RPG Studying...
by Kevin Mitchell · 03/29/2012 (6:17 am) · 10 comments
Resonance of Fate:
This game seemed to catch me at the intro but shortly after starting the actual game I've gather some what of a I'll taste in my mouth from the following:
Pros:
Nice intro with something of an emotion jerking experience.
Cons:
The colors used in the game are all washed and lacking of color and feeling.
The work looks dead.
Complicated battle system with only a in book tutorial where buying a used game can leave the player dying and stuck in the game before finding the training arena some where out side of town.
Final Fantasy 13-2:
While the first game fell into the deepest darkest corner of my closet I have heard better things about this game and have once again made an investment.
Pros:
The music keeps you moving and bobbing you head as you move through maps. It defiantly Does not seem to make the mind bore or wonder after some time.
While the battle system was carried over there were several thing I liked that was added. Mostly a use for sentinel class where you did not have to be forced to pay the price of damage to get it more protection.
Customization of Creatures, while this seemed to start on a slow path because of the limited area to play in the different assortment and different mixes you could do to make your ultimate beast added a better user controlled gaming experience.
Magic with no MP bar, this was one aspect that I have really come to enjoy from this game. Having a love for magic, I usually find it extremely hard to play magic roles in some games as most of the game gears the experience to Melee roles and though mage roles are sometimes strong they find themselves constantly running away to gain MP back or resting a large amount of time to gain it all back. This experience as a mage was more evenly balanced than most games I've ever seen leaving the ability to enjoy both roles and not being forced to switch because the boss or mob has 100% resistive properties to magic.
Cons:
While the work was more open the game still felt caged as their were limited areas you could venture to and the same feel that everything, including side quest were linear.
The Casino area, while it was there for entertainment there were not many places to go to have fun. The slot machines seemed rigged with the same patterns seen over and over again. And the Chocobo races though fun left the feel of a resting and entertaining area lacking.
Skyrim:
After waiting a long time and pushing through 10 billion arrow jokes I finally decided to play this title.
While there are a ton of pro's in this game there are certain elements that make the RPG experience full.
Pros:
Open world roaming. Unlike sandbox games where you can go anywhere and have nothing happen, this game has it where you can go anywhere and do anything. The number of quest appear infinite and the unique individual stories keep you wanting more.
The monsters are straight from the old lore books that bring the feel of fantasy to more reality.
The reminder that you are not a super human. Though you level and grind you still have the feeling that at any time you will be murdered horribly which makes dungeon venturing more tense and suspense full.
Cons:
The targeting system is none existent. Making things like magic and archery near pointless.
Music. While you mostly hear it in towns and during events sometimes the lack of music makes me fall asleep during long journeys.
Over all I have seen a lot of techniques that makes some of the leading winners thrive in the RPG business. I hope to take these elements in mind to make something that players of the many come to enjoy my game and not just bore them after five minutes of play.
This game seemed to catch me at the intro but shortly after starting the actual game I've gather some what of a I'll taste in my mouth from the following:
Pros:
Nice intro with something of an emotion jerking experience.
Cons:
The colors used in the game are all washed and lacking of color and feeling.
The work looks dead.
Complicated battle system with only a in book tutorial where buying a used game can leave the player dying and stuck in the game before finding the training arena some where out side of town.
Final Fantasy 13-2:
While the first game fell into the deepest darkest corner of my closet I have heard better things about this game and have once again made an investment.
Pros:
The music keeps you moving and bobbing you head as you move through maps. It defiantly Does not seem to make the mind bore or wonder after some time.
While the battle system was carried over there were several thing I liked that was added. Mostly a use for sentinel class where you did not have to be forced to pay the price of damage to get it more protection.
Customization of Creatures, while this seemed to start on a slow path because of the limited area to play in the different assortment and different mixes you could do to make your ultimate beast added a better user controlled gaming experience.
Magic with no MP bar, this was one aspect that I have really come to enjoy from this game. Having a love for magic, I usually find it extremely hard to play magic roles in some games as most of the game gears the experience to Melee roles and though mage roles are sometimes strong they find themselves constantly running away to gain MP back or resting a large amount of time to gain it all back. This experience as a mage was more evenly balanced than most games I've ever seen leaving the ability to enjoy both roles and not being forced to switch because the boss or mob has 100% resistive properties to magic.
