"A new recipe for the roleplaying game formula" - Guido Henkel

[Deleted Member 16721]

Honestly, I'd be just fine if Guido was able to make another RoA-style RPG, i.e. one with tons of depth, unique mechanics not seen in many other RPGs and focuses heavily on a pen-and-paper-style ruleset and overall vibe. As much as people make fun of it, RoA:BoD remake is a DOPE RPG because no other game on the market right now does what that game does. Yes, it is essentially a clone/remake of a 20+ year old RPG, but you aren't going to play any other game out like it right now. How many RPGs, for example, have you needing to buy bedrolls and warm clothes so you don't freeze to death when travelling? Or take into account the time of year when travelling, as travelling through high mountains in the dead of winter is a very deadly proposition? These things aren't just window dressings but actual gameplay elements that one needs to account for. The original series is classic, of course, but the remake ain't bad and it certainly provides the only type of experience like it in modern RPG gaming.

 

[Skittles]

We're in agreement on what kind of game we'd want him to make. I just don't think that's what he wants to make, based on that article.

 

[Excidium II]

Guido is one-of-a-kind.

 

[Deleted Member 16721]

I disagree, Skittles. He mentions Skyrim in terms of role-playing possibilities but a lot of what he is saying is talking about the pen-and-paper-style experience.

Also, Deathfire looked like it was going to be quite complex and deep. Here's a video (only in 360p, might be a higher quality one out there) that shows it. Pause it on the stat screens

 

[Junmarko]

I feel it's about time I finally confess my crime, for I too stole a piece of Guido's genius.
I went to take a shit about 15mins ago, and while I went all the way through the process, I had to bear the shame and culpability of my theft. Once I was finally done, I didn't feel any bit better about myself, as I was peeking one last time at Guido's genius before flushing it all away.

 

[J1M]

"Modern conveniences" have essentially removed what used to be actual RPG mechanics. Those mechanics actually draw you into the game more as you do have to actually pay attention rather than playing on auto-pilot because you know the game will take care of most things for you.

I hope more RPGs try to add these mechanics back into modern RPGs, but it is risky if you want to make a profit or have a larger base play your game. It is going to be the super-indie/super-niche RPGs that do this sort of thing since they are not employing tons of people, beholden to investors and this sort of thing.

Graphical fidelity is the culprit here. Modern games have extremely busy environments to look "detailed", which results in so much visual noise that you need a quest compass to identify if something written on the wall is a clue or an artist embellishment.

There's also the really goofy notion that a game should be easy enough for anyone to finish, even though it's well documented that most people lose interest before the end. The majority don't care, and those that do care don't experience the challenge they are looking for.

 

[Deleted Member 16721]

Graphical fidelity is the culprit here. Modern games have extremely busy environments to look "detailed", which results in so much visual noise that you need a quest compass to identify if something written on the wall is a clue or an artist embellishment.

There's also the really goofy notion that a game should be easy enough for anyone to finish, even though it's well documented that most people lose interest before the end. The majority don't care, and those that do care don't experience the challenge they are looking for.

I still think RPGs should have options and difficulty modes. The game should be balanced around the hardest difficulty and then have options to reduce it and scale it down for those who want it. That way the easy mode players will be happy and those who want the challenge can have it as well.

And yes, the graphics are busy. Older games didn't have this problem, even though they are using graphics of their times as well. I think the design of the graphics and the art style play into this as well. More cues in the environment should be added to help this (short of giant blinking neon signs, but you know what I mean. )

 

[Freddie]

Guy is pretty much spot on what is bothering me in cRPG's. Years after years I waited some studio to use this hardware power we have at these days for something like guy is writing about.

 

[belowmecoldhands]

His essay is spot on most of the time, especially when he talks about how modern automatic systems remove all the tiny details like having to pay attention to dialogue in order to advance, navigating the game world, figuring stuff out on your own etc.
This was really what makes the magic of old RPGs for me in comparison with new ones.

Too bad Guido himself is a such a pathetic cuck.

