Games That Reward The Player For Experimenting

I'm not talking about easter eggs so much, but more when you think of something out of the ordinary and you get a small "prize" from the developers for thinking out of the box and experimenting.

My personal nomination would be Metal Gear Solid and here are some examples why...

• Continuously calling someone on the codec and their response will change. Mei Ling for example, will become annoyed and stick her tongue out.
• Attack Meryl in front of the pups and they will defend her. Attack her and hide in a box will cause them to pee on you.
• Attack Meryl after she's incapacitated by Sniper Wolf and you will get angry responses via the codec.
• Knock on the wall in the holding cell and the guard will become verbally agitated.

There's way too many to list here but you get the idea. Another game that does this well is the X-Files (1998 Interactive, point and click, PC game). Use items from your inventory in an illogical way and you will get some pretty funny responses. Anyways, please share some games and examples with me.

I should also mention I'm looking to try some new games that relate to this post so if anyone has some suggestions it would be greatly appreciated.

The MGS games are heavy with this, as you mentioned. I dunno, what you're describing really sound like easter eggs to me (i.e. there's no tangible reward in-game for doing them and they are just included for humor, mostly). I loved that X-Files game, BTW.

Lifeline: There are some bonus responses when you say certain phrases to Rio over the mic.

The look on Sessler's face was priceless.

-Byshop

Metal Gear Solid games are filled with those, never disappoints with the depth of content put into the game.

Metal Slug games, they have a lot of stuff to discover. One cool 'easter egg' would be certain POWs once rescued, they start following you throughout the level & assist you with throwing hadoukens.

Sounds like Kojoma is the master of Filling Possibility Space.

@Byshop: Thanks for reminding me about Lifeline. I had a demo of that game but never got to try it because I didn't have the mic.

Maybe most people consider my examples easter eggs. I just consider it in-depth game development. Most of my examples are humorous (which is why they might be considered easter eggs) but in other cases it can be serious too. Have you ever played a game where you shoot your AI partner and they give no reaction? They don't even have an animation, loss of health, the projectile just ghosts through them? This is a very serious thing you just did and there should be implications! But in other games shooting your partner will cause them to become hostile or die. This is an underwhelming example of what I'm looking for, games where off-course decisions have reactions.

@tatman87: I totally get what you're saying. All the little attention to detail that some games put in that help make it seem like you're in the world that the game creates rather than just playing a video game are the things I love. Most games don't really accomplish this through choice so much as exploration. If we broaden the definition to include games that reward exploration, then there are a ton that have very fully realized worlds where the player is rewarded with additional depth of the experience for going off the beaten path. Most of the open world type AAA games like Skyrim or Witcher 3 have an incredible amount of detail built into their worlds. The original Fallout games, and even the Bethesda 3D versions, are also pretty good examples.

Immersion is very important to me as well. Artificial boundaries or a lack of simulation of basic real world elements (like friendly fire) can easily take me out of the experience.

-Byshop

Only Resident Evil 4 comes to mind right now, when Ashley climbs ladders...

If i found that Doom secret area in Rage on my own then that would be pretty cool, although it`s more of an easter egg. There must be games where i found something by experimenting but just can`t think of anything right now.

Recent games that come to mind are Bastion and Transistor

Crysis 1

Game is all about experimentation when you're low on ammo.

As everyone else has said MGS is definitely the best example around, but I suppose Dark Souls games let you experiment to find shortcuts, hidden items, or just experimenting with equipment and sometimes you can find a serious upgrade to a weapon or combo of weapons

I think the Sims loosely fits the criteria. That game has a lot of conditions that can change the experience drastically, especially if you play the expansions. But I'm not sure simulation games should count here since that opens the doors to experimentation of another type. As Byshop pointed out, some games make up for it in vast exploration rather than rewarding little tidbits.

This post has strengthened my love for Metal Gear though. Makes me realize just how much detail goes into that series. I hope kojima and Del Toro still partner for a project, preferably a video game!