Cons:
While the work was more open the game still felt caged as their were limited areas you could venture to and the same feel that everything, including side quest were linear.
The Casino area, while it was there for entertainment there were not many places to go to have fun. The slot machines seemed rigged with the same patterns seen over and over again. And the Chocobo races though fun left the feel of a resting and entertaining area lacking.
Skyrim:
After waiting a long time and pushing through 10 billion arrow jokes I finally decided to play this title.
While there are a ton of pro's in this game there are certain elements that make the RPG experience full.
Pros:
Open world roaming. Unlike sandbox games where you can go anywhere and have nothing happen, this game has it where you can go anywhere and do anything. The number of quest appear infinite and the unique individual stories keep you wanting more.
The monsters are straight from the old lore books that bring the feel of fantasy to more reality.
The reminder that you are not a super human. Though you level and grind you still have the feeling that at any time you will be murdered horribly which makes dungeon venturing more tense and suspense full.
Cons:
The targeting system is none existent. Making things like magic and archery near pointless.
Music. While you mostly hear it in towns and during events sometimes the lack of music makes me fall asleep during long journeys.
Over all I have seen a lot of techniques that makes some of the leading winners thrive in the RPG business. I hope to take these elements in mind to make something that players of the many come to enjoy my game and not just bore them after five minutes of play.
About the author
Riding Solo since 2005. Current Project: Fated World 2005-Present RPG Engine Tool Kit - Now available.
#2
Some hints of things I enjoy:
1. Freedom of movement (Morrowind and Oblivion are excellent for this.)
2. Non-linear play (Allow total freedom to follow or not follow quest lines.)
3. Progression by skill usage (Obviously biased toward the TES series)
4. Role choice.
Things I detest:
1. No variation in game solutions, can only be completed one way.
2. Inconsistent rules (Ex: In Fable 1 you cannot bring bandits into the town by the guild hall. You also cannot lead your wife out of town.)
3. Non-customizable equipment.
4. Predefined roles with no variability.
Most RPGs do not fully understand the pen and paper tradition of RPGs. The idea is that you play a "role" of your choice. Final Fantasy chooses a role for you. Now I really liked the FFX and FFX-2. However, there was no choice in role and was very linear up to a certain point. Which is fine, as they had a very compelling story line. However, Morrowind also had a compelling story line and allowed a lot more freedom of the role you choose. Hence Morrowind is a lot more replayable without mods. Now with mods that is a completely different story...mods breath life into games forever. The TES series and HL series are great examples of that. An example of role for Morrowind is doing something like this:
1. Don't do any quests and build up your character so it can survive in Solthsiem. Then do the Werewolf quests and get Hircine's ring. Then do all of the Morag Tang assassination quests AS a werewolf.
2. Build a character with high charisma, illusion, and get the character to be good at calm humanoid. Then become a vampire. Travel to caves and fortresses and use your magic to befriend and feed off of bandits without killing them.
3. Solve the main quest while still remaining level 1.
This type of role playing is just not possible in a lot of games. However, not every player is going to want that. Some people are so turned off by that much openness in a game because they are looking for direction. IE, they tend to be sheep. So, a role playing game for the masses may have to balance those two worlds by using predefined characters, and also providing class customization. Oblivion tried to balance those 2 worlds by having quest indicators. Which I think is a good compromise.
FFX did allow role variability at higher levels of progression. That was a good move. Also FFX-2 provided this as well. However, the game itself made you to be 1 character for the most part. So not as open as the TES series.
@Richard,
Is magic as underpowered in Skyrim as it was in Oblivion? Or did they fix that? I always ended up using mods due to that.
03/29/2012 (2:00 pm)
@Kevin,Some hints of things I enjoy:
1. Freedom of movement (Morrowind and Oblivion are excellent for this.)
2. Non-linear play (Allow total freedom to follow or not follow quest lines.)
3. Progression by skill usage (Obviously biased toward the TES series)
4. Role choice.
Things I detest:
1. No variation in game solutions, can only be completed one way.
2. Inconsistent rules (Ex: In Fable 1 you cannot bring bandits into the town by the guild hall. You also cannot lead your wife out of town.)