Wow you said it. The problem is he's a game maker and in his case he likes details, but has forgotten this very important fact. Probably for many years now he's been confusing his love for details with something else. He hasn't realized yet, as many of you on Codex haven't either, we're all different! There's no holy grail RPG for everybody! Stop confusing what YOU like with what others like. They're not the same. Even if you happen to be a member of the majority, you still shouldn't automatically assume others are like yourself. But as usual, few will learn and this charade continues. Sometimes I wonder what instinct causes it? People have a strong desire to believe they're like others. It's so strong they'll deny they're doing it. Observing you're somehow different from others is the worst imaginable fate. It's deeper than hate. Read below.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance

EDIT: So what I'm saying is you need more details if you want more choices. And that will limit your audience. This is why modern games now can get 20 to 30 million box sales--by removing the details. However, replacing numeric stats/skills with something else might help. For example, maybe puzzle-like things in character development? Numbers allow for details, but they're not the only way to add them. A slasher weapon does more damage to flesh than a blunt weapon, but it doesn't need numbers attached to it to be that way. Climbing up a wall and over is different from jumping over it, and it doesn't need a number to be that way. You could also just have "good" or "bad" to define item or skill effectiveness. Bottom line, the revolution might be in replacing numbers with something equally capable of representing details, whilst being more accessible.

Here's one reason--among many I'm sure--numbers might be a roadblock:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyscalculia

At its most basic level, dyscalculia is a learning disability affecting the normal development of arithmetic skills.[27]

A consensus has not yet been reached on appropriate diagnostic criteria for dyscalculia.[28] Mathematics is a specific domain that is complex (i.e. includes many different processes, such as arithmetic, algebra, word problems, geometry, etc.) and cumulative (i.e. the processes build on each other such that mastery of an advanced skill requires mastery of many basic skills). Thus dyscalculia can be diagnosed using different criteria, and frequently is; this variety in diagnostic criteria leads to variability in identified samples, and thus variability in research findings regarding dyscalculia.

Other than using achievement tests as diagnostic criteria, researchers often rely on domain-specific tests (i.e. tests of working memory, executive function, inhibition, intelligence, etc.) and teacher evaluations to create a more comprehensive diagnosis. Alternatively, fMRI research has shown that the brains of the neurotypical children can be reliably distinguished from the brains of the dyscalculic children based on the activation in the prefrontal cortex.[29] However, due to the cost and time limitations associated with brain and neural research, these methods will likely not be incorporated into diagnostic criteria despite their effectiveness.

 

[aweigh]

i don't get it he talks about choices becoming meaningless in rpg's nowadays, but then cites skyrim as an example of a good rpg.

i don't trust anyone who fails to recognize how non-RPG oblivion, fallout 3 and skyrim are. you can make a convincing case for Morrowind, but not for Fallout 3, Oblivion and Skyrim. bethesda's last threegames are as far removed from being an RPG as you can get.

and it has nothing to do with bethesda's engine, graphics, voice-acting or anything of the sort: Obsidian made one of the best RPGs of the last decade, Fallout: New Vegas, using the FO3 engine.

to anyone who is still "confused" as to why the codex scorns bethesda so heavily, and scorns even more fo3/skyrim/oblivion fanbois:

- play Fallout: New Vegas
- Compare experience with the one from playing FO3/Oblivion/Skyrim

 

[Alkarl]

Wow you said it. The problem is he's a game maker and in his case he likes details, but has forgotten this very important fact. Probably for many years now he's been confusing his love for details with something else. He hasn't realized yet, as many of you on Codex haven't either, we're all different! There's no holy grail RPG for everybody! Stop confusing what YOU like with what others like. They're not the same. Even if you happen to be a member of the majority, you still shouldn't automatically assume others are like yourself. But as usual, few will learn and this charade continues. Sometimes I wonder what instinct causes it? People have a strong desire to believe they're like others. It's so strong they'll deny they're doing it. Observing you're somehow different from others is the worst imaginable fate. It's deeper than hate. Read below.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance

EDIT: So what I'm saying is you need more details if you want more choices. And that will limit your audience. This is why modern games now can get 20 to 30 million box sales--by removing the details. However, replacing numeric stats/skills with something else might help. For example, maybe puzzle-like things in character development? Numbers allow for details, but they're not the only way to add them. A slasher weapon does more damage to flesh than a blunt weapon, but it doesn't need numbers attached to it to be that way. Climbing up a wall and over is different from jumping over it, and it doesn't need a number to be that way. You could also just have "good" or "bad" to define item or skill effectiveness. Bottom line, the revolution might be in replacing numbers with something equally capable of representing details, whilst being more accessible.

