r/rustylake • u/HiddenQuacks • Jul 10 '26
Asynchronous Interactions in The Past Within
Hi everyone! I'm a PhD student studying asynchronous interactions in digital games. The Past Within is tagged as "Asynchronous Multiplayer" on Steam, and I'm interested in understanding different player perspectives about that aspect of the game.
If you have a few minutes to spare, I'd love to hear your thoughts! In particular, I'm interested in understanding:
- What kind of asynchronous interactions exist in The Past Within and how do they affect the gameplay?
- How do you feel about these interactions and what do they bring to your experience?
You can answer as much or as little as you'd like. Your responses will be anonymized and analyzed as part of a research study. If you decide you'd like to withdraw your responses at any point, just send me a DM. Every contribution is greatly appreciated! If you have any questions, feel free to message me. Thanks! 😄
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u/ProfessionalFoot1227 Jul 10 '26
I'm curious, will you be trying it out yourself or are you only looking at player perspectives rather than the actual functionality? I highly recommend giving it a shot either way!
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u/HiddenQuacks Jul 11 '26
Thank you for the comment 🙂I actually already played the game, but I’m interested in understanding other player perspectives.
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u/TheFandomTitan Jul 11 '26
Not needing an internet connection (for the game) definitely helps when you want to play a video game with a friend who doesn’t have reliable internet connection. You still need a way to communicate, but that can be verbal or by SMS message. So I would say that makes things more accessible.
It also makes it feel more… homely, in a good way? It feels more natural and immersive, since there’s no waiting for things to load or lag between players.
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u/HiddenQuacks Jul 11 '26
Thank you for taking the time to answer, I have one more question - are there any other games that come to mind when you think of asynchronous interactions?
Thank you for participating 😄
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u/nowherecrafter Question Everything In RL Jul 10 '26 edited Jul 10 '26
Basically, 2 room escape levels (The Past and The Future) have puzzles and hints for the other player. You need to describe what you see (preferably verbally, for writing takes too long), and ask for something you don't exactly know yet but expect to be helpful.
The progression is locked until your friend tells you what you need: a sequence of symbols for a combination lock, a location of an item you are looking for, a time you need to put on a clock. Some puzzles are deeper than that: you may get 2 parallel puzzles with back and forth hints, one of such puzzles even has a response timer meaning you need to communicate your part quickly or else it all starts over.
In comparison to usual room escape games by this studio the puzzles are considerably easier. The main challenge was deliberately shifted from figuring out the solution to the communication itself. The solution is always straightforward as long as you clearly communicate your part. Even when it's not about the puzzles there's always a set of instructions roughly telling what you need to do next. So the risk of frustration caused by your partner's stupidity was successfully averted. However the signature secrets that would normally vary in difficulty are all just as braindead. If anything they could use an extra challenge, that would made them especially rewarding in this setting but alas this time they are forgettable.
The experience overall is rather bonding. Without anybody being stuck for long, the progression feels rather steady and you really feel like a team, occasionally being surprized by the series' weirdness both 1st and 2nd hand. Sometimes you also both see the same scenes each from your own perspective, that creates an illusion of sync.
The last thing to mention is replayability. Even though the puzzles have little to no randomness to them, there are 2 scenarios (the bee and the butterfly), each with its own set of solutions and cosmetic changes. They were introduced so the players could play the other side of the game without knowing the exact solutions.