3. Non-customizable equipment.
4. Predefined roles with no variability.
Most RPGs do not fully understand the pen and paper tradition of RPGs. The idea is that you play a "role" of your choice. Final Fantasy chooses a role for you. Now I really liked the FFX and FFX-2. However, there was no choice in role and was very linear up to a certain point. Which is fine, as they had a very compelling story line. However, Morrowind also had a compelling story line and allowed a lot more freedom of the role you choose. Hence Morrowind is a lot more replayable without mods. Now with mods that is a completely different story...mods breath life into games forever. The TES series and HL series are great examples of that. An example of role for Morrowind is doing something like this:
1. Don't do any quests and build up your character so it can survive in Solthsiem. Then do the Werewolf quests and get Hircine's ring. Then do all of the Morag Tang assassination quests AS a werewolf.
2. Build a character with high charisma, illusion, and get the character to be good at calm humanoid. Then become a vampire. Travel to caves and fortresses and use your magic to befriend and feed off of bandits without killing them.
3. Solve the main quest while still remaining level 1.
This type of role playing is just not possible in a lot of games. However, not every player is going to want that. Some people are so turned off by that much openness in a game because they are looking for direction. IE, they tend to be sheep. So, a role playing game for the masses may have to balance those two worlds by using predefined characters, and also providing class customization. Oblivion tried to balance those 2 worlds by having quest indicators. Which I think is a good compromise.
FFX did allow role variability at higher levels of progression. That was a good move. Also FFX-2 provided this as well. However, the game itself made you to be 1 character for the most part. So not as open as the TES series.
@Richard,
Is magic as underpowered in Skyrim as it was in Oblivion? Or did they fix that? I always ended up using mods due to that.
#3
@Frank - Magic is awesome in Skyrim... Once you have the right perks. Some of the perks are so good you almost can't do without them, but they're in a school that you have no points in. for example there's a "quiet casting" perk but it's in the illusion school, so you can't really fire off stealth-fireballs. Healing spells also replace your stamina with the right perk in the restoration school. Destruction is king though. And yes, they are much better than in Oblivion and Morrowind. Still no levitate, mark/recall. Still no Almsivi/Divine Intervention.
@Kevin - I'm with Richard on the archery front. I constantly get massive sneak attack criticals with my trusty bow. The trajectory is weird though. After a certain distance you actually need to aim below the target rather than above. I passed each of Angi's challenges first go, which is no mean feat. Also, now that we have kill cams with archery I'm getting to watch a lot of Fallout 3 style (slow-mo) kill shots. Ah, that never gets old.
03/29/2012 (3:18 pm)
Kevin, if you get half those things into your game I'll be very happy indeed!@Frank - Magic is awesome in Skyrim... Once you have the right perks. Some of the perks are so good you almost can't do without them, but they're in a school that you have no points in. for example there's a "quiet casting" perk but it's in the illusion school, so you can't really fire off stealth-fireballs. Healing spells also replace your stamina with the right perk in the restoration school. Destruction is king though. And yes, they are much better than in Oblivion and Morrowind. Still no levitate, mark/recall. Still no Almsivi/Divine Intervention.
@Kevin - I'm with Richard on the archery front. I constantly get massive sneak attack criticals with my trusty bow. The trajectory is weird though. After a certain distance you actually need to aim below the target rather than above. I passed each of Angi's challenges first go, which is no mean feat. Also, now that we have kill cams with archery I'm getting to watch a lot of Fallout 3 style (slow-mo) kill shots. Ah, that never gets old.
#4
03/30/2012 (6:21 am)
@Frank - I don't rely on magic that much in any of those games. I use a unified approach to combat with buffs, some opening damage dealing at range using bows or magic, then throw on the "cloak" damage spells and wade in with melee. Heals after. Most of the magic doesn't reach maximum potential until you crank out the talent tree in a direction that suits you, but some of it is pretty impressive as you get deeper into the trees. 