Here's one reason--among many I'm sure--numbers might be a roadblock:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyscalculia

I couldn't have said that better.

I'm also intrigued in a system that doesn't rely primarily on numbers to communicate effectiveness of gear/skills etc to players. There are actually a few threads, most of them quite old, here on the codex where a number of users discuss this.

Here's one, started 2005:
http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/inde...-numberless-but-stat-heavy-system-work.10026/

Lot of interesting ideas and solid thinkers in that one.

 

[Sacred82]

Guido being a tease here or just bored?

 

[Iznaliu]

Guido being a tease here or just bored?

I doubt anyone would hire him, to be honest.

 

[HoboForEternity]

isnt he unemployed now?

 

[Sacred82]

not if you count e-book formatting, designing covers and writing pulp novels.

 

[Sacred82]

apparently, no reason to get hyped:



I wonder what he's aiming at with these things. They can't just be very blunt attempts at getting back in the RPG spotlight, can they?

 

[Alkarl]

apparently, no reason to get hyped:



I wonder what he's aiming at with these things. They can't just be very blunt attempts at getting back in the RPG spotlight, can they?

What is there to really say about the state of rpgs?

"Through great labor pains, the genre that brought you classic adventure, immersive story-telling, and intellectual experiences, has birthed two great abominations, the twins Action rpg and Fps rpg. Rpg elements have also given rise to gamification and other dumpster fire ideas. In recent history the rpg has floundered, and even regressed with the most notable releases in the past 5-10 years being poorly made homages and bastardized remasters of and to, debatably, the greatest games the genre has ever been allowed to produce. "

There, I said it, I'm now an internet critic, please remit payment to my patreon now. Also, when deciding on how much to give, please consider how little of your time I wasted and how you, thankfully, wont have to see me whoring myself out on the Twitters and Facebook. Thanks!

Edit: Also, don't forget to like and subscribe to- fuck you.

 

[Iznaliu]

They can't just be very blunt attempts at getting back in the RPG spotlight, can they?

But what can the spotlight do for him?

 

[buru5]

Skyrim is the closest thing to a pen and paper rpg? HahahahahahahahahahhHahAhaHahhaAhahahaha Hahahahahahaha

Holy shit I'm angry right now

 

[Severian Silk]

Spotlight will just reflect off his bald head.

 

[Sykar]

Can you explain what is wrong with Fallout 4?

Everything.

 

[DJOGamer PT]

I was actually enjoying this article and agreeing for the most part with what he was saying. Until:

The progression of a character is important, the ability to grow and distinguish the character, make him unique. Most games directly tie distributable skill points to level advancement. No real growth of the character through learning takes place. ... When a game goes so far as to allow the player to accumulate so many skill points that he can unlock virtually every branch in every skill tree, the aspiration of unique characters has been lost entirely.

I totally agree dude.

An approach that is much more in line with roleplaying sentiments is that found in The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, where the character has (invisible) attributes that increase through usage and translates them into potential skill advancements. You still have to deal with the clutter of twenty unrelated skill trees, but at the very least, the game really invites you to use skills and grow them through play. (In fact, Skyrim is the game that has, perhaps, created the most roleplaying-like experience in any CRPG to date on numerous levels.)

After that I stoped reading this shit.

I mean. WTF!?

Are you talking about the same Skyrim wich the best Light Armor in the game gives more Defense than the best Heavy Armor. Where you can be a part of every Faction with no problems, and every fucking Dungeon is the equal to the last one. The same Skyrim wich you can reach level 81 and have every single skill maxed out with every perks.

That a goddamn tool.

 

[*-*/\--/\~]

Guido seems... misguided.

 

[HoboForEternity]

this is what happen when almost a decade of inactivity gets you. you get rusty, your sense gets dull, you become a shadow of yourself.

 

[Somberlain]

Codex nerds BTFO

From Tim Cain's geometric shapes and Arnold Hendrick's tablets and MMOs to Guido Henkel's Skyrim praise or JVC's mobile game shenanigans, all the classic and prestigious devs of old seem to get with the times