Baby Steps Punishes You In The Funniest Way If You Skip Too Many Cutscenes

The article discusses the game "Baby Steps," which punishes players who skip too many cutscenes. The developers, Gabe Cuzzillo, Maxi Boch, and Bennett Foddy, have designed the game to discourage players from skipping story cutscenes. If a player skips around 30 cutscenes, they will be treated to a 28-minute-long, meta-commentary-filled cutscene that features the game's protagonist, Nate, and a donkey-human hybrid character, Moose, voiced by Foddy. The cutscene is a shaggy dog story, with the characters discussing various topics, such as their interest in Naughty Dog's next game and their favorite fictional clowns. The developers use this extended cutscene to spotlight their voicework and to "shame" players for missing out on the story. The article suggests that the game's developers are addressing the ongoing debate about the role of non-interactive cinematics in interactive media, and they are using this extended cutscene as a way to highlight the importance of the game's story and the player's engagement with it.