#5
Good luck. My approach to creativity is always to take in as many contemporary influences as possible. It's a good idea!
03/31/2012 (8:11 am)
I liked your look at Final Fantasy 13-2. I just recently found out about that game, and having finished 13-1 last year, I was sort of meh over whether to pick it up. I'll have to take a look if it is as good as you say it is. I seem to remember 13 kind of picking up near the end, but I never felt the story was hitting its stride, too much backstory.Good luck. My approach to creativity is always to take in as many contemporary influences as possible. It's a good idea!
#6
Thanks for the info on Skyrim. I am always interested in the role playing of any RPG. It sounds like they worked hard on making magic more effective.
The one thing I loved about Morrowind was the enchantment hacking you could do. Weapons that have logarithmic effects. Stuff like that added a lot of new play options. You could take out bigger foes sooner if you worked smart rather than just level grinding. I will have to pick up Skyrim at some point. Not now, too busy with other stuff!
@Kevin,
Another thing you could consider is hidden abilities. Abilities that require mastery in different skill bases. Like fighting and healing. Maybe once someone masters these 2 they can absorb health on strike. Maybe not the best example, but could be interesting.
03/31/2012 (2:31 pm)
@Dan and @Richard,Thanks for the info on Skyrim. I am always interested in the role playing of any RPG. It sounds like they worked hard on making magic more effective.
The one thing I loved about Morrowind was the enchantment hacking you could do. Weapons that have logarithmic effects. Stuff like that added a lot of new play options. You could take out bigger foes sooner if you worked smart rather than just level grinding. I will have to pick up Skyrim at some point. Not now, too busy with other stuff!
@Kevin,
Another thing you could consider is hidden abilities. Abilities that require mastery in different skill bases. Like fighting and healing. Maybe once someone masters these 2 they can absorb health on strike. Maybe not the best example, but could be interesting.
#7
04/01/2012 (4:18 am)
There are a lot of things I'm considering but I must remember theres a line between features and releasing a game. I also do not want to add too much at one time. One thing I've seen game companies do is release one game with some of the features and then expand the feature more and more with every new game release. More likely because of the underlining fact that they might work on a short life development cycle. Kind of like more MMO's I believe that's a good example of a short life development cycle. 
#8
04/01/2012 (8:28 am)
Good to see there are other people too that appreciate good ol' Morrowind! I personally think that Oblivion is the weakest one in the latest three, and Skyrim is somewhere between Morrowind and Oblivion. I didn't like Skyrim so much because of the oversimplified RPG mechanics, like the lack of classes.
#9
I like to think in terms of skill synergies. If you can use 3 lower-level skills in a creative fashion to gain an advantage over using a single brute force skill approach you've got a winner. Just like my ranged/magic-buff/melee approach, you can take great advantage of weakening your opponent as they close, cast strength and ambient damage spells on yourself/debuff the enemy, then use melee to finish them off while they burn from the ambient damage spells at the same time.
Also, Skyrim adds the ability to utilize some environmental situations in combat as well. Not a new idea, but a good one.
04/04/2012 (8:56 am)
I agree about Morrowind - it was my favorite Elder Scrolls.I like to think in terms of skill synergies. If you can use 3 lower-level skills in a creative fashion to gain an advantage over using a single brute force skill approach you've got a winner. Just like my ranged/magic-buff/melee approach, you can take great advantage of weakening your opponent as they close, cast strength and ambient damage spells on yourself/debuff the enemy, then use melee to finish them off while they burn from the ambient damage spells at the same time.
Also, Skyrim adds the ability to utilize some environmental situations in combat as well. Not a new idea, but a good one.
#10
04/04/2012 (10:26 am)
Hehe... I sometimes play my warrior character (in Skyrim) with a shield and Spectral arrow. I block charge and send enemies flying off cliffs, castle walls, etc.. You don't even need a single weapon perk. Targe of the Blooded ftw! :D 
Torque Owner Richard Ranft
Roostertail Games
My characters in Elder Scrolls games always end up heavy armor, archery, restoration, destruction, sword 'n board, lockpicking fools. I diversify more after those are pretty well maxed out.