RPG Roundtable Part II with Jeff Vogel
RPG Roundtable Part II with Jeff Vogel
None - posted by Vault Dweller on Sat 24 January 2004, 02:52:32
Tags: Jeff VogelHere is more stuff. In case you missed part one, it's right here.
Dungeon Siege II designer: A more disconcerting ramification might be the simplification of the complex tactical combat of PC RPGs. Knights of the Old Republic was a step down from the Baldur's Gate series in terms of tactical complexity, and Morrowind offered fewer combat options than other RPGs. The entertainment value of an RPG for many players is based upon the interesting choices that combat presents them, and due to the lack of a mouse, it's difficult to manage a squad of characters simultaneously on a console the way you would on a PC.
Jeff Vogel: When I started writing my own little RPGs a decade ago, it was because we were in a drought in the genre, in the dark days before Fallout and Diablo. And, looking around, I think we're heading in that direction again in the single-player area. The sad shutdown of Black Isle is not a good sign. At least BioWare is still making good games with lightsabers. I wish there was a single-player game in the last year that really grabbed me in the way that say Baldur's Gate II did. But nothing new really got me excited (though I still need to play Knights of the Old Republic). Oh well. Maybe next year.
Some guy from Tilted Mill: While scripted events in games like Baldur's Gate and Fallout are cool, and provided strategy twists or holes to climb out, they don't compare to the emotion experienced in the first-person perspective. The level of personal satisfaction is not the same when I tactically resolve a battle in games like those two.
Playing the ASCII rogue-like ADOM made me realize what's missing for me is the world. I don't care too much about plot; RPGs are about the character I create defining the gameplay and the story within a well-defined, internally consistent world. It doesn't have to be big - a town or space station might be more than enough, but I don't want the world to be defined by or revolve around my character; rather, I want to feel it would exist even if I wasn't playing. At the same time, the actions I take need to matter and affect the world. Once there's an internally consistent and interesting world that I have freedom to approach in a variety of ways based on the character I create, any good plot, stories and characters are icing on the cake. Role-playing isn't about storytelling, it's about story creation.Discuss!
Dungeon Siege II designer: A more disconcerting ramification might be the simplification of the complex tactical combat of PC RPGs. Knights of the Old Republic was a step down from the Baldur's Gate series in terms of tactical complexity, and Morrowind offered fewer combat options than other RPGs. The entertainment value of an RPG for many players is based upon the interesting choices that combat presents them, and due to the lack of a mouse, it's difficult to manage a squad of characters simultaneously on a console the way you would on a PC.
Jeff Vogel: When I started writing my own little RPGs a decade ago, it was because we were in a drought in the genre, in the dark days before Fallout and Diablo. And, looking around, I think we're heading in that direction again in the single-player area. The sad shutdown of Black Isle is not a good sign. At least BioWare is still making good games with lightsabers. I wish there was a single-player game in the last year that really grabbed me in the way that say Baldur's Gate II did. But nothing new really got me excited (though I still need to play Knights of the Old Republic). Oh well. Maybe next year.
Some guy from Tilted Mill: While scripted events in games like Baldur's Gate and Fallout are cool, and provided strategy twists or holes to climb out, they don't compare to the emotion experienced in the first-person perspective. The level of personal satisfaction is not the same when I tactically resolve a battle in games like those two.
Playing the ASCII rogue-like ADOM made me realize what's missing for me is the world. I don't care too much about plot; RPGs are about the character I create defining the gameplay and the story within a well-defined, internally consistent world. It doesn't have to be big - a town or space station might be more than enough, but I don't want the world to be defined by or revolve around my character; rather, I want to feel it would exist even if I wasn't playing. At the same time, the actions I take need to matter and affect the world. Once there's an internally consistent and interesting world that I have freedom to approach in a variety of ways based on the character I create, any good plot, stories and characters are icing on the cake. Role-playing isn't about storytelling, it's about story creation.
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