector, in an open world game)
  • There is a clue (a sound, a visual effect) when you are near an item
 
The better implementations will actually display your progress on your map.  (Implementations that go this route often also include details from the list above.)  This can be implemented a couple of ways .
  • Mark where you found the item
  • Mark all items on the map and remove the marker when you find one (sometimes, this type of implementation requires you to buy in-game maps before items get marked.  This is fine, so long as the maps aren't expensive in terms of in-game currency).

List items

  • Diamond (the in game currency) can be gotten from missions, or found in cases (~200 total). These cases are all fitted with tracking devices, which allows you to find them with your GPS. Once you find them, the location is marked on your map. I believe the GPS mechanism works for Jackal and Predecessor tapes as well.

  • There are 500 agility orbs total. They are all over the place, in the open. They increase your agility experience, but not all of them are required to max it out. There is also have a distinctive sound when one is nearby. Hidden orbs are hidden, obviously, but they still give experience.

  • Most Spiderman games have gotten this wrong. There are always tokens, but they are well hidden, and have do anything meaningful. However, in Web of Shadows, there are 2000 spider tokens total; they are out in the open; and collecting them boosts your powers. After collecting the first 1000, the remaining ones show up on your mini-map and are removed as collect them.

  • When you beat the game, your get a message that says your Radar (mini-map) has been upgraded, so that collectibles will show up on it. I didn't play it after that, so I don't know how well this is implemented.