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by jeep 04/24/2014, 11:32pm PDT |
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Jerry Whorebach wrote:
Here's my test to decide if I need to see a number: if the game didn't tell me I had a 16 instead of a 15 in Strength, would I be able to tell the difference just by playing for a little while? If the answer is yes, then I don't need to see the number. If the answer is no, then I really don't need to see the fucking number. The only point I can see to making it visible is so I can do the designer's job for him, by ~IMAGINING~ all the neat effects it could have on gameplay, if he actually bothered to implement any of them.
I'm convinced this is a low-hanging fruit deal from the 80s that just hasn't died out yet. If you look at that old Fallout game, it's a pseudo-conversion of gurps, where it's hugely narrowed from those encyclopedic rules. the pnp rpgs were themselves abstractions of doing stuff (I don't like to do stuff, so let's sit at a table and talk about it) and because they were paper-bound and systematic they were basically repurposed into design docs for computer programs, and so the games are an abstraction of an abstraction. It was lazy but computers didn't do much effectively besides multiplication then. The residual parts of the paper character sheet that show up in like skyrim or w/e are really holding bethesda's games back, they held alpha protocol back a little, they have weirdly little impact on mount and blade (and that sweet gekokujo mod). I think it's because there's so much other shit going on in that game, the character sheet only comes up every couple battles when you add 4 numbers and go back to slaughtering ronin from horseback or w/e.
I think the fix for someone who is stuck on pnp rpg thinking (like at bethesda) is to trace back each of the skills like lockpicking and just skip the number and go right to crafting a better in-engine non-minigame experience for "lockpicking." they're shitty minigames tacked on late in development now, and it would be better if it was a priority. just use the old engine and focus on that for one sequel, eliminate the character sheet altogether. of course then they'd have to design each dungeon and encounter so it could be dealt with using 3+ different skills and that seems like a lot of effort, or "deus ex hr". basically this kind of work is limited to companies that have massive resources, and most of them seem like they're busy doing other shit. maybe this unreal 4 deal will help?
icj seems like he's making a crpg, at which point I'd say just clone final fantasy tactics in all respects
If a game gives me the option, I will always choose to create my own characters.
same
hey I hope you played the hell out of "dragon's dogma dark arisen" on ps3, the first time you take on a cyclops or get fucked up by a baby dragon the whole rpgness of it just kind of goes away |
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Ohhhhhhhhhh boy by Ice Cream Jonsey 01/28/2014, 9:40pm PST 
The whole game is embarrassing, the spiders in the well are probably the peak by jeep 01/28/2014, 10:20pm PST
The whole game is embarrassing, the spiders in the well are probably the peak by John Gulp 01/29/2014, 6:32am PST
Is enemy level autoscaling the worst design possible? by Entropy Stew 01/29/2014, 9:04am PST
It felt like a lazy design choice by people who should know better. For unknown by RetroRomper 01/29/2014, 10:06am PST
No scaling in the full version by Lurker 410942 04/20/2014, 8:44pm PDT
Kinda wish there was some now by Lurker 410942 04/23/2014, 5:00am PDT
I'll never understand why developers insist on ruining perfectly good... by Jerry Whorebach 04/23/2014, 2:16pm PDT
I think this problem may speak to a perversion of the core concept. by Jerry Whorebach 04/23/2014, 6:38pm PDT
What's your ideal save system then? by Lurker 410942 05/28/2014, 5:31am PDT
This is like asking what my ideal health system is! by Jerry Whorebach 05/28/2014, 4:18pm PDT
I feel like you have a wealth of information regarding successful RPGs by Ice Cream Jonsey 04/24/2014, 7:39am PDT
Fuck it, some questions for Jerry. by Ice Cream Jonsey 04/24/2014, 3:58pm PDT
I don't think you should be taking RPG advice from a guy who doesn't play them. by Jerry Whorebach 04/24/2014, 9:06pm PDT
Re: I don't think you should be taking RPG advice by jeep 04/24/2014, 11:32pm PDT
I should've brought up Capcom vs. SNK instead of Marvel vs. Capcom 2 by Jerry Whorebach 05/27/2014, 4:41pm PDT
Re: Fuck it, some questions for Jerry. by Mischief Maker 04/25/2014, 2:09pm PDT
I'll understand if you don't want to argue RPGs with a shutin, but I have to try by Jerry Whorebach 04/25/2014, 4:46pm PDT
Characters are just classes with personalities. Think of Team Fortress 2. NT by Jerry Whorebach 04/25/2014, 4:55pm PDT
These replies have all been great. Still processing it all. Thanks, everyone. NT by Ice Cream Jonsey 04/25/2014, 5:47pm PDT
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